WOODLAND — City officials say out-of-towners visit the largest Woodland park more than residents, so they are asking for donations to help cover maintenance costs.
Signs at Horseshoe Lake Park ask visitors to voluntarily donate $5 online so Woodland residents aren’t left covering the maintenance bill alone, Woodland City Administrator Peter Boyce said.
The city has gathered $310 in donations at the Park Road park since officials started posting optional fee signs on May 26. No other city parks have similar signs.
Boyce said the city plans to tentatively run the program through the summer to seek voluntary donations to offset the costs of park maintenance primarily paid through the city’s general fund, which comes from property and sales tax.
Of the 68 donors since May 26, only six, or about 9 percent, said they were from Woodland, according to city data, and donated a total of $30. The location with the most donations was Vancouver, where about 30 percent of all donors said they were from.
Boyce said the city determined more out-of-towners use the park than residents after a demonstration at Horseshoe Lake by a software company interested in selling a product to the city. The results prompted the discussion and placement of the temporary signs, which include a QR code to donate to the parks online.
There was no official action from the council to OK the donation signs, said Boyce, but it was discussed at a meeting.
In addition to the city’s general fund, a small portion of maintenance fees are covered by renting out park facilities like the covered picnic area at Horseshoe Lake, Boyce added.
The requests for maintenance donations differs from the city’s consideration of raising fees for residential developers to cover new park projects.
