Group Pulls ‘Future’ Park Into Present

When Teri McLaughlin moved with her husband and toddler to Newbury Park in the fall of 1997, she wasn’t satisfied with a sign promising a “Future Park Site” on a large piece of land only blocks from their home.

Especially when she found out the placard had been in place for more than two decades as the park awaited funding.

So McLaughlin rallied neighbors, raised money and lobbied City Hall. The group of about 80 residents helped bring about a partnership between the city and the Conejo Recreation and Park District to fund the $800,000 construction project.

Officials will break ground on the 8.5-acre Kimber Park at 9 a.m. today--a ceremonial kickoff to what will become colorful jungle gyms, picnic benches and meandering paths within walking distance of thousands of Newbury Park residents.

“It’s an exciting day for everyone around here, because we’ve been waiting 20 years for this park,” said McLaughlin, now the mother of two.

As the district continues to grapple with funding shortages, Kimber Park reflects the kind of cooperation that may be the future of park development in Thousand Oaks, officials said.

There are a dozen other unfinished parks throughout the city--about 340 acres that could be transformed into ball fields, playgrounds and grassy practice areas if not for a lack of money.

The vacant parcels underscore an awkward struggle for the district: scraping for dollars within a city that--in today’s robust economy--has a healthy budget. But though the park district and the city’s jurisdictional borders overlap, the two are separate governmental entities.

Tom Sorensen, the district’s parks director, said it could take up to $50 million in development costs alone to complete all of the parks. After that, the price is between $8,000 and $12,000 an acre to water, clean and groom park facilities each year.

“Even if we had enough money to develop, there aren’t the funds needed to maintain,” he said. “Money for long-term maintenance is our biggest roadblock.”

The park district budget is about $10 million annually--more than half of which comes from property tax revenue and goes to operation and maintenance of existing parks, Sorensen said. The rest, which comes mostly from state and federal grants and fees paid by local developers, is used for capital projects.

The park district was formed by an initiative that voters overwhelmingly approved in 1963, Sorensen said. Its revenue stream, however, was hit by Proposition 13 in 1978 and then by property tax shifts of the early 1990s that transferred 26% of its budget to state coffers.

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Facing these monetary challenges, government leaders have had to get creative. One of the more important strategies, said General Manager Tex Ward, has been forging partnerships with the city, the school district and private nonprofit groups.

And to satisfy their common constituency, city leaders have had to step up to the plate to help.

While the agencies have worked together in the past--including for the construction of the Teen Center and Goebel Senior Adult Center--Kimber Park is one of the first of the unfinished parks to benefit from such a partnership.

The city in June agreed to kick in $350,000 from fees paid by developers of the Dos Vientos subdivision, supplying money needed to complete the park all at once rather than in phases. The park district will pay $410,000, and an additional $40,000 came from fund-raising efforts of McLaughlin’s group, said Deputy City Manager Scott Mitnick.

Money has been an issue in the district for several years, but the unfinished parks have received heightened attention lately, said Thousand Oaks Mayor Dennis Gillette.

“I hear about it routinely, and I’m convinced that it has to do with a number of our older neighborhoods turning over with younger families, which creates a need for more recreation,” he said.

The issue has also been mentioned during this fall’s elections. Incumbents and challengers have different ideas about how to address park funding, ranging from continuing to build a $10-million endowment fund to pay for future park projects to eventually merging the two entities.

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Also putting pressure on the district and the city to finish the parks is an increased need for sports fields. That crunch for space is compounded by growth at the city’s middle schools and within the Thousand Oaks Little League.

“There are not enough places to play, and we’re all fighting for fields,” said Rick Rossignol, league president.

That is why his group is working with the park district to develop five baseball fields on parkland near Lang Ranch--a 140-acre parcel the district has owned since 1973. The league will contribute about $500,000 and will pay the maintenance costs for the fields, Rossignol said.

City Council candidate Joe Gibson, a park board member and president of Conejo Valley Little League, agreed that space is a problem and said that is why finishing the parks via partnerships is part of his campaign platform.

Many of the other candidates concur. Seven people are vying for two council seats and five others are seeking two open spots on the park board on Nov. 7.

Michael Friedman, a youth soccer coach and one of the candidates for the park district board, said he predicts more agreements with the city in the future.

“I think you’ll see the big pockets of the city helping out the struggling park district,” he said.

Councilman Mike Markey, who is seeking reelection, said the city-created endowment fund--spearheaded by Gillette--is the best future funding source. About $1.6 million sits in the fund now, and Gillette said his goal is to build it to $10 million, so it could spin off $800,000 a year in investment returns for park and open-space acquisition, development and maintenance.

Money for the fund could come from private or public sources, though the city’s General Fund is unlikely to be tapped, because it is reserved for basic city services, Gillette said.

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But that’s why merging the two government bodies deserves study, said Planning Commissioner Jim Bruno, another council contender. He said he plans to raise the issue again during the next year.

“We have the power of the General Fund that the parks and recreation district does not have,” Bruno said, adding that such a move could save on duplication of services. “If maintenance of open space and parks in general came under the purview of the city, the political clout and wherewithal to accomplish things is considerably greater.”

Ward disagreed.

“It ain’t broke,” he said. “A park district has, although sometimes limited, a dedicated funding source not subject to being transferred to other uses.”

Meanwhile McLaughlin, recognizing the park district’s woes, said she won’t stop until she helps bring in more funding for Kimber Park’s ongoing maintenance and to help pay for the other undeveloped sites.

“The Conejo Valley is known for its nature preserves and parks--it’s a family-oriented area, and parks are a big part of that,” she said.

FYI

* The groundbreaking ceremony is set for 9 a.m. today at Kimber Park, on the corner of Kimber and Wendy drives in Newbury Park.

* Donations for ongoing Kimber Park maintenance can be sent to Ventura County Community Foundation-The Kimber Park Fund, 1317 Del Norte Drive, Suite 150, Camarillo, 93010-0196.