MAYOR’S LETTER: CERRITOS KEEPS PARKS VIBRANT AND UPDATED

BY CERRITOS MAYOR MARK E. PULIDO

Ever since I was a child growing up in Cerritos in the 1970s, I have loved and appreciated our City parks and recreation facilities. 

Today as your Mayor, I am a proud champion of our City parks and recreation facilities, and the important role that they play in shaping the active and healthy lifestyles of our youth and community. 

Throughout the years, the City of Cerritos has taken great measures to keep its many parks and recreation facilities as vibrant and updated as possible. 

I am proud to say that to this day, my children are able to enjoy the same quality of beautiful and modern parks that I experienced when I was a kid.

The City is committed to providing residents with the best recreation opportunities possible. 

Approximately 1,650,000 people are served by the City’s parks/programs every year. Cerritos has 25 parks and recreation facilities, including neighborhood parks, community centers, the Cerritos Swim & Fitness Center, the Cerritos Iron Wood-9 Golf Course and the Cerritos Sports Complex. 

The gymnasiums at Cerritos and Whitney High Schools offer two additional facilities for recreation. 

Here are some interesting facts that demonstrate how much our City parks and facilities are used each year:

• The Cerritos Olympic Swim and Fitness Center serves more than 320,000 patrons each year.

• Approximately 35,900 rounds of golf are played each year at Iron-Wood Nine Golf Course.

• More than 43,000 buckets of balls are used each year at Iron-Wood Nine Golf Course.

• The Heritage Park Play Island sees nearly 57,000 visitors each year.

• More than 10,000 volunteer hours are logged each year to support Recreation programs.

• Approximately 64,700 people attended an indoor reservation at one of the City’s parks in the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year.

• Nearly 71,000 people attended an event at one of the City’s picnic shelters in the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year.

• Approximately 59,900 people attended a Recreation special event in the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year.

Several years ago, the City embarked on a mission to revitalize and upgrade all of the parks throughout the City. 

The updates include installation of new playground equipment and surfacing that adhere to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines. 

The most recent parks to be upgraded are Bettencourt, Jacob, Liberty, Brookhaven, Friendship and Loma parks. 

LOMA PARK (pictured above) along with Bettencourt, Jacob, Liberty, Brookhaven, Friendship parks are the most recent parks to be upgraded. The next park scheduled to receive new playground equipment and surfacing is Reservoir Hill Park. Photo city of Cerritos.

All of these parks now feature colorful slides and swing sets and fresh rubberized surfacing. 

They join the ranks of previously upgraded Joe A. Gonsalves Park, the Cerritos Sports Complex, Heritage Park, Saddleback Park and Frontier Park.   

Camp Liberty, Liberty Park’s walking/running track and tennis courts, and the Cerritos Park East walking/running track and ballfield also have received upgrades over the past few years. 

Heritage Park debuted its beautiful new open space Vista area in June.

In recognition of its efforts, the City was honored in 2016 with a Congressional Award of Excellence for making City parks more accessible to people with disabilities. 

The City was also recognized for 10 consecutive years as a “Playful City USA” for providing outstanding recreation programs and facilities for children, an honor bestowed by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play. 

The next park scheduled to receive new playground equipment and surfacing is Reservoir Hill Park. 

The City also will be replacing a swing set at the Gridley Park east playground, along with installing new rubberized surfacing; the existing slides and other playground equipment are scheduled to remain in place.

The “Community Services Program” in the February, May, August and November issues of “The Cerritos News” offers a wide variety of fun parks and recreation classes for you and your family. 

The City’s website at cerritos.us also offers extensive information about fitness programs and facilities under the “Recreation” link. 

I encourage all Cerritos residents to participate in the City’s parks and recreation programs to improve their health and happiness.