January 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 12

EDITOR'S LET TER

Boom or Bust?
The new $70 million recreation center in Williston, North Dakota, is a vast construction,
marked by the clean, swift lines identifiable to some of the most progressive architectural
designs in the country. Bamboo flooring weaves through the hallways and weathered industrialized steel panels the walls and stairways, saluting the industry that made this grand structure possible - the oil industry. There is even a splashpark for children with water gushing
from an oil rig instead of Bakken crude. Times appear good,
but will they continue to get better? It is hard to say with our
nation's ever-changing perspective on the oil and gas industry.
While Williston and other towns garner national media attention regarding the financial benefits of such growth, often
the ill effects of these impulsive economic drivers seem to go
unnoticed. Running parallel to the coveted growth of boomtime situations, one often finds hardships and privation.
Unprepared for the thousands of job seekers moving into the area, the small town of Williston saw immense population growth during the span of a few years. This sudden growth
brought gain but also challenges, such as an increase in the homeless population.
Jessica Culverhouse, NRPA's senior manager of fundraising, examines the ability of park
and recreation agencies to survive radically changing economic times. Starting on page 40,
Culverhouse profiles two distinctly different towns with prospering park and recreation
agencies: Kissimmee, Florida, and Williston, North Dakota. Both towns have struggled
and both have prospered, but the turbulent economy of a town or even our country aside,
the sustainability of these ventures comes with strong business-minded leadership.
Reasoning for development of park and recreation amenities in any economic climate is
also acknowledged by David Barth, a principal at the large design firm AECOM, in our
June 2014 feature " Thinking Beyond the Borders " (www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/
June/Thinking-Beyond-the-Borders). Barth recalls the example of Kissimmee, where a $30
million renovation of a waterfront park was undertaken during The Great Recession specifically as an economic development initiative. " When the people asked Kissimmee Mayor
Jim Swan why, in the middle of a recession, the city would spend substantial funds on a
parks project, the mayor said, 'Because we're in a recession,' " Barth shares. The result has
been that people find the park and then they find downtown. In essence, both entities are
bigger draws, which contributes to Kissimmee as a whole.
If you have a similar story or you'd like to comment on this one, contact us. The conversation is open and we want to hear from you.

GINA MULLINS-COHEN
Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Publishing
Editorial Director
10 Parks & Recreation

| J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

PRESIDENT AND CEO

Barbara Tulipane, CAE
VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING,
COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING,
AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Gina Mullins-Cohen
gcohen@nrpa.org
EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Danielle Taylor

dtaylor@nrpa.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Samantha Bartram
sbartram@nrpa.org
EDITORIAL INTERN

Marissa Bracamonte
mbracamonte@nrpa.org
PUBLICATION DESIGN

Creative By Design
www.creativebydesign.net
SENIOR MANAGER OF
ADVERTISING

Dana Storm

703.858.2174
dstorm@nrpa.org
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January 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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