Our area’s parks are here to stay because ordinary people value them.

Ideally, they’d be maintained and expanded as part of the regular budget, as the city of Redmond has done, but sadly, county officials haven’t been able to find reliable funding.

So we voters in Redmond need to support county parks by approving the proposed levy on this year’s ballot.

We benefit from the proximity of the county’s Marymoor Park, which has a bird refuge and the only off-leash dog park in the area. We also benefit from green space set aside by the county in the Bear Creek watershed. So please do the right thing for our environment in the Aug. 6 special election.

Gary Smith

Redmond