December 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 55

AG e N Cy vi e w

KANSAS CITY PARKS

Population: 459,787
Agency Director: Mark Mchenry
Resources: 12,000 acres, 219
parks, 132 miles of boulevards
and parkways, 47 fountains, 87
ornamental gardens, 10 community centers, 27 lakes, 38 miles of

trails and bikeways, 105 tennis
courts, five golf courses, and
four museums.
Budget: operating $38 million/
capital $12 million
Staﬀ: 326 full time

uli roSe center

The Essential Administrator-Parks and
recration ﬂows in the veins of Mark McHenry

bicyclists and pedestrians. Kansas City has a strong
tradition of supporting such plans.
" However, " he adds, " the reality of budgetary
constraints may delay those enhancements a bit longer than I would like. "
While many U.S. mayors aver that all parks in
their cities are their favorites, James has no hesitations about Swope Park. " Not just because Starlight
happens to call it home (although that is defi nitely
part of Swope Park's appeal for me), " he says. " I have
great memories of picnicking and taking swimming
lessons there. It's simply a lovely green space in the
heart of our metropolitan community and one of the
nation's true urban treasures. "
-Philip Hayward, Editor, Parks & Recreation

like MAnY pARk ADMinistRAtoRs, Mark
Mchenry got his start during family vacations.
in his case, it was visits to various national
parks-an experience that was further reinforced by a part-time job in high school working in a county park. then came his
undergraduate degree in parks and recreation
from texas tech, a master's degree in public
administration from university of Missouri,
kansas city, and numerous post-graduate
studies.
over the course of his 35-year career,
Mchenry has worked with five mayors in kansas city. the exposure has provided Mchenry
with indispensable experience.
" each mayor embraces a variety of issues-some have made parks a priority during
their term in office, " Mchenry says. " in my tenure, i have seen the mayors focus on the revitalization of downtown, bringing the sprint Arena, and kcp & light District, most
recently the beautiful kaufmann center. some focused on beautification of the inner
city and green initiatives and some see the parks and Recreation Department as a
high priority, while others do not. the value that each mayor places on parks and
recreation is manifested in their appearances at special events, support in the budgeting process, promotion of the services provided by parks to the community, etc.
" no matter the starting point, each mayor has seemed to appreciate and value
the services provided by the department to a greater degree at the end of his or her
term in office, " Mchenry continues. " Mayors are similar in that they tend to look at
parks and recreation as 'the go-to guys' and problem solvers. We provide their
legacies. "
in kansas city, mayors appoint a five-member policy-making board for parks and
recreation. the parks department meets with board members daily and meets with
the full board on a regular basis. on occasion, the parks department works directly
with Mayor James and his staff-most recently on the development, implementation,
and follow-up for a new youth curfew. parks and Recreation contributed to the plan
by working on age-appropriate programming at municipal community centers for
youth affected by the curfew. on another front, Mchenry's staff worked with James
to help secure funding for the kansas city Zoo.
such a close relationship with James is no accident, but rather a function of tradition and structure in kansas city. " We are independent, " Mchenry says. " We work
for the board and the Mayor, not the city council. in the last 119 years this structure
has been attacked and it has held firm. We created the adage, 'once a commissioner,
Always a commissioner' and " once a Mayor, Always a Mayor.' "
-philip hayward

w w w . N R P A . O R G D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Parks

& Recreation 49

December 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2011 - Parks & Recreation