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Volunteers warn Rockville Hills is degrading after three-year park ranger vacancy
Summary
Residents and advisory committee members told the council the Rockville Hills Park ranger post has been empty nearly three years, blaming unmonitored grazing and unpaid visitors for the death of more than 115 manzanita shrubs and urging immediate hiring and regular council updates.
Chairman Jared Preston of the Rockville Hills Citizen Advisory Committee told the Fairfield City Council the park has been without a ranger for nearly three years and that the vacancy has led to ecological and enforcement problems. “The park will have been without a ranger for three years this August,” Preston said, adding that the city has not begun recruiting for the position despite an allocated headcount. He urged the council to “prioritize the immediate hiring of a ranger and give the ARAC a seat at the table.”
The advisory committee and park volunteers described tangible losses they said resulted from the vacancy. Cord Wayer Bird said an earlier presentation documented that “115 of the park’s manzanita, all of which were previously healthy, died this last year,” and attributed those deaths to overgrazing that went unmonitored in the absence of a ranger. Multiple speakers also reported increased trespassing, unsanctioned mountain-bike races, creation of unplanned social trails, and reduced kiosk revenue because many visitors were not paying fees.
Volunteer Jim Carr said volunteers had been told the city could not run a volunteer program without a ranger, yet that the ranger position remained unfilled. “We can’t even volunteer for this because we don’t have a ranger,” Carr said, urging the council to use the advisory committee’s expertise in the short term to coordinate enforcement and trail stewardship until a ranger is hired.
Council members acknowledged the concerns and the mayor said she would work with the city manager to place the issue on a future agenda for fuller discussion and direction. The council did not take formal action on hiring at this meeting.
The advisory committee requested a standing 15-minute update to the council every six months so park stewards can present findings and avoid future surprises. Councilmembers indicated willingness to agendaize the topic and to meet with staff and the advisory group to determine next steps.
Next steps: the council committed to working with the city manager to agendaize further discussion and direction on hiring and interim oversight; no timeline for recruitment was provided at the meeting.
