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PRESS RELEASE
AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY (ARPPS) Trouble at Gibson Ranch? A recent story in the Sacramento Bee seems to indicate that is so, but we have always supported Doug Ose’s management of Gibson Ranch (see our January 5, 2011 Press Release: ARPPS SUPPORTS OSE PROPOSAL FOR GIBSON RANCH, below, and our inclination would be to give Doug Ose the benefit of the doubt. He has taken on a very difficult and complicated job—the re-opening and management of a 300+ acre park with very few resources, but has so far restored and enhanced the extensive range of activities the park was known for before being closed by Sacramento County. Their website tells the story in pictures and listing of events. http://gibson-ranch.com/index.html
Here is Doug Ose’s online response to the Bee article from the comments section. “Interesting article. I apologize in advance for the length of this posting. I posted earlier but for some reason it has not been put up on the blog. “In the public arena, our critics keep us honest. I just wish they were honest about their private agendas. Brisbois and Moore are active participants in a cabal that is advocating for the creation of another layer of government with a new layer of property taxes governed by a whole new group of elected officials for the purpose of managing our public lands. I actually respect their advocacy, but strongly disagree with their proposal. Their proposal includes no reforms to prevent a recurrence of the mismanagement that occurred for years under the previous department head; "just mo' money, honey." Their worst nightmare is that my team and I will succeed, thereby showing the public that this pipedream of bigger government and higher taxes are unnecessary. Consequently, they are doing everything they can to cause delays and increase costs at the park in the mistaken belief that we will grow tired and give up. “How do we measure success in this endeavor? We measure success by comparing the current condition of the park against the likely condition had we not gotten involved. Prior to our involvement, the park was closed. The County was spending over $200,000 per year to keep it closed. No public use was allowed. No maintenance was performed. Improvements and infrastructure at the park were deteriorating at an increasing rate. Many people, including the individuals cited in this article and the editorial board of the Bee, said the County should keep the park closed rather than privatize operations. Therefore, the baseline condition against which we compare ourselves starts with: the park was closed, the public didn't have access, the County was spending a lot of money and no maintenance was being done, and the grounds were increasingly occupied by homeless men (not homeless families - homeless men). “We asserted in June, 2010 that the park could be operated using private management and pay all the operating expenses associated therewith. We developed a plan. That plan was put through a public vetting process. Interestingly, none of the "experts" cited in this article proposed an operating plan, lacking either the will or the vision or the ability to do anything to cure the problem. “How has our plan worked out? Let's review the facts. Sacramento County, instead of paying over $200,000 per year to keep the park closed, has paid or is on the hook for just over $70,000 in reimbursements to us for 2011 for correcting some, but not all, of the deferred maintenance that existed at the park on April 1, 2011. Therefore, the County is approximately $130,000 ahead of where it would otherwise be, and the park is open for the public's use. For us, we operated the park at a loss of about $35,000 through December 31, 2011. However, we expected to lose over $100,000 in that time period, so we are $65,000 ahead of where we otherwise expected to be. “Simply put, we succeed by persuading people to come to the park. How do we do that? Primarily, we let our work speak for itself. The park is open every day from sunrise to sunset. The park is clean. The bathrooms are clean. The garbage is removed regularly. The homeless men who previously resided throughout the park have been asked (politely, of course) to reside elsewhere. The grass is cut regularly. The fishing lake is stocked regularly. The phone is answered. If a message is left, someone returns the call. If there is an opportunity, we try to seize it. If there is a problem, we deal with it. If there is a maintenance issue, we address it. If we make a mistake, we correct it. “Are we perfect? No. There are things that are not yet done. That's the way it is on a working ranch. “Or a business. Or a family. Or any other organization you can think of. “Are we succeeding? My answer is: I think so. Thirty Boy Scouts spent the night last night in the park. Two weeks ago the Girl Scouts were onsite in the rain for a "thinking day" event. On Easter there were over 3,000 people in the park enjoying the sunny weather and family time. We are still cleaning up the eggs and plastic and pińatas from that. Later today, the Sacramento Valley Women's Soccer League will play on our soccer fields. Next week there will be 450 Boy Scouts on a camporee. The week after that there will be 750 Boy Scouts on a camporee. The week after that we are hosting a motorcycle get-together of an estimated 1,000 retired Marines. The week after that we are hosting 1,200 to a labor union annual picnic. The week after that we expect 10,000 people to visit us for the Civil War Days re-enactment. The week after that is Memorial Day when we honor those who have gone ahead. The week after that we have a concert with The Fish. Etc etc etc. In the interim, we will host weddings, barbeques, birthdays, fishing clinics, horse riding, fun runs, yard sales, corporate team building events, camping, and a gazillion other active and passive recreational pursuits. (BTW - we can host your event, too. :)) “I invite you to visit the park. We are open every day. My team and I are there every day. If you call ahead I will be pleased to give you a personal tour. We can be reached at 916-806-3868. If we don't answer it’s because we are on the other line or dealing with another visitor. Leave a message and someone will call you back. Bring your family and make it a picnic. “Come see the park and judge our work for yourself. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this.” Doug Ose Retrieved April 15, 2012 from http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/15/4414667/ose-at-helm-but-gibson-ranch-still.html#storylink=cpy The link to read what the Sacramento Bee is reporting is at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/15/4414667/ose-at-helm-but-gibson-ranch-still.html. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director GOLDEN NECKLACE TRAIL; SACRAMENTO COUNTY The Golden Necklace Trail (as written about in our 2007 research report beginning on page 30). is envisioned as beginning in Coloma, running southwest along the South Fork of the American River over the Salmon Falls Bridge, southwest along Folsom Lake to connect with the American River Parkway, continuing southwest along the Parkway Trail to the confluence with the Sacramento River, turning south along the Sacramento River to the historic Chinese town of Locke, and then turning northeast up the Cosumnes River Preserve, to—either the Folsom South Canal Trail or the Deer Creek Hills Preserve Oak Woodland—both of which would then turn northeast to connect back to the American River Parkway at Lake Natoma. Let’s begin at the gold discovery site at Sutter’s Mill where modern California really began, along the south fork of the American River, in Coloma. The American River Conservancy is working on a trail project eventually linking the discovery site at Coloma to downtown Sacramento. From downtown, continuing south along the Sacramento River, our envisioned Golden Necklace links to the Sacramento River Greenway project working to extend the trail along the Sacramento River. As the necklace extends south along the Sacramento, it links with the historic Chinese town of Locke. From Locke we connect to another link in the Golden Necklace, the Cosumnes River Preserve. From the Cosumnes link in the necklace we proceed to the Folsom South Canal Corridor Plan and their 14 mile link from Sloughhouse Road to the Aquatic Center and the American River Parkway. Another trail variation from the Cosumnes north is the vision presented by the Sacramento Valley Conservancy on their website, the 21st Century Open Space Vision Map which would be further east than the Folsom South Canal Corridor, through the Deer Creek Hills Oak Woodland. The Rails to Trails concept design for the actual trail is the best one I have seen, accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists, and equestrians. Visioning this complete concept as one long linked entity, allowing people to travel by bike, by foot, and by horse along the historic and beautiful golden trails that could become the Rivers of Gold National Heritage Area we wrote about in our 2007 report (starting at page 30), easily outshines many of the already established sites listed at the National Park Service National Heritage Areas website. Here we have drawn a map of the Sacramento County phase of the Golden Necklace Trail to give you an idea of what it would look like. 
PRESS RELEASE
AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY (ARPPS) If you are living in suburban California, you are part of the Dream, the California Dream. A central part of the birthing vision of the American Dream was the California Dream and all that America promised, as Kevin Starr notes: “In a very real sense, the California dream was the American dream undergoing one of its most significant variations.” Americans and the California Dream 1850-1915. (1973). New York: Oxford University Press. (p.443) The American River Parkway is surrounded by suburbs, which is appropriate being that a central axis of the California Dream is suburban single home ownership, and the American River running through it was where gold was first discovered, leading to one of the greatest migrations in history. The suburban single home ownership aspect of the California Dream is under attack, as Joel Kotkin notes in a recent article, California Wages War on Single Home Ownership: “In California, the assault on the house has gained official sanction. Once the heartland of the American dream, the Golden State has begun implementing new planning laws designed to combat global warming. These draconian measures could lead to a ban on the construction of private residences, particularly on the suburban fringe.” Retrieved July 26, 2011 from California Wages War on Single-Family Homes. To help protect that vision, which we all hope to sustain, we have defined a sixth critical issue, shaped our approach, and formulated our sixth guiding principle. Critical Issue #6) Continuing encasement of open space, restricting suburban community development upon which a sustainable tax base funding necessary public works is built, is contrary to sound future planning. Our Approach: Suburban communities are where the overwhelming majority of American families wish to live, and the opportunity in our region for those communities to be built for the families who hope to live in them, is a shared supportive responsibility for those of us who presently enjoy our life in the suburbs and for those who hope to enjoy the suburban family lifestyle in the future. Our Guiding Principle: The suburban lifestyle—as surrounds the American River Parkway—which is imbued within the aspirational center of the California Dream and whose vision is woven into the heart of the American Dream, is a deeply loved way of life whose sustainability we all desire. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE
AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY (ARPPS) Supervisor Phil Serna The award was presented to Phil during the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce luncheon March 17, 2011 at Enotria by ARPPS President Michael Rushford & Bob Slobe. Phil is the Sacramento County Supervisor for District 1, elected with over 70% of the vote in his first elected office. District 1 is the site of the most impacted area of the Parkway from illegal camping by the homeless, which for the past 25 years has caused great environmental destruction, a drastic lowering of public safety, and the virtual holding hostage of the residents of the adjacent neighborhoods to safely use their part of the Parkway. Supervisor Serna has taken a clear stand to protect the Parkway from the corrosive impact of illegal camping while retaining a compassionate stand to help the homeless. His voluntary charitable experience, as a member of the board of directors of Cottage Housing, which provides a clean and sober environment—enforced through drug testing—in the residential housing complexes it operates, amplifies his commitment. In a February 23, 2011 article in the Sacramento Bee about the Parkway and the illegal camping he wrote: “Much has been reported in recent days regarding the situation along the lower reach of the American River Parkway. Unfortunately, there's been a predictable attempt by some to hijack public attention to narrowly advocate their cause instead of acknowledging the complexities of the situation. “Dealing with those complexities and seeking solutions is the responsibility of your local elected officials. As one of them, I've made every effort during the past three weeks to thoughtfully and compassionately address the issue of illegal camping, public safety, environmental impact and homelessness. Admittedly, it is not an easy thing to do 50 days into the job. “Parkway users deserve a safe, clean environment free from harassment or other personal threat. They should not feel compelled to avoid the parkway for fear of their own safety, which is what a number of constituents have conveyed to my office in recent weeks. They deserve better; we all deserve better. “The American River Parkway offers one of the best recreational opportunities anywhere in the country, but it will be enjoyed only if it is safe. To that end, local law enforcement, including Sacramento County park rangers, have established added presence along the lower reach of the parkway to enhance public safety and to encourage parkway users to return. “Let's also remember that the parkway itself is a "constituent" here. Illegal camping has produced tons of trash and debris, some of which is hazardous biological waste. Illegal campgrounds, large and small, "self-governed" or not, contribute to this problem. Along the American River Parkway, refuse has collected in makeshift dumps, and what doesn't remain in these derelict collection sites oftentimes is spread by the wind, is scavenged by animals or ends up pooled along the riverbanks.” We are very happy to award this level of commitment by Supervisor Phil Serna to one of the finest urban recreational areas in the country. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE ARPPS SUPPORTS OSE PROPOSAL FOR GIBSON RANCH The ARPPS Board of Directors voted to approve the Ose proposal for Gibson Ranch at our meeting of 1/3/11. In The Sunday, December 26, 2010 issue of the New York Times, we are informed that: "Versailles, one of the most visited monuments in the world, will soon be able to offer tourists a place to rest for the night. "The Hotel du Grand Controle, an annex building on the edge of the Versailles estate, will be transformed into a 23-room hotel, administrators of the publicly owned palace announced recently. "The restoration and modernization of the 17th-century building will be overseen by a Belgian company called Ivy International, which has taken out a 30-year lease on the property. The project is a rare transfer of control of a French public heritage site to the private sector. "It’s a pioneer initiative," Jean Jacques Aillagon, the chairman of the Versailles palace, said in a news conference in Paris. "The building was given to us in a dilapidated state; my concern was to save it." (page TR. 2, highlighting added) Saving shuttered Gibson Ranch from further dilapidation and whether the County should approve management by a forprofit entity led by former Congressman Doug Ose is the issue. It is an issue which has been of interest to our organization as it addresses much of what we have also found lacking in local government management of the American River Parkway. Our organization has long called for the use of innovative funding and management practices for the Parkway that are being used successfully with other parks and the concepts embedded in the Ose proposal are congruent with those practices. When the board of supervisors agreed to study the privatization proposal in November of 2010, the opposition–County Parks and aligned nonprofits—appeared to build their case primarily from the damage it might do to their in-house regional park proposal, which would increase taxes, while the Ose proposal would save taxpayers money. The proposal to open the Ranch to the public under a lease management agreement comes from a family with a long-established record of public service and philanthropy, is supported by many locally, and is aligned with standard lease management agreements involving some form of privatization. Given that, the opposition–especially that voiced in the editorial pages of The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/14/3255239/county-to-pay-ose-to-turn-park.html–seemed overwrought. We were very pleased when the county agreed to move forward in their consideration of the plan to turn over management of the park to a forprofit entity. With final approval, which we wholeheartedly support, it will be refreshing to see innovation and creativity become part of the mix of local parks management which, if it is as successful as we anticipate, may also impact future decisions regarding the American River Parkway. If it’s good enough for Versailles, it’s good enough for Gibson Ranch! PRESS RELEASE AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY (ARPPS) The homeless issue is a Parkway issue as the Lower Reach of the Parkway-Discovery Park to Cal Expo-has been the de jure tent city for the homeless for years. As the cold of winter invigorates the urgency of public policy strategies to alleviate the suffering of those who are homeless, we do well as a community to remember that the primary and most effective help is often a balanced combination of giving aid and inspiring those aided to begin the internal work of personal transformation that will elevate them beyond the need for aid. Providing services without inspiring internal change generally leads to a tragic continuation of the problem In this regard, we might note the words from the seminal book, To Empower People: From State to Civil Society, by Peter Berger & Richard John Neuhaus, who wrote: "Time and again, I found that indigenous community leaders have substantial long-term impact because they have been able to affect not only the behavior of those they serve but also the internal base of values that determines behavior. In tackling the most critical problems that confront low-income communities, they have made distinctions-as most top-down programs do not-between poverty that is caused by factors outside an individual's control (for example, lay-offs or extended illness) and that which results from the life choices an individual makes (drug-addiction and out-of-wedlock births, for instance). They recognize that, with regard to poverty that results from an individual's choice, an internal change is prerequisite for any external programs or aid to have lasting and substantial effect. "Grass-roots activists who live within the same zip code as the people they serve have a unique capacity to inspire this kind of transformation. In many cases they have suffered-and have overcome-the same problems that they are guiding others to battle. They are often living examples of achievement against the odds, and they provide models of the values and principles that they espouse. Hundreds of testimonies from effective grass-roots leaders have shown that their foundation of faith has enabled them to see potential for transformation and revitalization where professionals have limited their goals to custodianship. "Furthermore, surveys have shown that a base of local support is a more natural and more approachable resource than professional services that are "parachuted in" to the communities. When queried, hundreds of low-income people responded that if they confronted a crisis they would turn first to family members, friends, local churches, and other organizations that are indigenous to their communities for help. Only as a last resort would they choose to turn to a professional service provider. "In spite of this reality, we continue to use a service delivery system that relies on what is the last choice of those who are in need." Berger, P. L. & Neuhaus, R.J. (1996). To Empower People: From State to Civil Society. (2nd Ed.) Washington D.C. The AEI Press. (pp. 106-107) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember that empowerment is more truly compassionate than pity. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director
PRESS RELEASE American River Parkway Preservation Siciety (ARPPS) A proposal was presented to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors this month by the regional parks department, with support from some Parkway advocacy groups, to consider adopting one of three strategies to provide money for regional parks. Each strategy calls for an increase in taxes requiring a two-thirds vote for approval. Each strategy uses the American River Parkway as the lead park for the marketing of the tax increase for all regional parks. While appreciating the concern the supporters of this proposal have for the Parkway, this is a direction that could actually cause more harm than good. Potentially, this could divert resources and attention from strategies which have a chance of becoming reality and promise more long term funding sustainability. There is a better way. Raising taxes to pay for parks is not an equitable approach, as those who do not use parks, or realize an adjacent property benefit, would be required to pay an additional tax for something they do not use or benefit from. Those who live adjacent to the North Sacramento area of the Parkway are already burdened by neighborhood crime and habitat degradation caused by the illegal camping of the homeless. These citizens will see no value in having their taxes increased to continue failed policies. There is a better way, and it can be found in the funding success of other signature parks, such as the Central Park Conservancy and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
Seek support for the American River Parkway through the non-coercive method of philanthropy tied to nonprofit daily management and Joint Powers Authority governance. (See our blog post, Another View: A Nonprofit Should Run the Parkway
Based on the deep love the regional community has for the Parkway, a philanthropic strategy offers more promise than a tax increase. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director OPEN LETTER TO THE January 7, 2010
Susan Peters & Don Nottoli, Sacramento Board of Supervisors Dear Committee Members: As you continue your work to ensure the American River Parkway is sustained and enhanced for the future of all the communities that treasure and use it, we would like to offer you our suggestions concerning the Parkway Joint Powers Authority (JPA) your committee is tasked with considering, as it relates to Parkway management and funding. We support the JPA idea your committee is working on, though not the tax increase currently coupled with it, and would ask you to consider the concept of creating a nonprofit organization to provide daily management and supplemental funding through dedicated philanthropy. We support the JPA board composition-two (2) members from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, two (2) members from the Sacramento City Council, one (1) member from the Rancho Cordova City Council, and one (1) member from the Folsom City Council. We support the formation of a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), but would ask you to consider including a member of the CAC, chosen by the CAC, to sit on the JPA board. We believe that the ability of dedicated management and raising supplemental funds philanthropically, which the managing nonprofit could do, is a much more effective way to develop the level of funding that is needed. As an example, the Central Park Conservancy-the nonprofit that manages Central Park in New York City-raises 85% of the funding needed by Central Park, and I am sure we would all agree that the American River Parkway is as valued a resource to us as Central Park is to them. The type of public safety, access, and vandalism problems adjacent neighborhoods have to deal with-illegal camping in the Lower Reach, late night carousing at Paradise Beach, Parkway users parking in neighborhoods impacting residents, and business encroachment issues-could all be much more effectively responded to through a nonprofit organization able to respond directly to these local issues. The history of nonprofit organizations working to benefit the Parkway is a very positive one and this type of expansion would be congruent with that history. With your leadership, and the deep love our many communities have for the Parkway, the development of a proactive and productive funding and management policy for the future can be assured. Sincerely,
Governing Board, PRESS RELEASE Another View: A Nonprofit Should Run the Parkway Special to The Sacramento Bee Two recent articles in The Bee tell us that funds for the American River Parkway will be reduced again, continuing the funding shortage the parkway has been dealing with for several years. One is the The Bee's editorial: "Buy a yearly pass to help river parkway" from Oct. 28, and the other is the Public Eye column: "Bumpy trails ahead on American River Parkway" from Oct. 30. The editorial's call to buy a pass isn't realistic considering most people feel they have already paid taxes to use the parkway, nor is the other article's reliance on public funding, given the recent drop in available money. We support the proposed strategy under discussion by local leadership, also mentioned in the editorial, to form a "joint powers authority" of local governments to provide base funding, though we do not support the idea of creating a benefit assessment district to raise taxes on parkway-adjacent property, which is coupled with the plan. Instead, we would prefer that the joint powers authority create a nonprofit organization for daily management, and develop and sustain substantial philanthropic funding for the parkway. The separateness is crucial as management and fundraising have to be solely dedicated to the parkway and be as accountable to donors and parkway users as they are to the public and local government. The best example of this is the Central Park Conservancy, which raises 85 percent of the funding needed for Central Park in New York City. While there may be little to compare between Sacramento and New York City, we can compare the significance of Central Park to New York City to the significance of the parkway to the Sacramento region. A parkway-dedicated nonprofit would need to raise substantial amounts of money, requiring that the executive director be a nonprofit management professional adept at raising significant funding. In the trying economic times our region has been dealing with, any discussion of increasing taxes or fees to help our parkway is counterproductive. However, philanthropy is still significant, with more than $307 billion raised nationally in 2008. With the love our community has for the parkway, plus professional leadership, a parkway-dedicated nonprofit could be relied on to rally that love around preserving, protecting and strengthening the parkway long into the future. David H. Lukenbill was the founding president and is currently the senior policy director of the American River Parkway Preservation Society. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE
The Need for an American River Parkway Conservancy Last month, the Sacramento County Recreation & Park Commission approved discussion of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Agreement for consideration by the respective jurisdictions of Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento City, and Sacramento County. ARPPS applauds the short-term purpose of this discussion approval which: “is to formalize the cooperative working relationship of each of these jurisdictions”; however, ARPPS does not approve the long-term goal which: “would be to impose a Benefit Assessment District for the American River Parkway” (Recreation & Parks Commission, June 25, 2009, Agenda Item 2, p. 2, Retrieved July 12, 2009 from http://www.msa2.saccounty.net/parks/Pages/RecreationParkCommissionMeetings.aspx?y=2009. ARPPS noted in a January 18, 2008 press release (see below) that the concept of a benefit assessment district and subsequent property tax increase was not a good idea for an already over-taxed public, and a better method is to raise funds philanthropically. What would allow the JPA to raise substantial supplemental funding would be for the JPA to create a nonprofit conservancy, the American River Parkway Conservancy is our suggested name, dedicated to the management and funding of the Parkway. The ability of nonprofit organizations to raise funds for worthy causes, even in a bad economy, is well proven. Last year over $300 billion was raised by nonprofit organizations nationally and 75% of that came from individual donors. Creating a nonprofit organization and raising money philanthropically is the strategy taken by other signature parks, such as Central Park in New York City, where the Central Park Conservancy manages the park and raises funds, raising 85% of needed funding. http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/aboutcon_cpc. While there may be little to compare between Sacramento and New York City, we can compare the significance of Central Park to New York City, to the significance of the Parkway to the Sacramento region, and from that perspective learn valuable innovations about sustaining and enhancing our beautiful resource. In addition to learning from others, it is also crucial to ensure that the executive management of a future Parkway Conservancy is a nonprofit management professional adept at raising funds in all of the ways necessary to be of significant financial help to the Parkway. In addition to the ongoing strategy of social enterprise, there are many methods of fundraising:
The well managed nonprofit that needs substantial amounts of money, like a Parkway Conservancy certainly would, will need to conduct all of these efforts throughout the year, while keeping the ongoing fundraising creative and vibrant to ensure the continued interest and loyalty of funders. In the trying economic times our region has been dealing with, any discussion of increasing taxes is counter-productive; but the love our community has for the Parkway is very evident and, given professional nonprofit management and fund raising leadership, an American River Parkway Conservancy could be relied on to rally that love around preserving, protecting, and strengthening the Parkway long into the future. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE Call for a Joint Powers Authority for the Parkway The American River Parkway is the most important recreational area in our region, but it has been struggling for several years with some serious problems that have not been dealt with effectively, which we think can be best addressed by forming a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to govern it. Because of the Parkway’s unique nature as the signature park area in our region, spread out over several separately governed areas, it may be best served through stakeholder Parkway communities within the joint governing entity of a JPA Another signature park area in our state governed by a JPA —which can serve as an excellent model—is the San Dieguito River Park, http://www.sdrp.org JPA governance will give our Parkway a higher potential for dedicated management and philanthropic fund raising capability instead of having to raise taxes—particularly if the JPA supports eventual formation of a nonprofit conservancy dedicated to the management and ongoing funding of the Parkway—necessary to preserve and enhance its premier local and national status. We will be investing the next five years in two strategic directions; one concerning the JPA, the other ongoing. We will focus on encouraging local government to create a JPA—the one idea from our five years of research into practical approaches—that can most significantly impact the critical issues negatively impacting the Parkway. Our ongoing work will focus on continuing to help build a community knowledge base around the results of our five research reports. More information about our strategy, including an example of an American River Parkway Joint Powers Agreement, is available on our website at http://www.arpps.org/strategy.html. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE American River Parkway Preservation
Society (ARPPS) Rob Kerth The award will be presented to Rob during the ARPPS Board of Directors Awards luncheon January 5, 2009. Rob Kerth’s ties to North Sacramento are directly related to his concerns and outstanding work over the years to ensure the community he grew up in was able to recapture the sense of community he remembers as a youth. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director PRESS RELEASE ARPPS Article Published in By David H. Lukenbill - Special to The Bee Most people in Sacramento are concerned about how best to help the homeless. All of us hope and pray that the unfortunate folks struggling without homes, and their associated problems, will someday be helped into being able to live a life of security and health. We at American River Parkway Preservation Society are no exception to this concern, particularly how it impacts the American River Parkway and the adjacent communities. Helping the homeless is often a devil's bargain, as those who work in the field know all too well, and we can generally divide the homeless into three groups. First, those who are willing to work and just need some help in getting back on their feet, but have not yet developed the capacity to do so. Second, those who are mentally ill, require long-term housing and treatment, and generally cannot do much about their situation without medical help. Finally, those who are alcoholics, addicts (though some would include these in the second group) and petty criminals, who generally will not cooperate with programs offered to them. Recently, our local government decided to become part of the national 10-year plan to reduce chronic homelessness – a combination of the second and third groups. A key part of the plan is the adoption of the "housing first" model. Our organization is a supporter of the housing first approach to helping the chronic homeless. Housing first is built on the common-sense concept that until homeless people are actually housed, they will not have the internal resources to devote toward rebuilding their life. Housing first specifies two methods of implementation. One is housing and services concentrated in one area, and the other is housing scattered in individual units throughout the community with services delivered by treatment teams. The concentrated method is particularly destructive of the communities it is housed in, and the examples in the various neighborhoods in our community bear that out. A recent article in The Bee noted that a south Sacramento neighborhood is concerned about concentrated homeless housing moving into a converted 74-unit apartment complex. They are right to feel concern, as the complex will quite possibly degrade their neighborhood as the concentration of homeless services has degraded the 12th Street and Richards Boulevard area. The impact of those concentrated services has been spilling over into illegal camping in the parkway, aggressive panhandlers on the K Street Mall and increased crime in both areas. The other major benefit in the scattered-site approach is that the homeless, rather than being surrounded by other homeless who, in effect, help create and maintain the very same failure-oriented situation they are trying to escape from, are scattered into neighborhoods of regular folks whose influence is much more salutary. During the formation of this project in Sacramento, our organization advocated for the scattered-site approach to alleviate the illegal camping along the parkway. However, our advice was not taken, and illegal camping by the homeless in the parkway (to stay close to the concentration of homeless services in the 12th Street and Richards Boulevard area) is now spilling over into the midtown areas of the parkway. The concentrated approach now being pushed in the poor community of south Sacramento will invariably have the same effect on the surrounding neighborhood and commercial district as the existing concentration of homeless services has had on downtown and North Sacramento. The situation is currently getting worse in the North Sacramento area as there is a major illegal camp along the parkway, clearly visible underneath the Highway 160 at the corner of the Northgate Boulevard exit and Del Paso Boulevard entrance. Look to your left as you exit from downtown along 16th Street and make the stop at Del Paso Boulevard. This camp has been there for some weeks. The North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce has been advocating something be done about the illegal camping in its neighborhoods for years, and though periodic cleanups have occurred, the problem keeps falling back into the same rut of decaying neighborhoods, increased crime and a degraded business atmosphere. We can do better, much better, and our neighborhoods as well as the homeless need us to do better. We have two suggestions. The first is to conduct regular sweeps by the police, accompanied by homeless advocate and treatment organization representatives through the parkway to eliminate the illegal camping that is still prevalent. The second, regarding the implementation of the housing-first approach, is that the scattered-site method, with stringent screening, be used to help the chronic homeless, rather than the concentrated method. About the writer:
PRESS RELEASE American River Parkway Funding Some public resources are so valuable, like the Parkway, that they lend themselves more to acquiring a permanent and dedicated source of supplemental funding through philanthropy rather than taxation. In light of a new tax being proposed on Parkway adjacent property owners to help fund the Parkway, it is a good time to reiterate our position on Parkway funding. We have advocated that baseline Parkway funding come initially through a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) of the local government entities with an interest in the Parkway and that the JPA contract with a nonprofit organization to provide daily management and supplemental funding for the Parkway through philanthropic efforts rather than taxation. This method has proven successful with valuable public resources like Central Park in New York and the Sacramento Zoo. The formation of a JPA as part of the new tax proposal is also being discussed and the JPA model to involve Parkway interested government entities is a very important step in reaching the level of regional involvement with the Parkway necessary for long term stability and we support this effort. A JPA is being used for similar purposes very successfully in Southern California: &auot;The San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority was formed as a separate agency on June 12, 1989, by the County of San Diego and the Cities of Del Mar, Escondido, Poway, San Diego and Solana Beach. It was empowered to acquire, plan, design, improve, operate and maintain the San Dieguito River Park. The vision of the River Park is to preserve and interpret the natural and cultural resources of the river valley from the river's source on Volcan Mountain, north of Julian, to the Pacific Ocean in Del Mar” Retrieved January 8, 2008 from sdrp.org. An additional two points regarding any new taxes being imposed for the Parkway: 1) Sacramento County residents are already being taxed for parks and any new taxes providing service for the county should be approached in the appropriate way, through a county-wide tax proposal which requires a 2/3 vote. 2) The Parkway adjacent property tax is essentially unfair as it taxes some property owners for a regional resource benefiting all residents and the Parkway is a regional resource, as reflected in virtually all of the reports about it, and certainly in our membership which includes members from Auburn, Davis, Elk Grove, Folsom, Gold River, Granite Bay, Rocklin, Roseville and Sacramento. The American River Parkway is an absolutely wonderful resource, and even with the many problems it has, it is treasured by the regional community. With this deep well of support, it would seem that structuring the opportunity for long-term philanthropic support solely dedicated to the Parkway through a nonprofit organization partnering with a JPA, would be the approach most embraced by the community. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director
PRESS RELEASE American River Parkway Preservation
Society (ARPPS) DAVE LYDICK The award will be presented to Dave during the ARPPS Board of Directors meeting January 5, 2008. Dave—with a degree in Recreation Administration from CSU Chico and married for 26 years with a 22 year old son—has been working in the parks field since 1975 and for Sacramento County Parks since 1979. He began as a Park Ranger and was promoted to Chief Ranger in 2002, and in 2006 became the Deputy Director for the American River Parkway & Regional Parks Division. Dave has always provided a supportive and honest voice to the many citizens and community organizations whose work involves looking out for the Parkway and has been a dedicated public servant advocating for the Parkway. His integrity and concern for the Parkway have been evident in the lengths to which he consistently makes himself available to respond to community concerns, present a voice during community meetings, and deal with the complicated issues involving public safety on the Parkway. The morass of interests and issues surrounding the illegal camping on the Lower Reach of the Parkway has been one area where his tact, diplomacy, kindness, and integrity have endeared him to all sides of the ongoing discussions. His deep support for the recreational treasures of the Parkway and ensuring the safety of the community fortunate to enjoy them is well-known and deeply appreciated. Public service, in its highest calling, is the clearest form of advocacy, and it is our pleasure to honor the public leadership and integrity of Dave Lydick by presenting him with the 2007 Slobe Parkway Advocate Award. Organizational Leadership Contact Information David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director
Published in the Sacramento Union www.sacunion.com Guest EditorialThe American River Parkway: David H. Lukenbill, Senior Policy Director American River Parkway Preservation Society www.arpps.org The American River Parkway is one of the premier recreational and natural resources in the capital region; over 4,000 acres of walking, equestrian, and bike trails, fishing and rafting spots, picnic areas, parks, golf courses, islands and a beautiful river drifting through one of the major urban/suburban and richly historic areas of the nation. It is also being sadly mismanaged by Sacramento County to the point that even basic maintenance is falling drastically behind every year, and the overall annual budget shortfall—when factoring all that should be being accomplished—has been declared by one Parkway organizations to be $8,595,427. Our first guiding principle is: Preserving the Parkway is not an option, it’s a necessity and from this perspective the way to preserve, protect, and strengthen the Parkway as a vitally necessary ingredient to our quality of life, is through two initiatives. The first is to provide daily management for the Parkway through a nonprofit organization, and the second is to work for the Parkway to become part of a National Heritage Area (a program of the National Park Service) encompassing the historic Gold Rush landscape in the American River Watershed. With an independent nonprofit organization providing management, the ability to accomplish long range goals for the Parkway, such as the federal designation or endowment fund development, will be greatly increased. Regarding the funding shortage, some feel a Benefit Assessment District is the best way to raise funds for the Parkway, but we don’t agree with that approach for three reasons: 1) Benefit Assessment Districts tax the property of those who benefit from the entity but how that would be determined fairly in this case is uncertain, as many people who live close to the Parkway don’t use it while many living far away do. 2) It delivers the funds to the same local government entity—Sacramento County—that has already failed in managing the Parkway for several years—with a threatened closure in 2004— with no clear promise or perceived capability that anything has changed. 3) There is a better way. Part of a better way is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA). A JPA makes sense, is fair to the newer cities such as Rancho Cordova and Arden Arcade—if it incorporates—could create a stable base funding stream and provide balanced governance oversight of a contract with the managing nonprofit. Bringing in the cities
as partners in a JPA addresses the current political and economic
climate facing the County—the difficulty
of raising taxes and the continuing incorporation of new cities—causing
the County’s financial situation to continue to deteriorate
leaving even less future funding for the Parkway.
PRESS RELEASE American River Parkway Preservation
Society (ARPPS) SACRAMENTO: The 2006 research report: “The American River Parkway, Protecting its Integrity and Providing Water for the River Running Through it: A Report on the Auburn Dam Policy Environment” was released today. This is our second annual report released as part of World Rivers Day, http://www.worldriversday.bcit.ca/ a global celebration of our rivers. The report can be accessed on our website at www.arpps.org/news.html . What has long been needed to protect the integrity of the recreational and natural assets of the Parkway is a constant and stable source of cold, fresh water running fast enough to allow optimal conditions for the salmon and the year-round recreation that make the Parkway a treasured resource. Recently, because of Katrina, Sacramento learned it is the least protected major city in the country from flooding. Given our history of flooding, this is a public policy issue of the highest level of urgency, and, in conjunction with the necessity to protect the integrity of the Parkway, on May 22, 2006 ARPPS came out in support of the only option providing 500 year flood protection for Sacramento, the Auburn Dam. One of the most asked questions regarding this issue, once people realize it is the only 500 year level flood protection option is, “Why isn't everyone in support of this?” In search of the answer to that question; which led us into the complexity of the history of the pastoral ideal, the nuances of new age religion, local hydrology, the history of dams and other water infrastructure in California, global warming, and the free flowing rivers movement; we are now able to offer our report to the community. Michael Rushford, President American River Parkway Preservation
Society
ARPPS 2006 Research Report: Executive Summary
PRESS RELEASE AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY (ARPPS) ANNOUNCES Mary E. Tappel The award will be presented to Mary during the ARPPS Board of Directors meeting October 9, 2006. Over the past several years, in many capacities, most recently as the organizer of the lower American River Parkway* River Keepers, Mary has been a dedicated, deeply committed, and leading community voice advocating for the lower Parkway. Mary is an environmentally-knowledgeable Parkway user and environmental activist who lives close to the lower Parkway. She has been very active in Sacramento’s Creek Week**, for nearly 20 years now, having led and organized creek, river, and neighborhood clean ups throughout North Sacramento for the past 15 years. For the past 5-7 years, she has led many of the most popular Creek Week field trips, the local evening beaver walks. Mary works for the State Water Board as an Environmental Scientist, where she has worked with Adrian Perez, one of our State’s Environmental Justice leaders, for over 20 years. She also maintains some of the Water Board’s public outreach websites, which promote public engagement in watershed cleanup and restoration. She has completed some five years of contractual work for SAFCA, protecting the lower Parkway’s extensive native riparian restoration plantings from both excessive beaver pruning and destructive human vandalism, developing new low cost ecological methods along the way. She has always maintained a strong environmental and social justice perspective in all her work. Mary continues her dedicated advocacy for the Parkway, often appearing in front of the Sacramento City Council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to press for more effective and affordable public safety and maintenance to keep the Lower Reach area of the Parkway safe and clean. Mary backs up her public requests by getting out on the Parkway regularly, focusing, with many others from all walks of life, on organizing volunteer efforts initially to keep one area near the Rusty Duck clean and safe, and then expanding outwards from this area as the success of the effort has allowed. Mary is doing the absolutely vital work of coordinating volunteers from all walks of life in now successfully protecting the public against Parkway crime in the area formerly having the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous in the Parkway. Mary works continually to involve all of the stakeholders in the process of dealing compassionately with illegal campers and others who are responsible for causing and/or sustaining public safety and/or environmental problems in the Parkway, while insisting on the primacy of equal public safety for everyone, and environmental and social justice for everyone. Mary is currently working with the largest local homeless support organization, Loaves and Fishes, other Parkway organizations, a wide range of area neighborhood and conservation groups, Sacramento County Park Rangers, the Sacramento City Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies working in the Parkway, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities Stormwater Management Program Community Action grants, and the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, where she is a member of the American River Parkway Task Force. Mary is an excellent example of the type of committed advocacy the Slobe Parkway Advocate Award was created to recognize, and it is our honor and pleasure to be able to present it to her. *Meaning the Lower American River Parkway from the CalExpo/Bushy Lake area and Paradise Beach/River Park neighborhood downstream to the confluence with the Sacramento River **Sponsored and organized by the Sacramento Urban Creeks Council Organizational Leadership PRESS RELEASE THE AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR AUBURN DAM, AMERICAN RIVER LEVEE STRENGTHENING, AND RAISING THE HEIGHT OF FOLSOM DAM Sacramento, CA: May 22, 2006: The Society is announcing its support for the construction of the Auburn Dam, the strengthening of the American River levees, and the raising of Folsom Dam, to protect the natural and recreational integrity of the American River Parkway, the health of the salmon, and flood protection for Sacramento. In January we announced our support for a major new dam on the American River to capture and control the American River Watershed run-off, which, through flood-condition releases from Folsom Dam, was devastating one of the most important parkways in the country. Since then we have witnessed the following:
Since then, based on the continued and focused interest by national, state, and local government on flood protection and water supply in the Sacramento region, we are now confident that the planning for Auburn Dam will embrace the changing needs of the region, and, with the proposed raising of Folsom Dam and American River levee strengthening, will provide the storage, (and flow capacity when needed) to protect the integrity of the Parkway, the health of the salmon, and provide 500 year flood protection to the Sacramento region. Michael Rushford, President American River Parkway Preservation Society (ARPPS) PRESS RELEASE
Sacramento, CA: January 10, 2006: It is time for those concerned about the American River Parkway to join with us in announcing support for the construction of a major new dam on the American River to capture and control the water, which, through flood-condition releases from Folsom Dam is devastating one of the most important parkways in the country. In addition to the obvious benefit to the Sacramento region’s citizens from a major new dam offering 500 year—or more—flood protection, the protection of the Parkway from flooding will pay substantial recreational and habitat dividends, allowing a deeper, more stable level of year-round enjoyment. After the evidence of New Orleans, and local flood conditions of the past few weeks, it is clear that in order to protect the Parkway’s recreational and natural assets for use by the citizens of Sacramento and provide optimal conditions for the salmon, a major new dam needs to be built somewhere on the American River. The Parkway river flows during the first weeks of January, due to the need to release water from Folsom Lake to accommodate the expected run-offs from new storms, were running at 35,000 cubic feet per second, about ten times the optimal flow for human and salmon use. It is only through the capture of the watershed run-off and the subsequent creation of the lake behind a new dam, that controlled flows and temperature will be available for the salmon and the year-round recreational needs of the growing population of the Sacramento region. The Auburn Dam, planned for the North Fork of the American River, is the only proposal currently being put forth, and while there are some indications the proposed storage lake it would create needs to be larger, we will follow the congressional evaluation of that project to see if it addresses the demands imposed on the Parkway at the highest run-off levels. Whatever comes from that evaluation, the fact remains, we need a major new dam on the American River, whether it is the Auburn Dam or some other proposal yet to emerge. Michael Rushford,
President American River Parkway Preservation Society (ARPPS)
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Trail of Fears: The
American River Bike Trail is idyllic, as long as you don't
get maced, mugged or beaten with a
rock. Article by Sacramento News & Review, December 2, 2004 |
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