HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRR23203 Pinard - Emerson Park Outreach RESPONSE
From:Avakian, Greg
Sent:Tuesday, July 18, 2023 4:07 PM
To:Peg
Cc:CityClerk
Subject:Emerson Park Beautification Project - Information
BCC: Council
Ms. Pinard:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding obtaining more information on the Emerson Park Beautification project
that the City is currently conducting and the records request. This email contains both the formal link to
supporting requested documents following the Public Records request procedures, as well as the body of the
email that addresses the additional questions and concerns that you proposed via the email communications
with both me and Council.
07-17-2023 PRR23203 Pinard - Emerson Park Outreach (slocity.org)
Please note:
1. There are two folders of material for the supporting documents that occurred in 2021 and more recent
in 2022-2023 respectfully.
2. The State grant application occurred via an on-line portal which required individual forms to be
uploaded. Folder 2021 contains the individual documents.
For the appropriate context to your inquiry, I have included the email communications that occurred between
you and me beginning on your initial inquiry on July 7, 2023, and my reply that same day. As stated in my initial
reply to your email on July 7, the process to organize and provide Public Record requests takes Staff
resources to accurately provide the requestor the appropriate materials. As Assistant City Manager Stanwyck
stated on July 17, the Parks and Recreation Staff are extremely busy during the summer season providing the
community with a variety of programs, services, and facilities and I appreciate your patience on my reply.
The City and the Parks and Recreation Department emphasize that parks are for all community members and
there’s always a balance with the amenities contained at the current 23+ City managed parks. Certain parks
are classified as Neighborhood Parks and others are Community Parks which provide larger scope of activities
and variety of amenities. Regarding your statement about the staff parking lot at Emerson, the current lot is
designed to support the Parks & Recreation Dept headquarters. Department is made up of seven divisions
and 26 full-time as well as 4-8 supplemental staff and/or interns who are housed at this location. The
classification of Emerson Park as a neighborhood park is to truly support the surrounding community who
would take advantage of the park location by walking, biking, rolling, as well as utilize street parking (same as
Mitchell Park, North Broad Park, Vista Lago, Laguna Hills, Anholm, DeVaul Park, Stoneridge Park)
In review of the original outreach plan conducted in winter and spring 2021, Staff utilize the Public Engagement
Notification (PEN) Manual for best practices. To include the neighboring community of Emerson Park, Staff
expanded notifications outside the traditional block radius (300 feet) of the park location boundaries to include
the 700 blocks of Buchon and Islay streets, along with approximately a 3-block radius of the park (see mailing
list documents in link). The traditional boundary is Broad Street (reference City’s General Plan map Appendix
B-2). The original 2021 communications included the five on-line (Zoom format) community workshops, as well
as a 30-day community survey. The five Zoom formatted workshops were conducted due to the COVID-19
Pandemic restrictions of community in-person gatherings. These workshops were held on different days and
times to accommodate a variety of neighbor and community schedules on January 9, 13, 20, 21, and 26.
Results from the survey and workshops provided the content of amenities for the grant submittal (which
included feedback for a dog park amenity consistently ranking in the top 2).
1
Upon reflection, Staff did not formally conduct outreach specifically to a representative of the “Old Town
Neighborhood Association” or the “Residents for Quality Neighborhoods” specific to the Emerson Park grant
application process, nor during the recent June 19, 2023, community forum. This opportunity was missed by
the Staff, however the significant outreach mailings and timelines for feedback in January 2021 for the grant
application, subsequent PRC meetings and the Council meeting opportunities over the past two years, along
with the recent promotions through local media, City email distributions, City social media avenues, and PRC
meetings did provide ample opportunities for community insight and feedback.
Along with the Staff conducted community outreach, the grant and park amenities were included in PRC
meetings on March 3, 2021 (and Staff updates on the timing of the project throughout 2022) and at Council
with the original submission of the grant in early spring 2021 and the grant award (December 2021). With the
award of the grant in December 2021, the City produced a public service announcement for local media and
promotions through City social media outlets. The same approach was taken in June 2023 with the
neighborhood mailings (utilizing the same mailing list as 2021), promotion through City emails, website
announcements, and social media outreach promoting the June 19 in-person workshop held at Emerson Park,
as well as the 30-day on-line survey (June 19 through July 18, 2023).
Additionally, the Parks & Recreation Blueprint for the Future: 2021 – 2041(master plan and general element)
was completed and endorsed by PRC and City Council in July 2021. The community feedback and consultant
inventory list showed that a few key facilities and programs were identified on the short-term opportunities, this
included dog parks, bike pump tracks, updated playgrounds, and more.
You mentioned that the reconfiguration of the grass area would impact thousands of neighborhood children
who use it for a variety of sport activities. The current grass area is not to regulation for any sport
programs. The grass area is used for overflow practice spots for some youth activities, adult use for off-
season rugby conditioning, and informal use by the community, as well as programming by Parks & Recreation
staff. The field is not safe or functional for baseball or softball due to the size and proximity to the adjacent
streets and homes. The current groups of children and adults that play sports and recreate on the lawn area at
Emerson are very familiar to our Staff as they reserve the area through the Parks and Recreation
Department. The footprint of the lawn is approximately 1-acre, and the proposed updated amenities would
reduce the informal space to approximately .5-acre (~21,1700 sf) which will allow for younger ages and small
group skills practices, social gatherings (family, friends, clubs and faith groups, etc.), fitness classes, and both
active and passive lawn activities. The timing of the Emerson Park project also ties in well with the timing of the
upcoming Righetti Ranch park system that will include a full-size regulation adult and youth field are for sports,
along with the Avila Ranch park system including sport fields (diamond and rectangular fields). These
upcoming field projects are designed to safely and appropriately provide additional sport fields to meet the
needs outlined in the Parks & Recreation Blueprint (master plan) for the community.
The City’s Parks and Recreation Department provides programs and activities for all ages ranging from as
young as 18 months to 99+ years of age at a variety of parks and facilities. The Emerson Park project will
provide recreational opportunities through the youth all-ages playground equipment, the Fitness Court, full and
half court basketball court, large blacktop area for ‘school style’ games and roller skate/scooter activities and
younger age biking, the community gardens, bocce ball courts (all ages), the ½ acre lawn and the ½ acre
fenced dog area, the picnic table area, and the addition of restrooms.
I hope that this provides more information on the process and expectations for the Emerson Park Beautification
project and the upgrades to support the neighborhood community. We all agree that the park is a vital part of
this community and Staff are excited to provide the upgrades with the awarded State Parks grant. For the
most current list of park projects, please visit https://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/parks-
and-recreation/current-projects
Greg Avakian
pronouns he/him/his
Director of Parks and Recreation
2
Parks & Recreation
1341 Nipomo Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E gavakian@slocity.org
T 805.781.7120
slocity.org
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From: Stanwyck, Shelly <sstanwyc@slocity.org>
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2023 9:07 AM
To: Peg <
Cc: Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org>
Subject: RE: Save the Emerson Ball Field
Ms. Pinard and Council Via the BCC –
Thank you for your email regarding the Emerson Park Grant Funded Project.
Parks and Recreation Director, Greg Avakian, with whom you have been corresponding, will be providing you
with a full response and documents as requested. Given the volume of work the Department experiences in
summer due to programming, and as he has indicated to you, it will take him some time to gather this
information.
Best,
Shelly Stanwyck
pronouns she/her/hers
Assistant City Manager Community Services
City Administration
919 palm street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E sstanwyck@slocity.org
T 805.781.7294
slocity.org
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From: Peg <
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2023 4:48 PM
To: Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Cc: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Dave Congalton <dave.congalton@gmail.com>; Sandy Rowley
<macsar99@yahoo.com>; Tribune <newsroom@thetribunenews.com>; KSBY TV <news@ksby.com>;
3
news@newtimesslo.com; Dave Congalton <dave@920kvec.com>
Subject: Re: Save the Emerson Ball Field
Michelle,
That survey basically only asks what kind of play equipment one wants for the toddlers. I tried answering the survey,
once I found out about it and wasn’t able to give any input.
Both designs that the city presents take away most of the field. That’s the only choice one has. And, if you don’t respond
the way they want, you can’t ‘submit’ any survey.
Peg
On Jul 16, 2023, at 1:41 PM, Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org> wrote:
Good afternoon Peg,
Thank you for providing this feedback to council, sharing your thoughts on the design concepts for Emerson
Park.
With this email I am copying the all-council email address that also includes many key city staff, so that they
can take note of your letter and direct your thoughts to the Parks and Rec Department staff. Also, I note that
the public survey to provide feedback on the design concepts is still open for two more days on Open City
th
Hall. It closes on the 18, so you still have a few more days to give feedback there. Here’s the link:
https://communityfeedback.opengov.com/portals/sanluisobispoca/forum_home?active_issue_id=8158&phase=
Open
Thank you again,
Michelle Shoresman
pronouns she/her/hers
Council Member
<image001.png>
Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
E mshoresm@slocity.org
C 805.888.1973
slocity.org
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From: Peg <
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2023 1:09 PM
To: Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>;
Pease, Andy <apease@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>
Cc: Dave Congalton <dave.congalton@gmail.com>; Sandra Rowley <macsar99@yahoo.com>; Tribune
<newsroom@thetribunenews.com>; KSBY TV <news@ksby.com>; news@newtimesslo.com; Dave Congalton
<dave@920kvec.com>
Subject: Save the Emerson Ball Field
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July 16, 2023
Mayor and City Council Members,
4
I am very concerned about the city’s proposed development plans for Emerson Park’s Field. This is the only playing field
within walking distance for our older neighborhoods. It serves thousands of kids in all age groups and many of the areas
youth soccer teams. Local teens also play rugby and softball there. What is rather unbelievable is that, due to the
limited nature of ‘input’, when the city received feedback that some residents would like a dog park, that the city staff
chose to take the room away from the one sector of our community that needs room to run the most!
The physical and mental health of our teens is critical and should be a primary focus - especially right now as
we are seeing the fallout of the years of isolation from covid. We have been witnessing the bottling-up of
emotions and the rather fragile mental states that have resulted - and you want to take away the one area for
thousands of kids to responsibly interact and ‘run it off’? So, when the next school shooting occurs and people
wonder why kids are ‘acting out’ what are you going to say? "Well, we thought it was a good idea to take away
their only field running area? Even though we have a big dog park at Laguna Lake we thought taking away the
only playing field space from local kids was a good thing to do?”!
This plan does not adhere to any of the National or State Park Standards for recreational space for the
number of people in this neighborhood (and for the full range of ages) that neighborhood recreation areas are
supposed to serve. We were designated severely ‘under-served’ when the school was closed and yet, since
then our neighborhood population has more than doubled! There is a huge gap in the feedback you got - and
that is that you didn’t hear from the thousands of youngsters who use that field for vigorous and active play.
There would be NO PLACE left in our neighborhood for all ages of our kids to be active. The city's description
that, what little fragment would be left "could accommodate Art classes, yoga, etc.". is an abregation of your
responsibility to meet the needs of the whole age spectrum. Besides, the activities the city mentioned could all
be done at Mitchell Park (where there is no ball field). Teens need space for vigorous activities, team
participations and free play. No where, in any recreation guideline does it say to put the needs of all ages of
children dead last.
The city has Laguna Lake dog park - that already has more room in it for dogs to run around than you have at
Emerson for our children to run. Our kids don’t drive…they don’t have that option…this is the ONLY PLAYING
FIELD WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FOR OUR KIDS.
The city’s carefully selected ‘input’ was mostly to those who monitor the city’s website - and not from the kids
who play with the various teams (or their parents and coaches) or kids who actually use the park. Please note
that the city also did not send any notice to the entire neighborhood that this park is supposed to serve.* I live
only a block from Emerson and did not receive any notice nor did any of my neighbors - and I’ve checked with
quite a few of them. The city also avoided noticing the neighborhood organizations specifically formed to ‘get
the word out’. I’ve asked what the city’s neighborhood liason person did to help the neighborhood understand
the issues, but received no answer.
When your surveys asked what people ‘wanted’, where did the city disclose that it would need to take away
the one playing field available for all of our young soccer, rugby, and baseball players and spontaneous free-
play area for teens? Eight and nine year olds, etc. can walk to Emerson - and I thought that walkability was
supposed to be a primary goal of the city?! If you want a dog park at Emerson, then take up the damn parking
lot! Which, noticeably by the way, shows that the city cares more for allowing room for parking each of its
vehicles than it does for each of its thousands of kids. Where is there any semblance of honesty or sanity
here?
State Parks staff says that you could amend your plan, especially in light of the fact that grant recipients are
coming in over-bid. She also said that there are often revisions to plans due not only to lack of funds, but also
(and especially) from additional input that a local agency might not have had before.
You can still do the right thing by our kids and leave our neighborhood’s only ballfield out of the mix. Go
ahead and improve the tot-lot area, but also improve the field’s exisitng grounds, and add fencing in order to
keep the dog poop off where kids are supposed to play.
Sincerely,
Peg Pinard
5
Former Mayor, City of San Luis Obispo
Founder, Old Town Neighborhood Association
...and very concerned parent and grandparent for our kids’ future
* Apparently only people immediately adjacent to the park received any notice. The city did not follow its own General
Plan.
The city’s General Plan requires: "2.15 Neighborhood Wellness Action Plans
To help residents preserve and enhance their neighborhoods, the City will:... Involve residents early in reviewing
proposed public and private projects that could have neighborhood impacts, by notifying residents and property
owners and holding meetings at convenient times and places within the neighborhoods.”
From: Peg <
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2023 5:19 PM
To: Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org>
Greg,
Actually I am very disappointed that you weren’t able to provide the most basic information in a timely manner. After
all, this should all have been easily documented as part of the information distrubution and evaluation process. Your
email suggesting a much later date feels more like a bureaucratic delaying tactic. We have neighborhood associations
and supposedly a staff neighborhood laison person - and I haven’t seen any effort to make sure that the provisions of
the General Plan were followed. The list I have heard about for your initial input did not appear to include the most
obvious people affected by the design.
As a Parks and Rec. director, I am shocked that you would not adhere to the National and State standards for active
recreation space for the number of people this neighborhood and for the full range of ages that recreation areas are
supposed to serve. We were designated severely ‘under-served’ when the school was closed and our population has
more than doubled since then. There is a huge gap in the feedback you got - and that is from the thousands of
youngsters who use that field for vigorous and active play. There would be NO PLACE in our neighborhood for kids to be
active. Your description that this proposed "little fragment" could accommodate Art classes, yoga, etc. is an abregation
of your responsibility to meet the needs of the whole age spectrum. Besides, the activities you mentioned could all be
done at Mitchell Park. Teens need space for vigorous actitiies, team participations and free play. Should this plan
proceed as you have led it, then this should go down as a disgrace to your profession. No where, in any recreation
guideline does it say to put the needs of all ages of children dead last.
You have Laguna Lake dog park - that already has more room in it for dogs to run around than you have at Emerson for
our children to run around. I have dogs of my own, but I would never even suggest that they are more important than
our children….besides, there’s always Laguna. Our kids don’t drive…they don’t have that option…this is the ONLY
PLAYING FIELD WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FOR OUR KIDS.
When you asked what people ‘wanted’, where did you tell them that you were then going to have to take away the one
playing field available for all of our young soccer, rugby, and baseball players and spontaneous free-play area for teens?
Eight and nine year olds can walk to Emerson - and I thought that walkability was supposed to be a primary goal of the
city?! If you want a dog park at Emerson, then take up the damn parking lot! Which, noticeably by the way, shows that
the city cares more for allowing room for parking each of its cars than it does for each of its thousands of kids. Where is
there any semblance of sanity?
The physical and mental health of our teens is critical and should be a primary focus - especially right now as we see the
fallout of the years of isolation from covid. Talk about bottling up emotions and the rather fragile mental states that
have resulted….and you want to take away the one area for thousands of kids to responsibly interact and ‘run it off’? So,
6
when the next school shooting occurs and people wonder why kids are ‘acting out’ what are you going to say? Will you
say... "Well, it was a good idea to take away their playing area, after all, even though we have a big dog park at Laguna
Lake we thought taking the only playing field space away from local kids was the responsbile thing to do!”?
State Parks says this is in your ballpark (pardon the pun, because... oh yes, you are planning to do away with our
ballpark!). She said that you could amend your plan, especially in light of the fact that nearly every recipient is coming in
over-bid. She also said that there are often revisions to plans due not only to lack of funds, but also especially from
additional input that a local agency might not have had before.
Look, I’m very unhappy with how this has played out but you could redeem it. You could do the right thing by our kids
and leave our neighborhood’s only ballfield out of the mix. Spend the money to improve the field’s grounds, drainage
and add fencing in order to keep the dog poop off where kids are supposed to play.
Peg
On Jul 14, 2023, at 12:10 PM, Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org> wrote:
Good afternoon, Peg:
Thanks for the additional questions and inquiries regarding the Emerson Park grant project. I am anticipating
in having answers to your questions and the documents you have requested by the middle to end of next
week. We can then identify a time that works best for both schedules to meet.
Thank you and hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Greg Avakian
pronouns he/him/his
Director of Parks and Recreation
<image001.png>
Parks & Recreation
1341 Nipomo Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E gavakian@slocity.org
T 805.781.7120
slocity.org
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From: Peg <
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2023 8:30 PM
To: Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org>
Cc: Sandy Rowley <macsar99@yahoo.com>
Subject: City's Proposed Development Plan for Emerson Neighborhood Park
Greg,
I will be very interested in meeting with you and welcome the information and documents from you.
I have a request though. The city is well aware that we have an Old Town Neighborhood Association and the Residents
for Quality Neighborhoods. When, and by what means, did the city work through these organizations that were
established specifically for neighborhoods and neighborhood impacts? What did the city’s neighborhood liaison staff
person specifically do to ensure residents were aware of the pros and cons of different ideas?
7
Any questionnaire (especially one on-line) asking people what they ‘want' doesn’t let people know what compromises
might have to be made if their ‘wants’ were to be implemented. People 'want' lots of things but, as they say, when
‘push comes to shove’, what they may have to give up in order to get it becomes quite another matter Where were
people told that the only available playing field for children and families within walking distance would be on the
chopping block? The field at Emerson is a very heavily used field for soccer by all age groups - so much so, that the goal
posts are even left in place for everyone to use. It is the only such field within walking distance for thousands and
thousands of children and families.
I’m not hearing or seeing evidence of the disclosures of the compromises that would need to be made. It appears to be
a huge omission! In fact, the single biggest reaction I am receiving when I’ve asked neighbors if they knew about this
development, is that they overwhelming say that they did not know about the city’s plans. Too, I haven’t met anyone
who understood that the developments presented eliminated the ability for children and families to run and play as they
are currently doing. I spoke with long time resident, Adian Lenc, who she lives directly across from our neighborhood
park. Being immediatly adjacent to Emerson, she did receive a postcard but it did not contain any information about
what was at stake. She attended the meeting at Emerson Park and said that it was primarily city staff and consultants.
Most families have working parents impacted with all the effects of covid and these hard economic times. What means,
other than by those who spend their time monitoring the city on computer, did the city reach out to residents living
within walking distance to the park? While you said that you sent out mailers, I would very much like to know ‘to
whom’? since I did not receive one nor did my neighbors. I am also concerned that the responses you have received via
the on-line survey may: #1, not be from this neighborhood, and #2 they may not include the disclosure that the children
and families of this heavily used field will be eliminated.
As you are surely aware, it is in this city’s General Plan, it’s Consitution, and it is required that when issues involve
a neighborhood that meetings SHALL BE HELD IN the affected neighborhoods first. (Page 1-51 (E). It is part of the
“Neighborhood Wellness Action Plan” - as well as “Appendix B)
I understand that covid affected the ability for actual "in person” meetings but was there at least a letter to every
residence explaining these issues?
Describing the project with words like "we’re going to ‘improve' the park” discloses nothing about what is at stake, and
that could be seen as a way of diverting residents from even becoming involved - especially if local families still trusted
that the city was truly working for the neighborhood childrens' and families’ best interests.
The General Plan was specifically designed to maximize neighborhood awareness and input. It is the single most reliable
method to make sure that residents are able to have confidence in their city’s governance. When that doesn’t happen,
you get feedback like: “we didn’t even know about this!” and a lot of anger from all those who trusted that the city was
acting in good faith.
I look forward to receiving the information soon and will then call for an appointment,
Thanks for your timely response.
Peg
On Jul 7, 2023, at 12:09 PM, Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org> wrote:
Good afternoon, Peg Pinard:
Thank you for reaching out to me regarding your interest and questions on the City’s upcoming improvements
for Emerson Park.
8
It will take a few days to fully gather all the information you requested, and I can provide a more thorough reply
by the end of next week. It may be best to schedule a time to meet in person or conduct a phone call to share
more about the process the City and community have participated in over the past two years and the next
steps with the project.
In the meantime, I can provide some general content in my reply:
The City Parks and Recreation Staff had the opportunity in Winter of 2021 to apply for a State Parks Prop 68
Grant to support upgrading Emerson Park. As you know, Emerson Park was originally a school site, as well as
currently supports the downtown neighborhood as a park and community garden. It is also the home of the
Parks and Recreation Department staff offices.
As part of the grant application requirements, Staff conducted five (5) different dates of public outreach in
January and February 2021. Due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic, these community forums
were held virtually through Zoom, as well as Staff conducted an on-line survey. Staff sent out mailers to the
surrounding neighborhood advertising these opportunities, as well as promoted through social media and
webpages. I will have the time next week to gather the actual scope of how many mailers and locations. I can
speak that we had community virtually attend the different web forums from addresses on Buchon, Islay,
Pismo, as well as Carmel. I will also be able to confirm the number of community members who participated in
both the different web forums as well as number of survey respondents.
Based on the feedback and comments gathered from the five web forums and the on-line survey results, the
park amenities were submitted within the Prop 68 Grant application. The City was honored to receive
notification from the State Parks Department in December 2021 that we successfully were the only agency in
SLO County to be awarded a grant.
Due to the COVID-19 impacts on City resources and priorities, the process of initiating the grant project was
delayed until this spring. The City conducted an RFP for a design firm with SSA successfully being awarded
the project. The next step was that the City Staff and SSA representative met to discuss the project and
continue with community outreach. The first in-person outreach occurred on June 19 at Emerson
Park. Mailers were sent out to the surrounding neighborhood, promotion through social media, PSA through
City email notifications and local media, as well as website promotions. Staff interacted with over 50 residents
that evening at the park. Additionally, a 30-day on-line community survey is currently being promoted to gather
additional community feedback through July 18 (as of July 7 the survey shows over 200 responses).
The next steps will be for Staff to review all the survey results from the community, debrief with SSA
representatives, and obtain feedback from the Parks & Recreation Commission in August to move forward with
direction for initial designs.
I would like to state that the City Staff and SSA are in full recognition of the history of Emerson Park and that
the design will be heavily focused on children and family amenities. The expanded all-ages playground
upgraded black top to honor and associate the previous school site are all key elements to the re-design. The
lawn area is planned to be approximately 50% fenced dog park, and the remaining 50% (approximately half
acre) to remain as open lawn for social gathering activities (frisbee, picnics, yoga, art classes, and younger age
recreational activities). Again, the goal of the project is to provide the community an upgraded park for the
surrounding neighborhood that maintains the history in design and feel to honor the original school.
As stated, some of the items you requested in your email will take staff a few days to gather as the Parks and
Recreation staff are extremely busy providing full summer programming for our community.
If you have any additional questions or clarification based on the content I provided, please feel free to reach
back out to me.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Best,
9
-Greg
Greg Avakian
pronouns he/him/his
Director of Parks and Recreation
<image001.png>
Parks & Recreation
1341 Nipomo Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3934
E gavakian@slocity.org
T 805.781.7120
slocity.org
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-----Original Message-----
From: Peg <
Sent: Friday, July 7, 2023 12:38 AM
To: Avakian, Greg <gavakian@slocity.org>
Subject: Cit's Proposed Development Plan for Emerson Park
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
_______________________________
Parks and Recreation Administration
City of San Luis Obispo
Dear Mr Avakian,
My name is Peg Pinard and I am the former Mayor of the City of San Luis Obispo as well as Chairperson of the San Luis
Obispo County Board of Supervisors. I am also the founder of the Old Town Neighborhood Association, founder of the
Old Town Historic District - as well as a long time resident who lives just a block from Emerson Park.
I am very concerned about the city’s proposed development plans for Emerson Park and how it will affect the thousands
and thousands of children and families who rely so heavily on what is already an underserved neighborhood for its
children’s and families’ recreational needs.
In order to get ‘up to speed’ on the plan, which I just learned about a few days ago, I would like to request a copy of the
city’s proposal to the state for the grant, a copy of the RFP that went out for a consultant and the mailing list the city
used to inform the neighborhood of its grant request. I would also like a description of the city’s early meetings with
neighborhood residents to determine what the needs may have been for any park improvements that eventually
comprised the city’s grant request.
As I stated, I live just a block from the park and didn’t hear, nor receive any mailing or notification that the city was
engaged in such an undertaking. I checked with most of my neighbors and they hadn’t receivied any outreach notice
either.
While I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, I look forward to a good discussion regarding the city’s proposal.
Sincerely,
Peg Pinard
10