Illinois Valley News

Josephine County Commissioner Dave Toler has been working diligently for many months in his role as parks liaison to provide for better enforcement of rules and regulations at those county facilities.

Those efforts have paid off, as the board of commissioners will vote to approve a new parks ordinance early next month. The ordinance will not take effect until at least the middle of December, so it won“t be in place for the remainder of this summer tourist season.

However, Parks Director Doreen Ferguson stated that she still is pleased to see it enacted.

“What this does is, it enables the rangers to do their jobs in a way that is actually effective, and eliminate some of the arguments that we have had over basic rules,“ Ferguson said.

The ordinance was discussed by the board of commissioners during its Thursday, Aug. 12 meeting with county legal counsel. Ferguson was present, with members of the parks advisory board.

Commissioners were presented the latest draft of the ordinance, which is nine pages long. Chairman Dwight Ellis expressed his approval of the document.

“As far as I“m concerned, I“m ready to move forward with it,“ Ellis said.

A first reading of the ordinance will be scheduled for a Wednesday weekly business session in early September, after Ellis returns from a vacation. Ellis“ presence will be necessary to pass the ordinance, as Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli has indicated that she likely will vote against it.

The draft ordinance spells out the authority and duties for the parks director. It enables her to issue and revoke permits, collect fees for campground rentals, pavilions and yurts, and order any person in violation to leave the park involved.

Under provisions of the draft ordinance, it will be unlawful to possess kegs of beer in county parks without prior written permission from the parks director or a “designee.“ The county Circuit Court will have jurisdiction over violations of the ordinance.

The parks director or designee will be authorized to issue citations and act as enforcement officers.

“It won“t be all of our employees, it will be just the ranger staff and myself that will be able to issue citations,“ Ferguson said. “We don“t want to punish the public, and we don“t want them to go away. We just need them to pay the fee, because it costs us money to operate the parks.“

The first reading of the ordinance will take place either Sept. 1 or 8. That will be followed by a second reading, and the ordinance would become law 90 days after.

“We don“t expect to see a lot of revenue from this, but that“s not why we want to do this,“ said Ferguson. “We want people that come into the park to pay the fee, and they haven“t been doing that because they know there are no consequences for that. It“s made our job very difficult.

“I“m very happy that this is happening. There“s a collective sigh of relief from our staff because they will be able to do their jobs, and hopefully increase revenue, which will go right back into the parks.“

We want to hear from you!
Add your thoughts with the link below.

Comments returning soon!

Back to top of story