January 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 44
PA R K S I N B O O M TO W N S
Kissimmee's New Lakefront Park
Many communities have taken this
to heart and, despite economic struggles, have pushed forward with major
park construction projects during the
past several years. One example is the
city of Kissimmee, Florida, a city of
about 63,000 just outside of Orlando.
Residents of Kissimmee - and
Osceola County as a whole - were
among those worst hit by the recent
mortgage crisis. Although the rate
of foreclosures is now declining and
property values are finally increasing once again, Kissimmee remains
among the cities with the highest rates
of foreclosure in the country. With
an unemployment rate of 7 percent,
Osceola County lags behind much
of the country in terms of economic
recovery. Still, Forbes magazine lists
Osceola among the fastest-growing
counties in the nation.
Once a community fueled by the citrus and ranching industries, Kissimmee
saw dramatic changes in the early 1970s
when Walt Disney World opened in
nearby Lake Buena Vista, Florida,
about 15 miles away. In addition to
the popular theme parks, Kissimmee's
chain of freshwater lakes is renowned
among anglers, drawing crowds to its
largemouth bass tournaments.
One of those lakes, Lake Tohopekaliga or " Lake Toho " as the locals
call it, has recently been the focus of
the city's largest capital improvement
project in its history, according to
Dan Loubier, director of parks, recreation and public facilities for the
city of Kissimmee. Despite the poor
economy, Loubier forged ahead with
plans for a $30 million revitalization
of Lakefront Park.
When the mortgage crisis hit and
the taxable value of properties de-
Kissimmee's new Ruby Pier at Lakefront Park is a marked improvement
over its dilapidated predecessor, which was closed to public access.
42 Parks & Recreation
| J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G
creased, Kissimmee's Parks Division
was forced to scale back to core services, like many of its counterparts
nationwide. The department lost 40
percent of its budget and staff between 2008 and 2010. Loubier credits
his department and the city for keeping a strong reserve and spending
conservatively before the downturn.
" We were OK, " he says.
Plans for Lakefront Park were already in the works prior to this time,
and the economic downturn did not
alter these plans. Remarkably, Loubier
did not have a difficult time convincing Kissimmee residents and commissioners of the economic value of the
Lakefront Park revitalization project.
" When you look back, " Loubier says,
" any time the country had difficulty,
the government put people to work. "
Aside from the project being funded
solely by sales tax revenues, paid for
January 2015 - Parks & Recreation
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