Parkway can be a nonprofit
Re "Parkway needs stable, long-term source of funds" (Editorial, Feb. 21): The editorial about the American River Parkway was excellent, and calling for an arrangement that the Effie Yeaw Nature Center – threatened with closure – could enter into that might replicate the success of Fairytale Town is a great idea.
The larger issue of parkway funding is more complicated, but through governance by a Joint Powers Authority – currently being discussed by local governments – and for the JPA to then create a nonprofit organization to provide daily management and raise funds philanthropically, the funding problems for the parkway could someday become a distant memory.
We have seen the ability of nonprofit organizations – such as the Central Park Conservancy in New York City – to manage parks and raise funds on a substantial scale for beloved community resources and it could well happen with the parkway.
– David H. Lukenbill, Sacramento, senior policy director, American River Parkway Preservation Society
