Campground neighbors meet with parks board

Local resident Tay Robertson presented a draft petition on behalf of the residents of the Buck Run and Coyote Springs neighborhoods at the January 7 Parks Advisory Board meeting regarding the Creekside Campground (CCG).

Robertson highlighted three main issues: lack of trust in the City, visibility of the campground, and traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Roberts reported that in an informal random neighborhood survey of a dozen residents, "95 percent had a low level of trust that the City would do the right thing with CCG if there was no public input."

The petition states that, "While most agree that the campground is a positive asset to the community and its visitors, impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods continue to increase and we have concerns and solutions..."

The petition goes on to outline the neighbors' concerns, including: visual impact of the campground on the neighborhood; traffic impacts; a "for-profit" focus by the City; camper impacts on neighborhoods (noise, dog-waste, clotheslines); and the belief that previous park expansion (undertaken in 2009-10) was done without prior public input.

There is especially concern for a "very real potential for additional expansion without regard for neighborhood concerns."

The petition is asking the City to address the neighborhood's concerns through: no additional expansion of facilities and campsites (upgrade of CCG bathrooms OK) effective immediately; review of the 2009-2010 CCG expansion to ensure all public and legal processes were followed and if not, that entire process should be readdressed with public input received; creating an extensive internal and external landscape buffer around the perimeter of the CCG facing South Locust and Tyee streets to completely block the view into the campground; making traffic control and reduction of traffic a priority; and ensuring all park rules are obeyed.

Signers of the petition believe the "campground is an asset to our community, but should be run in a manner that benefits the City and the public with minimal negative impact to our neighborhoods."

The Parks Advisory Board (PAB) has asked for a joint workshop with the City Council where they will present a review of the work they have done so far, concerns they have heard from residents during visitor communication, and considerations that still need to be addressed.

Community Development Director Pauline Hardie has agreed to provide the council with all the data collected regarding park usage, income and expenditures, the City's draft master plan, letters received from citizens and the requirements of the original deed, prior to the workshop.

The purpose of the January 7 PAB meeting had been to review their position prior to the joint workshop. Discussion regarding their position highlighted the need for Council to first determine what they see as the primary function and benefit of the campground. The board feels that if the board is to continue working on the campground, Council needs to provide specific directions to them.

What is the goal the board should be shooting for with the campground - income, facilitation of tourism, public enjoyment of residents and visitors? Is the function of the PAB to craft a new draft master plan?

Paul Bertagna, public works director, presented figures requested by the PAB at their last meeting regarding revenue and expenditures for CCG for fiscal year 2013/14. Total revenue from park fees, sewer dump fees, and transient room tax was $138,759. Total expenses for labor salary and benefits and materials and services amounted to $37,752 making the estimated income from the campground $101,008, all of which goes into the general fund.

Bertagna pointed out that $100,000 is approximately 40 percent of the total annual operating budget for city parks.