BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Years of alleged county neglect at Hart Park Lake have led to growing environmental and safety concerns, according to local business owner Jacob Clagg, who says is the cause of the recent shutdown of his kayak business.
“A lot of the trash gets tossed in or blown into the lake and naturally flows its way into the waterfall,” Clagg said. “Whatever doesn’t get caught in the lake gets washed over the waterfall and carried into the river.”
Plastic bags floating in the water, leftover balloons, and even dead fish are among the issues Clagg says have become common sights around the lake. For Clagg, the deteriorating conditions are especially difficult to see because Hart Park Lake has been part of his life since childhood.
“I was four or five years old out here riding the paddle boats the monster paddle boats,” he said.
Years later, Clagg turned those memories into action by operating a kayak business at the lake for nearly a decade. He says his company not only provided affordable recreation for the community, but also helped clean the lake free of charge.
“Every groundskeeper I talked to told me they had no way to clean the lake itself,” Clagg said. “For nine years, we were basically the only group cleaning it free of charge. We never charged the county a penny.”
But Clagg says trash in the water is only part of the problem. He points to crumbling walkways, eroding soil, and damaged benches throughout the park that he believes could pose serious safety risks.
“Like this bench here hanging over the water — if kids climb on it and it collapses, somebody could get hurt,” he said. “There’s already concrete breaking off right here.”
Clagg says he repeatedly raised concerns with Kern County about conditions at the park. Eventually, watercraft operations at the lake were shut down. In a message shared with Clagg, county officials wrote:
“Due to the current condition of the ramp and the other concerns mentioned above, we will not be renting out the facility at this time. We will reach out to you once these issues have been resolved.”
When reached for comment, county officials provided a similar statement, saying:
“Once the ramp is restored and conditions are safe for public use, we will reopen to watercraft activities.”
Now, Clagg says the closure of his business is affecting local families and nonprofits that depended on free kayak programs during the summer months.
“I’ve been able to partner with him to give kids access to free kayaks even my own children,” said Frankie Sutton. “Now that’s gone.”
Clagg says he hopes the county will work with him to restore operations and improve conditions at the lake.
“If the county said, ‘We’re going to stop charging these fees, we’re going to fix what you need to operate,’ then I could lower prices even more and keep this going for the community,” Clagg said.
County officials say they are aware of concerns at Hart Park Lake and that funding is needed to address maintenance and safety issues in the area. Meanwhile, Clagg says he hopes to eventually bring affordable kayak access back to the community.
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