Not enough green for parks

SACRAMENTO — Labor Day means picnics in parks. State budget deficits mean continued deterioration of state parks. And that's where Californians are this holiday.

A million people are expected to pack California's 279 state parks this weekend.

And 121 people -- the legislators and governor -- still are trying to fill yet another budget hole that gobbles up money that should be going to parks.

Leafing through a lengthy legislative budget proposal, I was stunned to read: "State parks have an approximate deferred maintenance need of $1.2 billion."

This particular proposal offered a mere $12.2 million in catch-up maintenance money, roughly what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has recommended and the sum most likely to be ultimately approved. All the money came from bond funds authorized by voters in 2006 -- a questionable public policy of repairing leaky plumbing and washed-out trails with borrowed money that the state still will be paying back in 30 years.

Pay-as-you-go would be a preferred policy, but under current circumstances there seems little choice. There's not much money for maintenance, let alone repairs.

"There are a lot of bathrooms that don't work, which is disgusting," says Bobby Shriver, former chairman of the state parks commission.

"Many parks are not properly patrolled. One ranger is responsible for thousands of acres so there's no true safety."

Shriver was booted off the commission in March by his brother-in-law, the governor. Officially, the Santa Monica city councilman was denied the reappointment he had sought. Actor-director Clint Eastwood, the commission vice-chairman, received the same punishment.

Their crime? Trying to protect San Onofre State Beach from a six-lane toll road advocated by the governor.

Schwarzenegger began the year by proposing to close 48 parks and reduce lifeguards at beaches in San Diego, Orange and Santa Cruz counties. His action dramatized the state's fiscal predicament but also created a public uproar. There are nearly 80 million park visits each year.

The governor's whacking of parks would have saved only $13.3 million -- relative chump change -- and lost an estimated $3.7 million in park fees. By May, he backed off.

But it illustrated the parks' persistent peril.

"We've taken a big cut over the years," says Ruth Coleman, director of the state Parks and Recreation Department. "Every time the economy drops, parks takes a budget hit, then doesn't recover during the good times. That's why we have a $1.2-billion backlog. . . .