Officials have big plans for Sonoma County park tax

Sonoma County voters are weighing a sales tax measure on the November ballot that would provide millions of dollars for improvements and expansion of the regional parks system, including several Petaluma-area projects.

The half-cent sales tax increase in the unincorporated county would raise $95 million over the 10-year life of the tax, according to county estimates. The money would be earmarked for Sonoma County Regional Parks, a network of 56 existing parks and trails, and several dozen planned new parks or expansions.

Parks officials say that a dedicated funding source is the best way to complete all of the proposed park projects in the next decade. Opponents, who have been critical of the county’s fiscal management, especially over public pensions, say the Board of Supervisors should get its financial house in order before asking taxpayers for more money.

“The benefits are massive, and the cost is extremely minimal,” said Caryl Hart, director of Sonoma County Regional Parks.

The sales tax increase would apply only to transactions in the unincorporated area. The current sales tax rate in the county is 8.25 percent, lower than in most Sonoma County cities. Hart said that the bulk of the unincorporated county’s retail is from wineries, and she said shoppers in the Petaluma area would see little impact compared to the benefit to parks in the south county.

Taxpayer advocates point to the larger problem of the county’s unfunded pension liability. Dan Drummond, the executive director of the Sonoma County Taxpayer’s Association, said that his group has yet to take a position on the measure, but will likely be against it because it gives supervisors a cushion to avoid the pension issue.

“We would oppose this tax,” he said. “If it is going to augment a general fund item, we would oppose it until they address the pension problem.”

Hart said that the county parks department receives 18 percent of its budget from the general fund. The rest comes from sales of park memberships, grants and fundraising efforts. She said that the sales tax measure includes a so-called maintenance of effort provision, meaning the new revenue will not supplant the current level of county funding.

Revenue from the measure can only be spent on parks, and requires a two-thirds majority to pass. Carol Eber, chair of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation and a Petaluma resident, knows how difficult it can be to pass a sales tax measure for parks. In 2012, she led an effort to pass Measure X, a sales tax for Petaluma city parks that received nearly 62 percent but failed to get the required two-thirds support.

Eber said the county measure would be great for parks like Tolay and Helen Putnam.

“It brings terrific opportunity,” she said. “It’s about enhancing the parks we have in this county.”

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which owns the Graton Resort and Casino, has donated $200,000 to the campaign to pass the tax measure. The tribe has been a supporter of the county parks system, especially Tolay Lake Regional Park, which contains Native American artifacts.

Parks users - there were 5 million visitors in the past five years - seem in favor of the tax, though officials point out that polling for tax measures has become less reliable. Kelly White, a Santa Rosa resident who stopped at Helen Putnam Regional Park this week on her way to work in Marin County, said that she would vote for the measure.

“I’m all for the parks,” she said. “We’re taxed no matter what. Might as well have it go to the parks.”

According to the county’s spending plan, parks in the Petaluma area are slated for improvements if the measure passes.

Tolay Lake Regional Park off of Lakeville Highway would get a massive face lift, and the revenue could expedite that park’s complete public opening. Currently visitors can only use the park with a special permit.

Planned improvements at Tolay include new hiking trails, backcountry camping facilities, restrooms, interpretative and educational materials and wetlands restoration.

The proposal includes an expansion of Helen Putnam Regional Park just west of Petaluma. Other planned improvements at Helen Putnam include trail renovation, woodland enhancement, improved fishing access and family picnic facilities.

Crane Creek Regional Park just north of Penngrove would receive new picnic areas and resurfaced trails in addition to an expansion of the park with links to Sonoma State University.

The measure would also fund the Petaluma-Sebastopol Trail, a proposed 11-mile bike path between the two communities along a former railroad right of way. It would also help construct Sonoma County’s portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail, linking Petaluma, Port Sonoma, Skaggs Island and Sonoma, and improve boating access on the Petaluma River as part of the San Francisco Bay Water Trail.

“A lot of these projects are in the planning phase,” Hart said. “We’ve raised the money to do the planning, but there is no money to execute the plan.”

She said that most Bay Area counties have dedicated funding sources for parks. Sonoma County leaders, she said, have placed other priorities like roads and public safety above park funding.

“Everyone loves parks, but let’s face it, the board of supervisors has laid out its priorities,” she said. “It’s up to the public to decide if this is a priority.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)