Sacramento County, Cosumnes Community Services District consider selling parkland
Published: Wednesday, Jun. 8, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3B
A shakeout of public parklands spawned by the tough economy is in the works in the Sacramento region, a check with area government agencies shows.
The Cosumnes Community Services District had planned to transform the 97-acre Dillard Ranch in Wilton for a future park site. Now it is exploring whether it should instead sell the land to ease the district's tight budget, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
And Sacramento County, beset by a severe budget shortfall, has approached both the Cosumnes CSD and the city of Elk Grove with a plan to sell its two-thirds share of the 127-acre Elk Grove Regional Park.
That would give Sacramento County a needed infusion of cash; and it would rid the county of a park that is better connected to Elk Grove residents than to the county's own park system, said Janet Baker, director of regional parks for the county.
The county had the property appraised, but the results are confidential, Baker said.
Elk Grove Regional Park is maintained by the Cosumnes CSD, which does so as part of a 50-year contract it signed with the county in 2003.
The district provides park services throughout the Elk Grove area and delivers fire protection services to both Elk Grove and Galt. And it owns the other third of the regional park.
For the first 10 years of the contract, the county must pay the district $50,000 a year for the maintenance.
Bob Roessler, parks and recreation administrator for the Cosumnes CSD's 88-park system in Elk Grove, said there is little incentive for the CSD to buy the county's share of the park.
"I'm not sure what purchase price they were looking for," Roessler said. "But we don't have funds to take out of our general fund to purchase the park that we're enjoying as it is."
The Elk Grove City Council, on the other hand, has explored the purchase idea during a closed session. Because of that, city spokeswoman Christine Brainerd said she was limited in what she could say publicly.
"I can say there are a lot of questions," Brainerd said, "and we don't have answers right now. It's too early."
One question likely to be addressed is what would happen to the Cosumnes district's 50-year contract if the city of Elk Grove takes ownership.
District General Manager Jeff Ramos has raised that question with the district's legal counsel, Roessler said.
"As far as we know, it's a non-cancelable lease," Roessler said. "So even if the park were sold to another party, unless we were faulty in our care of that park, that lease could not be canceled."
The CSD board also has heard the general manager's plan to consider selling the Dillard Ranch acreage to aid the district budget. But Roessler said no buyer has been identified. The land was never developed into a park.
Ramos "informed the board he had talked to a few folks," Roessler said, "but there was nothing solid."
The district bought Dillard Ranch – outside its own service territory – in 2006. At the time, a district spokesman said the CSD offered $4.6 million.
A community leader in Wilton, Bill Kutzer, said Tuesday that if Dillard Ranch changes hands, residents are hopeful that the buyer might work with them on a plan for its future – perhaps for example, to make it a historically accurate living farm, a museum or a community center.
The Cosumnes Community Services District had planned to transform the 97-acre Dillard Ranch in Wilton for a future park site. Now it is exploring whether it should instead sell the land to ease the district's tight budget, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
And Sacramento County, beset by a severe budget shortfall, has approached both the Cosumnes CSD and the city of Elk Grove with a plan to sell its two-thirds share of the 127-acre Elk Grove Regional Park.
That would give Sacramento County a needed infusion of cash; and it would rid the county of a park that is better connected to Elk Grove residents than to the county's own park system, said Janet Baker, director of regional parks for the county.
The county had the property appraised, but the results are confidential, Baker said.
Elk Grove Regional Park is maintained by the Cosumnes CSD, which does so as part of a 50-year contract it signed with the county in 2003.
The district provides park services throughout the Elk Grove area and delivers fire protection services to both Elk Grove and Galt. And it owns the other third of the regional park.
For the first 10 years of the contract, the county must pay the district $50,000 a year for the maintenance.
Bob Roessler, parks and recreation administrator for the Cosumnes CSD's 88-park system in Elk Grove, said there is little incentive for the CSD to buy the county's share of the park.
"I'm not sure what purchase price they were looking for," Roessler said. "But we don't have funds to take out of our general fund to purchase the park that we're enjoying as it is."
The Elk Grove City Council, on the other hand, has explored the purchase idea during a closed session. Because of that, city spokeswoman Christine Brainerd said she was limited in what she could say publicly.
"I can say there are a lot of questions," Brainerd said, "and we don't have answers right now. It's too early."
One question likely to be addressed is what would happen to the Cosumnes district's 50-year contract if the city of Elk Grove takes ownership.
District General Manager Jeff Ramos has raised that question with the district's legal counsel, Roessler said.
"As far as we know, it's a non-cancelable lease," Roessler said. "So even if the park were sold to another party, unless we were faulty in our care of that park, that lease could not be canceled."
The CSD board also has heard the general manager's plan to consider selling the Dillard Ranch acreage to aid the district budget. But Roessler said no buyer has been identified. The land was never developed into a park.
Ramos "informed the board he had talked to a few folks," Roessler said, "but there was nothing solid."
The district bought Dillard Ranch – outside its own service territory – in 2006. At the time, a district spokesman said the CSD offered $4.6 million.
A community leader in Wilton, Bill Kutzer, said Tuesday that if Dillard Ranch changes hands, residents are hopeful that the buyer might work with them on a plan for its future – perhaps for example, to make it a historically accurate living farm, a museum or a community center.
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