We’re now beginning to see the effects of the city budget cuts
resulting from Hollister voters’ rejection in November of Measure
R.
We’re now beginning to see the effects of the city budget cuts resulting from Hollister voters’ rejection in November of Measure R.
With police and fire department staffing cutbacks, shrinking business hours at City Hall, reductions in parks and street maintenance and the like, it’s not a pretty sight.
But there is something that we the people can do to help Hollister weather the budgetary storm. We can volunteer. A good place to start is by stepping up with a little time and toil to help keep our city parks and public spaces in good shape.
Parks supervisor Marcello Orta identified the problem this week when he told the Free Lance, “Our parks are not looking great because we just don’t have the staffing.” A year ago, the city had seven full-time employees devoted to parks maintenance. Now, there are just four and one of those workers is out on long-term disability leave. As Orta said, the city is going to need some help to keep Hollister’s parks looking pretty.
That help could come from service clubs, church groups, informal neighborhood groups or school and youth organizations.
The Fairview 4-H Club did its part earlier this month by pruning the rose garden at Dunne Park. Twenty 4-H members, ranging in age from 7 to 14, and a few friends and family members spent about half a day at the park giving the 185 rose bushes a needed trim. The city provided equipment and sent someone to supervise the volunteer effort.
It was a lot of work, but for the 4-H kids it was a lesson in the value of community service and more. “It feels good to help them out,” said 14-year-old Jordan Mitzel, a member of Fairview 4-H. “It was fun being out there, pruning and talking with friends.”
Letting our parks go to pot for lack of maintenance money would cause long-term harm to the community. Not only would we lose some of the beauty in our everyday lives, but we also would risk allowing the deterioration to spread throughout the community.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the “broken-window syndrome.” The theory – now widely accepted as truth – was first put forth in a 1982 article titled “Broken Windows” that appeared in Atlantic Monthly. That authors’ point was that disorder in a community, if left uncorrected, undercuts efforts to maintain homes and neighborhoods and control unruly behavior. “If a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired,” the article said, “all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. … One unrepaired window is a signal that no one cares, so breaking more windows costs nothing. … Untended property becomes fair game for people out for fun or plunder.”
As the city struggles through a financially difficult time, just a little time and effort from each of us would go a long way toward minimizing the negative effects on our community. Want to know more about how you can help keep up our parks? Call 831-636-4370. Like the kids in the Fairview 4-H Club, it’s likely you’ll find out that community service can actually be a lot of fun.
