SANTA MARIA The city of Santa Maria announced Friday afternoon that it was closing all Recreation and Parks Department facilities and postponing all recreational programming through the end of the month, effective immediately.
The city has placed signs at each facility to notify the public of the closures, which are aimed at protecting public health during the coronavirus pandemic. All after-school programs have been cancelled, as have programs at the Mussell Senior Center, Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center and Paul Nelson Aquatic Center. City parks will remain open for individual use only (no group rentals or organized activities are permitted) and the city has enacted the six-foot social distancing guidelines directed by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, according to officials.
Los Flores Ranch Park will also cancel all group programs and trail work activities, though the park will remain open for individual hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use during regular hours, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.
All Santa Maria Public libraries remain open, but all programs have been cancelled through March. Transit services remain in normal service and extra sanitizing measures have been taken for city busses and the temporary transit center.
— Mitchell White
