March 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 54

Public agencies are using software
solutions and standardized support
structures for procurement, with beneﬁts
such as administrative eﬃciency, improved
record-keeping, spend visibility, and
comprehensive vendor management.

In Johnson County, Kansas, there is an aggressive
transition toward a completely electronic payroll
system, from the full-time employee to the seasonal
worker. " It's an efficiencies gain, " says Meadors. " The
primary drivers are the staff time necessary to print,
sort, and stuff checks, and the postage involved. "
The cost of procurement software can be a prohibitive factor for agencies, but Brent Maas, director of
marketing for the National Institute of Governmental
Purchasing (NIGP), believes this will start to change
in the next two or three years. " In the early 2000s,
there was a good amount of government adoption of
e-procurement, " Maas says. " By the time the recession hit, many agencies that had not yet adopted eprocurement solutions were no longer in the position
to do so...but as governments stabilize and the market is saturated with technology solutions, the trend
should continue. "

Contracting and Vendor Relationships

In the planned
community of Weston,
Florida, contracts are
used for all the city's
services, including its
recreation programs
and maintenance
of its 14 parks.

Mark McHenry, director of Kansas City, Missouri,
Parks and Recreation says his agency was a trendsetter for contracting in the 1990s and continues to look
to the private sector when appropriate, as budgets
have tightened in the past five years. " You can get
the same value at a lower price, with less overhead, "
McHenry says. He does, however, like to maintain a
balance between the work implemented by his own
crews and the private sector to ensure friendly competition. He states, " Our folks will perform at a higher level if they have to compete...and the contractors
are sent a message that your crew can handle it. "
For Don Decker, parks director for the planned
community of Weston, Florida,
contracts are used for all the city's
services, including its recreation
programs and maintenance of its
14 parks. " In our scope of services, we will lay out in pretty painful detail what is required...how
many acres contractors are responsible for, the program schedules...how many times a month to
cut grass...it's all very defined
and deliberate. "

Parks & recreation M A R C H

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Decker says his county's ethics rules are changing, and he is curious to see how this will affect vendor relationships. " It is incumbent on me to be open
and honest, and make sure all the vendors know the
new ground rules as quickly as possible...to err on
the side of caution, " adds Decker.

Drivers and Trends
Piggybacking and Cooperative Contracts
Agencies are taking advantage of the cost-saving
benefits and reduced administrative work of utilizing contracts already established by other agencies
through the bidding process, a practice commonly
known as piggybacking.
Vancouver-Clark (Washington) Parks and Recreation constructed a $9-million multi-use sports complex and picked up on a public bid through the State
of Texas for its artificial turf. The agency regularly
explores opportunities for cooperative purchasing
with other government bodies, including a sizeable
school district cooperative in the county. " We really try to explore and get creative at fi nding what we
want, at the very best cost, " says Director Pete Mayer.
Maas notes a specific, upward trend toward national cooperatives. He notes the establishment of entities such as U.S. Communities and the National Joint
Powers Alliance, which bring together tens of thousands of public agencies. " National cooperatives are
developed with an understanding that there may be
thousands of potential users. The suppliers know that,
and they can shape pricing accordingly. Everybody
wins, " Maas states.

Community Engagement
Community committees and charrettes are used frequently to ensure the best possible fit for amenities
and programs. " Projects are extremely successful
because of the input of citizens, " Potter says. Gaithersburg, Maryland, draws from community input for many
initiatives; for example, citizens have helped choose
and coordinate 18 art installations in developing areas
through Gaithersburg's Art in Public Places program.
Vancouver-Clark goes through an extensive outreach process for playground development, meeting
with citizens and businesses, presenting design proposals, and implementing a voting process-prior to

March 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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