On Thursday, February 27th, the City of Santa Rosa will host the first of four community planning workshops to shape the future of parks and recreation in Santa Rosa. Participants will help city staff prioritize spending of Santa Rosa’s share of revenue from Measure M, a one-eighth cent sales tax approved by Sonoma County voters in 2018. Input collected will help city planners to set the course for improvements to Santa Rosa’s parks, trails and recreation programs in the years to come.
Measure M – ‘Parks for All’ provides dedicated funding to regional and city parks from 2018-2028 to help maintain, protect and operate parks. As the largest city in Sonoma County, with over 50 percent of the county-wide population, Santa Rosa will receive an estimated $1.9 million per year, and a total of $19.1 million over 10 years, to help support the City’s 72 community and neighborhood parks.
The first two years of Santa Rosa’s Measure M funding, estimated at $3.8 million, is dedicated to the restoration of city parks damaged during the 2017 Sonoma Complex Fires. Spending for the remaining $15.3 million to be generated in 2021-2028 will be prioritized with the community’s help this year, through targeted meetings with user groups such as sports leagues and park volunteers, surveys, online forums, and at least one community workshop in each of the city’s four quadrants. The first workshop, which is co-hosted by the West End Neighborhood Association, is scheduled for the city’s northwest quadrant at the following date, time and location:
What: NW Community Dinner & Park Planning Workshop; Tell Us Your Vision for Santa Rosa Parks
When: February 27, 2020, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
5:30 - 5:45 p.m. Dinner Service (complimentary pasta & salad)
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Parks Report & Planning Workshop
7:00 - 7:30 p.m. Dessert & Mingling
Where: DeTurk Round Barn
Can’t Attend the Meeting?
A video recording of the February 27th community meeting will be made available online for viewing following the event. Alternative community meetings are being planned in locations throughout the city over the next few months, including future quadrant meetings for the southeast, southwest and northeast sections of Santa Rosa to be held March through May of 2020, dates, times and locations to be finalized soon. An online survey will also soon be available to provide your input, and city staff will be visiting with attendees at community events and neighborhood gatherings throughout the year to ensure we hear from as many residents as possible.
To learn more about Measure M, including allowable categories for Measure M spending, and to sign up for updates on upcoming community meetings and other opportunities to give input, visit: SRCity.org/parksforall.