Letter to the Editor:Theft and Administrator Misconduct at CRPD

Our viewpoints category is used for all submissions from community contributors, and occasionally we will receive opinion pieces that would traditionally be printed on a forum-type page. These letters will also be published under the viewpoints category but will be separated as opinion by being titled “Letter to the Editor.”  — Ed.

Updated: Thursday, September 2, 10:28 pm

A local group of residents voiced concerns over the ability of the Cordova Recreation and Park District to maintain existing park projects and complete a series of upcoming projects. Projects include the construction timeline for White Rock Park, maintenance issues at the new dog park, poor quality of the District maintained Villages at Zinfandel and the newly identified Anatolia Community and Sunridge constructions which should both be in the construction development process but are apparently inactive. Many note a lack of action from District Administrator, David Edmonds for many of the delays that have plagued the Districts reputation.

As reported on a recent online video, David Edmonds claims that District activity is the result of a cooperative work effort with other agencies. Although, other city, state and community development organizations report strongly that they have much difficulty working with Edmonds, noting Edmonds’ regular absence from his office, rarely attending meetings, community events and regularly missing deadlines when submitting requested documents.

Many question the start of construction at White Rock Park. According to gathered records, some funding has been identified for the project but a significant portion, one million dollars of the three and a half million needed has yet to be secured by the District from the City of Rancho Cordova. The missing funds are intended to pay for the neighborhood center, which is part of the current White Rock Construction project. Some believe that the Park District is attempting to force city officials to release funding toward this highly anticipated project by delaying submission of city requested documents known as the Memorandum of Understanding.

One resident told the Grapevine that Edmonds stated in March that the District was aware of the funding short fall and the District’s requirement to establish a Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Rancho Cordova to secure funding. As of August 31, 2010 Edmonds had failed to acquire funding approval from the city.

The dog park at Hagan Community Park is already suffering maintenance issues related to excessive degradation and poor maintenance practices of the facility. At the August 25, 2010 Cordova Recreation and Park District Board Meeting a small group of dog lovers noted the problems at the dog park including the closer of one half of the Dog Park. Edmonds stated at the Board Meeting that he was aware of the problems and told the Board of Directors that the locked gates had been unlocked as of that afternoon. However, upon review after the Board Meeting, attending members noted that the gates were still locked.

Anyone who drives along Zinfandel Drive in the Stone Creek development can easily notice the lack of streetscape maintenance by the District. Valid issues raised at an August Park District Board Meeting received a quick response from Edmonds, but action to correct the problems has yet to take place.

Its has been just over a year since the last reported robbery at the Cordova Recreation and Park District took place. Previous robberies were all too easy with entry doors unlocked and alarm systems turned off. Pulled police records revealed that there have been at least three cash robberies at the District since Administrator Edmonds took over in 2007, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars gone missing. After reviewing District facilities no new systems have been installed to prevent further thefts. Some question why large sums of money would be stored at the District overnight in a facility that is proven vulnerable.  Many consider the cash thefts are an ‘inside job’. No one has been arrested in the various cases; Park District staff provided no comment on the issue.

Below are the dates for three  robberies.

1. February 2008

2. August 2008

3. August 2009

The Anatolia Community Park seems dead in the water, not to begin construction for years to come. But recently a park in Rancho Cordova’s Sunridge Developmentwas supposed to be in construction development but is currently inactive. Reports show that park construction development is due to take place when 50% of the communities building permits have been issued. To date well over 50% of the permits have been issued by the City of Rancho Cordova, many phone calls to the Park District have resulted in few answers as to the status of the park’s development progress.

Submitted by Walter Clementine

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Posted by Walter Clementine on Sep 1 2010. Filed under Viewpoints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.