By Jo Schaper

If St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley or the County Council had any doubts that residents were unhappy with plans to shutter 23 of 63 parks next year, those doubts were laid to rest when some 500 folks showed up at a protest rally and budget hearing in Clayton last night to demand the parks stay open.

Prior to the hearing, the plaza south of the County Government Center resembled a St. Patrick’s Day event, with parks supporters in green waving signs with slogans as succinct as “Save our Parks,” as creative as “Parks put the field in field trip,” and with a few pointedly political such as “Dooley Take A Hike.” The mood of the approximately 175 people at the rally, some of whom later spoke inside, was both determined and festive.

“It’s about the economic impact, it’s about how we want to raise our children,” said Ron Coleman, executive director for the Open Space Council said at the rally. “My boys grew up in our parks. Your park may not be one of the 23 set for closing, but your park may be next. It’s taken us 50 years to get the system we have, by leveraging private and public money. We’re not going to watch this be destroyed.”

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The 240 seat council chamber filled quickly and about 150 people watched via monitors outside.

Ninety people signed up to say their allotted two minutes at the meeting, which ran until 9:40 p.m. Nearly every park user group sent someone: equestrians, hikers, runners, employees former employees, anglers, swimming pool instructors, an athletic association, historic preservation spokesmen, birders, parks volunteers, kayakers, and county and non-county residents found common cause in the threat to their green space.

All ages and levels of political and parks expertise were represented, from 10-year-old Lily and 12-year-old Charlie Springer of St. Louis, who presented 241 signatures to the council to older environmental fight veterans like Coleman, George Weber, who personally brought elk to Lone Elk Park in the 1960s, and Kay and Leo Drey, seated in the front row of the auditorium.

“I love the parks,” Lily Springer said, “Have you thought about the animals that live there? Please keep the parks for the children now and in the future. Mr. Dooley, will you be willing to wear my sticker?” she said, as she handed her I (heart) Parks sticker to the county executive to loud applause.

Joshua Lembeck, a college student from Valley Park, made an appeal for anglers. “I’ve studied business and biology and I’ve worked for sporting good stores. I’m a fisherman. I’m fishing three times a week if I can. It takes a lot of money to be a fisherman, especially with some lures being $8 apiece, and then you lose them in the lake, and have to get more. There’s a big economic impact from people who go to the parks to fish.”

Some made specific appeals for specific parks slated for closure, like Mark West of the Trappers of Starved Rock, whose mountain man group has used Sioux Passage Park for its fall rendezvous for the last 17 years. Several people spoke personally on behalf of Esley Hamilton, the county parks’ historic preservation expert, whose job is one of the approximately 140 parks positions eliminated under the budget proposal.

Steve Stenger, 6th District councilman and council chair, began the meeting, saying, “I’ve received hundreds of comments already from park supporters. I personally will not support a budget that seeks to sell parks or close parks.”

“I’m so happy to see so many people here,” Dooley said. “I know the parks are one of the things you love about this county. There is no joy in closing any parks or laying off any workers. It is St. Louis County’s problem, and I’m asking for help in solving the problem. If I thought the money was there, I would have appropriated the money. I’m encouraged by this crowd. They want to make this work, and they have some great ideas.”

But, by the end of the evening, few solutions had emerged. Suggestions included spreading the budget cutbacks over all departments, looking into a special parks sales tax similar to the ones the state manages, raiding the county’s contribution to the Zoo-Museum taxing district, establishing a public-private partnership like Forest Park Forever, boosting the parks’ property tax to seven cents from five, employee furloughs and even eliminating the county’s touch screen voting system, reverting to paper election ballots and sending the surplus to fund parks.

Dooley denied ever planning to sell any parks outright, but reiterated his plan to partner with county municipalities or the state by having them take over management of parks within their boundaries. On Wednesday, Governor Jay Nixon pledged to consider state-county strategies to preserve some parks, such as Lone Elk, which border state lands.

Marty Koch, whose Facebook campaign to save the parks began as an effort to avoid specific sales or closures, has turned his focus to saving the system where he worked for 30 years. “So, there I am, in the 7th year of retirement when I read about this,” he said. “In the last three weekends of giving out flyers, I’ve seen women break down when they heard the news. I’ve seen children crying at the barn at Suson Park, when they’ve come to say goodbye to their favorite cow. The county park system is a system. That’s what we have to fight for, now.”

Stenger, special budget committee chair Mike O’Mara (District 4), members Kathleen Burkett (District 2) and Colleen Wasinger (District 3) will meet to discuss ways to amend the budget on Monday Nov. 21. Public comments will not be taken at that meeting, but Stenger emphasized several times that comments submitted in writing, by email or phone to committee members would be looked at or heard by all.