Critical Issue: Parks and Recreation

By Gordon Hensley

Providing parks and recreation opportunities is a core value for the CSD, but we must have funding to meet the need.

The solutions to all of these pressing issues will impact our pocket books. So the hard questions we face are how do we pay for what we want and where do we place recreation on an already expensive list of community needs. Our last experiment gives some indication that our citizens are already overburdened. In 2000, the CSD invested community funds to provide a temporary skate park. The grand opening for the skate park was July 2000 and we ran it until June 2001. During that time we spent the $18,000 on liability insurance, materials and labor. While about 10 dedicated volunteers helped out during construction, low use of the facility and no volunteer supervision, made continued expenditure of community tax dollars infeasible and we turned the park over to the County.

I have lead more than 30 Junior High and Senior High summer camps and many winter camps as well. I understand the energy of our youth and value quality recreational opportunities. I look forward in anticipation to the County Parks plan for an $800,000.00 remodel to our community park # including a professionally designed skate area, additional tennis courts, and expanded play and turf areas. I support CSD sponsored community recreation, but until Los Osos taxpayers approve a revenue stream through a required proposition 218 vote or other creative partnerships are available to pay for it, I believe it is in the best interest of the community for the CSD to insist that the County continue to step up to their responsibilities and allocate monies for parks in Los Osos.