A tough year for parks

In the crunch of budget figures at the end of 2009, Whitman County and Colfax city parks have taken a hit for 2010.

Whitman County and city of Colfax officials have pointed out that park operations can eat up a lot of revenue and do not produce much revenue to offset the costs.

Also, parks get moved down on the priority list when town and county officials pencil in the needs for police protection, health, and transportation.

The county this year cut more than 10 percent of the 2010 park budget to $307,335. That cutback means park rangers, in addition to keeping track of their assigned territory and duties, have to add seasonal work to their tasks.

Whitman County parks were developed over the years with a boost in state funds for capital development. In the case of Kamiak, the county took over a park operation which was about to be dropped by the state. Wawawai and Klemgard parks were added with a large influx of state funding, and Wawawai evolved as part of the Snake River project.

This funding source led to the aquisition and development of park real estate which the county is now struggling to maintain. Park programs have been cut back in recent years

In Colfax, the city cut the parks budget about $6,000 from the amount budgeted for 2009. The city Dec. 20 had to bolster the 2009 park budget by another $25,000, mostly because of an extended pool season. That means Colfax parks face a budget cut of more than 15 percent in 2010.

The city parks department picks up revenue from swim pool admissions, swim class fees and some rentals, but that revenue doesn’t come close to covering the costs of maintaining the parks and paying park staff.

Also, unlike other city and county departments, parks can’t produce a tangible list of results like the number of arrests, ambulance and fire runs and the volume of water pumped from wells and treated at the sewer plant.

Still, the local parks program answers a huge need at Colfax and all of the towns around the county. The swim pools and the parks play a big role for youngsters during the school vacation.

In most of the smaller towns around the county, pools are funded through special park and recreaton districts which were created to remove the cost from strained town budgets. Voters in the park and recreaton districts, which often extend beyond the city limits, normally approve levy requests needed to keep the pools and parks going.

Colfax officials have eyed the park and recreation district option, but so far have kept the park funding in the city budget.

One drawback of park and recreation funding is the annual costs of going to the voters for special levy approval. Another drawback is the annual “brinksmanship” involved: if voters decline to come up with the funds, how does the P&R district provide pool and park services for the youngsters the following summers.

The 2000-pound gorilla in the Colfax park operation is the ailing swim pool which consumes more operating money each year and will soon have to be replaced.

Each year city officials and crew members now keep fingers crossed while the 42-year-old pool answers the call to operate for another year.

A price tag for a new pool, estimated in the $3 million range, would be tough to swallow, particularly in the context of tax obligations assumed by voters for school and hosptial projects over the past 10 years.

Budget decisions must address the need for police protectoin, roads, utilties and health.

Parks are important too.

Jerry Jones,

Editor