Candidates discussed strategies for financing the maintenance and expansion of Clark County's regional park system amidst growing demand and limited resources. Proposed solutions for long-term upkeep included enforcing park entry fees, establishing a metropolitan park district to share costs county-wide, and prioritizing parks within the existing general fund budget. Additionally, preserving the local tree canopy and supporting conservation district levies were highlighted as essential measures for maintaining the area's green spaces.
Forests_green_space
Election 2026: League of Women Voters Primary Candidate Forum · Jul 02, 2026 · 48:28–48:38 · Watch on CVTV ↗
Keywords: open space tree canopy parks
What was said
47:25 That's always a challenge because we are a county, unfortunately, that has a sales tax leakage issue because we're right next to Portland. And what does that mean to us? A lot of us go shop over in Portland because some of us are tax evaders. So that, unfortunately, takes money from our general fund. I think there are ways, and we've discussed this on council, in order to raise additional revenue to keep the parks in the most beautiful way that they can be. And recently we just talked about finding, actually, people who did not pay the park entry fees and what that would look like and the amount of revenue we could potentially raise for the parks. That has not come back to the council, but we are having conversations about that. I also recently spoke to a parks board member. - Thank you. Candidates Zingale, how do you suggest we finance maintenance and expansion of Clark County's regional park system on a long-term basis
48:25 as demand grows and resources become more limited? - My kids literally play in our Clark County parks every single day. They are important, it's one of the things that keeps bringing people here to Clark County. And we have an issue that we need to address. There was an article, I believe it was in The Reflector, just this last little bit about moving to a metropolitan park district. Now that would have to be brought out to voters, but that would allow us to spread the costs out across the entire county and alleviate some of those different stresses. Under that approach, the revenue from the district would be shared with cities, which would also then be able to manage their own parks within those different boundaries. And so as we look forward to managing all of this, I really think we have to look at this innovative design that's been working in King County and other places so that we can sustain, and not just sustain, but grow our incredible parks here, because they are part of the reason
49:22 why so many people are living and love to live here. - Thank you. Candidate Pittione, how do you suggest we finance maintenance and expansion of Clark County's regional park system on a long-term basis as demand grows and resources become more limited? - Well, so first of all, I agree with both
Evidence (1 match)
direct keyword 48:28–48:38 open space, tree canopy, parks
ber. - Thank you. Candidates Zingale, how do you suggest we finance maintenance and expansion of Clark County's regional park system on a long-term basis as demand grows and resources become more limited? - My kids literally play in our Clark County parks every single day. They are important, it's one of the things that keeps bringing people here to Clark County. And we have an issue that we need to address. There was an article, I believe it was in The Reflector, just this last little bit about