Assistant City Manager AJ Johnson Newton and Community Enrichment Services (CES) staff briefed the council on Oct. 2 about the department’s reorganization, program performance and resident survey results.

AJ Johnson Newton said staff consolidated parks, recreation, senior services, events and facility rentals under the CES umbrella in 2025 to create operational stability and to expand programming. "Bringing all of the talent really under one house was that, basically, it allows us to leverage what they were already good at," she said.

Staff described a program framework that groups activities into anchors (reliable revenue programs such as childcare, youth sports and rentals), access and equity programs (scholarships and barrier reduction), exploratory programs (pilot activities) and special events (festivals and concerts). CES conducted a resident survey Aug. 22–Sept. 15 that drew 334 responses; the largest respondent cohort was age 65 and older, and the top non‑English languages noted were Spanish, Tagalog and Russian. Cost, program timing and language or disability access were cited as barriers to participation.

Program highlights and metrics shared with councilors included:

- Camp Chaos: serving about 80 kids per day in summer; staff plan to expand capacity to about 120 next year.

- Youth sports: roughly 130 teams and about 1,500 players across leagues; staff are piloting new offerings such as a 3‑on‑3 league.

- Break camps and specialized camps: about 50 kids currently served for multi‑day camps with plans to expand offerings based on survey demand.

- Senior services: the activity center served 446 senior lunches in September (average about 30 per weekday), added 23 new seniors in September and doubled the number of outings; senior barbecue attendance exceeded 100.

- Events: the summer concert series drew the largest crowds staff have seen in recent years — one concert drew about 1,300 people — and staff continue to explore additional ticketed or sponsored activities to support programming.

Staff stressed the department will evaluate programs both for community value and financial impact, preserving essential access programs that do not fully recover costs while pursuing partnerships, sponsorships and modest fee structures where the community supports them.

Council members praised the reorganization and early gains and encouraged staff to continue expanding partnerships, pursue sponsorships and consider ways to make programming more accessible to non‑English speakers and residents with disabilities.