The state of California has determined to keep playgrounds open during the Regional Stay-at-Home Order. Santa Barbara County and the City of Goleta are aligning with this decision. The City’s playgrounds, skate park, and fitness stations reopened on October 9 after being closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We know the community has enjoyed having these outdoor recreational opportunities available to them, and we are pleased that we can continue to keep them open.
It is important that everyone using the facilities follows COVID-19 safety guidelines. Please watch our short video to learn more. The video is also available in Spanish here.
The park facility guidelines put in place in October remain the same:
- Everyone two years old and older must wear a face covering that goes over their mouth and nose.
- Maintain physical distance of six feet between individuals from different households and prevent crowding of children.
- Do not use the playground, skate park, or fitness stations when different households are unable to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet on play structures, swings, and other playground equipment.
- No food or drink are permitted on the playground, skate park, or fitness stations.
- Wash or sanitize your hands before and after your visit.
- Visit a playground at different times or days to avoid crowds and waits (peak hours tend to be weekday afternoons and weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
- To avoid crowding and allow everyone to use this space, please limit your visit to 30 minutes when others are waiting.
- Elderly individuals and people with underlying medical conditions should avoid playgrounds when others are present.
- Organized group activities that include people outside of your household are not permitted and should not use the playground.
- Users of the skate park at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park must comply with all of the new guidelines and the safety guidelines that were in affect prior to COVID-19, which include wearing a helmet and safety pads.
- Park facilities (playgrounds, skate park, fitness stations) are open during regular park hours: 8:00 a.m. to sunset, seven days a week.
The City’s outdoor recreation facilities will not be supervised, so we are relying on the community to abide by the guidelines above.
Your safety is important to us. Playgrounds and fitness stations will be cleaned three times per week. Please make sure every member of your group washes their hands or uses hand sanitizer before and after each playground visit since it is not possible to clean all playgrounds surfaced between each user. In addition to bringing face coverings with you, it is a good idea to bring hand sanitizer and/or disinfecting wipes.
Thank you for complying with these guidelines in order to keep the facilities open. For questions, please contact Parks & Recreation Manager JoAnne Plummer at jplummer@cityofgoleta.org or (805) 562-5505
Pictured: Playground and skate park at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park in Old Town Goleta
Karis Clinton, MLA, was reappointed to the Design Review Board (DRB). She has extensive landscape architecture training and experience in land stewardship, project management, event organization, master planning, permitting, landscape design, and art. Karis is working to create a sustainable local “green” economy based on watershed protection, renewal and ecological restoration. She teaches part time at Allen Hancock College to develop a network to train workers, fund projects, and create green jobs through healthy collaborations. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Santa Ynez Valley Botanical Gardens and is involved with revitalizing the ancient art of outdoor education.
Martha Degasis joins the DRB as a new member. She has been employed with Arcadia Studio (formerly Cunningham Design) since 1985. As Senior Associate of the firm, she has been involved in a broad range of landscape architectural projects, varying from site planning studies to commercial and residential design. Her areas of specialization include the design of children’s play areas, in both public and private settings, housing for the elderly and handicapped, multi-family housing, and horticultural research and implementation. During her tenure with the firm, she has participated in design and preparation of construction documentation of over thirty projects for the City of Santa Barbara, including acting as lead designer for the four-phase State Street Sidewalk Replacement project.
Jonathan Eymann is another new member of the DRB. He is a native Californian, born and raised in Palo Alto. He moved to Goleta to attend UCSB where he met his future wife. Their three sons and six grandchildren still live in the area. For a number of years they were privileged to own and live in the historic Joseph Sexton House, which they were able to have designated as a County Historical Landmark in order to preserve part of our local history for future generations to enjoy. Both Jonathan and his wife are ordained ministers and they have been pastoring a non-denomination Christian church in Goleta for 48 years. In addition, Jonathan is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Antioch University in the graduate program in Clinical Psychology. He served the community as a therapist in the County Mental Health division for 13 years.
Gregg Hart, not to be mistaken for the current Santa Barbara County Supervisor, has been the owner/operator of Hart Computer Consulting for over 20 years. He is new to the Design and Review Board, and prior he served as Commissioner and as Chair from 2013-2019 of the inaugural Goleta Parks and Recreation Commission. His first contribution in governance was as a two-term member of the Circle of Trustees for the Santa Barbara Charter School & Home Based Partnership. Civically minded, he has volunteered for wide range of organizations and activities. Currently he is a regular volunteer at the SB Foodbank.
Craig Shallanberger was reappointed to the Design Review Board and is a licensed Architect and General Building Contractor. He has a 27-year career in the construction and design industry, having designed and built a multitude of different types of projects, including: health care, assisted living, schools, dining facilities, mixed-use multifamily, and single family detached homes. Craig holds a degree in Construction Management from Chico State University, Chico. His involvement with the Design Review Board stems from a desire to serve the community he loves.
Ed Holdren has been involved with recreational and fundraising endeavors in Goleta and Santa Barbara for over 50 years and graduated from San Marcos High School and UCSB. He is new to the Parks and Recreation Commission but has served on the Board of Directors for the Page Youth Center, Goleta South Little League, Santa Barbara Youth Football League, Downtown Santa Barbara Organization, Goleta Valley Community Center, and Goleta Youth Basketball Association. He also served as executive Director of the Page Youth Center for 12 years and has coached in a number of youth sports activities, including at San Marcos high School.
Jonika Ronkainen is the Parks and Recreation’s new Student Commissioner. She is a senior at Dos Pueblos High School where she is president of the Sunrise Climate Action Club and a captain for the varsity Mock Trial team. She also graduated from the City’s first LEAD (Learn, Empower, Advocate, Discuss) Goleta Community Academy in July 2019. Growing up in Goleta, Jonika has spent much of her time in the city’s parks, running around the many playgrounds as a child and playing volleyball with friends, and now walking her dog and hosting occasional socially distanced book clubs. As a member of the commission, Jonika wishes to be “a representative for her peers in communicating their concerns and sharing the student perspective.” 
Patricia Kistler has been reappointed by the Goleta City Council as the Goleta representative to the Santa Barbara County Library Advisory Committee. She has served in this capacity for the past four years. As a member of Rotary, she grant funded and started up two free lending libraries in the country of Panama, and currently works with the staff of both to keep them running smoothly. Kistler has a strong work history in community and business outreach in addition to governmental relations, marketing and public administration for the Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, the Ventura County Community College and Santa Barbara Community College Districts, plus the Cities of Santa Barbara and Anaheim. She has owned a consulting business in the governmental and public relations field for the past 20 years, following retirement from public service.
