Could park rangers be coming to Modesto? Here’s what City Council will need to do
Modesto could have four park rangers patrolling city parks, trails and other open space by this spring under a nearly $624,000, 18-month pilot program the City Council is expected to consider at its Tuesday meeting.
The rangers would not have firearms or tasers but would have pepper spray, handcuffs, body cameras and police radios. They could write citations for misdemeanor violations of the state’s penal code and violations of the city’s municipal code. That includes drinking in public, illegal camping, not having a dog on a leash and being in a park when it is closed.
The rangers would call police officers to handle more serious offenses.
Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said the rangers would educate people about the rules and try to gain voluntary compliance before issuing citations. The rangers also would serve as ambassadors for the city and provide outreach and referrals to services for people who are homeless.
“I don’t want this to be a heavy enforcement,” Gillespie said, adding he hopes the rangers’ sustained, consistent presence in parks and recreation areas will curb bad behavior.
Councilman Chris Ricci has advocated for Modesto to start a park ranger program along with designating safe camping spots for homeless people who will not use shelters.
And as the Police Department faces tighter budgets each year, the park ranger program also fits in with its effort to use less expensive civilian workers to handle some calls for services, which allows police officers to spend more time on their core mission.
For instance, the Police Department last year launched its Community Health and Assistance Team to respond to some calls involving homeless people.
Gillespie said if the City Council approves the pilot program, the rangers could be patrolling city parks within two to three months.
The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. Because of the COVID-19 virus, the council will meet virtually and not in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place.
The city will conduct the meeting over Zoom — the meeting ID is 869 4597 0570 and the passcode is 84326 — and also will live-stream the meeting at http://media.modestogov.com. More information, including other ways to participate, is available at www.modestogov.com/749/City-Council-Agendas-Minutes.
The Police Department would hire four police cadet IIs but would train and equip them to work as park rangers. They would work full time on a schedule of four 11-hour days, followed by four days off. Gillespie said the rangers would work independently and provide roughly 18 hours a day of coverage, seven days a week.
Downtown parks draw complaints
Gillespie said the rangers would focus on those parks that draw the most complaints and concerns. He said that includes ones near downtown, including Pike, Graceada and Enslen.
A city report states the pilot program will cost as much as $623,708 over 18 months. Modesto would use its American Rescue Plan Act funding to pay for the program. The city has been allocated nearly $46 million from the federal spending plan to reduce the effects of the pandemic. It received half of the funding last year and will get the balance this year.
The pilot program’s costs are $401,708 for the pay and benefits for four park rangers, $150,000 for the purchase of two extended cab pickup trucks and $72,000 for training, equipment, overtime and supplies.
Gillespie said the rangers also could use bicycles, electric bicycles and perhaps dual-sport motorcycles, which traverse off-road terrain, when patrolling the Dry Creek and Virginia trails or in the Tuolumne River Regional Park.
He said the city would evaluate the program’s effectiveness in determining whether to continue it beyond its initial 18 months. But he said that evaluation would include determining how to pay for the program.
