Page 11 - Sonoma County Gazette October 2018

PARKS cont’d from page 10
fuel for wildfires. The animals are less expensive than mowing and can reach areas mowers can’t, Parker said. “The fires of October 2017 were a wakeup call,” Parker said. “We’ve been managing fuels, but it’s been a very barebones operation. We have to up our game.”
Repair & maintenance of existing
Among other projects, Regional Parks wants to widen and improve the bike
and pedestrian trails at Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa; rehab the soccer field and basketball and tennis courts at Larson Park in Sonoma and Maxwell Farms Regional Park in the Sonoma Valley; expand and improve Helen Putnam Regional Park; and create fire breaks at Stillwater Cove Regional Park on the Sonoma coast.
New parks, with scenic views, creeks and oak woodlands,
facilities are also high on the list.
The ballot measure would also pay to
complete trails, including sections of a 13-mile trail from Santa Rosa through the Sonoma Valley, a long-awaited boardwalk in Bodega Bay so people can move through town without using narrow, winding Highway 1, and the spectacular 1.1 mile Kashia Reserve Coastal Trail.
would be opened and accessible to the public for the first time:
The historic 335-acre Carrington Ranch just north of Bodega Bay; the 1,100-acre Mark West Creek Park and Preserve northeast of Santa Rosa; the 1,285-acre Calabazas Open Space Preserve near Glen Ellen; and the 1,235-acre Wright Hill Ranch near the mouth of the Russian River south of Jenner.
“The money from the sales tax measure will stabilize our park system. It will also allow us to truly invest in protecting natural resources. Finally, it will give us funding and staff to protect wildlife habitat, maintain our parks and reduce fire risk,” Parker said.
By the Numbers
$11.5 million: amount of money the ballot measure would raise each year
9: number of cities that will receive money from the ballot measure
1/8 cent: increase in sales tax if the ballot measure passes
56: number of parks, open spaces, trails & beaches managed by Regional Parks 4: number of parks that will be opened if the ballot measure passes
150: miles of trail managed by Regional Parks
$3.8 million: money that would go each year to the nine cities
$40 million: in grants Regional Parks is eligible for if the measure passes
Estimates of Funds to Cities Based per Person
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