The two commissions that oversee parks needs, the Veterans
Memorial Park Commission and the San Benito County Parks and
Recreation Commission, will remain separate entities.
The two commissions that oversee parks needs, the Veterans Memorial Park Commission and the San Benito County Parks and Recreation Commission, will remain separate entities.
During the 2010-11 budget hearings, the County Board of Supervisors asked staff members to look at the feasibility and the impact of combing the two commissions.
“Essentially both felt it was not an appropriate time,” said Steve Wittry, the director of the county Public Works Department.
The issue was discussed at the Veterans commission on Aug. 1 and the parks and recreation commission Aug. 16. One of the main reasons that the commissions cannot easily be combined is that the Veterans Memorial Park Commission was created by a vote in a general election in 1950. To make a change to the structure or the duties of the commission would require a vote of the public to amend the ordinance.
Wittry did note that changes can be made to the Parks and Recreation commission, as it was created by a vote of the board. Wittry said one of the options could be to have the Vets commissioners oversee all parks.
“The general view was that that was not a duty they would want to oversee,” Wittry said. “Both didn’t think it was appropriate.”
The commissions did say that they would be open to a future vote that could eliminate one of the county park districts in exchange for adding in the Vets park as its own district. They also mentioned that they would support an assessment district that would provide a funding source for parks as well as the library.
“But the bottom line is this time is not the right time,” Wittry said.
Supervisor and board chair Margie Barrios asked what the cost would be to put Ordinance 167 ½ to a vote. Wittry said that a special election would be costly, up to $200,000. The cost to add the item to a general election would be lower, though Wittry said there would still be a cost associated with it. He wasn’t sure of the estimate.
“We are really stuck where we are at unless we do a vote,” Barrios said.
The Vets park commission is made up of two county supervisors and three representatives from each of the three veterans groups in the county.
“It’s a specific group that is tasked with overseeing the Veterans Memorial Park,” Wittry said.
The San Benito County Parks and Recreation Commission is a larger board that oversees all the parks in the county. It includes five members that are appointed by each of the County supervisors, a member from the San Benito County Historical Park, a member from the Vets commission, and two youth representatives.
In the agenda item, the staff noted that a single commission would modify staff workload, but that significant cost savings would only be made if county staff who support the commissions were eliminated. A staff analyst in Public Works supposed the Veterans Park Commission at 17 percent of the position cost while a management analyst in the County Administrative Office supports the Parks and Recreation commission at 15 percent of the position cost. The item noted that supply costs are minimal since the commission packets are distributed electronically.
