Imagine The Bastille as a teen center. Picture more walking trails meandering across the city and bike lanes connecting city parks. Or dream of a low-cost day trip to Yosemite, paintball and rock climbing classes in town. And more arts and culture programs seniors can enjoy.

If city leaders buy into them, these ideas could all become a reality in 10 years.

These are among numerous recommendations to improve Hanford's parks and recreation offerings announced Wednesday night by a consultant hired by the city recreation department to draw up a 10-year master plan.

At Wednesday's city meeting, Karen Ryan, senior associate with Denver-based Norris Design, said one common theme that emerged through community input is that people want programs that meet their diverse interests and needs, particularly for youth.

"Kids are not a homogeneous group. They like sports, swimming, skateboarding as well as non-traditional things like rock climbing, water polo and Wii. so proving a diversity of programs is important," Ryan told the audience who had come to the Civic Auditorium for the presentation.

One of the recommendations that raised the eyebrows of the audience was relocation of the teen center to The Bastille or other empty buildings in the city, such as the old fire house or the old Walmart building.

Lambert Sikkema, who was among a dozen residents who showed up to the meeting, voiced his support for the idea.

"I really urge the city to look at The Bastille as a potential teen activity center, coffee shop, mentoring center. I think that would be a tremendous benefit to the city, and it would get a lot of use," Sikkema said.

Dave Jones, executive director of the Hanford Visitor Agency, agreed and argued such a use may even make more economic sense.

"When we have a bar in The Bastille, it eats up about $1,500 worth of public safety cost just sending officers out there on the weekend," Jones said. "We should keep in mind that the rent is nice to get on The Bastille, but if you can divert the police activity in that area, the city would save about $1,500 a month."

The 150-page draft document unveiled this week is the culmination of an eight-month process involving public input and methodical analyses that evaluated the city's existing facilities and programs and assessed the community's needs and wants. The document aims to help the city shape an updated vision of park and recreation goals and action plans.

Ryan praised the city's efficiency in running the service with smaller-than-normal budget and staffing and said the strength of the city is its status of a "regional hub" But there are weaknesses to point out, she said.

Many of the city's aging recreational facilities are lagging behind in meeting the demand of the rapidly growing diverse community of young families and baby boomers who are increasingly active, Ryan said.

For example, the city falls short on the offering of tennis facilities, trail systems, playgrounds and picnic pavilions based on the National Recreation and Park Association's service level standards, Ryan said.

The existing 9,000-square-foot skatepark is also significantly small, Ryan said. A 20,000-square-foot skatepark is average for communities of comparable size elsewhere in the county, she said.

The issue of perceived inequity in the upkeep of facilities and accessibility to services experienced by the south side was pointed out by Ryan as well as members of the audience.

Bernard Benson, who lives in north Hanford, was concerned about the state of Coe Park, which is on the poor south side.

"When my family decides to go on a picnic on any given weekend, would you choose Coe Park as one of your choices? That should be an indication for people responsible for making sure Hanford in general is kept up nicely that you can't have an eyesore over here and a great park over there and consider the recreation in this town a success," Benson said.

The city has in recent years replaced playground equipment and built a new activity building at the park.

City Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jesse Aragon said the city does invest in each of its parks as funds become available and it sometimes may mean one park might have to wait a year or two before getting improvements.

Still, Benson said Hidden Park gets more than Coe Park does. "I enroll my kids in the summer program and they walk from here to Coe Park. My kids say they don't want to go to Coe Park anymore because there's no trees, no shade ... When you listen to your children, you as a parent become concerned."

Peggy Silva, president of the Hanford Youth Softball League, requested better availability of ballparks in the city.

"We don't have any designated facilities for youth softball. The complex on Centennial Drive is for adult slow-pitch softballs," Silva said. "We have access to it only for games. The problem is, we have 40 teams and they have nowhere to practice, except for the high schools and junior high schools."

Silva said her organization, which services 500-600 girls, is eager to help the city help pay for facilities, appealing to one of the recommendations in the master plan calling for more community partnership.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(Oct. 29, 2009)