State Parks backers may ask for money back

[XemaSab]

Source: SFGate

Supporters who raised private funds to keep Northern California's largest state park open threatened Friday to scratch their agreement with the state and demand their money back if the state does not set aside at least $20 million of recently discovered hidden cash to keep parks open.

"We're furious. We feel we've been taken," said Winslow Briggs, a retired Stanford biology professor who is on the board of the Coe Park Preservation Fund. "Our little group spent 1 1/2 years raising money, apparently all for naught. What a waste."

Henry W. Coe State Park, southeast of San Jose, was among 70 parks the state threatened to close this year because of a $22 million cut in the parks budget. Hikers, campers and other park users formed a nonprofit group to save the rugged, 135-square-mile expanse, raising about $350,000 to fund salaries and benefits for two rangers, two assistants and a maintenance worker through next June.

The group signed a contract with the state to fund the park for three years, and mailed the first installment - $279,000 - in May. The state cashed the check July 7, but then last week revealed that the Department of Parks and Recreation had a hidden stash of $54 million.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/State-Parks-backers-may-ask-for-money-back-3742310.php

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[no_hypocrisy]

1. That's one of several problems with privatization.

There's always the risk of threats to withdraw funding and/or to demand the return of their money. Gone are the days of philanthropic donation where when a donor gives something, it's permanently donated and more is promised in the future.

While the issue of how to apply the "found" $20 million can be debated, I can't endorse strong-arming the State on how to allocate it.

[XemaSab]

2. A lot of tiny little nonprofits

absolutely emptied their bank accounts to save a park or parks.

If a donation is given under false pretenses, I think the donors have the right to ask for the money back.

[1monster]

3. I don't blame the for being angry. They were rooked. That $54 million of "found" money was

taxpayer money that should have been used for the upkeep of the parks.

This isn't about privatization. This is about a group of concerned citizens working to save their parks and recreation areas only to find out that they are being lied to and used (probably so the designated taxpayer moneys can be used to pay off the already obscenely wealthy corps. and 1 percenters.

[bulloney]

4. That's a lot of it, 1monster.

Funny how this windfall comes up after the powers-that-be thought they had the donations secured.

I'd be willing to be that the money that turned up would ultimately go to some type of corporate welfare or for the benefit of some crony.

[xtraxritical]

7. I think the money "turned up" just in time to keep somebody's ass out of jail.

[xtraxritical]

6. I think you should reread the article, slowly.

[bayareaboy]

5. I have worked with some of those groups ...

and know that they did it from the heart.

In fact some of them were long term employees of the State Parks System who were in retirement. It seems as though a lot of the current staff really didn't give a damn what was happening, so they really didn't make things any easier for the volunteer groups.

That is why I walked away from volunteering for the State Parks.