May 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 18

FINANCE FOR THE FIELD
More Public-Private Partnership Models
By John L. Crompton, Ph.D.

T

his column focuses on four additional frameworks to those discussed in the April column (nrpa.org/PartnershipModels) that
facilitate collaborative partnerships between park and recreation
departments and private-sector partners. They include priming
private-sector pumps, using private facilities, restoring an exploited natural
resource and expanding existing facilities.

Priming Private-Sector
Pumps
Developers are sometimes amenable to donating land or infrastructure to a city on the condition
that the city develop amenities
on it. Their purpose is to enhance
the value of lots in their development. This is relatively common in
golf developments, where the city
constructs a public course (sometimes with at least partial funding
from the developer), or in contexts
where there is a large amount of
floodplain area through which the
city can develop a trail system.
This not only assists in adding
value to the lots, but also it relieves
the developer of an obligation to
operate and maintain the facility
that invariably is not a profitable enterprise, and it removes the requirement to pay property taxes on it.

Collaborative partnerships can be formed between park
and recreation departments and the private sector.

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From the public's perspective, it
saves the cost of land, which would
be a substantial cost if it were to independently purchase the land to
develop these facilities. It may behoove a city to send out a request for
proposal requesting a land donation
of (say) 50 acres on which to build
a public park or other desired facility to test whether a project offering
mutual benefits could be developed.

Use of Private Facilities
An inventory of recreation facilities
operated by all sectors in a community is likely to reveal opportunities for
a public recreation department to expand its offerings without capital investment or building overhead costs.
At many private sites, there will be
downtimes that could be leased; at
others, private businesses may welcome the opportunity to host public
recreation classes as a means of introducing residents to their services.
Most motels have pools that are
underutilized in the morning hours
and could be used to teach swim
classes or water aerobics; school
pools could be used during weekends; while aquatic and fitness classes could be offered in apartment
complex facilities. Churches, community buildings and libraries could
be bases for senior programs. Golf
course lounges during off-peak times
could be used for fitness classes.

Consider a bowling center where
demand was strong in the evenings
and weekends, but lagged for much
of the remaining time. A recreation
department negotiated a lease
that enabled programs for its older adults to be based there during
slack time periods. This facility
could offer an indoor " track " of
10 laps to the mile; meeting rooms
for various activities; pool rooms;
concession stands for snacks and
drinks; and a thriving senior bowling league.
Negotiating with private entities
that offer activities, such as gymnastics, horseback riding, fitness programs, ceramics, golf, sailing, tennis,
etc., can result in potential benefits
to both partners. Typically, in these
partnerships, the agency promotes
the class or activity and registers participants, while the private partner
provides the instructors.
From the private partner's perspective, the department acts as a
broker that matches clients with
recreation providers who meet
their needs. In essence, the agency
is an unpaid agent that is efficiently reaching client groups who are
attractive potential prospects to the
operator. A typical agency promotes
a large number of class offerings, so
the promotional costs per class are
likely to be much lower than those a
single operator would incur to reach
a similar number of residents.
There are many who are likely to
feel more comfortable participating
under the auspices of a recreation
agency with which they are familiar, while they may be timid and,
perhaps, embarrassed about ventur-
http://www.nrpa.org/PartnershipModels
May 2021 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2021 - Parks & Recreation
