How the Other 9% Lives A look at Municipal Parks Departments by Ann Austin

Ann Austin has served on the Rock Island Parks and Recreation Board for 27 years through four mayoral administrations.

The theme of this issue of Illinois Parks & Recreation, "How the Other Half Lives," is not quite accurate when you examine the question: Park district or park department? In reality, only about nine percent of the Illinois Association of Park Districts' membership is held by municipal parks departments. I have been a member of the Rock Island Parks and Recreation Board for 27 years and am excited to be currently serving on an IAPD task force investigating the needs, concerns and issues of municipal parks departments. In Rock Island, I am appointed by the mayor with approval of the city council. Our five-member board sets park and recreation policy. A team consisting of the city manager, city human resources director and park board members hired our executive director, William Nelson. Nelson reports to the city manager, who evaluates him with park board input. In conducting interviews for this article, I found that our practices in Rock Island are not necessarily typical of municipal parks departments. In fact, there is much diversity in structure and operation of these agencies.

I had a wonderful time visiting five parks departments in Illinois and investigating how the other half (or nine percent) lives. Yes, some differences do exist between park districts and departments, mostly in structure and in funding. Unlike park districts, municipal parks departments do not have the ability to levy taxes; they must compete with other city departments for tax dollars. Municipal parks departments must often rely on other city departments for services and even personnel. Parks departments may or may not have a board or commission. If they have one, it may or may not be a policy setting body. If there is a board, it is likely that the members are appointed rather than elected.

But there are more similarities than differences. Municipal departments, like park districts, are led by professionals dedicated to the same mission: serving the recreational needs of citizens. These professionals are actively and aggressively involved in planning for the future recreational needs of citizens. These leaders are involved in managing budgets, employees, facilities and a myriad of activities. They are knowledgeable about and dedicated to the field of parks and recreation. And, just like park district professionals, these directors of parks departments take extreme pride in their facilities and programs and in the jobs they do.

12- Illinois Parks and Recreation

Garry Little has been on the job as director of the Normal Parks and Recreation Department for less than two years, but it's obvious he has enthusiastically embraced this rapidly growing and thriving community (population 45,000). Normal Parks and Recreation Department boasts Ironwood, an 18-hole golf course; the multi-use Constitution Trail; and two outdoor aquatic centers, one of them a brand new $4-million, 1,500-bather capacity facility. With a full-time staff of 27, Little currently oversees 13 parks, encompassing over 400 acres, and these numbers are growing. The Normal Parks and Recreation Department also is responsible for a historic theater in downtown Normal, and in August took over operation of a new $4-million Children's Museum, which will open to the public this fall. In addition. Little's staff maintains, it seems, every public green space, including boulevards and the areas around any town building.

Little, who spent 19 years directing the operations of the Decatur Park

Anderson Aquatic Center is one of two outdoor aquatic centers managed by Normal's parks and recreation department.

September/ October 2004 - 13

District, now reports directly to the city manager of Normal, and ultimately, to the city council, with no park board or commission. The city manager is responsible for hiring the director of parks and recreation. Little's department enjoys an excellent relationship with the city manager, mayor, city council, and other city departments. Little says, "The city manager and the council are extremely supportive of parks and recreation programs and facilities in this town. They understand the value to the community, both for providing for residents and also contributing to the quality of life. People want to move to communities where there are great parks." In fact. Normal is so supportive of its parks that, two-and-a-half years ago, when the city was debating whether to hire a police officer or a horticulturist, they chose the horticulturist. Little manages a budget of $4 to 5 million. On a yearly basis, he and his staff create a budget, then the budget review committee made up of city employees examines it. During this process, Little justifies what he is asking for, the committee makes recommendations, and the budget is presented to the city council to accept it as it is or make changes.

Little states, "For us it works out—the direct involvement of the council in planning parks and recreation."

Little's department is not currently a member of IAPD, but membership is budgeted for next year. Little promotes Normal's golf course through the Illinois Parks & Recreation magazine and participates in research with the IPRA and IAPD and feels his department benefits from results of this research. He also has worked with IAPD staff on informing his local newspaper about OSLAD funding.

On a tour of the beautiful facilities of the Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department, I asked Little whether the parks department or the city would pay construction costs for a new 40 +-acre facility in a newly developed part of Normal. Little's answer; "We are the city."

Normal's new $4-million Children's Museum will open this fall.

14 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

Jerry Hayner is the first and only director of the parks and recreation department that the City of Pontiac has ever known.

Pontiac Parks and Recreation Department

Jerry Hayner is the first and only director of the parks and recreation department that the City of Pontiac has ever known. City leaders convinced him to take the job in 1977, and he has led the department to enormous growth and success in the years since then.

Pontiac, a city of 12,000, has ten parks encompassing over 120 acres. With their four-year-old community recreation center, the parks department and school district take the concept of inter-agency cooperation to the limits.

Both agencies share the air-conditioned gymnasium, classrooms, and pool. Students in physical education classes or athletic teams work on their skills while community residents exercise and watch them on the elevated track above, Hayner has been impressed by the positive interaction of adults and youth in this facility. He states, "The adults like to see the energy, and the youth are a little more respectful." More than 500 people a day use the recreation center—and that does not count high school students. The old

September/October 2004 - 15

Pontiac's community recreation center is the result of inter-agency cooperation between the parks department and school district.

Pontiac airport has been turned into a recreation complex, where a majority of the summer activities, such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball, take place. A pool built in 1925 did not open for the 2004 season, and Hayner is investigating a new outdoor family aquatic facility for the Pontiac community.

Hayner reports directly to the city administrator, who hires the parks director with city council approval. Many years ago, the city of Pontiac held a referendum to become a park district. The proposal lost by 10 votes, and since then Hayner has had no park board or commission. Hayner states that the mayor and city council are very supportive of the parks department, but that he must compete with other city departments for funding. Hayner handles a budget of over $500,000. He manages a full-time staff of six, four part-time staff, as well as numerous seasonal part-time staff. Hayner is able to accomplish a lot with his small staff, but notes that, "If we run into huge projects or things that we can't cover, then we are able to rely on the other city departments for help." Hayner reports a good relationship with these other city departments, but it can be a challenge. He points out that in a park district, the focus is the parks, whereas in a park department, there are other departments to be considered when assessing a city's needs. He feels that the Pontiac City Council balances things well; he can't say that there is any project they haven't supported, but if there isn't money available, it may be "pushed off" for a while.

Hayner would like to see more recognition of municipal park departments by the IAPD. He does not, however, feel that he is ignored. "Any time I've contacted IAPD or asked for any assistance, they've always been most helpful." But Hayner does have a suggestion for the IAPD to better address the issues of municipal parks departments. He proposes that the IAPD gain "some inroads to the Illinois Municipal League," noting that the IML is where the aldermen in Pontiac gain much of their information.

Years ago, the city of Pontiac held a referendum to become a park district. The proposal lost by 10 votes.

16 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

The sound of singing preschool children filters into Trudy Wakeman's office in the Village Hall of Lake in the Hills as she talks about her department, which was established only in 1997. Wakeman administers a village department with 28 parks, which hold 15 ball fields and 13 playgrounds; two beaches; and two public buildings on the banks of the largest of four lakes in her community. She calls 65-acre Woods Creek Lake "the Gem in the Village" and programs it heavily. She and her staff hold many special events there, such as swim lessons, a race and an annual boat parade.

With a current population of 27,000, Lake in the Hills was the fastest growing community in Illinois during 1999-2001, and Wakeman's department has worked hard to keep up with the phenomenal growth. Through the first years of the department's existence, Wakeman and her staff were adding three to four parks a year. Recently, the pace has slowed a bit to the development of one major park this year. Sunset Park, aided by an $800,000 OSLAD grant. With the large number of young families in Lake in the Hills, the parks department's most popular programs are its parent-tot preschool activities.

The village administrator hires and evaluates the director of parks and recreation at Lake in the Hills. Wakeman has a seven-member park and recreation board, whose members are appointed by the village president and approved by the village trustees. This parks and recreation board meets once a month and is a recommending body only to the village board. A village trustee is a liaison between the parks board and the village board of trustees.

Wakeman has experience working in both park districts and departments and notes that the main difference is that parks departments must compete with other village departments for funds. Her department controls a budget of between $1 to 2 million, depending on planned projects. She asks for what her department wants and must justify her needs. Recently, she says, her funds, especially for capital projects, have decreased somewhat, "but so have everybody else's." She notes that there also may be some competition among village departments for equipment, as most of the maintenance equipment in Lake in the Hills belongs to public works. But she reminds colleagues, "It's everybody's 'stuff;' we're all here for the same reason."

"Stuff" is not all that Wakeman must share; two of her four parks employees are divided between her department and the streets department. In addition, Wakeman supervises three recreation staff and over 30 seasonal employees.

Wakeman has been active in the IPRA and relies on the IAPD for information on grants, links to IDNR and updates on bills and budget issues. Regardless of whether she works for a department or a district, Wakeman says, "My goal is to provide recreational activities for the residents, and I do that."

September/October 2004 - 17

Brian Ramsey has been the director of parks and recreation in Matteson, a diverse southern suburb of Chicago with a population of 13,000, for five years. He notes that the average income in Matteson is $75,000. Strategically located in Cook County on I-57 and Route 30, Matteson has seen huge growth in retail areas and in hotels and motels. In fact, revenue from the hotel/motel tax funds the parks department's big event of the year, the Matteson Fest, for which Ramsey spends $45,000 on entertainment alone.

Ramsey's office is housed in a former elementary school building that now serves as a community center. He has recently received a $200,000 HUD grant to make improvements to the building, which contains a fitness room, preschool classrooms, meeting rooms and a small gymnasium. Ramsey's department has property and plans for a new community center that would adjoin a public middle school that is under construction, but the funds to break ground aren't yet available. Matteson citizens enjoy seven parks encompassing over 100 acres. The newest park is located, surprisingly, in the middle of a large auto mall. It is a small arboretum with shrubs and plants Ramsey planned with the help of Illinois Extension services.

Ramsey reports to the village manager of Matteson and administers a budget of $1.1 million and a full-time staff of 13. Ramsey must compete with other city departments for his allotment of tax dollars, and fire and police are often higher priorities. Ramsey says he understands that the village board "is responsive to public safety needs first." It's hard to compete with the need for a new fire truck, which could cost a minimum of $1 million. "For $1 million, I could develop three or four parks or a ball field complex, which we've always identified on our master plan, but to compete is hard." In addition, there are some "gray areas" of responsibility among departments, according to Ramsey, but the "departments try to work together to resolve those problems." For example, in the winter, public works plows the streets, but the parks department plows all the municipal lots and alleyways in town. Ramsey has a parks and recreation commission, selected by the mayor. This commission is an advisory board, "a sounding voice for the community." The commission helps in planning, and members may participate in specific task forces from time to time. There is also a liaison between the village board and the parks and recreation commission, who can "remove barriers and break through the red tape." This helps the village board to understand that the parks department is "much more than just mowing grass."

Ramsey is a professional who has worked on "both sides of the fence," in parks departments as well as in districts. Ramsey has recently become involved in the IAPD task force charged with addressing the needs of municipal departments. He thinks that sometimes board members for a parks department feel that IAPD issues aren't addressed to them because they are not elected officials. One of the major issues that he would like to see addressed is, not unexpectedly, funding. He reflects, "I've done a lot of planning; I just haven't been able to implement."

The parks and recreation department spends $45,000 on entertainment for the annual Matteson Fest.

18 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

September/ October 2004 - 19

The director of the Romeoville Parks and Recreation Department, Steve Gulden, heads an IAPD task force to address the needs and concerns of municipal parks departments across the state. As director of a municipal department since 1993, he understands the issues well. In Romeoville, a community of 34,000, he oversees 21 parks, plus the development of three new ones this year. Gulden's administrative offices are located in a new 60,000-square-foot facility consisting of an indoor

In 2000, citizens of Romeoville passed a referendum by a 65% margin.

20 - Illinois Parks and Recreation

playground, two preschool classrooms, a large community room, a senior and teen center, two gyms, a gymnastics area and a 3,000-square-foot fitness center.

Romeoville is a rapidly growing, flourishing Will County community, whose residents value schools and recreation. As proof. Gulden says that in 2000, citizens of Romeoville passed a referendum by a 65 percent margin to renovate an existing building and erect a 40-acre athletic complex. This overwhelming support of parks, Gulden says, helped to shift the thinking of the village board and showed them the importance of parks and recreation.

Although Gulden, as a city department head, is not involved in setting the tax levy, he controls a budget of $3.2 million, including a corporate transfer of $840,000.

Gulden's staff is made up of over 20 full-time or permanent part-time employees, but only two of those are full-time park maintenance staff. In order to maintain the department's 200-plus acres. Gulden must rely on the Village of Romeoville Public Works Department. "They don't care what they run over; they just mow," laments Gulden. A challenge, he says, is coordinating maintenance and repair. He must rely on public works to do the bigger jobs because his department doesn't have the personnel or the tools. "The problem," according to Gulden, "is timing. We are fast-paced and need to correct problems right now. Public Works has other priorities."

The village manager, with approval of the village board, hires the director of parks and recreation. Gulden has no board but has an individual who serves as a liaison between the village board and the parks department. Gulden feels that he has a good relationship with the mayor and village board, who understand recreation issues. When making decisions, however, these village officials need to consider "all the other factors that don't relate to parks and recreation." Gulden points out the variety of responsibilities a city department head must take on in addition to managing parks and recreation. For example. Gulden is currently in charge of Romeoville's TIF district and is involved in infrastructure development for the entire village.

Just like his colleagues who direct park districts in Illinois, Gulden demonstrates that he and his fellow parks department directors have a vast and diverse amount of experience and knowledge in the field.

The 2-year-old Romeoville Recreation Center has an indoor playground, two preschool classrooms, a large community room, a senior and teen center, two gyms, a gymnastics area and a fitness center.

September/ October 2004 - 21