The Issues are not earth-shattering...they are opportunities. Let's do this!

The California State Parks Program (SPP) community-based planning process produces unexpected benefits. Conducting in-person meetings with a broad representation of residents creates a sense of place. By giving communities a voice in park design, there is a synergy that develops leading to building community capacity.

State Parks emphasized how park development projects improve the physical environment of communities. During conversations with SPP applicants throughout California, an interesting and unexpected statewide pattern about this process began to emerge, requirements for community involvement. 

The applications are ranked against plans from other communities in the state, through a point based system, of pre-determined criteria. Community Participation is heavily weighted in the point structure, in some instances up to 50% of the total criteria points are dedicated to community efforts. This come-together attitude produces excellence in final plans, plus helps the community's park improvements stay current, contemporary, and meet all new and emerging laws and building codes. But more important, without true community participation, we will not be competitive, and we risk not receiving outside grant money.

Working together, Rossmoor is positioned to access the abundant revenues, (beyond bonds and property taxation), but rather first positioning ourselves to compete for government funding that is available through grants and partnerships. 

By designing a park, SPP community-based planning also builds "social capital!"

As defined by Oxford Dictionary, "Social Capital" means:

"The networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively."

Designing a park is a catalyst that brings residents, local agencies, and community organizations together to serve their community. When residents work together to transform an area into a vibrant park, it becomes a symbol of community pride and a health-supportive environment. Incidentally, the health of a community is often measured using criteria that make up something called the "Social Determinants of Health" (SDOH) - Healthy community and social spaces is one of the listed criteria. SDOH can be measured, but it is us and our actions getting measured, indicating that we are getting healthier!  We can always do better!

 When residents work together to guide a park vision, the district can phase improvements in an orderly, affordable manner. Before the district can seek additional funding, there needs to be a plan - something that answers the question of why the money is needed.  For the district to implement park improvements, it must have clear direction for the things the community wants and needs, before seeking or allocating money, or haphazardly building things. This direction MUST come from the community, as they are also significant stakeholders towards improving our community assets.  

Examples of this community support and participation are  the pieces of public art that remain from campaigns - initiatives to fund community improvements  -   The 2013 $50,000 Front Porch Project (raised $50,000 which was half of what was needed to improve the entrance to the Rossmoor/Los Alamitos library) is one of them. The children's drawings, memorialized in painted tiles that adorn the playground at Rush Park, another,  represents half of the money raised, to replace play structures at Rush Park in 2014, was the funding that provided much needed (and legally required) safety upgrades, as the match funding with a playground manufacturer providing the other half.

For those who donated, as well as those who volunteered to raise the funds, a tangible sense of pride in who we are when we come together, is forever memorialized. Rossmoor families are known for the personal investments made towards having a great quality-of-life, and we have always celebrated with great pride, the lives we lead. Let's harness this community spirit even more, and be exemplary beacons by working together on life's next chapters.