Arts & Culture Committee, July 15, 2025

Art Park

I shared that I reported on the Arts park project with Park Board. The board members are supportive and excited about the project, and they definitely have the bigger picture in mind. They want to make sure this park is integrated into the citywide master plan for the parks, and they want to know what’s taking so long getting that master plan done. We’ve been talking about it for over a year.

Eric, the city manager, reported that he and Joe, the city Finance Director, met with Char Pelfrey. He explained to her that while the city isn’t in position NOW to fund the art park, it can be in a couple of years, because some bonds are coming due.

Eric also explained that talking about the park master plan is always the preamble to getting it done.

We as a committee discussed how to phase out projects and when you have to do a full chunk at a time (you can add a road when doing multi-use paths, but you should do all the grading at the same time).

Mayor Nelson requested that staff move forward writing an RFP for the Gould Park project and asked if it could happen by the next meeting. Staff said no, but perhaps in 2 months.

Heritage Oak Park

Diana requested a plan for a phased approach to Heritage Oak because the current rough estimate to complete all upgrades is $24 million. We can’t do it all at once, but Eric said we can peel off portions for engineering to work on.

We also discussed making changes from Heritage’s master plan (like adding restrooms near the soccer fields, rather than in the center, and putting the new multi-use path, both of which could be done next year.) We also discussed adding a restroom trailer near the tennis courts and baseball fields this summer. This should go in the next month or two.

The committee discussed the placement of an outdoor amphitheater. Multiple places have been identified over the last several years, and we agreed that we need to hold off and see what recommendations and ideas come from the Mason mile project plan, which releases in August.

Mason Symphony Orchestra

We received an update that the orchestra has shared their 2026 and 2027 budget proposals with the city, and they have some very exciting plans in the works, including the Violins of Hope.