County Park Plan Reversed

After trying unsuccessfully for seven months to give away several parks, county officials have asked for $1.8 million to keep them operating.

The county had not budgeted money for the parks in eight Southland cities, hoping to save funds by giving them away. But with no takers, parks officials have asked the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the funding.

Of the cities approached by the county, only La Mirada and Cerritos expressed interest.

In addition to La Mirada Park and Cerritos Regional Park, the parks department had offered Apollo Park in Lancaster, Arcadia Park in Arcadia, Crescenta Valley Park in Glendale, Victoria Park in Carson, El Cariso and Veteran’s Memorial parks in Sylmar and Jesse Owens Park in Los Angeles.

*

To fund the parks for the remainder of the fiscal year, Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen has recommended that the county use unspent money from salaries and supplies from several other departments.

“The best solution would be if we can keep them open without the county spending money,” said Dave Vannatta, an aide to Supervisor Mike Antonovich. “But for now, we just want to keep them open.”

The proposal to give away the parks at first appeared to be a good deal for everyone--the county would save money, the cities would own the parks located within city limits and the public would be able to use the parks without interruption.

*

Many city officials lost interest when they realized that each park can cost as much as $700,000 a year to maintain, but the county was unwilling to give municipalities property tax revenue earmarked for the parks.

Further, many city officials told the county that they were unwilling to approve another expenditure before they know what effect Proposition 218 will have on municipalities. Approved by voters last November, the measure may force the state’s cities and counties to return millions of dollars of revenue they collected through various assessments.

“We understand the problems cities are having, because we have the same problems,” said Henry Roman, senior assistant director for the county parks department. “But on a personal note, I am happy we get to keep the parks in the county system” with board approval.