Recently, some misinformation was propagated via social media concerning the status of Gibson Ranch. Doug Ose, who formed a public/private partnership with Sacramento County in order to keep the ranch open, has responded with an open letter;
Number one. The park is open. Stop by between dawn and dusk to see for yourself.
Number two. The gate to the park opens at sunrise. 30 minutes prior to sunset we stop people from being able to enter the park because they will be upset when we force them to leave at sunset. At sunset everyone must be out of the park. This is for security reasons associated with protecting the horses and ensuring that nobody does anything stupid while there’s no one in the park to help in an emergency.
Number three. There is an agreement between the County and us for the County to pick up some of the expenses associated with operating the park. In addition, the County has also agreed at my insistence to invest $50,000 per year for capital improvements to the park. The effective date of that agreement is June 7, 2017. To date the County has paid no funds to the park, though the payment process is being diligently worked on because of the severe cash flow issues that have ensued. I want to remind everyone that this process started on November 1, 2016 when I gave six months advance written notice to the County of my unwillingness to continue after April 30, 2017 unless these issues were addressed. I have repeatedly stated in public and in private that I was not going to lose anymore money operating the park. At the present time we are restricting vehicular access to certain portions of the park because of the costs involved in managing and supervising activities in those areas. The County was advised of this step prior to its implementation. Guests remain able to access any portion of the park on foot after having parked their vehicle in Area 1. Area 2 and Area 3 will remain closed to vehicles on WEEKDAYS until the payment process is resolved with the County. Let me repeat that: Area 1 is open. Area 2 and Area 3 will remain closed to vehicles on WEEKDAYS until the payment process is resolved with the county.
Number four. When the drought hit California we raised horse boarding rates to reflect the increased cost of feed. We did this through a process outlined in our boarding agreement. In February 2017 after the rains of the winter, we used that same process to lower monthly boarding rates effective March 1, 2017. On August 1, 2017 the borders were informed pursuant to their boarding agreement that the monthly board charges would be increasing on September 1, 2017. A number of boarders exercised their contractual rights and vacated the property.
Number five. Other than the horse boarders no one is allowed to stay in the park after sunset except on special event occasions where staff is added for the evening. It has to do with providing security for the animals that are boarded at Gibson Ranch as well as minimizing any exposure for liability if someone comes on the property in the middle the night and gets hurt and there’s nobody there to provide emergency assistance. We stringently enforce this time for departure. The simplest solution to avoid the embarrassment of being escorted off the property at sunset is to leave prior to sunset.
Finally, I want to invite all of our neighbors, friends and supporters to join us this weekend for our Family Camping/Talent Show/Painted Rock event. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
And don’t forget about our Pumpkin Festival starting September 30 and running every weekend through October 29. Why spend time and energy driving 50 miles when you can have great fun at Gibson Ranch?! Check our website (gibsonranchpark.com) or our Facebook page for all the details!
See you soon at Gibson Ranch!
