FEATURED COLUMNIST
Upgrades Coming to Local Parks, Libraries By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District
Park Upgrades ocal parks are primarily funded through local sales and other taxes and sharp declines in tax receipts last quarter will have an impact on parks (and other County services in general). But there are still a number of exciting improvements coming to local parks, including some that have already been funded. One longstanding need was an improved pedestrian walkway and safer access point outside of Pinto Lake Park. We partnered with Supervisor Caput’s office (our districts share Green Valley Road) to combine district funds to rebuild a pedestrian pathway along Green Valley that is used by many residents to access Pinto Lake Park. The new pathway, constructed by County Public Works, was completed in June and has already improved the safety and accessibility of the park for local residents. The Board of Supervisors, at the last meeting in June, approved a contract to install a new permanent restroom at
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Seacliff Village Park. The park, which is being constructed in phases according to the park master plan, already includes the necessary utilities and infrastructure as part of the initial phase construction. The restroom is anticipated to be completed by November of this year. The park now includes a play area, picnic area and skate feature. The Friends of Santa Cruz County Parks and local residents have also been fundraising to complete the final phase of the park, which would include other elements in the master plan such as shade structures, a small outdoor amphitheater and more. At Hidden Beach Park, the County has been working to upgrade the playground and provide new features and greater accessibility for children of all abilities. Working with the Friends of Santa Cruz County Parks and local community leaders including the The DeBernardo Team, an active fundraising effort is underway to finalize the upgrades in memory of the remarkable 5-year-old Jett Ramsey, who lost his battle with cancer in April and loved playing at Hidden Beach Park with his family. The County has design plans and is matching funding to make the park become a reality. ••• Library Upgrades n one of my recent tele-town halls, Library Director Susan Nemitz
discussed some of the improvements planned for Capitola, Aptos and La Selva branch libraries. La Selva and Capitola are well underway (with anticipated openings of later this year). In Capitola, a number of upgrades including a community/meeting room with flexible furnishings, an expanded children’s area and dedicated teen area, enhanced book and media selections, laptop and computer plugins around the library and all meeting rooms including laptops available as public access computers and reader and study seating spread around the library, including an adult reading nook and a fireplace reading area are all underway. In La Selva, improvements to the children’s area, new flexibility in the space for meetings and book clubs, increases in natural lighting and airflow, expansion of the available seating for reading and studying, a new accessible entry on the north side of the building, bathroom upgrades, a new service desk, upgraded data and electrical, and an outdoor patio area are part of the remodel. The Board of Supervisors will be awarding a contract on the Aptos Library in early August. The Aptos Branch Library was originally constructed in 1975 and is currently 8,000 square feet. Multiple community outreach sessions were held to get a
sense of how best to approach a remodeled (and expanded) space. There are some exciting partnerships planned, including working with the Aptos History Museum, to provide a modern and accessible library. After August we will have a better sense of the construction timeline but the goal is to ensure that neighboring branches (La Selva and Capitola) are open before any construction begins to ensure options continue to be provided for local residents. As always, I appreciate any feedback you may have on this (or any other County issue). I’m maintaining regular updates on social media at www.facebook.com/ supervisorfriend and during the shelter-inplace order I’m hosting tele-townhalls with County and community leaders. n ••• If you’re interested in the town halls or just want to connect on an issue you can always call me at 454-2200.
tough financial decisions, like choosing between paying for necessary medical care and paying for their food or rent.” Health care costs in Northern California, where Sutter dominates, are 20% to 30% higher than in Southern California, even after considering cost of living, according to a 2018 study from the Nicholas C. Petris Center at the University of California-Berkeley that Becerra cited in his lawsuit. In 2018 the nonprofit Sutter health care group had 24 hospitals, 34 surgery centers, 5,500 physicians across Northern California, and $13 billion in operating
revenue, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. Santa Cruz County had the highest cost for health insurance of 274 U.S. metro areas, according to a 2015 study by a consumer nonprofit in New York that concluded the reason is lack of competition. Sutter Health posted a $236 million loss from operations during the first quarter when COVID-19 hit California, according to interim unaudited annual financials released in May, Health Leaders reported. Sutter told Health Leaders said the response to COVID-19 has been “an
incredibly costly and difficult endeavor,” that will have ramifications for the organization in the future. Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health, told Health Leaders, “What the settlement addressed were anti-competitive business practices like gag laws, all-or-nothing contracting, and prohibiting tiering. They’re just not related to what [Sutter] is saying is their new need because of COVID.” n Additional information on the ongoing settlement proceeding can be found at https:// tinyurl.com/sutter-settlement
O “Sutter” from page 25 “Sutter’s practices harmed California’s healthcare market by charging higher prices unrelated to quality or cost of care,” Becerra said in a statement. “They did that long before the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no period of time that medical providers, like Sutter, should be able to carry out such destructive market practices…We look forward to finalizing the settlement that Sutter agreed to in 2019 and to ending these abusive market practices. It is essential that we protect patients who may be confronting
30 / July 15th 2020 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
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