Palomar Mountain State Park urgently needs your support to stay open.

Did you know that Palomar Mountain State Park was one of 70 state parks earmarked for complete and permanent closure as of July 1, 2012 due to state budget cutbacks?

But today the park remains open and as busy as ever, and this is possible only with the continued support of people just like you. Just prior to the axe falling, Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park entered into a Donor Agreement with Sacramento to save the park we love from being shuttered forever: Palomar Mountain State Park will remain open only as long as we can "close the gap" between the park's income (from day use and camping fees) and its operating costs. Go here to see our funding needs and fund drive standings.

As of July 1, 2012, the park no longer receives regular funding from the state to cover operating expenses, so it's up to us to keep Palomar open by covering the operating deficit and making required improvements.

Here's why:  

• THREE YEAR COMMITMENT ~  $180,000 minimum needed to keep Palomar open.  Our first year pledge goal was intended to get Palomar off the chopping block. But the fact is we've made a three year commitment to keep Palomar open...a minimum of $180,000 for the full term for a bare-bones, hand-to-mouth budgeT.

• STAYING POWER  ~  Our first year pledge goal was based on an extremely lean, bare-bones budget and included only a token amount for dealing with contingencies. But we need to be prepared for anything that could negatively impact the park's finances, such as lost revenue due to bad weather or having to repair or replace a vehicle or other piece of equipment. Every dollar you pledge will increase the park's endurance to withstand such unforeseen — but inevitable — hardships and stress that could jeopardize the park's viability.

• DEFERRED MAINTENANCE  ~   The backlog of deferred maintenance — problems that have been left undone due to years of budget cutbacks — is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and our first year goal included fixing only a tiny portion of this. These problems include things like bad waterlines, obsolete and defective plumbing fixtures, leaking roofs, erosion repair, vandalized benches, repair dry rot and insect damage, electrical upgrades... the list goes on. Every dollar you give will help restore the park to its full operational and aesthetic potential.

• VISION   ~   Finally, we need to look beyond restoration and maintenance with an eye towards making Palomar one of the top-rated parks in the entire California state park system with world class educational and interpretive programs and features. Remember, Palomar was first established over seven decades ago by people of vision. Now it's our turn — and our responsibility  —  to create a new, expanded vision for the park and make it a reality.
  

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