Though we don’t support a tax of Parkway adjacent property owners—as it is unfair to those who, though adjacent, don’t use the Parkway, and doesn’t include those farther out who might; and that the County would then reduce its general fund support for the Parkway—we do support the formation of the Joint Powers Authority.
If the property owners choose to tax themselves, perhaps the Joint Powers Authority formed to manage the funds, will see the wisdom of moving to a formula of management of the Parkway by a nonprofit organization with a set funding amount coming from the local government entities whose residents use the Parkway and the rest raised through philanthropy, as is being done by other successfully managed parks.
Residents back American River Parkway levy
A poll finds that people living near the 23-mile stretch favor annual assessments that would add up to $6 million in support.
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Residents living near the American River Parkway are ready to open up their wallets to burnish the region's recreational "crown jewel," according to a survey conducted on behalf of the local governments along the parkway.
Depending on the funding levels, support ranged from 50.3 percent to 60.7 percent overall. If ultimately approved by property owners, the annual assessments would add between $2 million and $6 million toward parkway funding, allowing parks staff to tackle overdue maintenance and repairs, improve safety and further protect the environment.
The mostly untamed 23-mile parkway is a riparian oasis running from the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers at Discovery Park near Interstate 5 to Nimbus Dam near Highway 50. The survey also included the trail that extends to Folsom Lake that is under state jurisdiction.
Thousands of area residents visit the parkway to walk, bike, swim, boat, fish or just enjoy the outdoors.
Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters said leaders and the public have a long way to go before ballots are printed. The exact assessment amount and ballot date are undecided.
"You had to make sure everybody wanted to do it first and that is what the poll was about," Peters said.
Once leaders from the cities of Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and Sacramento County coalesce around a plan, each of the bodies will discuss it in public forums, Peters said. Property owners would eventually vote via weighted mail ballots, similar to the recent vote on increased flood protection.
A joint powers authority would be created among the jurisdictions involved to distribute the funds, said John O'Farrell, a consultant for local governments.
