Camas pauses parks director search amid budget woes

Faced with a $1.5 million budget deficit in 2025, city of Camas leaders say they have paused their search to replace former Camas Parks and Recreation Director Trang Lam.

Lam, who had led the Camas Parks and Recreation Department since December 2020, was named chief executive officer of the Port of Camas-Washougal in June and has since started her new position, leaving Camas Communications Director Bryan Rachal to act as Camas’ interim parks director.

The city of Camas started its search for a new director and had received applications from more than 50 interested applicants before city leaders decided to halt the hiring process.

“We had 53 candidates total but, due to budget issues, we’re holding (off on the search for a new director) until January,” ,” Rachal told The Post-Record. “We want to see what the mayor’s recommended budget will allow.”

Rachal told the Camas Parks and Recreation Commission the news during the Commission’s Sept. 25 meeting, and added that the mayor’s budget may not allow the City to hire a full-fledged director.

“We are possibly not filling the parks and rec director with an actual director, but with an employee of some sort,” Rachal said. “We’ve suspended the search until January, and told candidates.”

Rachal added that, due to budget constraints, the City also may not be able to fill the city’s recreation coordinator position after Krista Bashaw, the current recreation director, retires later this year.

“That position could go unfilled next year, if we need to do that,” Rachal said.

Parks Commissioner David Dewey said he wanted to go on record as someone who opposed that idea.

“I believe not filling the parks and recreation director (position with an actual director) is not the right way to go,” Dewey said during the Sept. 25 Commission meeting. “It does not align with the community’s values. A lot of people move here because of the parks and open (space) areas we have.”

With more parks per resident than many communities, Dewey said he believes not replacing Lam with a full director would be “an irresponsible direction” for the City to take.

Other Commission members seconded Dewey’s thoughts.

“We have been told on record over and over again, for years, that our community values our parks, recreation and open space — that it’s one of the top two reasons people move here,” Commission chairperson Ellen Burton said. “Our parks and rec (department) has been historically underfunded for decades. The median spend is about one-half to one-third that of other parks departments.”

Burton added that the Camas Parks and Recreation Department also has far fewer employees than other parks systems in similar-sized cities.

“Prior to the director moving on, we had four parks and rec (staffers). Now we have three and you’ve proposed bringing (that) down to three for several years and possibly downgrading the director to a manager,” Burton said, adding that cutting the parks staff would likely have unintended consequences. “We know a dollar deferred now will cost much more later. We need the City to hire a parks and rec director in the first quarter of 2025. It’s critical that we have a land professional — a parks and rec professional — managing these assets.”

Commissioner Jenny Wu added that, as Camas’ population has grown, the number of parks employees per capita has decreased.

“(Data) tells us our funding gap between park asset growth and park maintenance expenditure growth has widened over the years,” Wu said. “As a result, we have experienced lower levels of service — potentially leading to a structural deficit, which leaves Camas in a vulnerable position for inclement weather and climate change — and possibly there will be higher costs in the longer term.”

Commission members pointed to a recent study showing the value of Camas’ parks assets, including a report that said Camas’ tree canopy adds roughly $35 million in annual benefits to the City.

The $35 million valuation — or $34,698,263 to be exact — shows how much the City would need to spend to get the same benefits trees provide naturally, including $1.81 million for the 83 tons of pollution Camas’ roadside trees remove from the air each year; $1.2 million for the 136 million gallons of runoff the City’s trees intercept before it hits the stormwater system; $522,339 for the more than 11,000 tons of carbon sequestered by Camas’ mature trees every year; an estimated 50% savings on energy costs for businesses and homeowners during hot days; and millions of dollars in ecosystem benefits including providing habitat for the more than 300 bird species in Clark County and mental health benefits for the City’s residents and employees.

Commission members also pointed to the nearly $1 million in grants awarded to the Parks Department in 2022-23 for its Crown Park and South Lacamas Creek Trailhead projects and said those projects will require operating and maintenance dollars, as City officials are well aware.

Commission members said they will likely ask Mayor Steve Hogan to fund and hire a parks and recreation director in the first quarter of 2025; maintain the parks and recreation department’s operating budget in 2025-26; increase the department’s maintenance budget to help maintain the renovated Crown Park, which will include a new splash pad and all-abilities playground, and the new South Lacamas Creek trailhead area; and add a volunteer coordinator position to help coordinate the many volunteers that help maintain trails and work on other parks or recreation projects.

Hogan is expected to unveil his proposed budget for 2025-26 during the Camas City Council’s meetings on Monday, Oct. 7, and will make it available online for the public that week. The City also has an open house set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Camas Public Library, 625 N.E. Fourth Ave., Camas.