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Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), who represents Lake County in the state Senate, isn’t pleased with the Department of Finance, State Public Works Board and State Department of Parks and Recreation’s plans to solicit concession agreements from private organizations, including for-profits that will undermine efforts by local nonprofits to keep parks open.
In a letter dated Jan. 5, the Department of Finance started the clock on a 20-day notification letter outlining a plan by the Department of Parks and Recreation to the State Public Works Board to consider seeking and approving agreements to operate 11 state parks currently slated for closure.
The State Public Works Board is scheduled to hear the matter at a meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in State Capitol Room 3191 in Sacramento. The agenda released for the meeting does not say which 11 state parks it will discuss regarding concessions.
Evans is a non-voting legislative appointee to the Board but received no notification of the plan or agenda.
“It’s like they’re offering our State Parks up for sale to the highest bidder,” said Evans, who has six of the 11 parks in her district.
“To learn that Parks is soliciting bids from for-profit private entities for concessions while they negotiate with local nonprofits to keep parks as a community treasures is horrifying,” Evans said. “Local nonprofits will not be able to manage parks if their largest source of revenue is given away to concessionaires.”
According to the Department of Finance’s 20 Day Notification Letter, concessionaires would pay the state up to 3 percent of their revenues, which Evans called “a pittance.”
She said those revenues should be the best source of revenues to keep all State Parks open.
“If this is all the state would receive, it’s a gift of public resources to private entities,” Evans said.
As a result, Evans said local nonprofits, in many cases, could not compete with well-funded private organizations. Further, some of these agreements would be “bundled” to include multiple parks. The process would size-out locals who could operate one or two parks, but not several, effectively eliminating them from competing for contracts.
Currently, locals would be required to put 100 percent of their revenues back into the parks they operate, Evans said.
“It’s a big step toward privatization of a public resource that has taken California 147 years to build,” said Evans. “Any proposal that would undercut local nonprofits and favor private businesses is not acceptable. What’s the next proposal, the Walmart State Park and Recreation System? How does this plan make our parks self-sustaining?”
Evans has been an ardent critic of the park closures, particularly the lack of a legally defensible process used to create the list of 70 parks due to close July 1, 2012.
Recently, she called upon the governor for stronger park leadership, including park protections, stemming from a December 2011 poll by park managers that found most believed the system lacked leadership to protect parks.
She has announced that she will be introducing legislation to review the current closure criteria and examine opportunities for alternative funding.
Based on the board agenda for this week, Evans has requested the item removed to deter further damage to public confidence in park management.
If the item remains, she will be present at the meeting and invites all interested parties to join her in opposing the concession item.
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