City Response to 2021-2022 Yolo Grand Jury Report: Clover Taking Over! Where Did the Grass Go in Davis Parks? Summary

The Davis Parks budget no longer adequately covers park maintenance throughout the year at satisfactory quality levels. Response: Partially Agree The term “Satisfactory quality levels” in the Grand Jury report is very broad and not well defined nor does it provide what is “acceptable.” The residents consistently indicate satisfaction with the parks maintenance as the City has not received complaints or comments about the overall park maintenance. Specific complaints, when received, are addressed and/or action is explained to the complainant. The Parks Maintenance Tax has been in place since 1998 at a level of $49 per residential parcel. In 2018, voters renewed the tax and added a 2% annual inflator. The tax has never covered the entirety of parks maintenance. Currently, it covers approximately 10-12% of the Parks operations budget. Of the anticipated revenue of $1,550,00 for Fiscal Year 2022/23, approximately $200,000 goes toward the Urban Forestry division for maintenance of the street trees, parks trees, and greenbelt trees and approximately $50,000 goes to the Open Space and Habitat division for maintenance. The remaining $1,300,000 goes towards the maintenance of the parks/greenbelts and aquatics centers. Since the initial Parks Maintenance Tax went into effect in 1998, the City has added the maintenance of  three community parks (Arroyo, Mace Ranch and Walnut)  seven neighborhood parks (John Barovetto, Sandy Motley, Wildhorse, Arneson, Willowbank, Harvest, Market and Cannery)  2 community gardens (Cannery and Grande)  the Arroyo Aquatics Complex and  approximately 43 additional acres of greenbelts and open space. The City acknowledges that the multi-year drought, transition of IPM policy away from harmful chemicals, community growth and cost escalation have influenced what the City can deliver with constrained budget resources. The City has been pro-active this year with undertaking efforts such as turf conversions, updating irrigation systems, utilizing probation crews, volunteers and contract resources to expand the range of resources to address overall park maintenance. As costs have escalated, and acreage and facilities have been added, the general fund portion of the parks maintenance budget has increased to pay for maintenance. While additional funds would be beneficial, parks and greenbelts are currently maintained at a level consistent with existing park industry standard practices.

Davis Parks greenery is unkempt and shows a lack of consistent maintenance. Response: Disagree The City Parks division is responsible for maintaining over 485 acres of parks and greenbelt areas. While certain areas are landscaped, others are intended for active use by over 65,000 Davis residents. The acreage is kept to park industry standards based on use, set to maximize safety and functionality for users, and to include environmental and other considerations. The term unkempt in the Grand Jury report is subjective and not well defined nor does it provide what is “acceptable.” The City acknowledges that there have been challenges this year with weeds and have taken extra steps to address the weeds situation. The City has launched a new page dedicated to Landscape Management and Weeds which provides useful information to the public on the impact on the usage, health, beauty and resources of our community and the City is utilizing an array of strategies and tactics to diligently and methodically resolve this issue. https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/public-works-utilities-and- operations/integrated-pest-management/landscape-management-weeds The City of Davis routinely updates its landscape and maintenance practices (no more than 15% weeds or 5% bare ground, for example) to align with industry best management practices and to incorporate current City Council goals. The goal of the landscape maintenance standards is to provide the most effective and efficient operational strategies as well as address the necessary resources to support the current and future parks system with the City of Davis. City staff is further increasing the efficiency of City maintained parks and greenbelt locations by: 1. Utilizing volunteers on a biweekly basis to complete weed abatement and mulching along walkways and planted areas. 2. The Parks Division is set up into two geographic teams (Northwest and Southeast) to care for the larger parks and adjacent greenbelts. City maintenance staff are experienced, committed and have strong technical skills. Efficiency has been maximized by increasing the use of City maintenance staff by maintaining high profile parks and adjacent greenbelts, and utilizing contractors for other areas. The City is working on a Parks & Maintenance Design and Standards document that will more clearly define how the parks and amenities should be serviced and at what frequency. Parks staff have been working together with a consultant to assist with the development of the document and there is a working sub-committee comprised of three Recreation & Park Commissioners reviewing the draft material. The draft document will be presented to the full Recreation & Park Commission and City Council later this year. Maintenance standards create an estimated frequency schedule for staff to follow that ensures quality amenities are addressed in a timely and routinely basis. Staff is also looking at baseline services provided by staff and contractors. The services will then be viewed as the basis for improvement objectives for the short and long-term maintenance efforts. The Davis community has long worked to balance safety, functionality, aesthetics, environmental stewardship (i.e. IPM and drought management) and cost effectiveness. This balance results in parks and greenbelts that are not necessarily “pristinely manicured” at all costs, which would require funding levels well beyond what the community is willing to pay. Lastly, the City is in the midst of shifting IPM strategies (as per directions from the City Council in 2018) and weathering a multi-year drought and COVID impacts on staffing and contractors.

The City of Davis has been unsuccessful in hiring additional maintenance staff and an IPM Specialist, as outlined in the City of Davis Policy and Procedures. Response: Partially Agree The Parks Division did have 2 vacancies (Parks Maintenance Workers I/II) for about 6 months. The positions were filled in late May 2022 so the full 8 positions in the Parks Division have been filled. The City IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Specialist position is vacant. The City has undertaken three recruitments for the IPM Specialist position. Prior to the third recruitment effort the City adjusted the compensation range of the position upward in an attempt to attract broader interest. It has proven a challenging position to fill due at least in part to a very specialized skill set that is required to be successful in the role. Since 2020, the City has experienced (along with most jurisdictions) greater challenges in the recruitment of employees at all levels of the organization. The City will continue to undertake recruitment efforts to fill this role. In the absence of the IPM Specialist position, the Public Works Utilities and Operations Department Director created an interim IPM program coordination team consisting of the Environmental Resources Manager, Assistant to the Director, Open Space Lands Manager, and the Wildlife Resource Specialist. This team, working with an independent IPM consultant, has provided effective oversight of the program and the model may be a suitable long-term solution for the program, should future recruitments also prove unsuccessful.

Parks that are maintained by the City of Davis are better maintained than the parks that are serviced by the sole contractor. Response: Disagree The City is very proud of the care that our staff puts into park maintenance. The parks and greenbelts are currently maintained at a level consistent with standard park practices. The Landscape Maintenance Standards delineate work performed by City staff versus that of contracted services for the parks and landscaped areas of the City. The goal of differentiating the work is to achieve the highest and best use of City staff due their greater knowledge and experience with working with key park facilities and functionalities within the Davis park system. City crews are responsible for the City’s community parks, neighborhood parks with special purpose facilities or features, and a variety of city-wide functionalities that require knowledge, expertise, experience or ongoing relationships with internal and external customers. City staff are working very closely with contracted services to be proactive and implement strategies that are efficient and effective. That said, there is always room for improvement as noted earlier, and the revised Parks & Maintenance Design and Standards document that will clearly define how the parks and amenities should be serviced and at what frequency by the City staff and the City contractor.

The City of Davis does not have a transparent policy in place regarding the bidding process for the publicly funded contractor supporting the Parks department. Response: Disagree The request for proposals (RFP’s) for park projects are listed on the City website. The competitive bidding process involves public advertisement for the submission of sealed bids, the public opening of bids, and the award of contracts to the lowest responsible bidder that is responsive to the solicitation for bids. The City Council awards the bids during their meetings usually during their consent calendar portion of the agenda.

Although the City of Davis has mechanisms in place to promote volunteerism to beautify parks, volunteer opportunities could be better promoted to the public. Response: Partially Agree The dedicated City-Wide Volunteer Coordinator came on board in late 2019 to increase the number of volunteers and volunteer opportunities. In early 2020, the City issued a press release detailing volunteer opportunities and how to sign up. Unfortunately, as the program was gaining traction, the pandemic hit, and all promotion and volunteer work halted due to safety. During the pandemic, the Volunteer Coordinator took this time and concentrated her efforts and maximized behind the scenes projects such as: updating the website, created an on-line interest form, made contact with various community groups and purchased and equipped a Volunteer Utility Trailer filled with tools for future community service projects so that projects could resume once restrictions were lifted. In 2021, the City worked with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to permit small projects with limited numbers of participants, and 22 projects were completed. In total, more than 300 volunteers were engaged in 2021. In 2022, the volunteer program has completed 30 projects, and has another 40 scheduled through the end of the year. This number is not indicative of the community groups and individuals who have sought out volunteer opportunities on their own. City staff project that this number will increase significantly when courses resume at UC Davis in the fall. To date, more than 600 volunteers have been engaged in volunteer participation in 2022. The City has greatly increased advertising and use of various social media channels to advertise for these volunteer opportunities, in addition to partnering with community service organizations

There is lack of coordination between the Public Works Department and the Parks Department when capital projects within the park system take place. This leads to the lack of re-greenification of Davis parks. Response: Partially Agree During the last two years, there were a few projects in which there was not a coordinated effort between Public Works (PW) and Parks and Community Services (PCS). Since then, adjustments have been made to correct for this and PW and PCS work cooperatively and communicate on a regular basis for all park and capital improvement projects. RECOMMENDATIONS