Volunteers And Money Needed For Wildomar’s Marna O’Brien Park

On April 28 beginning at 8 a.m., the Rotary Club of Wildomar is hosting a clean-up for as part of the “Rotarians at Work Day.”  

Anyone interested in participating can contact Wildomar Rotary public relations chair Bridgette Moore at bridgettemoore2012@gmail.com for more information.

But April 28 isn’t the only day volunteers are needed. To keep the 9-acre city-owned park open, added volunteers – and money – are required on a regular basis.

Friends For Wildomar Parks is a non-profit working to keep Marna O’Brien from closing. The organization, largely comprised of youth sports organizations, is in negotiation with the city for a joint-use agreement, under which Friends For Wildomar Parks would formally take over Marna O’Brien’s maintenance while the city would still maintain responsibility for capital repairs.

Friends For Wildomar Parks has been maintaining the park for several months, but no signed agreement is in place.

that, if passed, would have charged Wildomar property owners a special tax to maintain the city’s three parks: Marna O’Brien, Windsong, and Heritage parks. (Heritage Park is closed; for the latest on Windsong Park.)

During the April 11 Wildomar City Council meeting, Friends For Wildomar Parks leader John Lloyd told council members that the proposed joint-use agreement required further discussion. The city’s conditions outlined in the proposed agreement are more than Friends For Wildomar Parks can afford based on current fund-raising efforts and volunteer hours, Lloyd told council members.

During the meeting, Lloyd presented a budget that estimated the annual cost to maintain Marna O’Brien would be just over $47,000 for 2012. However, based on the proposed agreement, the cost to maintain the park would be higher, according to Lloyd.

As the city and Friends For Wildomar Parks hammer out an agreement, Lloyd reminded the April 11 meeting attendees that the non-profit needs volunteers and donations to make ends meet at Marna O’Brien.

If you are interested in helping, visit www.wildomarparks.org.

Note: Wildomar Councilman Bob Cashman was absent during the April 11 meeting.