San Joaquin County will invest $1.37 million in upgrades at several neighborhood parks as well as Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi.
The Board of Supervisors approved the funding last week as part of the county’s 2024-2025 Parks and Recreation budget.
“For too long, our parks have been underfunded and overlooked, but this Board has committed to improving local services and expanding recreational opportunities for families in San Joaquin County,” Board Chair Paul Canepa said in a statement.
The bulk of the money — $1.25 million — will be used for security enhancements, including fencing, security lighting and overnight patrols, at nine local parks. Smaller portions will be allotted for maintenance upgrades at regional sports complexes and a new van for the zoo.
Dan Wirtz, director of the county’s General Services Department, and Assistant Director Connie Hart explained the blighted conditions of some of the community parks to the board.
“Graffitti, vandalism, theft. This puts staff away from their core duties of maintaining the parks,” Hart said during a presentation last week. “We want to change that and return these parks to the communities.”
The parks targeted for upgrades are Boggs Tract, Larch Clover, Eastside, Madison, Garden Acres, Taft, Gianone, West Jackson and Kennedy.
On Saturday afternoon, Edgar Tejedalopez and Tony Viramonte, both of whom live in Stockton, were shooting hoops at Garden Acres Park.
“It’s pretty much a place to have fun,” Tejedalopez said while dodging puddles on the basketball court from the recent rains.
But both youths acknowledged that the parks could benefit from some additional security measures.
Like many neighborhood parks in the county, Garden Acres does not have security fencing or lighting beyond streetlights. A rusty cable attached to waist-high pylons runs along the front entrance, separating the parking lot on Bird Avenue from the basketball court, a baseball field and a small playground.
“These investments reflect our commitment to making parks safer, more accessible and better equipped for our residents,” Canepa said in announcing the upgrades planned for the nine parks.
About $53,000 from the additional funding will be used to buy new sprinklers and other park maintenance equipment, the county said.
In addition to money for the parks, Micke Grove Zoo will get an extra $66,500. The funds will go toward the purchase of a new van for its Zoo Education Program as well as the conceptual design of a potential future primate exhibit.
For visitors Bria Thomas and Anthony Nevarez, who were visiting the zoo Saturday with their children, both updates were welcome news.
“That was the first thing he was asking for was to see the monkeys,” Thomas said, nodding toward one of the children with her while they took in the bird exhibit.
Nevarez said a van that could be used to transport schoolchildren to and from the zoo would help kids have the opportunity to see all of the exhibits at the five-acre facility and learn more about the animals in person.
“It’s a lot different, honestly, seeing things in real life than watching them on a video or seeing pictures of them,” said Nevarez, one of only a couple dozen visitors to the zoo that day.
“A lot of kids would like that,” he said.