By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Don Crawford, Director of Clallam County’s Parks, Fairs and Facilities Department, has a lot going on right now.
Besides working on an update to the Parks Master Plan, he’s submitting grant applications to make renovations and improvements to County facilities from one end of the county to the other. He’s applying this week for a $30,000 state tourism grant that would pay for trail upgrades in Robin Hill Farm Park as a prelude to his goal of establishing annual running events in the park. Crawford says some ideas for the put forth back in the 90s didn’t go over very well with the neighbors. He wants to change that.
“I’ve read all those old documents and figured out what the residents in that area really want. And so, we’re going to put together a new Master Plan based on the feedback they gave us 20 years ago, and so we can start making improvements that meet the needs of the community and will be well received by, you know, neighboring property owners.”
Crawford is also applying to get a state grant of $50,000-$100,000 that he wants to use to design and plan an overnight campground out at the Pillar Point beach area, which is now just a day use facility.
Crawford says those are just a warmup.
“Just a heads up. I have five additional recreation grants that I will be applying for the first week of November.”
High on his list of priorities is a Boating Facility Grant to repair the boat launch at Lake Pleasant that was destroyed in a storm 2 years ago. He also is working to replace and expand on all the fleet of 30-year-old canoes at Camp David Jr. on Lake Crescent, and he’s trying to put together an outdoor program on a piece of property at Robin Hill Park that was supposed to be dedicated to agricultural learning.
Crawford certainly hit the ground running when he took the job earlier this year. He says his working philosophy is based on the fact that his department is funded from the same pool of revenues that fund Health and Human Services, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Fire Districts.
“Let’s be real honest. It’s more important that our first responders have the equipment they need, it’s more important that the health department ensures that our water and our land and our trash are all being handled correctly. So, what I’m trying to do is, figure out creative ways to finance things my department needs, so that we don’t necessarily take away from other department’s ability to get really important, life-affirming things taken care of. So, my job is to just keep swinging and, you know, hopefully we hit enough that we have a good average.”
(Photo taken at Robin Hill Farm Park by Rachel Anne Johnson)