FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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EDGEWOOD IS CLOSED TUESDAYS - THURSDAYS By Kathy Korbholz As a consequence of the budget reductions enacted last July, the Parks and Recreation Division decided to close 4 County parks 3 days per week. The affected parks are Edgewood, Junipero Serra, San Pedro Valley, and San Bruno Mountain. Over the past 3 years Parks and Recreation (P&R) has suffered a total of 42% in budget cuts. Since 1990, P&R has seen the equivalent of 40 of 94 full-time positions eliminated. The County’s funding shortfall for Parks has persisted for some 15 years. It has finally reached the breaking point this year; P&R is no longer able to staff and maintain all parks all the time. Simply, they are no longer able to fulfill their mission: Through stewardship, the San Mateo County Park and Recreation Division preserves our County's natural and cultural treasures, and provides safe, accessible parks, recreation and learning opportunities to enhance the community's quality of life. There is a small window of opportunity to correct this situation. The Supervisors will be reviewing the current budget in September, and they can choose to allocate additional funds or approve additional Ranger positions so that parks can re-open and operate 7 days/week. We need to take advantage of this small window. I strongly urge you to write a letter of support NOW for this additional funding to the Board of Supervisors c/o President Mark Church. It is critically important that our elected officials hear from their constituents now. You can view a sample letter at www.friendsofedgewood.org/sample.htm, but I encourage you to personalize your letter and highlight the reasons why access to our precious parks is important to you. Address your letter to: San Mateo County Board of
Supervisors To be effective, letters must reach the Supervisors by September 15. I hope I will have good news to report in the next issue of this newsletter. |
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