Tag Archives: Benicia Parks and Community Services Department

Benicia Parks and Community Services Department

TODAY, Sun., Oct. 27: Bring Family, Friends to Help Volunteers Restore Historic Playground of Dreams

Don’t forget! You can personally participate in saving the Playground of Dreams!

Benicia Parks Commissioner Alison Fleck speaks and works with other volunteers at the September 2023 work party at the Playground of Dreams. | Photo supplied by campaign.

From Save Our Playground.org, October 24, 2024. This is a repost so folks and families who are looking for something active, inclusive, and community-serving to do today can connect with Save Our Playground for a wonderful time. 

WHERE: Playground of Dreams (1992) in Benicia City Park (1849)
WHEN: Sunday, October 27, 8 a.m. to dusk
WHAT: Sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. Weeding and detail painting are also planned.
 WHY: With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.
WHO: Playground lovers, their parents and families, and Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Save Our Playground

We will be sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. We will also be weeding and detail painting.

With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.

Plastic gloves, masks and drinking water provided. If volunteers so choose, they can sport work clothes and hats, sturdy gloves, battery-powered sanders, sunscreen and sunglasses. Depending on weather and volunteer turnout though, you may not need some of that.

Building Community

We now have our official non-profit status and the ability to receive donations.

Playground of Dreams, Benicia.

A huge wave of work, support and love of children by Benicia residents created the Playground of Dreams in City Park in 1992, and thousands have enjoyed it since. Now, another community effort is needed to save it.

Although the pine wood structure seems sturdy to the touch, city staff and a consultant have agreed it should be removed soon. The playground was maintained the first several years by Benicia Friends of the Playground volunteers, but sanding and sealing a wooden playground can take scores of work hours, and the city stopped doing it years ago.

Playground of Dreams, Benicia.

In a time-honored Benicia tradition, that is the job undertaken by volunteers on September 15 and 16, 2023. The question is whether the playground outlives the two-year projection that city staff believes this work will extend its life.

Please join our campaign to protect and restore this beloved historic structure. Give us a way to update you on this form as we re-establish Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Contact the campaign at 707.747.6706 or contact@saveourplayground.org to learn more about how to donate and get involved.

Benicia Parks and Community Services Department

Volunteers to Restore Historic Playground on Oct. 27, All Welcome!

You can personally participate in saving the Playground of Dreams!

Benicia Parks Commissioner Alison Fleck speaks and works with other volunteers at the September 2023 work party at the Playground of Dreams. | Photo supplied by campaign.

From Save Our Playground.org, October 24, 2024

WHERE: Playground of Dreams (1992) in Benicia City Park (1849)
WHEN: Sunday, October 27, 8 a.m. to dusk
WHAT: Sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. Weeding and detail painting are also planned.
 WHY: With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.
WHO: Playground lovers, their parents and families, and Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Save Our Playground

We will be sanding and sealing the largest volunteer-built structure in Benicia. We will also be weeding and detail painting.

With the city’s budget deficit, the playground was being somewhat neglected for years until 2023. The current workday is a repeat of hugely successful work parties at the playground in the 1990s and September 2023.

Plastic gloves, masks and drinking water provided. If volunteers so choose, they can sport work clothes and hats, sturdy gloves, battery-powered sanders, sunscreen and sunglasses. Depending on weather and volunteer turnout though, you may not need some of that.

Building Community

We now have our official non-profit status and the ability to receive donations.

Playground of Dreams, Benicia.

A huge wave of work, support and love of children by Benicia residents created the Playground of Dreams in City Park in 1992, and thousands have enjoyed it since. Now, another community effort is needed to save it.

Although the pine wood structure seems sturdy to the touch, city staff and a consultant have agreed it should be removed soon. The playground was maintained the first several years by Benicia Friends of the Playground volunteers, but sanding and sealing a wooden playground can take scores of work hours, and the city stopped doing it years ago.

Playground of Dreams, Benicia.

In a time-honored Benicia tradition, that is the job undertaken by volunteers on September 15 and 16, 2023. The question is whether the playground outlives the two-year projection that city staff believes this work will extend its life.

Please join our campaign to protect and restore this beloved historic structure. Give us a way to update you on this form as we re-establish Benicia Friends of the Playground.

Contact the campaign at 707.747.6706 or contact@saveourplayground.org to learn more about how to donate and get involved.

Benicia Open Space, Benicia Parks and Community Services Department, Public Comment

Call for public comments – time to advocate for Benicia Parks, Trails and Open Space

Benicia Parks, Trails, Open Space Master Plan update begins

LoveBeniciaParks.com

Vallejo Times-Herald, April 12, 2021
(See also the City of Benicia press release of April 7.)

The City of Benicia has begun work to update the 1997 Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan to guide the planning, maintenance, development, and rehabilitation of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open
space system.

Benicia residents are invited to join in the process, which will be led by the Parks & Community Services Department, as the city seeks feedback from all members of the community about the future of Benicia’s parks, trails, and open space system.

The City of Benicia Parks & Community Services Department manages 28 parks totaling approximately 700 acres, including the 577-acre Lake Herman Regional Park and the 50-acre Benicia Community Park, all of which is managed under a system Master Plan that was adopted in 1997. The updated master plan will serve as a long-range planning and asset management document that provides a framework for understanding the financial investments needed to maintain and improve the parks, trails, and open space assets Benicia owns. The plan will provide a better understanding of the current and future maintenance needs and a capital improvement program to guide reinvestment.

Mayor Steve Young encourages the community to get involved, stating, “It has been 24 years since Benicia reviewed its parks program. While we know our parks are loved by our community, it is time to look to a plan for improving them and sustaining them into the future. This review process needs the considered comments of our community. Please watch for opportunities to get involved.”

Benicia has hired a consultant team that includes RHA Landscape ArchitectsPlanners, PROS Consulting, WRT Planning + Design, and the ETC Institute.

Doug Grove, RHA President, said, “Benicia has such a wonderful collection of parks, trails, and open space it is clear why residents are so proud of their city. Our goal is to engage the community in the most inclusive and innovative manner possible and to let the community’s values and unmet needs drive the priorities for Benicia’s future.”

The consulting team has developed an ADA-accessible, crowdsourcing website to guide this project at LoveBeniciaParks.com. This site will serve as the one-stop shop to provide all plan updates, list meeting dates, host online surveys and provide the community opportunities to continue sharing their feedback throughout the planning process.

Benicia will conduct two identical virtual public input meetings to gather feedback from residents. These meetings, which will be open to the public, seek to engage the Benicia community to obtain their input through live polling, Q&A, and public comments. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, April 28 and again on Thursday, April 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. Those who are unable to attend a virtual public meetings may view the recordings of the meetings at LoveBeniciaParks.com and share their feedback later.

Additionally, there will be follow up meetings later in the year to present the findings from the study and gather additional input from the community.