Title
Park Maintenance Annual Update
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FileID
File ID: 2026-01411
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Receive and discuss.
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Contact
Contact: Shawn Aylesworth, Division Manager and Park Maintenance, (916) 808-4070, scaylesworth@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment
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Presenter
Presenter: Shawn Aylesworth, Division Manager and Park Maintenance, (916) 808-4070, scaylesworth@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Power Point Presentation
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail:
Park Maintenance Division annual report
A well-maintained park system is a vital component of our city’s identity, recreational and social wellbeing, placemaking, and environmental health. The Park Maintenance Division provides maintenance and stewardship for 243 parkland facilities including: 8 Regional Parks; 82 Community Parks; 132 Neighborhood Parks; 10 Parkways; 10 Open Spaces; and 1 Historic City Cemetery.
The Division employs 115 full-time maintenance workers, 7 Park Supervisors, 3 Park Superintendents and 1 Park Maintenance Manager. The city also employs the use of third-party contractors to perform tree care, specialized maintenance tasks, and pesticide application.
In FY 2027 four new parkland facilities will be completed: Renfree Sports Field (District 2), Sunhaven Neighborhood Park (District 1), Lakeview Neighborhood Park (District 1), and Lakeshore Neighborhood Park (District 1)
Operations - Baseline Services
The Division has established baseline service levels for all City parklands. These baseline service levels provide an equitable level of service across all parklands.
Supplemental Landscape Services are maintenance services that the Division provides on a supplemental basis as additional funding is available. The delivery of these services is based on an individual park’s need.
Sports Field Maintenance, not otherwise provided within our Baseline or Supplemental Services, is limited to sports fields hosted for league play by the City’s Community Enrichment Division. All other sports field maintenance including, but not limited to, adding field lines, setting baseball bases, installing temporary soccer goals or nets, rolling fields, infield dragging, etc., is the responsibility of the permitted user group.
The Parks City Arborist and the Park Maintenance Division are the custodians for the care and maintenance of all trees within the City’s parkland facilities. The Parks City Arborist strives to keep up to date and detailed information for all 25,000+ trees within our parklands. The coordination of proactive tree pruning is coordinated by the Parks City Arborist which is performed on a 10-year rotational schedule, unless otherwise limited by available funding.
The Parks City Arborist is additionally tasked with responding to all citizen-initiated requests for tree pruning within the City’s parkland facilities, risk assessments, and tree removals. Requests for tree pruning outside of the 10-year rotational cycle within City parklands are limited to threats to public safety, or as may be required by city ordinance to maintain prescribed clearance limits from other objects within city parks. Tree removals are determined on a case-by-case basis and are generally limited to trees with one of the following conditions: Uncorrectable structural defect, incurable disease, or confirmed mortality.
Volunteerism
Each year the Division’s maintenance activities are welcomingly augmented through community volunteerism. In FY 2026 the community members contributed 39,663 hours of volunteer effort performing park beautification projects, cleanup efforts, and tree plantings. The Division is staffed with a full-time Volunteer Coordinator. The Volunteer Coordinator’s responsibilities include assisting with project planning, scheduling, and the day-of support through the provision of all necessary supporting staff, tools, equipment, and supplies. In FY 2026 the City of Sacramento and its residents were the benefactors of 532 new tree plantings within City parks, all made possible with volunteer efforts.
Operations - Challenges and Opportunities
Because of the 2008 financial crisis the Park Maintenance Division experienced an almost 50% reduction in staff, creating major maintenance challenges across the City’s parklands. Service levels were reduced to the levels necessary to keep the City’s parks open and safe for public use, without any additional services.
In 2012 voters approved Measure U, a temporary ½ cent tax increase to help to restore essential City services that had been cut or scaled back in 2008, including those provided by Sacramento fire, police, parks and libraries. A second version of Measure U was passed by voters in 2018, adding an additional ½ cent tax increase. While simultaneously delivering on its promise to reinvigorate City provided services, Measure U has not fully restored pre-2008 staffing levels with the Division. Funding challenges combined with the new parkland development continues to be a challenge for the Division.
In response to the current and predicted structural deficits within the City’s budget, the Division is continuing its comprehensive analysis of all major tasks performed within the Division with a focus on time requirements for task completion.
Investigatory process for continued operational efficiencies.
To increase efficiencies in FY 2027, we have convened several cross functional operational committees that blend park leadership with front line expertise. These groups are surfacing and prioritizing improvements grounded in on-the-ground realities. Active work streams include: tier ratings for parks to responsibly apply flexible staffing; a value check on the Sheriff's work crew focusing on supervision demands, quality, safety, and cost; a cost comparison of centralized container versus trailer tipping for waste handling; scoping services that may be brought back in-house; and faster responses to irrigation failures to minimize water loss. Opportunities captured by these initiatives include more balanced workloads and clearer prioritization, less disruption to visitors by aligning work with park usage, quicker turnaround on maintenance requests and targeted productivity gains without compromising safety or quality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Park Maintenance Division is committed to continuously improving our operations to better serve the City’s park users. We believe that these initiatives will contribute to a more equitable distribution of workload, enhanced park user satisfaction, and improved operational efficiency. We appreciate the Commission’s time in reading this staff report and look forward to your feedback and guidance as we strive to maintain and enrich our city's parklands.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: Not applicable.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: Not applicable.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: Youth, Parks, & Community Enrichment provides annual updates to commission on Community Centers and Community Recreation.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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