Situated on the bank of the San Joaquin River near Grayson, Laird Park was a pleasantly landscaped respite for locals on the West Side for more than two decades.

In not quite two years, all that has changed.

As county funds for upkeep ran dry and inmates from the nearby Stanislaus County Honor Farm were pulled from performing routine maintenance duties, the park’s once-maintained lawns have turned into an overgrown jungle of brown weeds and brush — its all-but abandoned appearance a visual depiction of how the county’s deep budget cuts have begun to hit home.

“It’s really a shame that the park has become what it is,” said Jim DeMartini, the District 5 Stanislaus County supervisor. “It’s one of the few regional parks this county has, and it’s sad to see such a beautiful area not receive the attention it once got because of tough budget decisions that have taken a toll on really every county department.”

A victim of circumstance, Laird Park became one of many county parks forced to the back burner when the economy soured and the laborious maintenance required to keep it looking beautiful proved too expensive, said Sonya Harrigfeld, who oversees the parks and recreation department for the county. The county decided to forgo a new sprinkler system when an estimate totaled about $60,000, of which the county could put up only half, she said.

“The sprinkler system out there is very antiquated and was too expensive to replace in the end,” she said. “Without the proper funds for maintenance, there was no other choice but for us to let the public facilities stay in dilapidated conditions and to keep the weeds down just enough to avoid fire dangers.

“It’s all we can do at this point.”

Before two years ago, Laird Park looked like an entirely different area of land.

In those days, maintenance and park beautification fell to inmates from the Stanislaus County Honor Farm next door. For more than 25 years, inmate crews were required to manually activate each of the 900 sprinklers across the 48 acres of lawn, mow the grass, clean the restrooms and pick up trash.

But when the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department budget began seeing deep cuts, the $110,000 spent to pay a guard to supervise the inmates — excluding the cost of equipment, fuel and supplies — was no longer fiscally feasible, and the responsibility to pay maintenance costs went back to the parks and recreation department, Sheriff Adam Christianson said.

“The costs associated with the ongoing maintenance of the park have not been appropriated by the board of supervisors into our budget, and therefore we cannot continue to afford to fund these costs,” Christianson said. “I'm happy to provide the inmate labor whenever possible, but funding the maintenance of the park is the absolute responsibility of the county parks department.”

With further budget woes expected in the near future, it’s a dim picture officials have painted for Laird Park and others like it in the county.

“In the big scope of things, keeping the grass green unfortunately can’t be a top priority right now,” Harrigfeld said. “We’re just doing the best we can to keep it as open as we can to the public.”

• Contact Kendall Wright at 892-6187 or kendall@pattersonirrigator.com.