VICTOR EPPERLY, Kennewick
A recent editorial discussed the Kennewick Park and Recreation Commission's decision to consider a metropolitan park district to provide a dedicated source of funding for park services in the city. I suspect all our cities could use a dedicated source of funds for park services.
A regional metropolitan park district makes sense from the standpoint of addressing the funding needs for maintaining and developing local park and recreation services within all our cities.
But there is a broader reason to consider formation of a regional district. That is the fact that it could provide a means (with voter approval) to address regional projects such as a performing arts facility and other things that are well beyond the capacity of our cities to fund, yet are present in metropolitan areas of comparable size to the Tri-Cities.
As the former mayor of Kennewick, I commend the Kennewick Park and Recreation Commission for looking into the concept of a metropolitan park district and hope that the effort will bring a ballot measure for forming a regional park district to the voters of the four city region -- not just to Kennewick.
