Oakland Not Interested In Park Safety

The Friends of Oakland Park Rangers released the following statement.

Since 2000, when the City of Oakland had 21 authorized park ranger positions, until now when there are now only three authorized park ranger positions, the Oakland city council has cut 18 authorized park ranger positions.

Up until last November when the city council cut five of the eight authorized park ranger positions, Oakland's parks were patrolled from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. every day. Now the Park Rangers only patrol our parks from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday thru Sunday. There are no longer park rangers on nights, holidays, Mondays, or Tuesdays.

The City of Oakland had the opportunity to restore some or all of the 18 park rangers that have been eliminated, with funding for their entire entry-level salary and benefits paid by the U.S. government under the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP). The city council authorized the city administrator to apply for funds under this grant program. The city administrator and police department determined that they would not seek any of this money to replace any of the park ranger positions that have been cut over the past eight years.

Turning down the opportunity to restore some or all of the park ranger positions with the cost being paid for three years by the U.S. government shows the city's total lack of concern for the safety of our parks, our youth, the park staff, and park patrons.

Council member Quan in a response to a constituent last week said it all: "Funding is not a problem;" "I don't disagree that the department does not want rangers;" and "I don't believe that the council will change its position: we think the rangers have a different knowledge set and of course they are paid less. We have nearly 2000 acres of parks, each with different terrain and the average patrol officer will not know those issues."

If Council member Quan's statements were her honest feelings about park safety and the need of park rangers, knowing that we need the park rangers, and the police department does not want the park rangers, council member Quan and the city council would immediately take the following actions:

• Direct the City Administrator to submit a COPS Hiring Recovery Program grant application to restore some or all of the 18 park ranger positions that have been eliminated in the past eight years. (The grant application must be submitted by April 14, 2009.)

• Move the park rangers back to the Office of Parks and Recreation, where their services are wanted, the employees are appreciated, and they will not be in fear of losing their job each time there is a budget deficit.

Please call or email the city council members and let them know your thoughts about park safety and the park rangers. Don't let the City fail to provide safe parks and not apply for the federal grant to provide for park safety, paid for by the U.S. government.

A Searing Yet Understated Indictment

The above statement by Friends of Oakland Park Rangers is a searing indictment of City officials for reducing the ranger unit to a mere shadow of its former self.

And yet, out of courtesy perhaps, the Friends understated the falsehood and bad faith at City Hall. While making the above remarks about rangers, councilmember Quan also wrote, "The main problem is that rangers and police get the same training and few choose to be or remain rangers because of the salary difference." (Post to neighborhood email group, Apr. 2, 2009)

Quan specializes in such statements – festooned with a diversionary detail or two, posing as serious policy discussion, yet upon a moment's reflection, so untrue as to be an insult to the public. When the City had far more than the mere three authorized rangers today, they were trained as sworn officers and the salary differential was there. For all that, the City never seemed to have a problem filling the positions whenever it wanted to. Some people obviously prefer park ranger work, regardless of the salary differential. So much for Quan's "explanation" of alleged hiring difficulty.

No Rangers to Catch Nightime Bonfire Party Fools

A resident reports on a neighborhood email list:

I was just up in Joaquin Miller Park and was told that there had been a large bonfire in the redwoods on Friday night. The next morning at 9 a.m. a hiker found the fire still smoldering on Big Trees Trail with about 40 empty nitrous oxide canisters left behind.

The park rangers no longer have a night shift, so they are not patrolling then. If you see a bunch of cars parked along Skyline after dark, call the non-emergency number. There have been more and more parties up in the Joaquin Miller Park area lately, because nobody is breaking them up. Fires have been found smoldering the next day on several occasions in the last couple of months. We don't need another hills fire, especially after such a dry year.