Auburn Recreation and Parks District receives $334,974 in special relief funding

The Auburn Area Recreation and Parks District (ARD) announced Friday it will receive $334,974 in Special District COVID-19 Relief funding from a $100 million allocation in the California State Budget. ARD asked the state for $432,280, a financial quantification of how the pandemic hit the district. "Like many businesses and other public entities, ARD took a serious financial hit during the COVID pandemic," District Administrator Kahl Muscott said. "Many programs, camps and rentals were cancelled and refunded, resulting in substantial strains on our budget. We're extremely grateful for this support." Muscott said the amount the state provided shocked ARD officials. "While we did not get the full amount we requested, we were very happy with the amount," Muscott said. ARD plans to use the funding for several purposes, including deferred maintenance and infrastructure upgrades. The ARD Board of Directors will work with staff and the community in deciding how to allocate the capital. "We want to take care of some stuff that will be valuable to us for years to come," Muscott said. "Infrastructure stuff isn't exciting but if it means less money and time staff spends on it in the future, then that has great value." Muscott said the ARD board will begin to discuss how to spend the new state funds in early 2022. Muscott thanked the ARD Board and staff for its creativity and drive to provide as much programming as possible during the pandemic. Muscott gave special thanks to Administrative Services Manager Veona Galbraith, who tracked ARD's losses and expenses that were a result of the myriad of closures and cancellations. Galbraith also prepared the application for the funding. "Veona's tireless efforts made this (partial) reimbursement possible," Muscott said. ARD was formed in 1948 and provides recreation and park services to 45,000 residents in the greater Auburn/Meadow Vista area. ARD maintains 11 major parks, three community centers and provides a wide variety of programs, camps, events and rental space. The district's boundaries are 100 square miles. The funding arrives after special districts across California experienced budget and staff cuts necessitated as a result of the COVID pandemic. ARD was able to freeze some empty positions at the onset of the pandemic and avoided layoffs, Muscott said. Throughout 2020 and 2021, California's special districts provided essential services to their local communities, maintained a large portion of the state's critical infrastructure and employed thousands of front-line workers but initially received none of the COVID relief funding available to cities and counties.