County of Mendocino receives $2.2 Million from the State to address improvements for Bower Park

The County of Mendocino has been allocated $2.2 million from the State to address the critical needs of Mendocino County’s Bower Park located in Gualala. With this funding allocation, the County can move forward with improvements to the park in keeping with the Board of Supervisor’s adopted Parks Needs Assessment findings, with a focus on the safety issues in the first phase. Priority safety projects such as hazardous tree removal, fire and fuel mitigation, ADA improvements, and installing electricity through the park will be included in the first phase. As the project commences, the County will conduct community outreach to seek input on other types of improvements that may be of community interest for the park beyond those issues identified in the Needs Assessment.

The County would like to formally express its appreciation to Assemblymember Jim Wood, who facilitated the formal request to the State during a time when the County’s General Fund could not afford the improvements, and for his dedication to county needs. The County worked with his office on providing information about the needs and importance of the park for south coast residents.

“When I learned from a local resident that Bower Park had been closed because of safety issues and local residents would need to drive nearly an hour in any direction to the next closest park, I was pleased to work with the County to request this state budget allocation,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg). “This park is an important place for the local community to come together and these funds will ensure that the community has an accessible and safe place for youth baseball and soccer, an environment that can continue to foster community involvement by providing social, meeting and recreational opportunities and a place to continue to hold traditional holiday events.”

“Bower Park is a critical facility for our south coast,” added Chair Ted Williams. “Without this timely allocation, it was unclear how we’d find the resources to address the long overdue maintenance. Our state partners came through for us in a big way.”

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