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In Our view: Parks Postponed

Putting projects on hold makes sense during the lingering economic crisis

The Columbian
Published: April 24, 2011, 12:00am

Voters in Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek and other urban areas outside of city limits made a wise decision six years ago. They approved a property levy of 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and created the Greater Clark Parks District. The new revenue source ($54 annually on a $200,000 home, and about $2 million for all properties combined) is dedicated to maintenance and some construction costs of parks in the unincorporated urban areas.

That decision was especially wise because it triggered about $12 million that had accumulated for parks construction but which could not have been used because maintenance money had not been available. It was a perfect pairing — new maintenance money and old construction money — and a plan was enacted for 35 new parks and 41 sports fields.

Another wise decision was made recently by local parks officials to suspend nine projects because the funding source has become restricted by the dual tourniquets of falling assessed property values and a poor housing market.

This decision is unfortunate but understandable and certainly not surprising, what with the lingering effects of the Great Recession. Holding off on new parks does not mean voters made the wrong decision in 2005; it simply means the economy has collapsed.

Furthermore, it is to the credit of the Greater Parks District that, when construction is completed on four current projects, 26 of the 35 new parks will be finished, as will 26 of 41 sports fields. That’s an impressive accomplishment when you consider the financial catastrophe that has enveloped the nation and our community in the past few years.

The four projects under construction are the Chinook Neighborhood Park, Covington Neighborhood Park, Douglas Carter Fisher Neighborhood Park and the Luke Jensen Sports Park. The nine that will be delayed include Curtin Creek and Pleasant Valley community parks, plus neighborhood parks in the Dogwood, East Minnehaha, Kozy Kamp, Otto Brown, Salmon Creek Community Club, Sorenson and Tower Crest areas.

As discouraging as it might sound, “delayed” still sounds better than “canceled.” If and when the recovery accelerates, we all can hope that assessed property values begin to climb, funding can bounce back to earlier levels, and the delayed projects can resume.

For now, the proper strategy is reflected in this recent comment to the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission from Public Works Director Pete Capell: “Maintaining what we have now is far more important than building new (projects).”

Public officials are not the only ones responsible for meeting this challenge. As local parks personnel struggle through numerous cuts in programs and services, it’s incumbent upon the rest of us to make sure we do more than just use our parks as intended. Let’s go the extra mile and clean up a little more than just our own mess. Numerous volunteer programs are being formulated by a task force dedicated to the funding crisis, but being a parks volunteer doesn’t require enlisting in an official program. When you’re packing up the debris from your picnic, why not look for some other trash to carry out in the picnic basket? While walking off the calories of that picnic, why not burn off a few more calories by bending over and picking up the litter than someone else left behind?

There remains plenty of which to be proud in the parks district for unincorporated urban areas.

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