Save Our County Parks!
If you OPPOSE closing parks and selling  land, sign the petition!

Picture
The politicians are playing games with our lives again! Tell Charlie Dooley and the County Council that this is where we draw the line. Parks are not a luxury, they are a necessity!

The proposed County budget:
  • Slashes an already emaciated Parks budget
  • Closes almost 40% of the Parks in the system,
  • Suggests that selling parkland to fund other operations is not only acceptable, but desirable.
  • Singles out the Parks department for disproportionate cuts.
Park land is priceless infrastructure for any community that seeks to be a place where people want to live and businesses want to locate. For our County Government to contemplate selling parks to extort a higher  tax is outrageous and corrupt. They are selling off our community assets in order to prosper at the community's expense. Tell the County Council NO! Remind them that elections for 3 council seats are next November and the remaining 4 seats are up for re-election in 2013. Closed and deteriorating parks are not something voters will forget!!!

What You Can Do
 1) Attend the public hearing and use the  Public Forum to voice your opinion.
2) Call or E-mail the County Council and Charlie Dooley. Tell them that this is not a viable solution for St. Louis County. 
3) Sign the petition posted in the right column.
4) Write a letter to the editor of the Post-Dispatch or the Suburban Journal
5) Volunteer to pass out flyers informing your neighbors and park users of the issue and the Public Hearing date. Please contact The Open Space Council or Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth if you are interested. 
6) Download a Petition below and gather signatures
7) Download either of the Flyers below and distribute or post as many as you can. 

petition-_save_county_parks.pdf
File Size: 43 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Stand Up to Save Parks!
Attend the Public Hearing

St. Louis County Council Public Hearing on Proposed 2012 Budget- Tuesday November 15, 6:30pm
If you wish to speak at the hearing, please arrive at least 15 minutes early and fill out a speaker card with the Council Receptionist.
Note-There is a regular Council meeting on Tuesday November 8th at 6pm which you can attend and speak at if you cannot attend the Special Session on 11/15.

Here are the Facts:
  1. A 2008 study commissioned by St Louis County shows that more than 15 million people were using the County Parks system.
  2. Parks are economic engines, they build healthy communities and enhance property values
  3. Parks and Open Space reduce costs for storm water management and flood control.
  4. Parks provide free and low cost recreation, education, entertainment and gathering areas. 
  5. In many communities County Parks are the only recreational facilities that people have access to. 
They are saying that the reason the Parks budget is being cut so severely is that Parks don't make money. NOTHING in government makes money; Police, Fire Departments, Sewers, Roads, Parks, none of them make any money. That's why we pay taxes, we NEED them!!!

GoPetition

Yard Signs and Stickers

We have a limited number of "Save Our Park" Yardsigns to distribute. If you are interested please contact:
MHRRG: marylandheightsresidents@gmail.com  or
The Open Space Council: 636-451-6090 e-mail: info@openspacestl.org 

We will have people distributing "Save our Parks" stickers immediately before the Public Hearing on 11/15. Please look for volunteers and wear a sticker during the Council Hearing!
save_our_parks_flyer_white.pdf
File Size: 413 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
rally_for_parks.jpg
File Size: 1337 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File