By Mary O’KEEFE

A Park Needs Assessment workshop sponsored by the Crescenta Valley Town Council will be held on Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Rosemont Middle School auditorium.

The County of Los Angeles is in the process of studying park and recreation facilities to better understand how to improve, expand and make parks more accessible, according to the L.A. Parks and Recreation website.

“Over the past 22 years the RPOSD (Regional Park and Open Space District) has awarded more than $1 billion to parks projects across Los Angeles County,” said Leslie Dickson, CVTC president in a previous interview.

RPOSD was created after voters approved Proposition A, the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act, in November 1992. This authorized an annual assessment on all parcels of property within L.A. County. However, on June 30 the authority to levy assessments under Prop A sunsetted. It was extended with another vote in 1996 that extended the assessment to June 30, 2019.

Prop P was placed on the ballot in November 2014 and would have extended the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act, but did not get the two-thirds vote required. If it had succeeded it would have extended the funding through an annual $23 per parcel special tax for 30 years.

The town council and Michael Antonovich of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors have teamed up to get the word out about the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act and to help residents understand that Prop P was a continuation of Prop A, not a new tax. The Jan. 30 meeting will be an opportunity for the community not only to ask questions about the proposal but also to share opinions on what they would like improved at their local parks.

Residents do not have to live within the areas the meetings cover. Dickson and former CVTC president Robbyn Battles attended the parks assessment meeting covering Sunland Tujunga parks and made suggestions.

Future meetings include Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. at the La Cañada Flintridge City Hall Council Chambers, 1327 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada Flintridge; Jan. 21 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the L.A. County unincorporated area of Altadena, Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr., Altadena; Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon in the L.A. County unincorporated area of La Crescenta at Rosemont Middle School, 4725 Rosemont Ave., La Crescenta; Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in the Glendale south area, Pacific Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave., Glendale; Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. in the Glendale far north area, Sparr Heights Community Center, 1613 Glencoe Way, Glendale; Feb. 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the L.A. County unincorporated area of Agua Dulce-Angeles National Forest-Canyon Country, Agua Dulce Women’s Club, 33201 Agua Dulce Canyon Road, Aqua Dulce.

For more information, visit http://lacountyparkneeds.org.

  Mary Okeefe