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Public watchdog questions parks’ assessment and communications on Camelback Mountain closures
Summary
A parks watchdog raised unresolved safety concerns about Camelback Mountain trail conditions following October rains, called a parks press release 'lean on facts' and said attorneys are filing public-records requests; no Parks Department response was recorded at the subcommittee meeting.
Gerry Van Gass, who identifies himself as a public watchdog for the Parks and Preserve System, used the citizen comment period on Nov. 19 to raise concerns about the condition and management of Camelback Mountain after the October storms.
"What is going on at Camelback Mountain?" Van Gass asked members of the subcommittee, saying the community has received limited information since Oct. 16. He criticized a parks press release as "very lean on facts" and said it raised more questions than it answered. Van Gass told the panel that attorneys were filing records requests to obtain the safety assessment on which the Parks Department is basing reopening decisions; he said he planned to attend the City Council meeting later that day to press for more information.
No Parks Department staff response is recorded in the subcommittee transcript. City staff present at the subcommittee did not provide the assessment or additional detail during the meeting.
What's next: Van Gass said he will attend the City Council meeting to seek the assessment; subcommittee members did not take action at this meeting on the parks issue.
