Last week, the Park People Board, a local advocacy group, called to create a parks district that was independent of county government. This proposal came after the firing of Milwaukee County Parks Director Sue Black.

The group believes the county can't afford the parks anymore, and therefore, The Park People asked that an elected board be granted the authority to tax so the parks wouldn't have to compete with other county services for tax dollars.

This is an interesting proposal. Personally, I spend a lot of time in parks, but mostly because I have children who, like all children, love a playground.

I often find the parks to be under-utilized, which surprises me because Milwaukee has so many beautiful green spaces that don't charge admission. It's free entertainment. ("Free" entertainment for those of us paying taxes, of course.)

I agree with The Park People that many of the parks need some maintenance because of recent tax cuts, but I really don't think the parks are in terrible shape, nor that beautifying the parks would bring that many more people into the parks system.

From my perspective, people just don't seem to go to parks as much in Milwaukee as they do in other cities. Maybe it's fear of crime. Maybe it's our less-nature-centered entertainment lives that are more focused on bars and restaurants.

In any case, I really wonder what, if anything, would get people to go to the county parks? More beer gardens like the one at Estabrook Park? Updated playgrounds? Off-leash dog areas? Anything, anything at all?