REDWOOD CITY — Seven parks in San Mateo County that collectively characteristic old-growth forests, mountaintop vistas and bay shore climbing trails might quickly be free for no less than some low-income guests and probably for everybody.
Underneath a employees proposal known as the Mariposa Program, park entry charges could be eradicated for low-income folks on sure California welfare applications. However throughout a latest dialogue in regards to the proposal, the Board of Supervisors mulled whether or not to do away with charges altogether.
Of the county’s 24 parks and open house preserves, the seven that cost guests $6 to park and enter are Coyote Level Recreation Space, Huddart Park, Sam McDonald Park, Memorial Park, San Pedro Valley Park, Junipero Serra Park, and San Bruno Mountain State and County Park.
Open house preserves and different parks throughout the Bay Space additionally cost automobile entry charges, and park methods cost different charges for tenting reservations and sure actions. If it eliminates entry charges for all, San Mateo County parks could be the primary within the Bay Space to not require fee for any of its 24 parks.
Entry charges collected on the seven parks generate about $1.1 million a yr for upkeep of parking tons, trails and different amenities on the parks. The county’s 19 different parks and preserves are free.
Carla Schoof, spokeswoman for the county parks system, stated the Mariposa Program has been proposed as a technique to “guarantee there is no such thing as a barrier for low-income communities that may’t entry San Mateo County parks.”
Based on a employees report, the county at the moment has 88,711 households and 157,773 people enrolled in Medi-Cal, 16,129 households and 26,872 people enrolled in CalFresh, and about 25,500 people served by the county’s ACE well being care program for low-income adults.
However is a $6 entry price conserving low-income folks away from the parks?
On the supervisors’ Dec. 14 assembly, Parks Director Nicholas Calderon cited different components along with the charges, comparable to language limitations, transportation challenges and restricted consciousness of park occasions and laws.
Calderon additionally famous a research carried out by his workplace means that entrance charges will not be a barrier for almost all of park-goers, and 68% of respondents stated if the price was elevated by a greenback they might nonetheless go as typically.
“My takeaway from that is that many individuals discover this a fantastic worth: all-day enjoyment for a nominal price,” Calderon stated. “What we on the division wish to be doing is specializing in those that the automobile entrance price is a barrier for, and the way can we remove the barrier for these people. That’s what’s essential for us.”
Board President David Canepa stated the intent of waiving the charges for Medi-Cal, CalFresh and ACE shoppers is “actually equitable.”
“These shoppers symbolize solely 25% of the county’s complete inhabitants, plus the brink for medical for a household of three is $30,000 a yr,” Canepa stated.
However he and different supervisors advised that maybe everybody ought to be allowed to enter the parks free of charge.
“I would like all the county’s 765,000 residents to have the ability to entry all of our county parks free of charge no matter earnings. They already pay taxes to entry our parks,” Canepa stated.
Following about an hour of debate, the board appointed a two-member subcommittee — headed by supervisors Carole Groom and Don Horsley — to review the park system program proposal and the “free-to-all” various, whereas additionally determining the best way to make up for the $1.1 million income loss if officers select to make parks free to everybody.
Canepa stated in an interview that though he believes a $6 entrance price is a barrier to some low-income people, the Mariposa Program would lead to folks “figuring out themselves as an individual on public help” simply to enter a public park.
“For me, eliminating that barrier and together with everybody eliminates that form of identification verify,” Canepa stated. “We function 24 separate parks, the annual price range is about $26.8 million, and we're the third richest county within the Bay Space and prime 10 in the US. I perceive we wish to do that for low-income folks, however we are able to do it for everybody too.”
Supervisor Warren Slocum stated he isn’t able to remove entrance charges outright and not using a plan exhibiting how the following $1.1 million income loss could be offset. Although he's in favor of eliminating all entrance charges, Slocum stated he has seen the parks system wrestle to outlive throughout occasions of financial hardship and doesn’t need that to occur once more.
After the 2008 monetary disaster, the parks system and public works division have been merged, a union that severely restricted park operations and led to complaints from park guests and others.
“The parks price range comes from the final fund, so I wish to see sooner or later — when the subsequent downturn happens — how that lack of income may very well be made up so we don’t have a chaotic financing scenario with our parks,” Slocum stated.
Slocum additionally questioned whether or not eliminating charges was one of the best ways to succeed in members of under-represented communities who don’t go to county parks.
“I do consider that parks should be free, and we’ve tried various things prior to now to get extra folks from our low-income communities to go to the parks,” Slocum stated. “When you’re working three jobs, particularly below COVID, it’s a tough drawback so that you can have the time to go to a park. I don’t have all of the solutions, however I believe programming, making parks secure and clear, that’s the problem. Deal with the basics, getting the phrase out and making it enticing.”