Day-drinking operator and drownings. Changes coming to Fresno river campground, thankfully
Fresno’s only public campground along the San Joaquin River is no longer in private hands, and by all appearances not a moment too soon.
During its Tuesday meeting in San Diego, the State Lands Commission voted unanimously to terminate a commercial-use lease with the operators of Fort Washington Beach park located along Lanes Road on the city’s northern fringe.
The move was proposed and recommended by commission staff who documented a litany of lease violations and met with city of Fresno staff over concerns the campground and day-use area was being operated in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance.
Fort Washington Beach was also the site of a recent tragedy — two male cousins ages 8 and 18 drowned July 30 in a pond located on the property.
The drownings may be completely unrelated to the lease termination, or it may be the tipping point that led to it. Either way, the State Lands Commission made the right decision. And if everything proceeds the way it should, Fort Washington Beach will eventually be added to the San Joaquin River Parkway.
For years, if not decades, Fort Washington Beach provided the only public access to the San Joaquin River from Fresno. Since 1978, the campground and boat launch have been operated by the Finch family. Charles Finch was the first lessor, and his wife Judith assumed that designation following his death in 2007.
Judith Finch’s current 10-year lease to operate the unimproved recreation site expires April 22, 2024, according to the state lands staff report. However, the commission was never notified when Finch herself died in September 2017.
For the past five years, Fort Washington Beach has evidently been managed and operated by Finch’s grandson, without the state agency’s knowledge or written consent.
The campground did not pay its 2021-22 annual rent, according to the staff report. Nor, since 2017, has it carried general liability insurance. And since there was no attempt to designate the lease to one of Finch’s heirs, the fact that her next of kin does not live on the premises constitutes abandonment. All are considered “immediate default” and “grounds for termination” of the lease.
The State Lands Commission staff report also chronicled an Aug. 9 meeting with city of Fresno representatives over reported complaints from a neighbor the grandson’s conduct “appeared to constitute a nuisance and that the campground may be in violation of city ordinances.”
Day drinking at Fort Washington Beach
What do they mean by nuisance? Allow me to explain.
On Aug. 5, I drove to Fort Washington Beach for the first time in a few years. At the entrance, I was greeted by a 20-something man with red hair and a chin beard clutching an open can of beer. It was 10:30 on a Friday morning.
When I identified myself and told him I wanted to see the spot where the boys drowned, he let me in (without charging the $5 day use fee) but eyed me with suspicion.
Something about the encounter felt a bit … off.
Besides its proximity to the river, the campground itself looked pretty dismal. As if it had been a while since anyone invested in picnic benches (broken), port-a-potties (foul-looking) or any sort of beautification.
On my way out I waved to the red-haired man, then parked on Lanes Road and went back for another attempt at a conversation. This one went better.
“Steven” eventually confirmed he is Finch’s grandson and that he and his brother operated the place on behalf of their parents, who live “two hours away.” He also told me the family had received several offers to buy the campground, both while Judy Finch was still alive and in the years since she died. He was reluctant to say much else, but seemed interested in information about the San Joaquin River Parkway.
As we spoke for some 20 minutes, at a distance and without really making eye contact, “Steven” continued to sip from his Firestone Walker IPA. At one point he excused himself to go inside to pee, then reappeared with a fresh can. “Stuff goes right through you,” he said.
It was a little after 11 a.m.
Prime addition to San Joaquin River Parkway
Returning home, I googled Fort Washington Beach and found a slew of negative reviews. Including several complaining about the “rude” and “unstable” manager who goes around yelling and cursing while apparently intoxicated.
“Would never recommend for families … or anyone to visit,” a Yelp user from Cerritos wrote in October 2020.
Most of Fort Washington Beach lies inside the river’s historic low water level, which is legally state land. Fresno County records list 10.67 acres at 10705 N. Lanes Road as owned by Charles and Judith Finch. There is no information regarding property taxes.
The Finch family is required to remove all unauthorized property from the premises, the report states. Which will then allow the campground lease to be transferred to “another party (that) can more effectively allow the land to be utilized by the public.”
Before voting to terminate the lease, lands commission board members, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, expressed a desire to ensure the area remains open to the public during the transition period. While the Finch family can reapply, a better outcome would be for the San Joaquin River Conservancy, the state agency responsible for assembling the 22-mile parkway between Friant Dam and Highway 99, to become the new lessor.
The details must be worked out, but my sense is the conservancy will be eager to acquire the lease and make sorely needed upgrades and improvements to the facilities. Especially with all that new operations and maintenance funding to spend.
When that happens, Fort Washington Beach will continue to be a place where people can launch a kayak on the river, or camp beside it in a tent. Just a nicer, better-kept version with operators who don’t day drink.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 3:11 PM.
