The $22 million in annual revenue generated by Mission Bay Park stands in stark contrast to its aging infrastructure. And though Mayor Jerry Sanders recently pledged to return some of the funds back to the park for improvements, a much larger portion of the income will continue to be deferred to the general fund.
In his recently released budget, Sanders allotted $1 million for a new lifeguard boat dock in Mission Bay and $1 million for regional park maintenance. Both will be paid for by the Mission Bay Ordinance passed two years ago to use all lease revenue from hotels within the park greater than $20 million to improve the area from which they benefit. Although the ordinance has been on the books since 2004, the City Council voted both years to defer the earmarked funds ” which totaled roughly $2 million ” to plug holes in the city’s failing finances.
District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer has pushed for the park funds to be spent locally since taking office in January and is encouraged that Sanders has heeded his concerns.
“The mayor has basically said ” with my urging ” that we’re not going to waive [the ordinance] this year,” Faulconer said.
As the Mission Bay Park Committee chairman for five years, Faulconer witnessed first-hand how the city appropriated park revenue at the expense of bathroom cleanings, street repairs and other maintenance. He even testified during City Council budget hearings in past years that the money should stay in the park.
“Mission Bay Park generates the money that it needs to take care of itself,” he said. “The city has been siphoning money out of the park into the black hole of the general fund and I intend to stop that.”
Despite the mayor’s cooperation this year to return $2 million to its source, the fact remains that $20 million more is spent elsewhere. Now as en elected member of the council who campaigned on the issue, Faulconer said he is determined to secure even more money for Mission Bay Park.
“It’s only a first step,” he said of restoring the ordinance. “Hopefully the council will be able to take action on [earmarking more of the revenue for the park], but if the council does not in the future, then an initiative would be something that I would support.”
On May 2, Faulconer and Sanders held a press conference at the sunken lifeguard boat dock in Mission Bay to announce that $1 million in ordinance money will help fund a replacement during fiscal year 2007. The dock has been incapacitated for more than one year, and was known to be in poor condition long before it gave way.
According to Lifeguard Chief Ken Hewitt, the department asked for a new dock many times as the structure began to show its age.
“Over the years we’ve been making requests to replace the dock,” Hewitt said. “It just was not something that was able to be funded.”
Hewitt described the lifeguard dock as critical for timely emergency response on the water.
“It’s the hub and base of our operations,” he said of the 12-vessel fleet that has been relocated to an adjacent public dock and private marina.
The dock was built in 1961, and the many attempts to refurbish the dock by replacing boards and floats proved futile. And after a rough storm in January 2005, the worn structure became partially submerged and was declared unsafe for use.
“I equate it to a worn out dartboard”¦You can’t put a nail in to hold any boards in place,” Hewitt added.
The temporary arrangements, while inconvenient, have not affected lifeguard response times or budgets. The public dock is proximate and accessible, though currently unavailable to the community, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reimbursed the costs incurred.
The dock replacement will total $2.7 million, $1.7 million of which will come from the city’s general fund and a FEMA grant. According to Hewitt’s best estimates, the project should begin this fall with the demolition of the old dock and conclude in December 2007.
Of the $1 million from the Mission Bay Ordinance allotted for regional parks, $100,000 will go toward bike path and street improvements in Mission Bay Park. The remaining $900,000 will be shared among Balboa Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, Tecolote Canyon, Los Peãasquitos Canyon, Otay Valley Regional Park and beach erosion issues.
Though an influx of funds will breathe new life into a neglected system of parks, $2 million hardly covers the cost of maintenance that has been deferred over the years.
“It’s always the right time to take care of the environment,” Faulconer said. “To steal money from Mission Bay is not the right thing to do ” we have to keep the money where we are supposed to as a city.”