The City of Dixon Parks & Recreation Commission convened for its regular meeting at 7 p.m. July 22 in the Council Chambers, 600 E. A St. the meeting, primarily involved leadership elections and infrastructure planning. The next regular commission meeting will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 in the City Hall council chambers, 600 E. A St. Photo by Nicolas Brown

DIXON, CA (MPG) - The City of Dixon Parks & Recreation Commission convened for its regular meeting at 7 p.m. July 22 in the council chambers, covering a broad range of items, primarily leadership elections and infrastructure planning.

The meeting opened with introductions of newly appointed commissioners, led by Public Works director Louren Kotow. Kotow introduced four new commissioners: Mary Taylor, Shannon Ripple, Kyle Esquer and student representative Tyler Collins.

“I just want to say, I have been involved with the city, specifically the pool, for most of my life, so it is really cool that I get to be a part of changing stuff around here,” said Collins.

Following this, Economic Development manager and public information officer Madeline Graf presented updates to the city's parks website and revised park maps aimed at improving public access to recreation information.

As part of its annual organizational tasks, the Parks & Recreation Commission elected its leadership for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Public Works Administrative Clerk Linda Babb led a presentation to discuss the annual election. The chair position was vacated earlier this year when former Chair Commissioner Angelic Villalpando moved out of city limits. Commissioner Charles King, who had been serving as vice chair, assumed the chair role in the interim. 

Without a current chair, Vice-Chair Ronald Butts filled in regarding the election. Commissioner DeAnna Cabrera was nominated and unanimously elected as the acting vice-chair. Butts was also nominated and unanimously voted in as the acting chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Recreation manager Austin George presented a proposal for relocating a bike rack previously displaced by a ping pong table installation at Bowen Park in the Homestead Development. Several potential new locations were identified based on foot traffic, ease of installation and minimal disruption.

A PowerPoint at the meeting outlined the recommended sites, including Jim B. Stevens Arena, the Senior/Multi-use Center and three options near Hall Park BBQ area II. The Parks & Recreation Commission was tasked with making a final recommendation. According to George, Jim B. Stevens Arena will most likely be the location with the most bike traffic.

“Yup, lots of bike traffic. You see bikes out there lying in the grass all the time,” said George.

Public Works staff provided updates on park maintenance and recreation activities.

Recreation manager George first discusses changes implemented at Pat Grannucci Aquatic Center, 450 E. Mayes St., including color coding swim lesson classes, the check-in process in the pool’s office and additional swim lesson training for staff. These adjustments have created more ease of use for both citizens and officials, according to George. The fall pool schedule has also been released.

Kotow led the park maintenance and improvements discussion. She primarily elaborated on the City of Dixon’s joint-use agreement with the Dixon Unified School District. No public comment was received during the non-agenda item portion of the meeting.

“It’s an attempt to make the best of facilities that we have in this city,” said Kotow. “So, city-owned facilities can be used by the school district and school district facilities can be used by the city under certain terms.”

The Parks & Recreation Commission unanimously approved the June 24 meeting minutes, during which outgoing Commissioner Kimberly Moses was recognized and a donated memorial bench was approved for the recently-named Officer Matthew Bowen Memorial Park. Commission members also voted to recommend that the City Council officially proclaim July as Parks and Recreation Month.

The meeting concluded with the announcement that the next regular commission meeting will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 in the City Hall council chambers, 600 E. A St.

For more information on upcoming projects and community events, visit cityofdixonca.gov or call 707-678-7000.