CSA 36 recreation meeting

Special CSA 36 meeting to focus on recreation contract

A three-hour meeting County Service Area (36) meeting, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. will be held at the Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) meeting room. The purpose is to explain widely circulated but inaccurate misconceptions about the county’s role in recreation management, the CSA’s responsibility for local oversight, county expectations of a recreation contractor, and to conduct a dialogue with a wide group of Idyllwild residents interested in new recreation opportunities – opportunities limited not just to children and adults who play sports, but to Idyllwild’s full demographic.

Verne Lauritzen, Third District Supervisor Jeff Stone’s chief of staff will represent the Supervisor, as will Opal Hellweg, Stone’s legislative assistant. CSA Operations Manager Bill Brown and Deputy Mike Franklin will attend to dialogue with the community.

Brown said he wants to smooth over bad feelings that he and Supervisor Stone believe come from residents not understanding the county’s existing mandate for overseeing recreation, as well as its fiduciary and liability responsibilities for seeing that its contractor performs according to contract and CSA and county standards.

The decision regarding recreation management, and whether or not Idyllwild Community Recreation Council’s (ICRC) existing contract will be rewritten for a renewal period, will likely be announced. The county is interested in hearing primarily from the ICRC board — specifically its strategy and plan for expanding recreation to meet demands of Idyllwild’s currently underserved demographic, including seniors. If the county agrees to give ICRC a new contract, that contract, according to county officials, will be more explicit and detailed than the existing one — one with benchmarks enforceable by the county which, if met, could enhance county trust in ICRC management, or if not, lead to termination.