May 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 70

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Moving Forward Post-Recession
Park and recreation projects become
investments in the future for our visitors and help to create and maintain
a sense of community and identity. A
2014 report, titled A Survey of Capital
Projects Management Among New York
City Government Agencies and prepared
for New Yorkers for Parks by Public
Works Partners, states that New York
City Council members " see their
funding of parks capital projects as
critical investments in their constituents' neighborhoods, and they are
particularly concerned when these
projects run behind schedule or over
budget. "
For many municipalities and departments, the 2007-2009 recession
significantly impacted their departments and projects. For some, the
impacts were fiscal; for others, it resulted in personnel reductions and

sometimes a combination of both.
Yet, during this time, the financially
strapped public was flocking to these
resources.
The Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department
(PROS) saw its " department's general fund support decreased by 30
percent. Coincidentally with that decrease, the department's permanent
workforce was decreased by almost
30 percent. These cuts were...at a
time when the public became more
dependent on low-cost entertainment
such as that offered by the public
park system. "
In the greater St. Louis area, the
Great Rivers Greenway District has
been working for 15 years to connect
parks with greenways. " Our primary
source of funding is two special sales
taxes. We also use federal, state and
local grants to leverage the taxpayer's

Park and recreation projects - from splash
pads like the one envisioned at left or bike
trails for enthusiasts like the gentleman
pictured above - help to create and maintain a sense of community and identity and
provide individuals with the tools to engage
in a healthy lifestyle.

Forum Studio
68 Parks & Recreation

investment in our projects. As people
spent less money during the recession,
our income decreased. We had to operate with a smaller capital budget and
adjusted accordingly, " says Megan
Riechmann, AICP project manager.
" Our main priority is ensuring we
are moving our master plan forward
- working toward the goal of a 600
mile network of greenways, " says
Riechmann. " It is very easy to be
distracted by a wide variety of recreation and alternative transportation
needs throughout our region, but we
strive to stay focused on our core greenway routes - keeping the overall
connectivity of the system in mind. "
For the city of Henderson, Nevada, the recession made the municipality look at funding sources a
bit differently. " We realized that we
cannot rely solely on one funding
source for our projects, " says Amie
Wojtech, park project manager for
the city of Henderson. " Many of
the projects that we were/are directly involved with are funded through
the Southern Nevada Public Land

| M AY 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

May 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2016 - Parks & Recreation