Moorpark's Parks and Recreation Commission will walk through five city parks Tuesday, Oct. 20, touring and discussing conditions as the city weighs how to close a multimillion-dollar maintenance funding gap.

The special meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. at Moorpark City Hall, 323 Science Drive, in the Century Conference Room, according to the meeting agenda. Commissioners and staff will then visit the parks on this schedule:

  • Tierra Rejada Park — 3:45 p.m.
  • Poindexter Park — 4:15 p.m.
  • Community Center Park — 4:30 p.m.
  • Magnolia Park — 4:45 p.m.
  • Campus Canyon Park — 5:00 p.m.

All times are estimates, the agenda states. After the tour, the commission will reconvene at City Hall to continue its meeting.

The tour is the second time this year the commission has physically visited Moorpark parks. A March 28 special meeting covered a different set of five: Arroyo Vista Community Park, Mountain Meadows Park, Miller Park, Mammoth Highlands Park and Glenwood Park.

The visits come as the city grapples with a widening parks budget shortfall. The Moorpark Acorn reported that the Moorpark City Council unanimously voted May 20 to direct staff to prepare an engineer's report that could lead to a property-owner ballot measure on parks maintenance funding. The action authorized a technical study under Proposition 218 but did not approve a tax, set rates or place a measure on the ballot.

According to the Acorn's report, the city's 1999 parks assessment, which started at $39 per household equivalent and increases up to 3% annually, now covers less than half of total maintenance costs. For fiscal year 2026-27, parks maintenance and equipment replacement costs are projected at about $2.9 million, while the assessment is expected to generate about $1.07 million. The General Fund covers the roughly $1.8 million difference.

Parks and Recreation Director Jeremy Laurentowski put the stakes bluntly in the Acorn's report on the May 20 vote: "We're honestly talking about closing parks … You can't cut $1.2 million out of 18 parks and expect them to function."

Residents can address the commission during the public comment portion of the Oct. 20 meeting. Speaker cards must be submitted to the clerk before the relevant agenda item. A three-minute limit applies to each speaker, and questions about the agenda can be directed to the commission secretary at (805) 517-6227.