It appears that there have been some some misguided plans and an inability in many areas to simply involve the community to improve Rancho area parks. It may be time for another change in leadership or a change to the structure of the CRPD. Clearly, the park district is not meeting the needs of Rancho Cordova residents and it’s time for the community to come together to make a change.

Recently, Cordova Towne residents met with Cordova Recreation and Park District officials to discuss the state of long neglected White Rock Park. Residents were dissatisfied with the maintenance, amenities, and security of the park in their neighborhood.

“Our park has been neglected for far too long,” said Ryan Lundquist, who’s lived on nearby Croydon Lane for four years. The swimming pool hasn’t been filled in two years, the tennis court is cracked and sometimes a “bad element” sets up camp in the park, he said. White Rock Park has gotten so run-down, Lundquist said, that his family’s motto has become “We drive to other parks.” There is more coverage available here.

There are some glimmers of hope. The regional Mather Sports Center at Mather Commerce Center is moving forward and looks to become a regional gem with softball fields, a skate park and more.

There are also major signs of problems within the park district. Last year, the Park District Administrator was forced out and David Edmonds was brought on board to right the ship. One of the major failures of the CRPD has been the inability to find funding, a suitable location or a landscape architect for the long awaited Rancho Cordova Dog Park. Although many volunteers have been diligently raising money for years and have selected a site at Hagan Park, the CRPD has failed to completed the requested upgrades.

Last December at a town hall meeting in the Anatolia neighborhood there was a lengthy discussion about parks and the new 25 acre Anatolia park being planned. At the time there were 3 neighborhood parks completed in the area; Argonaut park, Eagles Nest park, and Sandpiper park. The newly appointed Cordova Recreation and Park District administrator David Edmonds was on hand to share information about park development in the area and answer questions from residents about park amenities. He explained that the CRPD had pooled all available resources to try and meet the goals of the parks master plan for the new 25 acre park in Anatolia, but came up short. He explained that money for parks comes from developer fees, when they pull building permits, and not enough permits have been pulled by developers to fund the completion of all the master plan amenities.

The park district administrator stated that they are going to move forward with the first phase of the park development in the Spring of this year. The first phase would have included a softball/baseball complex with 2 lighted fields, 2 lighted tennis courts, 1 lighted basketball court, a group picnic area, multiple play areas including a water play feature, soccer fields, restrooms, concessions, along with a parking lot and small maintenance yard. Now six months after that statement, no development work has been started.

City Council members and Vice Mayor Dan Skoglund have been active participants in listening to the concerns of residents, but what action will Mayor Budge and the City take. If Rancho Cordova hopes to continue to progress into one of the best cities in the west and truly embrace the motto “City Life. Reinvented.” we’ll all need to focus some time and attention on our parks. The California Park and Recreation Society has developed a series on parks and their impact to a community. You can view them here.

The City’s of Folsom and Elk Grove have been innovators in this area with the new Folsom dog park opening August 16th, which the City of Folsom donated 100K, and Playground Partners in Elk Grove which brought 300 volunteers and $300,00 in donations together to rebuild Morse Park.

It’s time for the Mayor and City Council to take the lead and work actively with the CRPD to make the changes necessary to improve our parks so that Rancho Cordova can become the “City of Recreation”. Do you have an issue or question about parks in your neighborhood. Tell us your opinion in the comments.