January 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 45

mostly by tourists, " I was able to tell
folks that a $30 million park equals a
lot of people working, " he says.
Lakefront Park, which was constructed in three phases to bolster
its affordability, offers playgrounds,
picnic pavilions, a marina, an event
lawn, performance stages and a
splashpad, among many other amenities. Designed with much community input - including three public
hearings at which citizens expressed
their needs and desires for the park -
Lakefront Park is what Loubier calls
" a true park for the people. " Despite
its funding coming from visitors, the
park is primarily used by citizens,
as evidenced from the daily walkers seen on the boardwalks, families
visiting weekly for picnics and playground outings, and fishermen and
boaters making regular use of the
marina and bait shop.
Designed for passive education as
well as recreation, Lakefront Park
honors the heritage and natural history of the community. Buildings make
use of design elements from the first
structures in Kissimmee; visitors will
find plenty of standing seam metal
roofs, white columns and brick. Much
of the building material was sourced
locally to further support the local
economy. The landscaping features
native plants and the picnic shelters
are named for native birds. You can
have your retirement party at Cormorant Pavilion or celebrate a birthday at
Egret Pavilion, for example.
In an effort to protect Lake Toho
as a valuable natural and economic
resource, a major component of the
Lakefront Park revitalization project
was green infrastructure to provide
stormwater retention and treatment.
Thanks to a series of baffle boxes and
rain gardens included in the design
of the park, Lakefront Park now filters and treats all of the runoff from
downtown Kissimmee before it reach

When asked why the city of Kissimmee would spend upwards
of $30 million on Lakefront Park's renovation during a recession, Mayor Jim Swan said, " Because we're in a recession. "

Needless to say,
Kissimmee is proud of
its new park, and the
park is benefiting the
community in countless
ways.
es the lake. Educational signage and
a baffle box equipped with a viewing
window further promote the conservation message to park visitors.
With the final phase of Lakefront
Park having just opened in October
2014, the long-term impacts of such a
project on the local economy of Kissimmee remain to be seen, although it
is fair to say that so far, hundreds have
found work and thousands have benefited from the new recreation opportunities in their community. Rumors
of interest from developers for new
hotels and mixed-use projects in the

area adjacent to the park are spreading
quickly, a new commuter rail station
is in the works, and the local electric
and telecom utility that owns property adjacent to the park has taken on a
revitalization project of its own space.
Needless to say, Kissimmee is
proud of its new park, and the park
is benefiting the community in countless ways.
A Boom During the Bust
On the opposite end of the spectrum
lies booming Williston, North Dakota. Situated atop rich deposits of coal
and petroleum, Williston has experienced a dramatic shift in recent years
from a sleepy farming community
to a bustling hub of activity. Jobs in
the oil-fracking industry are abundant, luring workers from as far as
Michigan and Massachusetts as the
economic recession has made work
hard to find near their homes. Williston boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, with
starting pay at the local Walmart well
above $15 per hour and jobs in the oil
fields paying three times as much.

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Parks & Recreation

January 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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