EXTRA LETTERS: Readers protest Annadel closing

<p>Assess a park fee</p><p>EDITOR: I strongly oppose the closure of Annadel State Park as well as all of our beautiful state parks. Closing Annadel would be a devastating blow to the citizens of Santa Rosa and California.</p><p>Shame on the governor. Shame on the state Legislature. We propose an annual fee to keep these parks open instead of closure.</p><p>L.B. McNALLY</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><p>Unpaid fees</p><p>EDITOR: Twelve entry points? Only one geared to collecting fees? Self-service fee collection? If I did not know better, Annadel Park would appear to be more of a back yard for those fortunate enough to live in its vicinity.</p><p>Was consideration given to alternatives, such as adding 11 fee collection stations? Perhaps fines for failure to pay could be drastically increased; volunteer park rangers could increase what is probably an extremely low level of fee payment enforcement.</p><p>Closing the park will undoubtedly cost far more than leaving it open when the radically increased costs for law enforcement and fire protection are considered.</p><p>Is anyone awake out there?</p><p>CHARLES HUGHES</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><p>Keep using Annadel</p><p>EDITOR: In spite of multiple salaried personnel, there is no effective authority in Annadel currently and very little maintenance (read none) besides garbage collection. The regular users of Annadel are the best dissuasion for the criminal element. So everyone, Keep using Annadel State Park. It’s your maintenance obligation. If you see a crime, call 911. If you see suspicious activity, call sheriff’s dispatch. </p><p>As with every public space, the general public displaces the fringe element. A destructive response would be the encouragement of the over-eager horseback patrol. While they may be well-intentioned, it is an inappropriate response and will lead to confrontations initiated by those vastly underqualified for such.</p><p>And finally, this is not the result of insufficient fee collection at park entrances. This is the direct effect of vehicle licensing fee rollbacks instigated in October 2003. I got a whopping $17 back. The VLF rollback has cost California $6.15 billion per year. As of May, our deficit was $42 billion .<TH>.<TH>. . but it’s cheaper to license your Hummer. Go figure.</p><p>KENT CHILCOTT</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><p>Poor priorities</p><p>EDITOR: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and our state legislators have decided to close 100-plus of our glorious state parks to help resolve the budget deficit. In fact, as of Friday, Annadel was on the chopping block. How in the world can the state justify spending $4,900 a month ($3,500 rent plus $800 security plus $600 groceries) on a returning sex offender?</p><p>(“Returning sex offenders to society a balancing act,” Thursday.) If you multiply the $4,900 by, God only knows how many of these people we support for the rest of their pathetic lives, I think that amount would surely keep a few of our precious parks open and state employees on the payroll instead of the unemployment line.</p><p>ANNIE VAN MAAREN</p><p><i>Petaluma</i></p><p>A state’s disgrace</p><p>EDITOR: What an unpleasant headline in the Friday paper (“State to close Annadel”). Closing Annadel State Park is a direct reflection on the incompetence of our state leaders.</p><p>Perhaps if they came up with a budget on time, much of the financial problems of the state could have been put in a more workable condition. Now we are releasing prisoners, forcing hard-working state employees to take unpaid days off without any concern of how it may affect their every-day living, and closing state parks.</p><p>I was born and raised in this Golden State, and what is now happening will lead this state to self-destruction. One of the largest economies in the world is shooting itself in the foot. It was not too many years ago that our Legislature was part-time. Now we have a full-time Legislature, and what is it accomplishing? </p><p>Why don’t all of our overpaid legislators reduce their income accordingly to take care of the state’s problems instead of taking the easy way out. Their salaries and perks are beyond comprehension. </p><p>I agree with Henry Trione, we cannot close Annadel . . . under any circumstance. Has anyone thought of how much it would cost to reopen?</p><p>BUD SIMMONS</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><p>Blame the GOP</p><p>EDITOR: I wish you would stop the storytelling that by closing state parks it will somehow help with the deficit and instead write about how closing parks will actually add to the deficit and otherwise negatively affect our state’s economy.</p><p>Fortunately for us, most Bay Area legislators supported the $15 vehicle fee that would have funded our state park system and given citizens free day-use to parks. Unfortunately, the Democrats couldn’t sway Republican legislators to vote for what was clearly best for California.</p><p>Let’s be clear about this. Our parks are being closed because most Republican state legislators chose to act like political eunuchs, bowing down and signing onto Grover Norquist’s no-tax-hike pledge, putting their ideology ahead of practicality.</p><p>“Stupid is as stupid does,” said Forrest Gump. Republicans: the state-park-closure party.</p><p>BILL KRUMBEIN</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p><p>Did you pay?</p><p>EDITOR: A note to all the folks who utilize the trails and spaces in Annadel State Park: Unless you paid an entrance fee at the Channel Drive entrance or bought a park pass, you are partly to blame for its potential closure. Because you have not been counted by paying a fee, this park is considered for closure as a “little-used” park. This is absurd. We all know that there are thousands of users in this park every weekend, but very few are counted.</p><p>It is also absurd that people commenting on pressdemocrat.com think that we volunteers can “run the park.” We volunteers already are patroling and maintaining the park to our best abilities. When was the last time you volunteered to help the Sonoma County Trails Council work on the trails in this park? Put your time where your comments are, and get out there and support the park you are using.</p><p><NO1>Volunteers cannot run this park. This park needs law enforcement in the uniform of a state park ranger for our protection and support. This park needs the paid maintenance staff that regularly keeps the trees cleared from the trails and cleans the restrooms, among other things. </p><p>SARAH REID</p><p><i>Santa Rosa</i></p>