December 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 59

Tip 4: Designate Staff Tasks
The middle of a hurricane is no time
to figure out who should be doing
what. Positions and responsibilities
should be assigned and trained for
long before the clouds start to gather.
(Training should be repeated on a regular basis, to keep staff sharp.) Also,
management should decide which
staff will be sent home during severe
weather events, who will be recalled
and on what schedule after the storm
passes, and should ensure that full
contact information is available for
employees and their families.
It is vital to allow department staff
members enough time to prepare their
families, food supplies and homes for
what's coming, bearing in mind that
some staff will be working right up to
the storm and into it. Meanwhile, ensuring staff safety must be paramount
throughout the planning process and
maintained as a guiding principle
when severe weather arrives.

Tip 5: Plan Ahead to Make

Post-Storm Cleanup Easier
The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton
Rouge (BREC) is an independent
state-created body that manages public park and recreational properties
in Louisiana's East Baton Rouge Parish. BREC has its hands full preparing for severe weather and mitigating
its effects. " With more than 180 facilities, getting everything checked after a storm can be challenging, " says
BREC Superintendent CEO Carolyn
McKnight. To make reporting easier,
BREC has a post-storm-event spreadsheet that gives specific park inspection assignments " to each one of our
maintenance shops and other departments, " she adds. " This list is based
on several factors, including locations of shops and even the proxim

ity of employees' homes in relation
to our parks. "
BREC also maintains a " Hurricane Supply Room " with items such
as " chainsaws, generators, dehumidifiers and safety supplies to help aid in
post-storm management, " McKnight
says. " These items are only used in
emergency situations and are immediately returned so they don't get lost
in time of need. "

Tip 6: Fill up Fuel Tanks
It may seem like a no-brainer, but park
and recreation departments need to ensure that all of their vehicles, generators
and propane heaters are topped off with
fuel before severe weather hits - and
that they have access to extra fuel should
these supplies run out. In the Parish of
East Baton Rouge, " we have on-site fuel
storage tanks at several of our shops to
be able to keep fuel in stock until deliveries can begin again, " says McKnight.

Tip 7: Keep Watching the Skies
Severe weather emergencies don't always provide adequate lead time, as
was the case in Chicago during the summers of 2012 and 2015. " On August 4,
2012, the city's Office of Emergency
Management and Communications
and the Chicago Park District were
forced to evacuate thousands of concert
goers from the grounds of Grant Park
during the Lollapalooza Festival due
to approaching storm warnings from
the National Weather Service, " says
Patrick Levar, Chicago Park District's
COO. " Three years later on August 2,
2015, a severe thunderstorm warning
led to another evacuation. " Fortunately,
pre-planning paid off: " In each instance,
fans were directed to three nearby designated emergency shelters, " he says.
This is the final lesson for severe
weather planning: Life-threatening
storms can hit without warning in a

A $16 Million
Hail Storm in the
Windy City
The glass-covered Garfield Park Conservatory is one of Chicago Park District's (CPD) crown jewels. Unfortunately, a severe hailstorm on June 30,
2011, sent marble-sized hail smashing
through public display spaces and
propagation facilities. " In total, approximately 60 percent of the conservatory
glass roofs were shattered by hail, " says
CPD COO Patrick Levar. " In addition,
limited panes of laminated glass were
broken throughout other rooms. "
Immediately following the storm,
CPD initiated cleanup efforts and installed temporary winter protection to
protect plants and people. After that,
the agency began a " phased hail damage recovery " program at the Garfield
Park Conservatory " to assure the viability of this facility for years to come, "
says Levar. Beyond installing 1/4-inchthick laminated glass to replace almost
52,000 glass roof panes, CPD reconditioned and strengthened the various
room's concrete and streel structures,
removed and repaired cypress wood
beams in the roof framing, and inspected the roof drainage and gutter
system for problems. The full repairs
were completed in time for the official
reopening on April 22, 2015, which
happened to be Earth Day.

matter of minutes. Only by keeping
an eye on the skies - and listening to
the latest weather reports - can park
and recreation agencies stay ahead of
severe weather.
James Careless is a freelance writer with TJT
Design & Communication Inc. (james.
careless@gmail.com).

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December 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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