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SATURDAY February 28, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 19, 2004 Park system needs funds New director faces only one problem in quest to acquire land: money By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Don Robertson is faced with a parks system at a crossroads. The new director of the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department oversees a system that will either continue to expand, offering new programs and gaining more land, or one that has reached a point of maturity and stasis. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Don Robertson, Ashland's new parks director, faces challenges on system expansion. After a lengthy public input process in 2002, the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission and Ashland City Council approved a list of 10 key properties for potential purchase to fulfill community wishes for more open space, trails, neighborhood parks and athletic fields. However, a funding source to buy the land remains elusive. Last year, the city council decided against placing a proposal before Ashland voters to increase the city's prepared meals and beverage tax from 5 percent to 6 percent, with additional proceeds earmarked for future land acquisition. Councilors cited concerns about tax increases in general, the need to explore alternative funding sources and fears that the parks measure would compete with a 2003 vote to renew the Youth Activities Levy, which funds extracurricular programs run mainly by schools. A small portion of the meals tax currently goes for park land purchases, but future tax receipts already have been pledged for payments on land bought after the tax's adoption in 1993. The tax expires in 2010. No easy way Finding a way to address community needs and desires will not be a simple process, according to Robertson. "The real key is finding the appropriate tool for the job. There's no silver bullet waiting on a shelf to solve everyone's issues," he said. The community may need to look at grant programs and other creative means for funding land purchases, he said. For example, federal Forest Legacies Funds allow communities to buy private forest land. But Oregon does not have access to those funds because some state legislators fear harvestable forest land will be taken off the market. Community members could work with legislators to open up that opportunity, according to Robertson. "But that's not a giant pot of money that will solve all of the open space funds needs," he cautioned. Even without the need to find money for land purchases, the parks department faces funding challenges. Personnel costs are increasing 15 percent per year, utility costs are rising 5 percent annually and materials and services costs are increasing 3 percent a year, according to former Director Ken Mickelsen. The department continues to draw on its ending fund balance, which will be in negative territory in two years, while money for capital improvements has fallen from $250,000 a year to $50,000. Additionally, the department is not seeing growth in its aquatics program, skating rink and golf course revenues, Mickelsen said. A 24-year department veteran, Mickelsen left this summer to head a fledgling parks department in Maple Valley, Wash. The Ashland parks department, like other government entities and private businesses, is grappling with the rising costs of health care, which is helping push up personnel costs. "We work very closely with the city personnel department," Robertson said. "We're doing everything we can to identify the lowest cost quality health care. But we need to be cognizant of providing quality care. It's important for attracting and maintaining a quality work force." Robertson said he and parks commissioners, who are elected to their posts by city voters, will be identifying ways to fulfill the department's needs with available resources during the upcoming budgeting process. "An issue every community faces is the need to balance resources and needs. I will definitely look to the parks and recreation commission to set priorities," said Robertson, who served as City of Gresham Parks and Recreation Manager before beginning his job here on Jan. 5. For the past three years, the department has requested no tax increase from the Ashland Citizens Budget Committee, according to Mickelsen. The department receives $2.09 per $1,000 of assessed property value, down from a high of $2.26 in the late 1990s, he said. Taxes and budgets The parks budget for the current fiscal year is $6.27 million, although $1.9 million of that is Youth Activities Levy revenue that passes through the department, Robertson said. He said he budgets by looking at revenues and dividing money by needs, rather than by identifying needs and hoping for sufficient revenues. But whether the parks department will request more tax revenues for the coming fiscal year remains an open question. "Ideally, we'll be able to hold the line. Until we're further in the process, we won't know," he said. Although funding existing needs and helping identify revenues for possible land purchases will be a major part of his job, Robertson said he still wants to make sure the parks system meets the recreational needs of Ashland's diverse citizenry. That could mean creating more programs for aging residents, as well as serving youths who have less ability to drive to other areas for recreation, he said. With finite resources, the parks department should identify current services and partner with other organizations to fill gaps, according to Robertson. "I want to identify opportunities to grow the recreational offerings parks and recreation provides to the community. Those recreational offerings can really impact people's valuable leisure time," he said. "I want to help citizens explore interests and learn new skills or have an opportunity for a pleasant bonding experience with their families and friends. I'll be exploring the community and seeing what's out there." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams