Residents Support County Parks at Council Meeting

Although the possible closure of 23 county parks and facilities wasn't on the St. Louis County Council's agenda on Tuesday, the subject was fresh in the minds of 10 speakers who advocated on behalf of the parks.

“Our purpose for speaking tonight is to plead with you to make the 2012 budget cuts fair and equitable across the board,” said Mehlville resident and parks volunteer Bonnie Lorenz. “A family may not be able to afford to go to the show, or a baseball game, but they can go to one of our wonderful 69 parks for free.”

“Don’t let your legacy in office show that you were responsible for closing parks in our great county,” she said.

Before the meeting, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley made it clear the county would not be selling parkland, but needed other solutions for the budget deficit.

“It is my hope that as we move forward, the county council and I come up with some alternatives to make something work,” he said. “The parks are not going anywhere; we’re not going to sell any parks. They’re going to stay in St. Louis County.”

Seventh District County Councilman Gregory Quinn (R-Wildwood) said the county has spent a large amount of time time building up the parks system and “vigorously opposed” the closure of any parks.

“My view is that the proposed budget cuts fall disproportionately on the parks system. I’m not in favor of that,” he said.  “We owe it to ourselves and our posterity to maintain these parks and save them. I think we can work that out.”

Announced Nov. 1, in several departments, but most noticeably in the Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the activities in more than 12,700 acres of land.

Under the proposal, the county’s operating fund of $359.4 million would reflect $10 million in savings, a number Dooley said was a deficit in the budget.

In a move that would save the county $4.376 million, 23 parks — including in Wildwood, in Eureka and — would be closed, plus 17 athletic fields, six tennis courts, 12 basketball courts and more than 62 trail miles.

The cuts also would eliminate 133 staff positions, more than 40 of which are full time.

Dooley said he welcomed ideas in the open process, and asked residents to pitch solutions.

“You’re talking about a decision that was made from a viewpoint; there were no easy decisions,” he said. “You’ve got to start somewhere, you have to open up dialogue.”

Two residents offered suggestions on how to save the parks.

Kirkwood resident Bob Nelson, who serves on the County Parks Board, called for a 2-cent tax increase in the county parks tax rate. He said residents would not need to vote to raise the tax rate from 5 to 7 cents.

According to his calculations, a house valued at $144,000 (the county’s average value) would cost its owners $6.78 a year with the increase and would fund the parks completely without layoffs or closures.

Nelson also said the Parks Board was not asked for input on how many or what parks were selected for closing, when questioned by Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger.

Ed Golterman, another County resident, had a different suggestion.

“I think any talk of a tax increase of any kind in St. Louis County is unacceptable,” he said. “I think we have a responsibility to create and find revenue flows.”

His solutions included ending the zoo and bike trails tax, freeing up $60 million in the budget to reallocate those funds.

Four representatives from the St. Louis Disc Golf Club attended the meeting in Clayton and shared concerns that two disc golf courses at Sioux Passage and Unger Parks were slated for closure.

Former club president Chris Kinsella said the club’s 540 members held monthly tournaments that bring in teams from all over the country to the area’s parks.

“We are a revenue stream for the parks,” he said. “We’ve raised over $10,000 in the last two years and have invested it back into the disc golf courses in the parks.”

For the first time in recent history, the County Council has formed a special budget committee to work with the executive on the budget. Headed by Fourth District representative Mike O’Mara (D-North County), the committee will hold a public hearing Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at 41. S. Central Avenue in Clayton.

O’Mara announced Tuesday the committee will include former councilman Richard ‘Skip’ Mange as an independent advisor. Mange advocated for a unsuccessful 2004 tax increase to benefit county parks and served four years on the County Council.

“You have my personal commitment that I will do everything possible, and I’ve been vocal thus far, to prevent the closure of any parks,” said County Council Chairman Steve Stenger (D-Affton). “We’re going to all work very hard together to come up with solutions to the issues presented.”