Parks Reorganization Opposed

By SHELBY GRAD

Sept. 25, 1996 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Horseback riders, hikers, bicyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts are fighting a portion of County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier’s government reorganization plan that would merge the Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department with agencies that handle flood control and other public works projects.

Park users fear the consolidation would lessen the county’s commitment to providing recreational services, dilute the power of top parks administrators and possibly result in less funding.

“It would be like having Caltrans take over the state parks system,” said Ilse Byrnes, president of the California Trails Foundation and a San Juan Capistrano resident.

“Public works is very cement-oriented. It’s involved with flood-control channels and roads,” Byrnes added. “Harbors, Beaches and Parks is oriented toward nature and dealing with people. I don’t see the connection.”

Earlier this month, activists started lobbying county supervisors and others in an effort to keep the parks department independent. They plan to press their case further when Mittermeier’s final reorganization plan is made public in mid-October.

Meanwhile, the Orange County Harbors, Beaches and Parks Commission, whose members are appointed mainly by the Board of Supervisors, adopted a resolution this month urging Mittermeier to keep the department intact.

“As part of a new Public Works Department, I think parks and recreation services would fall way down to the bottom in term of priorities,” said Commissioner Don Bankhead, who is also a Fullerton councilman. “I really just don’t see any benefit to it. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Harbors, Beaches and Parks is an independent department within the Environmental Management Agency, a 1,200-employee umbrella division that includes the Housing and Redevelopment, Public Works, Transportation and Planning departments.

Mittermeier’s reorganization calls for the elimination of both EMA and the General Services Agency as part of a larger push to streamline government operations, boost efficiency and cut costs. The plan might result in employee layoffs, but it is also expected to provide cost savings that could be directed back into public services or used in bankruptcy recovery efforts.

A draft restructuring proposal unveiled in June calls for Harbors, Beaches and Parks to merge into a new Public Works Department that would also handle flood control, transportation, facilities maintenance and engineering services.

But county officials stressed that Mittermeier is studying the activists’ concerns and will consider them when preparing her final reorganization proposal. Representatives from Mittermeier’s office and the EMA have met with park-user groups several times over the last two months to discuss the matter.

While activists praise Mittermeier for her focus on improving government efficiency, they point out that the parks department is already a leader in contracting for services, generating outside revenue and accepting volunteer help.

The department oversees more than 30 parks, beaches, marine facilities and historical sites, stretching from the marshes of Upper Newport Bay to rugged canyons in the Santa Ana Mountains.

The various environmental groups, trails organizations and equestrian clubs have a major stake in the outcome of restructuring. Faced with tight budgets, park administrators have turned to the groups for help in maintaining trails, raising funds and even patrolling remote parklands on weekends.

Harbors, Beaches and Parks will lose more than $80 million in tax revenue over the next 20 years because of the county’s recent bankruptcy, making the role of volunteers even more vital.

“We feel very strongly about the parks,” said Don Carr, a board member with the Equestrian Coalition of Orange County, who along with other volunteers patrols isolated sections of several South County parks on horseback.

Despite the meetings with county officials, many activists said they remain frustrated by the lack of information available about the restructuring plan.

Carr expressed concern that the new Public Works Department would focus only on maintenance at the expense of improving and expanding recreational facilities.

In Mittermeier’s draft restructuring plan, she said the Public Works Department probably would focus “on one core competency: maintenance.”

Though most revenue used by Harbors, Beaches and Parks is earmarked exclusively for recreational purposes, activists fear the system could be hit with higher administrative costs if placed inside Public Works.

They point to several other California counties, including San Luis Obispo and Tulare, that tried placing parks with other branches of government only to find the situation less than ideal.

Tulare County, for example, placed its parks department into a public works and planning agency in the 1980s. But last year, officials decided to create a separate parks agency.

“The feeling was that though we all served the public, parks are in a different business from planning and development,” said Allan Goff, Tulare’s parks director. “We serve different customers.”

The Orange County parks system was part of a larger public works agency until the early 1980s, when an organizational study by the Peat Marwick accounting firm suggested formation of a separate department.

At least two Orange County supervisors, Marian Bergeson and William G. Steiner, said they favor keeping Harbors, Beaches and Parks independent.

“I think the perception is that the parks would diminish in importance as far as public input and access to the public,” Bergeson said. “The service offered by the parks is different from those offered by public works. You are talking about different policy issues.”

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Park Department Profile

Some horseback riders, hikers and other park users are fighting a proposal to merge the county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department into a new Public Works Department that also would handle flood control, transportation and engineering services. Here is an overview of the parks department:

Mission: “Preserving and interpreting the best of our natural and historical resources, expanding opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation, contributing importantly to Orange County’s quality of life--the choice is natural.”

Facilities

Small-craft harbors: 3

Beaches: 9

Urban parks: 7

Nature camping parks: 3

Wilderness parks: 7

Nature preserves: 2

Historical facilities: 6

Recreational trails: 200

Golf courses: 2

Zoos: 1

Park expansions planned: 9