San Rafael, CA – Marin County Parks is launching a wide-reaching community engagement program and asking residents to provide their feedback on services via an online community survey available at MarinParksSurvey.com.
Through the survey, Marin County Parks wants to hear from local residents about the programs they enjoy, potential areas of improvement and new priorities. This is Deer Island Open Space Preserve in Novato.After almost six years since Marin County Parks, Open Space, and Farms Measure A, Marin County Parks wants to hear from local residents about the programs they enjoy, potential areas of improvement and new priorities. The survey opened February 11 and takes only about 5 minutes to complete.
“The responses we receive will help us maintain a high level of service and guide our decision-making,” said Max Korten, Parks’ Director and General Manager. “We’re asking members of the public to help us by answering simple questions so we stay on track and in tune with the community.”
Measure A, otherwise known as the Marin Parks, Open Space, and Farmland Preservation Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance of 2012, generates an average of $13.4 million per year and has resulted in a total of $50.3 million in investments in parks, open spaces, and agricultural preservation across Marin County as of June 2018. These investments have allowed the county and local governments to increase fire fuel reduction, address deferred maintenance in parks, increase community programming, support working lands, protect and restore natural habitat, and improve trails. Measure A funding has touched every corner of Marin.
Parks also has invested heavily in agency and community partnerships, including residents in ways that are personally meaningful, and providing more opportunities to volunteer and have a voice in land management. The One Tam partnership has helped land managers and the community to come together to care for Marin’s iconic lands on Mount Tamalpais.
Measure A has contributed to fire safety as well. After the 2017 North Bay Fires, Parks staff joined with first responders and land managers to create a much-needed vegetation map of Marin. The tax measure has allowed Parks to increase its vegetation management work tenfold and leverage outside grants to fund wildfire fuel reduction efforts in and adjacent to County-owned lands.
“We’ve been able to remove invasive species and improve biodiversity at the same time we’re reducing the threat of wildfire,” Korten said.
The survey will be open until March 25, 2019. Results will be summarized in a report and shared with the community and Marin County Board of Supervisors the following month.
Learn more about Parks at www.marincountyparks.org. It’s always in need of volunteers, and you can learn more about those opportunities on the website as well.