A park in Pajaro gave a community a safe place and identity. Now it’s struggling to find funding.

At the end of San Juan Road on a Monday afternoon, kids haphazardly line up for lunches distributed by Together in Pajaro and provided by La Manzana, then break from the line to crawl on colorful play structures. Teenage volunteers wearing tie-dyed shirts call the group to order as some smaller kids start a game of tag. In the distance, three teenagers make use of a turf soccer field, practicing shots on the goal.

An open space like Pajaro Park was a long time coming for the North County community. “This community doesn’t have any real green space,” says Steve Snodgrass, a board member of the nonprofit Together in Pajaro, and a former board member of Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District. That district, which mostly handles water systems, stepped in to help get Pajaro Park established in 2014.

The Monterey County Redevelopment Agency built the five-acre park on the south side of the Pajaro River, where unincorporated Monterey County borders Watsonville in Santa Cruz County. It was then deeded to Pajaro/Sunny Mesa.

“I call it ‘the land of the lost,’” Snodgrass says of the 3,000-person neighborhood. It’s “lost,” because while the park is technically in Monterey County, Pajaro is divided: Students enroll in Pajaro Valley Unified School District and Cabrillo College, both in Santa Cruz County. He once argued with a Macy’s delivery crew about getting furniture delivered to his Santa Cruz County zip code, even though he lives in Monterey County.

“I call it ‘the land of the lost.’”

The split identity of the unincorporated territory also means Pajaro Park has a unique and fragile funding mechanism. It’s a mixture of individual donors and corporate donors like Graniterock (where Snodgrass is CFO) and Driscoll’s, plus Monterey County funds (around $25,000 annually) and what Pajaro/Sunny Mesa can spare. It takes about $55,000 per year to keep the park graffiti-free, clean and in general operation.

But it needs more today, after five years of use. It’s still a clean and modern park, but its age is beginning to show; some playground equipment has been ripped up from its rubber flooring, and a youth-sized turf soccer field is halfway into its 10-year lifespan. Replacing that field alone, Snodgrass estimates, will run upward of $1 million. “The park is five years old, and has 10 years worth of use on it,” he says.

Monterey County Supervisor John Phillips, whose district includes North County, praises the funding partnership. “He’s never come to me looking for more money,” Phillips says of Snodgrass. “That’s the first I’ve heard they were hurting for maintenance funds. I know the park is utilized a lot more than anyone anticipated.”

The Central Coast YMCA runs a range of programs, including Zumba, T-ball and soccer at the park. Now it’s summer lunch season, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture meant to help families bridge the summer gap while school is out.

But on this warm summer day, kids from both sides of the river (and both counties) are playing and eating together. One kid is happily finishing his sports drink, while several others chase each other. “This park gave this community an identity,” Snodgrass says.