October 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 56

quality of life in the suburbs. For that reason,
they've been willing to tax themselves for amenities downtown. "
With a greener landscape, a thriving economy, a more healthy and active constituency, and
promises of exciting things to come, Oklahoma
City is clearly doing very well under the supervision of Mayor Cornett. " I think our entire generation is proud of all of the improvements we've
made, all of the parks that we've built, all of the
green spaces we have created and are creating, "
says Cornett. " Our people believe in investing in
infrastructure and investing in their city, and at
this point the city has developed somewhat of a
track record of being able to deliver. "
Interview by Danielle Taylor, Associate Editor, Parks
& Recreation (dtaylor@nrpa,org).

AGENCY VIEW

Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation
Population: 591,967
Resources: 154 parks, 25 recreation centers, two senior centers, one performing
arts recreation center, two community
gymnasiums, two botanical gardens,
two nature parks, eight golf courses,
three lake recreation areas, nine park
ponds, two tennis centers, 74 tennis
courts, two dog parks, one performing
arts facility, three skateparks, one ice
skating rink, 182 ball ﬁelds, 87 basketball hoops, 75 miles of trails and greenways, 25 miles of in-park walking paths,
three disc golf courses, one indoor and
four outdoor pools, 17 spraygrounds, one
municipal ﬁsh hatchery.
Budget: FY 2013 $30.3 million
Staff: 172 full-time
Sixteen years ago, when Wendel
54

Parks & Recreation

Whisenhunt took the reins
of Oklahoma City's parks
and recreation department,
exciting changes were in the
works. In the 21 years prior, no bond initiatives had been passed to improve the
city's parks system, but one ﬁnally came
through in 1995. Since then, two more
capital improvement bond packages for
parks have been approved, and the parks
department has used this public trust to
provide a number of new and improved
services and amenities. For example,
more than 100 new playgrounds have
been built in Oklahoma City since 1995.
" I think our greatest strengths are surrounded by the conﬁdence the public
seems to have in city government here, "
Whisenhunt says. " We feel supported by

| OCTOBER 2012 | WWW.NRPA.ORG

GREATER OKL AHOMA CIT Y CHAMBER

taxes in his eight-year term as mayor, thanks to
expiring taxes and continued support from local voters.
Only a few short decades ago, Cornett remembers when young people left Oklahoma City in
droves, looking for greener pastures. Today, largely
because of the increased presence of public, quality-of-life amenities like parks and recreation, locals are staying, and young people are moving in
from out of state. Furthermore, area residents who
don't live within the city limits have also become
actively engaged in the well-being of Oklahoma
City and have been willing to invest in its continued progress.
" One reason we've succeeded, " says Cornett,
" is that we've convinced the suburbanite that
the vitality of the core is directly related to the

Prior to becoming Oklahoma
City's director of parks and
recreation, Wendel Whisenhunt
operated in every division of his
department and understands
the needs and capabilities
throughout.

the citizens of Oklahoma City. We're determined to satisfy the citizens with the
work the bond issues are doing for them
in their parks, and hope that we can do
so so they'll continue to feel encouraged
about approving additional bond issues
in the future. "
Whisenhunt also looks to the role
parks play in attracting tourism to Oklahoma City, and he's extremely excited
about the promises of the upcoming
downtown park. " When this park is
ﬁnished, " he says, " it's going to say to a
large extent that Oklahoma City has really arrived. "

CIT Y OF OKL AHOMA CIT Y

Downtown
Oklahoma City
features a number
of popular green
spaces including
Myriad Botanical
Gardens, Bricktown
Canal, River Walk,
and the Chesapeake
Boathouse.

October 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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