Christine Brainerd

The City of Folsom's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 prioritizes Economic and Community Development, specifically Goal C, which aims to leverage existing amenities to enrich the community and create future opportunities. A key initiative under this goal is to develop a funding and sponsorship plan for the Johnny Cash art trail to boost tourism. The plan details the integration of art experiences, such as the 'Hello, I'm Johnny Cash' sculpture, as a means to achieve these broader economic and community development objectives.

The Benevento Family Park Master Plan Update outlines a vision to create a balanced, multi-generational community park for both neighborhood residents and the broader Folsom community. The plan addresses identified recreation needs and service gaps, aiming to enhance access, equity, health, and community connection. It balances community recreation needs, neighborhood compatibility, operational sustainability, and fiscal responsibility, considering different design concepts and incorporating extensive community feedback to finalize the park's layout and amenities.

The document provides an update on the Benevento Family Park Master Plan, presenting two distinct design approaches for its future development. It reviews project budget, fiscal constraints, and details amenities, community outreach efforts, and cost estimates for both the Preferred 2025 Master Plan and a Community-Amended version of the 2022 Final Schematic Design. The update aims to facilitate public preference voting to determine the final park design, balancing active and passive amenities, and considering single-phase construction versus phased implementation, with the goal of delivering a complete and functional park.

This document outlines the Folsom Park Development Design Principles, which aim to ensure parks are programmed, planned, and designed to effectively serve the recreational needs of residents by providing a balanced mix of active and passive amenities. The principles define different park types (Local, Neighborhood, Community, Special Use) with specific design criteria, shifting programmed active sports amenities to Community Parks while emphasizing neighborhood-based amenities. The plan advocates for community engagement, fiscal responsibility, and adaptability to evolving recreational trends, ultimately providing consistent standards for park development.

The meeting featured a presentation of the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 annual report from the Folsom Tourism Bureau, detailing visitor spending, which exceeded $38 million in accommodations for 2024, and highlighting a 1.7% increase in spending compared to the previous year. The presentation also covered visitor impact statistics, including visitor volume and direct local tax receipts generated by visitor spending. The marketing department discussed strategies focused on positioning Folsom as a destination, noting significant growth in digital reach, website traffic, and driving direct bookings through initiatives like bundled hotel packages around marquee events. Future initiatives mentioned included creating itineraries based on Folsom as a base camp for Gold Country Adventure, supporting the NorCal Film Festival, and updating guides for visitors.