Despite its natural beauty and its off-road vehicle areas that attract people from miles away, Frank Raines Regional Park has had plenty of problems over the years, with dilapidated facilities and no one to maintain them. Some of that is changing, however...
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Some of that is changing, however, after the park hired two full-time maintenance workers late last year and improved its fences this year. Now, Stanislaus County’s Parks and Recreation Department is seeking a $365,000 state grant for various improvements, such as portable toilets, new tables and electric outlets for larger mobile homes.
Sonya Harrigfeld, director of the county’s parks department, said the county has not yet met enough of the state’s criteria to qualify for the grant, but it’s getting closer. The state parks and recreation commission will decide on the grants early next month.
“We’re not too far off,” Harrigfeld said.
Frank Raines Park, which stands off Del Puerto Canyon Road about 16 miles west of Patterson, has picnic areas, playground equipment, a baseball diamond, campsites and hiking trails on the south side of the road and a recreational area and campground for all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and four-wheelers to the north.
In addition to portable toilets and higher-wattage outlets, part of the county’s proposed grant would pay for a new wooden sign at Frank Raines Park and replace wooden tables there with concrete tables. The grant would cover water testing costs and improved parking at Frank Raines Park. It would also pay for improvements at an off-road vehicle park in La Grange.
In addition to getting help from the grant, the county plans to continue to work with volunteers on projects. Off-road groups such as the East Bay Hi-Tailers and Modesto Ridge Runners traditionally have helped clean up the park in the past. Harrigfeld also noted that a United Way volunteer has helped with bulldozer work there.
In addition to on-site improvements, the county hopes to step up security with help from a grant sought by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. The grant money would boost the number of deputies patrolling the park.
Harrigfeld said the county is fairly close to reaching the scoring criteria for both the security grant and maintenance grant.
Meanwhile, park users might have already noticed a few changes.
Last year, the parks department installed 5,000 feet of “no-climb” fencing at Frank Raines Park. It went into areas where fences had been destroyed in a 2003 fire and ruined because of vandalism, as well as around environmental areas that needed protection. The department also installed 2,300 feet of fences to protect adjoining landowners from trespassers.
Ed Waldheim, president of the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, noted that the off-road vehicle advocacy group had its annual Northern Jamboree at Frank Raines Park last month, and the improvements at the park were noticeable.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” he said. “I would give them a good B for effort.”
Though the park, which used to have no fee, now charges $5 for entrance, Waldheim said he was happy to see the new fences and work being done on trails that had been washed out.
On the other hand, he expressed doubt that the state parks commission would change its grant proposal list to give money to applicants such as Stanislaus County, which did not initially make the cut.
“It’s pretty cut and dry,” Waldheim said. “There are buckets of money, but the whole state of California is competing for those buckets.”
Still, Harrigfeld said the state has taken a second look at the scoring in the past, and the county aims to demonstrate better to the state how it meets the criteria.
“We'll give it the old college try,” she said with a laugh.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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