While July is coming to an end, and with it local Recreation and Parks Month celebrations, Recreation Services Manager Dennis Smitherman encourages residents to use Santa Maria’s parks and take advantage of its recreation and parks programming.
“Recreation and parks have such a huge impact on the community,” Smitherman said. “The first is [socializing] and community building—you’re going to find like-minded people who like similar activities, there’s lots of opportunities to give back through volunteering and other programming.”
As the city grows, parks become more like people’s backyards—from finding a shady tree and reading a good book to gathering to celebrate a birthday party, people will find the parks packed on a weekend in the summer, he said.
“Los Flores Ranch Park is a gem to our community. It’s out of the way but worth the 10-minute drive to get there, it offers archery, guided nature hikes, bird hikes, geocaching, and so much more,” Smitherman said. “It’s something we wish the community would know more about—it’s just outside the city and provides a whole new ecosystem from what we experience in our everyday life. And getting out in nature is just great for the mind and body.”
On the recreation side, the department offers programming and classes for all ages, with children, teen, adult, and senior programming and classes for free or at low costs to residents.
Programming for “active-aging adults” 55 and older takes place at the Elwin Mussell Senior Center throughout the week, with Zumba and yoga classes, movie nights, retro dance parties, puzzle exchanges, indoor pickleball classes, a mah-jongg tournament, and a free lunch program for ages 60 and older.
Eventually, the Recreation and Parks Department wants to expand its hours to later in the evening to provide more opportunities for adults in the community, he added.
“We’re getting a lot of interest in exercise classes for adults. … Not only exercise, but adult art classes, dance classes, which is pretty normal for recreation and parks,” Smitherman said. “It’s one of the areas the community has had a strong interest in and shared with us. We’re going to continue growing those programs as long as there’s interest.”
With the city looking at a $21 million shortfall, it’s possible that the Recreation and Parks Department might have to limit its services or raise fees, he said.
“We here at the department level are looking at options and what we can do to minimize the deficit. I don’t know what we could do through this deficit without some sort of impact,” Smitherman said.
The Recreation and Parks Department isn’t alone. Citywide, departments are looking at how the shortfall will impact their services and presenting that to the City Council at some point in the future.
“We’re hoping we can maintain it at its current level,” Smitherman said. “We are hoping to work with partner agencies to fill those gaps if they do come up.”
Visit cityofsantamaria.org to find a complete list of the Recreation and Parks Department services and upcoming events.
Highlights
• Lompoc Parks and Recreation recently shared the results of its annual skateboard competition. The July 13 event at the Lompoc Skate Park was open to skaters ages 7 and older, and was co-sponsored by Surf Connection. Six participated in the mastery category, for ages 19 and older, and one each in the age 13 to 15 category and the 16 to 18 category. Severin Tejada won first place in the 13 to 15 category and Jason Mance in 16 to 18. Jason Smith from Oxnard won first place in the masters category, with Sam Badey tied with Lawerence Daniel.
• The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with SoCalGas announced an initiative aimed at incentivizing contractors to install energy efficient gas furnaces and tankless water heaters across Santa Barbara and SLO counties. The Contractor Collaborative Platform (CCP) will provide participating contractors with direct bonuses for qualifying installations. Under the CCP program, contractors who install Energy Star certified central natural gas furnaces can receive a $200 bonus per unit. Additionally, a $150 bonus is available for each qualifying high efficiency or Energy Star certified natural gas tankless water heater installed. These bonuses are part of SoCalGas’ commitment to promoting energy efficiency and sustainability in residential and commercial properties within its service area. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce will host a webinar on July 30 at 9 a.m. featuring insights from Adrian Molina, project manager II with SoCalGas, and Jesse Ander from Affinity Engineering, who will guide contractors through the process of participating in the CCP program. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce works with SoCalGas under the Public Sector Regional Energy Pathways program.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at [email protected].
