Property Owners to Be Asked About Park Fee

With the future of the city’s parks uncertain, officials plan to survey 33,000 property owners late this month to determine if they are willing to pay for park upkeep and maintenance.

In years past, the city has designated more than $700,000 annually from the $2 million it collected from lighting and landscaping assessments to pay for park maintenance.

The city’s general fund has contributed about the same amount for park upkeep, said Cathy Standiford, deputy city manager.

But Proposition 218, passed by voters statewide last year, requires that park maintenance be financed separately from lighting, City Manager George Tindall said. And to establish a new assessment district for parks requires property owner approval under terms of the state initiative.

Tindall said ballots will be mailed by the end of the month. If property owners reject the assessment, some of the city’s 13 parks might be forced to close, he said.

“If they say no, we have a $700,000 problem,” Tindall said. “We’ll have to cut something.”