Los Banos Rotary Club History
Adams Tells Of Recreation Plan

Claude Adams, Merced attorney and head of the Merced County Park and Recreation Commission, explained to members of the Los Banos Rotary Club Tuesday noon something of the activities and plans of the recreation program in this county, and outlined major items in the $60,000 budget that has been set up for the Commission's use next year.

Merced county, Adams said, was among the first counties in the United States to organize a recreation program on a countywide basis, and in its several years of existence has proven one of the most successful.

Of the total budget, some $17,000 is required for executive management and supervision of the program, which includes management of the several community youth centers, the county baseball, softball, tennis, and other sport activities programs. During the last season, Adams pointed out, 1,650 boys, girls and oldsters participated in the county softball program, and it is estimated that attendance at the games during the summer totaled no less than 160,000 persons.

A large portion of the budget, Adams continued, goes for development and maintenance of the three county parks—all on the east side of the river. Of these, the largest single expenditure will be for Lake Yosemite, near Merced, for which $12,000 is appropriated.

Concluding his talk, Adams said that today, the county recreation program represents a tax cost of about 10 cents per $100 valuation, or about $5.00 for the average taxpayer who has an assessed valuation of between $3,500 and $5,000. This cost, he emphasized, is insignificant in comparison with the county's crime budget, which for next year is estimated to cost about $180,000.

At an open forum discussion following Adams' talk, it was pointed out that at the present time Los Banos benefits from the county recreation program does not exceed $1000 a year—a bit low in proportion to the county as a whole. Asked whether or not a portion of the recreation funds could be made available for construction of Los Banos' long proposed swimming pool and recreation park, Supervisor Toscano said that the county supervisors were agreed that some financial help would be made available when the time comes, and it is anticipated that a group of Los Banos people will attend the next supervisors meeting to make such a formal request.

September 16, 1947

---