Did you know that some of Calaveras County’s most important public parks are not being included in the planning/budgeting process by the County as it develops its first ever Parks & Recreation Master Plan? 

Feeney Park in Murphys, White Pines Park in Arnold, and other similar parks that have served our community for decades, and where our kids play youth sports, have not been included in the planning/budgeting process as the County develops its first ever Master Plan for Parks and Recreation.

LET’S TELL CALAVERAS COUNTY OFFICIALS THAT WE WANT THESE PARKS INCLUDED IN THEIR PLANNING AND BUDGETING PROCESS FOR PARKS & RECREATION.  Learn more…

THE ISSUE

Important community parks like Feeney and White Pines are “privately owned” PUBLIC PARKS (see “history” below for why) run by 501(c)(3) non-profit foundations and their unpaid volunteer boards. Calaveras County is currently looking at the Parks & Rec Master Plan from a myopic ‘land ownership’ perspective, rather than a ‘serving resident taxpayers’ perspective… in that we’ve heard time and again, Feeney and White Pines aren’t “owned” by the County so they are not part of the County’s planning equation. That perspective feels rather short sided, don’t you think?

THE HISTORY

To appreciate why the County's view of these important public parks feels short sided, one needs to understand how parks like Feeney and White Pines came about in the first place…

When the County had no Parks and Rec Department, and no money to build new parks or sports fields to serve our growing population, the great citizens of Calaveras County got together and organized the planning, fundraising, land procurement, building, maintenance, and operation of so-called “private parks” that are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and serve the various sports and recreational needs of our residents. These parks are only “private” because the County doesn’t own the land or operate the parks — but they are parks that are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and used daily by our residents. In short, our community saw a pressing need and organized a monumental grass-roots volunteer effort to fulfill that need… at a time when the County couldn’t/wouldn’t.

The citizens of Calaveras County, on their own volition, filled a void that the County had neglected for decades, and now our most important parks aren’t being included in the County’s planning/funding for the coming decades of Calaveras County Parks & Recreation? How does that make sense? How does that serve the needs of our residents?

THE CHALLENGE OF OPERATING THESE PARKS WITHOUT PUBLIC FUNDING

Parks like Feeney and White Pines are struggling to make ends meet as aging infrastructure is failing and must be replaced, and operational costs have skyrocketed as of late, not to mention the need to build new and updated sports and recreation facilities. In short, these important parks are in dire need of funding, or they will continue to suffer, or worse, close, when private donations and the occasional State grant fail to pay the bills.

THE SOLUTION

But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way… There exist many successful examples of public-private partnerships designed to service the needs of taxpayers. For example, the County could include these parks in their Master Plan by pursuing long term use and maintenance agreements with the volunteer non-profit organizations that run the parks. These contracts would allow for civic funding of critical infrastructure improvements and ongoing maintenance that is desperately needed at our parks, and would result in a win-win arrangement for the County and the tax-paying residents who utilize these parks. Likewise, the County could negotiate the purchase of park land for a nominal amount, and enter into a funding agreement with the volunteer organizations to continue operating the parks (such is the case with Murphys Community Park which is on County-owned land, but is operated by the Murphys Community Club, a non-profit volunteer organization, under contract with the County).

ACT NOW — SIGN THIS PETITION IF YOU WANT CALAVERAS COUNTY TO INCLUDE PRIVATELY OWNED PUBLIC PARKS IN THE CALAVERAS COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN (WE DON’T NEED MORE DONATIONS FOR THIS PETITION — PLEASE JUST SHARE IT LOCALLY & DONATE DIRECTLY TO THE PARK AT https://www.feeneypark.org/

As the County works towards developing its Master Plan, we encourage you to get involved and make your voice heard (sign this petition and attend the public comment meetings). While we wholeheartedly appreciate that the County is finally addressing parks and recreation, we desperately need funding for the parks that already serve our community, whether those parks are owned/run by a non-profit foundation, or they are on County land. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t matter who “owns” the land… what really matters is HOW OUR CITIZENS ARE SERVED by this local government initiative.

MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD — SIGN THE PETITION NOW

THANKS TO THOSE WHO ALREADY DONATED, WE DON’T NEED MORE DONATIONS FOR THIS PETITION — PLEASE JUST SHARE IT LOCALLY WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY BY POSTING THE LINK TO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DONATE DIRECTLY TO THE PARK AT https://www.feeneypark.org/  — THANK YOU!

 

 

 

 

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WHITE PINES PARK IN ARNOLD, CALIFORNIA