The City of Victoria’s next Parks and Recreation director is a Victoria native with 17 years of experience in parks and recreation, including capital improvement projects, master planning and day-to-day operations of parks systems.
Jason Alfaro will begin as Parks and Recreation director Tuesday, May 26.
“I’m super excited to come work with the community,” Alfaro said. “I love Victoria—it’s not too large or too small, and everyone is nice and friendly.”
Alfaro will lead the effort to develop a new Parks and Recreation master plan for the City of Victoria. He has been involved in parks master planning in three cities, most recently spearheading the process in his current role as director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Jersey Village.
“Recreation was identified as a focus area under the Plan 2035 comprehensive plan, and parks are a major part of improving quality of life,” said Assistant City Manager Mike Etienne, who oversees Parks and Recreation. “Our last Parks and Recreation master plan was adopted in 2012. We think the time is right for a new master plan, and we look forward to the new director leading that initiative.”
Another of Alfaro’s key accomplishments with the City of Jersey Village was the creation of the City’s recreation department, building the organizational framework and bringing in new managers to prioritize recreation.
Alfaro oversaw the implementation of the City of Kingsville’s parks master plan when he was director of Parks and Recreation there. Prior to that, he held various roles with the City of Bastrop, starting in maintenance before being promoted to parks foreman and then superintendent of Parks and Recreation/Building Maintenance. During his time with the City of Bastrop, Alfaro participated in the development of two separate parks master plans.
“Working with a variety of municipalities has helped me to realize that everyone does things a little differently,” Alfaro said. “I’ve gotten to meet people in different cities and throughout the state during my career, and I look forward to bringing those diverse perspectives to Victoria.”
Alfaro is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional and an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist. He said one of his proudest professional accomplishments is becoming the president of the Texas chapter of the ISA.
“In urban environments, arborists work to plant and trim trees and keep them healthy, and we also provide education through youth and civic outreach,” Alfaro said. “Trees are among our state’s vital resources, and of course they play a big role in parks and recreation.”
Alfaro is also a member of the National Recreation and Park Association and the Texas Recreation and Park Society.
Alfaro comes to Victoria as Parks and Recreation staff are determining how and when to safely open facilities and provide recreation options during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 has changed the ways we live, work and play,” Alfaro said. “Even if restrictions are lifted, people still might not feel comfortable coming to social gatherings. We need to be aware of that as we’re looking at our programming and make sure to offer events that everyone can enjoy safely.”
For more information about Parks and Recreation, call 361-485-3200.
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