Title
a. Receive an update on Lakes Operations for the 2017 program year;
b. Provide direction to staff
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Parks Committee:
a. Receive an update on Lakes Operations for the 2017 program year;
b. Provide direction to staff
SUMMARY:
Beginning 2014, all Parks facilities at Lake San Antonio (LSA) were closed due to water levels dropping below 30%. Around that time, Monterey County entered into an agreement with CalParks to manage park operations and maintain County lake facilities at LSA and Lake Nacimiento. That agreement was extended for an additional 2-year term through October 2017.
In July 2016, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) named the RMA Director as Interim Director of Parks and requested staff to open Lake San Antonio (LSA). RMA provided a limited opening of LSA South Shore starting with the weekend of August 5, 2016. This was a "soft opening" that included limited camping areas and restricted boating on weekends only. Within a few weeks of opening, the Chimney Fire resulted in closing operations for the weekend of August 26th through 28th. LSA South Shore was reopened through Labor Day Weekend and then was closed for the winter.
The Parks Department FY 2016-17 Adopted Budget, which was created prior to Parks being integrated into RMA, did not anticipate the reopening of LSA operations and included no funding to do so. With the "soft opening" in 2016 and rising water levels in the lakes due to the significant storm activity this winter, there is interest in restoring parks operations at LSA for the 2017 season. Therefore, RMA and CalParks staff have begun evaluating conditions to assess what it would take to reopen LSA along with operating Lake Nacimiento. To develop options, we are evaluating the LSA facilities as two separate venues (North Shore and South Shore) since they offer different experiences that draw different clientele.
DISCUSSION:
LAKE NACIMIENTO
RMA and CalParks staff are reviewin...
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