Point Reyes Light - October 27, 2005
Supervisors OK Forest Knolls Park renovations
By Dave Mitchell
County supervisors Tuesday approved a design for extensively renovating Forest Knolls Park. The work will be carried out over several years as money becomes available. Critics of the park say it is in shoddy condition and has become a hangout for drunks and drug users. In addition, it currently is not fully wheelchair accessible, as is required by law. The supervisors this week gave the go-ahead to spend $25,000 in the coming year, with the project ultimately totaling $165,000.
Mark Riesenfeld, interim director of the county Parks and Open Space District, presented the board with a proposed plan that was drafted after community meetings in January and June; it was further tweaked following another San Geronimo Valley meeting this month, he said.
Riesenfeld summarized the final plan as:
• "Providing an accessible parking stall and an accessible path of travel (decomposed granite) to features throughout the park.
• "Providing new and updated play equipment.
• "Creating a group picnic area and public gathering spot.
• "Installing an accessible por-table restroom.
• "Creating a streamside-conservation zone."
Following this month’s meeting, the plan had been slightly modified, Riesenfeld said, to include:
• "Providing hand-washing capability at or near the restroom.
• "Providing a drinking fountain with a dog-bowl component and ability for children to fill a bucket with water.
• "Providing recycling capability."
Although the park proposals had previously sparked widespread interest in the San Geronimo Valley, only four Valley residents showed up for the supervisors’ vote. Three, who spoke in favor of the plan, were from the ad hoc Forest Knolls Park Committee of the San Geronimo Planning Group: chairman Fred Mundy, David Fisher, and Jean Berensmeier.
Forest Knolls resident Ace Thelin, however, vehemently argued against the county doing the work, saying it should be done by the community.
After the meeting Berensmeier of Lagunitas told The Light, "This plan will go a long way toward making the park attractive and usable for the broad cultural diversity in our community – families, parents with preschoolers, teens, as well as single adults.
A safer park
"County maintenance, signage and sheriff drive-bys should take care of the drunks and drug users, who have claimed too much of the park in recent years. The park will have safe, healthy, and challenging new play equipment that meets current standards and maintains our rural character. It will meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
"Finally, [the plan] recognizes the need to protect Montezuma Creek, which borders the west side of the park and is spawning habitat for coho salmon and steehead trout."
Berensmeier and Supervisor Steve Kinsey have sometimes been political adversaries; however, after the vote she complimented Kinsey. He "did a good job" laying out the "need" for renovating the park and in describing the "community input" that went into the final design. The supervisors’ vote to begin renovating the park was unanimous.