American River Parkway Budget Hearing Time and Place

This is the last scheduled communication before the March 9th meeting.

MARCH 9TH - AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY BUDGET HEARING TIME SET
The time for the Board of Supervisor's (BOS) meeting on Tuesday, March 9th has been announced. Meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. The projected time the Parkway will be discussed is around 11:30 a.m. Remember, if funding is cut as proposed, this 5,000 acre jewel, the literal heart of Sacramento County, will rapidly tarnish, become unsafe and ultimately unusable by those of us who go to the Parkway to exercise, experience nature, gaze, reflect and refresh ourselves.

ATTEND & SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
Please show your support by coming down to 700 H Street, Room 2450 on March 9th. It is imperative that we have a large turnout to let the BOS know this community understands the value of the Parkway -- as a personal retreat and a financial asset and income generator to the County of Sacramento. Our Parkway is famous across the United States. The Save the American River Association (SARA) has received many letters of support for the Parkway from out-of-town users -- from L. A. to Oregon -- in response to the December 29, 2003 front page Sacramento Bee "Parkway in Peril" article by Blair Robertson. An Oregonian wrote to SARA to express his alarm that the Parkway might be closed, as he and his family vacation in Sacramento every year, specifically to enjoy the Parkway. He said, by closing the Parkway, the County . . . "is walking over dollars to save nickels and dimes." For example, if the gates are closed, the County will not be able to collect the almost $900,000 in parking fees it receives from Parkway users annually.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
When you arrive, please check in at the SARA table outside of the Supervisor's Chambers. We will give you a slip of paper explaining the procedure and ask you to sign a speaker's card. You do not have to speak -- the card will have a space to state your reason for attending. This is important so that the supervisor's know you were there and where you stand. If you do choose to speak, be sure and identify your community affiliation, i.e. homeowner's association, neighborhood, school business, Parkway user organization, etc. so the BOS sees the diversity of the audience. The more diverse the attendance the better. White name tags with blue borders and the letters K P O at the top will be handed out as you enter the hearing. K P O stands for Keep Parkway Open and we are asking attendees to add their name and affiliation on the name tag.




DONATING TO THE PARKWAY IN PERIL FUND
ARHNA (American River Natural History Association) has set up a Parkway in Peril fund. Those wishing to make donations, 100% of which will go to the support of the American River Parkway, may send their check to:


Parkway in Peril Fund
c/o ARHNA
P.O. Box 241
Carmichael, CA 95609-0241

REMEMBER, FOR THE MOST CURRENT UPDATES, VISIT THE SAVE THE AMERICAN RIVER ASSOCIATION (SARA) WEBSITE:
Go to http://www.sarariverwatch.org/pages/1/index.htm, and click on News and Issues



Warren Truitt
wvt [at] infomania.com

NOTE: For those of you who are receiving this group mailing for the first time, I am a long-time member of SARA and a passionate supporter of the American River Parkway. This is not an official SARA communication. A few months back, I began sending this periodic mailing to friends whom I knew to be Parkway users and supporters. Many of the recipients forwarded the information on to others and this is possibly how you were included. You are encouraged to pass this communication on to others who share our love of the Parkway. The purpose of these e-mails is to keep interested persons and organizations abreast of the challenge before us, i.e. to keep the Parkway open and safe in the short-run and independently funded in the long-run. If you wish to have your name removed from this list, please advise via return e-mail.