San Benito County staff to audit Verizon lease and seek lighting bids after Veterans Park users raise safety, maintenance and revenue concerns

San Benito County staff said they will pull lease and accounting records and solicit contractor bids for lighting after residents, youth‑sports organizers and volunteers raised questions about a long‑running Verizon Wireless lease and a wide range of operations problems at Veterans Park.

The meeting on public park operations centered on two linked problems: (1) whether monthly rent from a county lease of telecommunications equipment — described in the meeting as $2,970.26 per month (about $30,000 a year) and referenced elsewhere in meeting materials as a $21,000‑per‑year line with a 3% annual increase — has been credited to the park’s dedicated fund or instead was routed to the county general fund; and (2) ongoing maintenance and safety issues at Veterans Park, including damaged irrigation, unreliable porta‑potties and restrooms, pest and trash problems, an aging parking lot, and a lack of permanent field lighting that users said creates safety risks during evening hours.

Why it matters: Youth leagues, volunteers and veterans’ groups said the park is a high‑use community asset — hosting hundreds of players and thousands of annual visits per speakers’ estimates — and that deferred maintenance and higher operating costs threaten program affordability and participant safety. Commissioners and staff said resolving the lease accounting and securing funding and quotes for…