Petition Launches to Save County Parks

Kristen Weber hoped a few people would sign her online petition to save county parks from budget cuts—but when she heard 100 people had joined in the first 24 hours, she knew county residents were behind her.

"Oh, wow, yay!" she exclaimed excitedly. “That alone is enough for me to go forward. I’m in this for the long haul.”

Weber said it’s “ridiculous” that County Executive Charlie Dooley is , like and parks in Affton and County Park in Concord, to save money.

“My first initial reaction was, this directly affects me,” she said. “They’re just totally tunnel-visioned on these cuts, and I just thought I had to take a stance.”

So she logged on to Change.org, where a woman recently launched a national petition that led to Bank of America canceling their $5 monthly fee for debit card users.

She created a petition during her lunch break asking Dooley to reconsider his proposal. Then, she waited.

“I need to see what solid ground I have first,” she said. “People read and watch, but will they go on and click?”

They clicked. Weber said she’d hoped for a few hundred signatures over the next two weeks, and now she has over 100 in the first 24 hours.

One of those signers, Vicky Swederska said while she’s usually not in the forefront of political protests, she didn’t hesitate to support Weber’s cause.

“I’m not going to go out and occupy Wall Street,” Swederska said. “But whenever something like this hits close to home, I’m there to act on it. If it takes gathering at a hearing or something like that, yeah, I’m all in favor of that.”

A member of the Ozark Fly Fishers and Stream Team 31, Swederska said she has a heart for conservation issues, especially the parks where she, her children and her grandchildren spend time.

Swederska’s son, Michael Swederska, Jr., signed the petition right above her.

In what he called “the most difficult decision I have had to make” in his career, Dooley proposed closing 19 county parks, St. Vincent Community Center, two public pools and the farm animals exhibit at Suson Park to help close a $10 million shortfall in a $483 million total budget. The Department of Parks and Recreation would also lose 135 staff positions.

Residents can comment on the proposed budget at the first public budget hearing immediately after the County Council meeting Nov. 15 at 41 S. Central Ave. in Clayton. County Council meetings usually end at about 6:30 p.m.

Weber said she’ll definitely be there.