JoCo park enforcement sought
From our weekly issue dated February 03, 2010
Parks Advisory Board members packed the Josephine County commissioners conference room in the courthouse in Grants Pass Thursday, Jan. 28 for discussion regarding enforcement of park rules and regulations.
Commissioner Dave Toler said during the morning meeting that while most park users pay the $2 day-use fee, a ?significant portion? do not.
?It really comes down to a fairness issue,? Toler said.
The county parks system is funded entirely by the fees, and is not supported by the general fund. However, Toler said that there currently are no repercussions in place for non-payment of the fees.
To demonstrate the problem, park supporters placed boxes filled with non-compliance citations on a seat directly in front of the commissioners.
Toler said that better enforcement ultimately would increase the parks department budget. The funds could be used for infrastructure improvements at the parks, he added.
Two options would be available for achieving greater compliance, Toler said. The county could either hire a hearings officer or enable park rangers to write tickets.
Legal Counsel Steve Rich said that previous commissioners examined similar options. Those boards leaned toward voluntary compliance and didn?t want to be in the business of enforcement, Rich said.
Rich said that rangers would have to be certified in order to write citations. He added that state courts won?t prosecute local ordinances without charging the county, and that the county would have to have an attorney represent it in court.
Chairman Dwight Ellis said that having a hearings officer would be an expense in itself. Toler suggested that the cost of the hearings process could be built into the fine for non-compliance.
Rich agreed that having a hearings process just for park ordinance violations could ?potentially? be an ?expensive proposition.? He added, however, that most people would rather pay a fine than attend a hearing.
Park Supervisor Doreen Ferguson said that she isn?t looking at enforcement as a way of generating revenue. She said that her biggest concern was with achieving compliance.
When park rangers go to the county?s boat ramp facilities, Ferguson said, approximately 80 percent of the users are not paying the fee. Out-of-state visitors typically pay the fee, but locals often do not, she said.
Dick Fowler, a Parks Advisory Board member, said that there already is an ordinance for enforcement, which establishes a $250 fine. Rich said that violators of state statutes such as trespassing can be cited into court under state law.
?There are solutions, but nothing is easy, or it would have been done a long time ago,? Rich said.
Gary Still, also an advisory board member, questioned the wisdom of having codes that cannot be enforced.
?To me, that?s just a travesty,? Still said.
Toler said that if the hearings officer approach doesn?t work or is too expensive, it could be disbanded.
Jackson County has a hearings officer, Ellis said, who handles issues including land-use and solid waste violations.
Ferguson reiterated her main reason for wanting enforcement.
?What we really want is a manageable parks system,? she said. ?We have rules for a reason.?
Park rangers have a tough time dealing with locals who are ?defiant,? according to Ferguson.
Still suggested that the enforcement program could be conducted at some of the county parks for one year to see if it will work. Toler indicated that he would be open to such an approach.
Rich said that he would work on the issue and refer it to the parks advisory board for its approval.
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