Recreation and Parks Commission — Wednesday, 7 October 2026
From the KCRT video of the meeting (about 1 hour 3 minutes), checked against the agenda, Oct 7 and the draft minutes of October 7 in the November 4 agenda packet (updated 30 October 2026; the minutes are not yet approved). Compiled from KCRT video; votes are unconfirmed unless minutes are posted. Where a mover, second, or tally could not be heard clearly, this digest says so.
Attendance
- Per the attendance sheet in the November 4 packet: present, Chair Jan Mignone, Vice Chair Samantha Torres, Secretary Jennifer Koscielniak, Treasurer Mike Warren, and Commissioners Vivian Gomez, Alexander Rony and Joey Smith; Commissioner Jake Rogers excused. On the video the vice chair was not present at roll call; the draft minutes record her comments later in the meeting. Vice Mayor Doria Robinson spoke as the Council liaison.
Open forum and announcements
- One regular speaker (not named here) gave announcements and asked for police patrols for after-hours activity in parks.
- Commission trust account balance stated as $413.08. Next meeting: Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
Consent calendar
- Minutes of September 2 approved: motion by Commissioner Alexander Rony, seconded by Secretary Jennifer Koscielniak, “carried with an agreed voice vote,” per the draft minutes. No tally recorded.
Public Works parks and landscaping report
- Hilltop Green “park refresh” in three phases (vegetation, sight lines, fencing); the former bowling green at Nicholl Park being refurbished for the Police K-9 unit; tree plantings and an Arbor Day event on October 17 at Lucas Park (34 trees); soft openings of the Boorman and Wendell parks; new solar lighting at Nevin Park completed; more in-person restroom cleaning planned.
- Commissioners asked for “no food” signs on the artificial turf at Shields-Reid Park and standardized bilingual signs with QR codes. Staff said a baseline set of park-rule signs is going into production in the City sign shop, with site-specific turf rules to follow.
Recreation report
- Staff said permit delays at Shields-Reid were because new fees for the converted turf fields had not yet been adopted; staff were told to use the current Master Fee Schedule (details partly UNCLEAR).
- Fall activity guide; basketball-court lighting to be checked; community ambassadors being hired to help monitor parks; no City dog park, with risk-management objections cited.
- Events announced: floating pumpkin patch at the Plunge on October 24 ($12); Fall Festival October 24 at Nicholl Park (free); Day of the Dead Zumba October 31 ($15 advance, $20 door); tree lighting November 18.
Shields-Reid field use
- Commissioners and a club director raised whether a soccer permit covers the adjacent baseball area, shared or half-field permits, safety in the fenced field with a single entrance, a broken gate lock, adults climbing fences, and residents who feel they lost informal access. Staff will take the questions back and respond at the next meeting. No action.
Council liaison report — Vice Mayor Doria Robinson
- New park and soccer-field work described as two years in the making; the MLK Park track restroom described as unacceptable, with set-aside money to be coordinated with a separate MLK Park and community-center redesign effort; a new state parks grant application needs coordination; talks about regional park funding for soccer fields at Point Molate and the former Golden Gate Fields site (speculative timeline).
Votes and not yet confirmed
- The only vote was the voice approval of the September 2 minutes (mover and second per the draft minutes; no tally recorded). The October 7 minutes are on the November 4 consent calendar.
- Staff response on Shields-Reid permit rules is due at the November 4 meeting.
Sources
- KCRT video, Recreation and Parks Commission Oct 7
- Recreation and Parks Commission agenda, Oct 7
- Agenda packet, Nov 4 (draft minutes of Oct 7, attendance sheet)
The adopted minutes control. Check names, votes and figures against them.