Private Contributions Vital to Balboa Park's Maintenance

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 5, 2008 at 12:34 PM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

The Balboa Park Trust announced today it has passed the $1 million mark in private contributions. But the money is a drop in the bucket compared to the maintenance backlog at Balboa Park, which is one

The Balboa Park Trust announced today it has passed the $1 million mark in private contributions. But the money is a drop in the bucket compared to the maintenance backlog at Balboa Park, which is one of San Diego's main attractions. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Balboa Park needs well over $230 million worth of upgrades. That's according to an independent report issued earlier this year.

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Vicki Granowitz, chair the Balboa Park Committee, says that estimate could be low balling the true cost. But she says private donations like the ones made to the Balboa Park Trust are vital to keep the park functioning.

Granowitz: They funded replacing the trash cans in Balboa Park, the pumps for the fountain, they're willing to fund the things that aren't sexy.

Balboa Park is ramping up to celebrate its centennial in 2015, and the city of San Diego does not have the money to cover the deferred maintenance.

The city plans to borrow to fix leaky roofs at the park but Granowitz says maintenance operations will be cut under this year's pared down city budget.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.