By Zach Friend, County Supervisor 2nd District
In early May absentee ballots will be sent out for a number of important races and issues on the June ballot. One of the measures on the ballot that has a direct impact on the quality of life in Aptos is Measure F, a funding measure regarding County parks. I will explain more about that ballot measure later in this column but wanted to begin by giving you an overview of what has been happening for parks in the Aptos area.
In the last few years, funding for county parks has taken a significant hit. Department staff was reduced and deferred maintenance has increased. However, parks staff have worked hard with our office and the Board of Supervisors to ensure baseline priorities continue to be met. This includes basic maintenance of parks (trash cleanup, weed abatement) and repairs to broken equipment. In addition to that, I’ve worked with Parks staff to prioritize a few things within our district: 1) funding for the construction of permanent restrooms at the Polo Grounds Park and 2) the development of a long-awaited new park on McGregor and Searidge in Seacliff.
Pinto Lake Park
Over the last year our office has manage to secure nearly half of the funding necessary to begin construction of permanent restrooms at the Polo Grounds. In addition, we’ve made significant progress toward groundbreaking on the long-awaited park in Seacliff. County Parks staff has been working on additional grant funding in conjunction with funding that the Board of Supervisors has set aside. It is expected that groundbreaking could occur as soon as late summer on the park. In addition, members of the Seacliff Improvement Association and area residents have been working with County Parks staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission on possible names for the park. Overall, we are closer to a new park in Seacliff than we have been for a decade.
But the long-term stability of funding for County Parks continues to be in question. In order to ensure a more stable funding structure the Board of Supervisors and the local has taken a two-pronged approach.
The first approach has been working with non-profits, community groups and the business community on funding opportunities.
Pinto Lake
This in part led to the revitalization of the Friends of Santa Cruz County Parks (run by Aptos resident and my County Parks Commission appointee Kate Minott). The Friends has been working with County Parks staff to help with funding for permanent restrooms, facility upgrades and youth programs. While they have just begun, they do have some leads on local funding opportunities that may help with projects in local parks. It is an inconsistent funding stream but is clearly an essential element moving forward.
The second approach has been on replacing existing funding set to expire. On this year’s June ballot will be Measure F, an $8.50/per parcel assessment for most parks within the unincorporated area. It replaces a current (and set to expire) $6.58/per parcel tax. The measure will bring in over $350,000 per year in stable funding to address garbage pickup, restroom maintenance, construction, and the basic repair of play and picnic areas. The proceeds of the special tax, if approved, may be used only for providing, maintaining and preserving County parks and open space and operating recreation and cultural programs. In addition, to ensure accountability of the funds the County would create a separate account into which the proceeds of the special tax are deposited. This funding amount doesn’t address all of our parks concerns by any means but it does help close the remaining gap for the Polo Grounds restrooms and other Aptos parks improvements in the coming years.
After years of deferred maintenance and funding declines I’m hopeful that some of the proposed funding will bring much needed improvements for Aptos parks. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to call at 454-2200.
Photos Credit: Noel Smith