September 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
Oceanside Harbor
The value of joining NRPA and obtaining CPRP designation
By Ted Schiafone, CPRP
B
efore purchasing and managing a private marina on the west
coast of Florida, I had a career in banking, and prior to that, in
private enterprise business. During that time, I was profit driven
and had high standards of customer service.
After selling my marina, I transitioned
to managing a small cityowned
marina on the east coast of
Florida. I then was offered an opportunity
to manage a large harbor
on the southern coast of California.
What is interesting about municipal
harbors is that they are generally
organized as an enterprise
business. They are not funded by
tax dollars and, as a result, need to
be profit driven in order to operate.
However, as a publicly-owned business,
there are high expectations
to support access and recreation
to residents and visitors. In " The
Golden State, " the entire coastline
is regulated by the California
Coastal Commission. This agency
requires access to the harbor's resources
at low or no cost.
After spending a few months in
my position at Oceanside Harbor
in San Diego County, I realized
Although not a designated park,
Oceanside Harbor in California is City
of Oceanside's most active park.
our harbor was City of Oceanside's
most active park, even though
we are not a designated park. Our
property is teeming with walkers,
joggers, bikers, kayaks, paddleboards,
picnics and sightseers.
This realization prompted me to
join NRPA, in order to gain insight
into the operation of parks. As a
member, I saw the opportunity to
further my knowledge by becoming
a Certified Park and Recreation
Professional.
Through
NRPA's
monthly magazine, Parks & Recreation,
and other NRPA publications
and communications, I began
to realize the opportunity to create
equity and more access for our
low-income residents and visitors,
and people with disabilities.
One challenge we face is that a
significant portion of our revenue
must go to maintaining our docks,
service buildings, beach, roadways
and parking lots. The internal question
we ask ourselves is: How do we
meet our obligation to maintain the
harbor and create more equity in
our park-like features? The answer
is fairly simple. As we plan projects
and routine maintenance, we must
design for low- and no-cost features
that improve access for all of our
visitors and residents.
We learned that integrating equity
into our initial design did not
cost more. For example, we have
a number of concrete picnic tables
16 Parks & Recreation | SEP T EMBER 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
throughout the harbor that needed
to be refinished. These tables
included a 2-foot by 3-foot insert
on the tabletop that had an outdated
marketing message. We simply
designed a gameboard on weatherproofed
material to replace the
old insert. This offers our visitors
a chance to play checkers, chess
or backgammon by bringing their
own game pieces.
Another example comes from
our design for the replacement of
a sidewalk in a heavily traveled
area along our harbor village of
stores. There were several pinch
points due to the placement of
trash receptacles, trees, light posts
and signposts. The design and construction
to widen the travel path
cost no more than if we had replaced
the existing design.
My personal favorite example of
a simple way we are incorporating
equity into our plans is the design
and future conversion of a small
patch of green space into a rock
garden for kids and adults to paint
their own rocks or stack them.
While Oceanside Harbor is not
officially designated as a park, by
viewing this public amenity through
the lens of parks and recreation,
and with the help of NRPA resources,
we have been able to incorporate
equity into our harbor management
practices, bolstering access and
recreation opportunities for all of
Oceanside's residents.
Salvatore " Ted " Schiafone, CPRP, is
Harbor Division Manager at Oceanside
Harbor (tschiafone@oceansideca.org).
PHOTO COURTESY OF TED SCHIAFONE
September 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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