*** Yakima BMX - Ahtanum Park A $2 Parking Fee After All ***

Gene`s BMX News -- 05/11/2006
Ahtanum Youth Park, the home of the Yakima Valley BMX
Track, It looks like it will have a $2 parking fee after all?

Here is the latest news from Yakima on its doings,.
there are two news clips here in one post.............

01 - Union Gap Levies Fee On Parking
02 - Keeping Parks Open A Matter Of Creativity

*** Union Gap Levies Fee On Parking ****

UNION GAP/Yakima, Washington — 05/09/2006
After weeks of debate, public input and shifting opinions,
the City Council on Monday agreed to charge a $2 parking
fee at Ahtanum Youth Activities Park. The fee goes into
effect July 1.

"I'd love to see this parking fee go away," Councilman
Roger Wentz said. "But without it, our budget can't sustain
(the park)."

The council voted 6-1 to approve the fee, evoking mixed
reactions among the 15-plus people in attendance.
Councilman Dan Olson cast the lone dissenting vote.

The council also unanimously voted to refund the park's
budget to $235,000, reversing a recent decision to slash
funding to $75,000.

Public Works Director Dennis Henne estimates the $2
parking fee will generate $180,000 to $190,000 for
maintenance and operations. An additional $90,000
from rental fees is anticipated.

No decisions have been made on how the parking fee
will be collected or on whether to give discounts to frequent
park users, such as the Yakima Youth Soccer Association.

Cindy Pratt, president of the association, previously had
said her group could afford only a $1 parking fee. If it
were any higher, she said her members would have to
play elsewhere. Pratt did not attend Monday's meeting.

Union Gap acquired the 74-acre p


ark in March after
Yakima County relinquished it for financial reasons.
To pay for maintenance and road and building upgrades,
the council originally appeared to favor a $3 parking fee.
It would have generated an estimated $290,553 a year.

But the council unexpectedly reversed course last month,
rejecting the proposal by a 4-3 vote.

Community members met in a brainstorming session
last week to discuss alternative funding sources.

Councilwoman Toni Webb said most of the people
in attendance, about 20, approved of a $2 parking fee.

Other proposals include establishing a parks department
separate from the public works department, creating a
director of parks position and renaming the park after
an event, denoting the park's many uses.

Although one man at the council meeting said he
understands why the city is imposing the parking fee,
another maintains it will lead to disaster. Now, said
Walt Floyd of Yakima, people will stop coming to the
park altogether.

"That's nonsense what they are pulling here," said
Floyd, who owns property in Union Gap. "A park is
a park for public use."

Council members said they are open to new ideas.
If another stable revenue source is identified, they
will consider it.

One idea, brought up by Councilman Olson, is to form
a metropolitan park district. Voter approval would be
needed to establish the district, which could extend well
beyond Union Gap boundaries. It would be funded through
property taxes.

The council agreed to research the proposal.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*** Keeping Parks Open A Matter Of Creativity ***

While Union Gap has decided to impose parking fees to
maintain Ahtanum Youth Activities Park, it is hardly alone.

Across the financially pinched state, cities and counties
are cutting park hours, relying more on community groups
and creating park districts to run their parks.

Parks must be increasingly creative in finding basic
funding, said Brit Kramer, executive director of the
Washington Recreation and Park Association. "It's
been an ongoing challenge for many years."

To prevent its operations from closing, Metro Parks
Tacoma started a community-based program in 2003
called Citizens Helping to Improve Parks, or CHIP.

Through this program, community members sponsor
and maintain neighborhood parks. Local businesses
and nonprofit agencies donate time and supplies.

Inexpensive labor also comes from
youth crews and jail inmates.

Parks manager Julie Parascondola said CHIP is continuing
to grow and becoming more successful. Last year, 50,000
hours of labor was donated, which she said equaled $850,000
in value.

The key, Parascondola added, is
building relationships and long-term programs.

"It's definitely a growing program for sure,"
Parascondola said. "Unfortunately, even with
this program, there are capacity challenges.

It does have the capacity to be huge.
It's challenging just to get out there."

Other areas, such as North Bend, have created
metropolitan park districts. The Si View Metropolitan
Park District was established by voters in 2003 shortly
after King County closed 10 parks and pools. It covers
North Bend and nearby unincorporated parts of King County.

It's no different from a water or school district,
which are government entities funded through
property taxes, said district director Jessi Richardson.

Establishing a district, Richardson said, can be a
complicated and time-intensive process. There are
decisions on who runs a district and whether to form
a standard or metropolitan park district.

The key distinction between the two is that metropolitan
park district funding is permanent, while voters in a
standard park district must approve levies about every
six years.

"We're growing," said Richardson, adding that seven
of the state's eight metropolitan districts started after
legislation changed in 2002. "It's a pretty popular mechanism."

It doesn't matter what solutions are entertained, as long
as efforts are made to preserve parks, said Kramer of the
state park association, emphasizing parks are simply too
valuable to lose.

Referring to the competition for funding by police and
fire agencies, Kramer said parks are used more often
by a broader swath of the population.

"We are really the most positive form of government services
we have to offer," Kramer said. "It's time for us to take a stand
and say this is as important to the quality of life as the other
services."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some other news clips about all of this can be found at:
http://www.genesbmx.com/YakimaBMX.html

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
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