Sacramento County wants to take over city-owned park they say is poorly managed
SACRAMENTO — Del Paso Regional Park is along Auburn Boulevard near Watt Avenue. It was once supposed to rival Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
"There's so much history here and I hate to just see it go," park neighbor Ron Jellison said.
It's filled with hiking trails and groves of century-old oak trees, but neighbors who live near the park say it's seen better days.
"It's just not very welcoming or comfortable," park neighbor Juliette Porro said.
Years ago, kids who once ran the bases on the ballfield there went on to play pro. Today, the stadium is overgrown with weeds and is locked up and off-limits to the public.
Now Sacramento County leaders are saying the city-owned park is so poorly managed, they want to take it over.
"This is an afterthought I think for the City of Sacramento," county Supervisor Rich Desmond said.
Del Paso Park is a geographical peninsula surrounded on three sides by property in the unincorporated county.
"As county residents, we have no say-so in what is going on in our very front yards," Jellison said.
Neighbors say they've complained to the city about safety issues like homeless encampments, fires, and flood control, but get no response.
"There's no maintenance being done, there are public safety issues here daily," park neighbor Doug Ose said.
"I can't even think of a time when the park rules were enforced on a regular basis," Jellison said.
The board of supervisors has now voted to ask the mayor and city to give up control of the park.
"The City of Sacramento is not accountable to residence or businesses," Desmond said.
The city says it has received more than $3 million from the state to begin park improvements with work set to begin next April.
A spokesman says they are aware of the county's request, and the city council would need to approve a formal de-annexation process for the handover to occur.
"We're just looking for a little bit of supervision, a little bit of maintenance," Jellison said.
"Just clean it up, maintain it, invest in it," Porro said.
If approved, the takeover would only include the 76 acres of the park east of Watt Avenue. The softball complex and golf course would not be impacted.