DOWNEY – City of Downey Parks and Recreation officials held a Community Engagement Workshop on Wednesday evening as a part of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation Countywide Comprehensive Park Needs Assessment.

The meeting was held at the TLC Resource Center located at Lewis Elementary School.

The workshop was used as an opportunity for members to voice how they would want any available funding spent towards all of the community’s parks. At this time, however, there is no guarantee that any such funding will occur, and none of the discussed projects were promised. 

During the meeting, Parks and Rec officials unveiled the results of LA County reports from official county observations. From this data, the county was able to recommend certain projects to be considered to help enhance the city’s parks. Community members at the workshop could then add to the list of ideas, and eventually voted on what they felt they would most like to see added or enhanced.

Some of the county’s suggestions included the replacement or repair of restrooms in all parks, replacement of irrigation and turf at parks with open / lawn turf, and the construction of a new park in the area of “very high need” north of State Route 42 between Paramount and State Route 19.

Community members added several ideas, including the addition of community centers, bike amenities, sports facilities such as fields, courts and batting cages, and shading stations. Some of the more popular ideas included a community pool, the addition or replacement of water fountains, a nature center, and a multipurpose facility.

Of all the ideas voted on at the workshop, the top 10 will be compiled into a prioritized list to be considered should any funding become available.

A joint meeting with the Planning Commission and Recreation and Community Services Commission is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18. A final report will be submitted to the County Board of Supervisors in May of this year.