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San Mateo County Parks has a new interim director, following the promotion of its former head. Emma Gonzalez began leading the department on an interim basis on Jan. 5, and will hold the post while the county plans how to recruit its next permanent parks director.
The former director, Nicholas Calderon, was recently promoted to deputy county executive.
In a county press release, Gonzalez expressed excitement at working with park staff to advance capital projects scheduled for completion in 2026, including the new Flood Park playground in Menlo Park and facilities improvements at San Bruno Mountain State and County Park.
Gonzalez previously served as director of community affairs and programming under San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy. She worked on the county’s efforts in the 2020 Census, COVID-19 outreach and farmworker housing development. Gonzalez also led various initiatives in collaboration with local and state officials, community leaders and philanthropic partners, according to the press release.
“Emma brings deep experience in public service, community engagement, and cross-departmental leadership,” said County Executive Mike Callagy in a written statement. “She has a strong track record of delivering complex initiatives and building trusted partnerships, and I’m confident she will continue advancing the Parks Department’s important work in service to our communities.”
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It will be wonderful if someone steps up, who has an interest in equity for all areas of the County. The SMC Parks Department has not given much community financial support to the unincorporated MidCoast area. Rather, Flood Park got a face-lift (Reimagine Flood Park in Menlo Park) and we basically self-funded our own Pumptrack through the parks mitigation fees, donations from local groups such as GCSD, REI & and a local Bicycle Group. (In fact, after donations and our local mitigation fees, the County spent less than they took in on our Pumptrack at Quarry Park in El Granada. Other funds went to promote a PumpTrack through the Parks Foundation, for the Flood Park Pumptrack as a new feature. Further SMC Parks Funding went to develop new park south of Half Moon Bay to be named after the late Don Horsley, which still has not opened at Tunitas Creek Beach, and on building fire roads or Fire 🔥 Mitigation in Quarry Park in El Granada. As for any real Community features, there are barely any Picnic Spots, Playground equipment, baseball, soccer, basketball or soccer & other sports fields or tennis/pickleball courts on the MidCoast. Certainly no community pool, clubhouse or Community Center. Our main amenities are hiking trails for visitors as well as community members. And beaches. I look forward to the Equity that the County always promises for all, including for the Farmworkers who might enjoy a nice family picnic spot or a soccer field on the Coast at a County Park. In 2003 the Board of Supervisors undertook a study to determine the Recreation Needs Assessment for the MidCoast but instead they built the Devil’s Slude Trail along the former highway right-of-way and have done little to create any new Recreational features for the actual Unincorporated area.