Poll: Don’t spend park money on Lafferty Ranch

Respondents in an online Argus-Courier poll said Petaluma should not spend park development fees to improve Lafferty Ranch. Almost 60 percent said that the city should spend the money on other park projects.

Here are some comments:

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“Absolutely not. Access to this very limited park is terrible. Home owners nearby have and will fight this vehemently. The parks we have now should be the recipients of this new found money. The property should be sold.”

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“Absolutely yes. This community has nothing for adult outdoor recreation. The fees that city staff estimated are ridiculously high and it will certainly not cost $4.1 million. Possibly one fourth of that.”

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“Forget Lafferty Ranch. We have many other parks.”

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“It’s about time it was opened to the public.”

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“It is a travesty that Petaluma has not opened Lafferty Park for the public by now. Yes we should spend park fees for Lafferty. Many of us are not children and don’t have children and do not wish to keep bleeding the park budget dry on playing fields. Use the hundreds of volunteers who are willing to go to work to get this park opened. We could do it for a fraction of the cost that was in the paper. Let us fund raise for it. Just open it.”

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“It is foolish to spend park fees at Lafferty when so many local parks in town, which might have been improved through funds from Measure X, are left in decline. Tolay park, which will open next year, is much more accessible and offers a much wider array of recreational opportunities than Lafferty. The city should sell the Lafferty property and use those funds for much-needed road repair.”

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