Parks & Recreation Magazine January 2022 by Creative By Design

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Top Trends in Parks & Recreation in 2022 What Will the Field Look Like Post-Pandemic?

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contentsjanuary 2022 volume 57 | number 1 | parksandrecreation.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAN Z CONSORTIUM

The completed Plan Z and Miami LOOP project will deliver safe bicycle and pedestrian access for all 2.8 million Miami-Dade County residents and visitors to this thriving Florida area.

FEATURES

34 Plan Z for Miami Jack Kardys

Find out how this multi-modal plan is kickstarting a bicycle and pedestrian highway culture change in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Parks & Recreation

40 Top Trends in Parks and Recreation for 2022 Richard J. Dolesh

A prediction of what trends will impact the field of parks and recreation in the upcoming year.

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46 Next Practices for the Post-Pandemic 2020s Neelay Bhatt

Learn how parks and recreation can shape the future with next practices for programs, places and paying for it all.

Introducing the We-Go-Swing, We-Go-Swing ™ , the first no-transfer inclusive swing that can be integrated into the playground setting, inviting kids of all abilities to get in on the fun together. We’ve always designed for inclusive play. Now we’re bringing a whole new way to play for all. Learn more about this revolutionary swing forward at playlsi.com/we-go-swing

columns

contents january

departments 12

10 Editor’s Letter A New Year With New Insights and Fresh Ideas Vitisia Paynich

We Are Parks and Recreation

40 Years of Law Review 12 Transforming Fair Park in Dallas 14 Parks & Recreation Wins Gold in 2021 TRENDY Awards 15 Member Benefit: Solving Access and Inclusion Issues 15

Finance for the Field . he Trend of Expanding the Scope of Parkland Dedication T Ordinances John L. Crompton, Ph.D.

Research Parks and Recreation Feels Impact of Labor Shortage Kevin Roth

Perspectives 2022 Trends Address Today’s Challenges Kristine Stratton

20 Advocacy A Three-Pronged Approach to the Success of Michigan’s Parks Tina Nowakowski

Park Pulse Parks and Recreation Brings Health and Wellness Into the New Year

22 Health and Wellness Learning to Live to the Fullest Lindsay Hogeboom

52 Operations The Clubhouse: Ardmore’s Way to Play Alicia Henry

24 Equity . reating Awareness About Youth Sports Equity C .Teresa Morrissey and Rachel Banner

53 Park Essentials

26 Conservation

55 Advertiser Index

Sustainable Construction Decisions Joan Scovic

56 Park Bench Arminda’s Bench: An Enduring Love Story Paul Romer

28 Law Review Public Golf Course Volunteers Make Minimum Wage Claim James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

Page 22

Parks & Recreation is printed using soy ink on at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled paper and is mailed in a wrap — only when required — that is plant based and certified compostable. If you are interested in helping us go even greener, email us at prmagazine@nrpa.org and ask to opt out of receiving the print magazine. Parks & Recreation is always available to read in an ezine format at ezine.nrpa.org.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MIRNA VALERIO

Cover image:

Photo courtesy of Plan Z Consortium

To celebrate the new year, people should live their lives to the fullest via outdoor experiences in whatever spaces and ways they enjoy most.

Because one size doesn’t fit all, NRPA offers many ways to support the field of parks and recreation.

Choose the one(s) that best suits your situation: Online Giving is an easy click away. Monthly Giving enables you to be an anchor for NRPA during these times of volatility. Tribute Gifts honor someone special or celebrate an important occasion. Gifts of Appreciated Stock allow you to save on taxes while supporting parks and recreation. Gifts Through a Donor-Advised Fund are a great way to see the impact of your gift right away. Gifts from Your IRA may be a great way to avoid taxes on your withdrawal and meet your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

Give Today nrpa.org/Give

P E R S P E C T I V E S A M E S S A G E F R O M N R P A’ S L E A D E R S

2022 Trends Address Today’s Challenges What an exciting issue we have for you this month! We’ve got Rich Dolesh’s ever-popular park and recreation trends column. Dolesh, who is former vice president of strategic initiatives for NRPA and current editorat-large of Parks & Recreation, has a fascination for trend spotting and has entertained and inspired this magazine’s readers for years with the results of his research and exploration. Neelay Bhatt, vice president and principal at PROS Consulting and a former NRPA board member, is back to amplify on his engaging work and expand on his education session presented at the 2021 NRPA Annual Conference this past fall, by identifying the “next practices” of our field. These perspectives, and others that come from park and recreation leaders around the country and globe, help us understand the dynamic and challenging world we live in. Recently, I saw a post on LinkedIn calling out the disconnect between accessible trails and how their access points are designed. In this example, there was a large rock and post, intended to block vehicular traffic. However, the gap was smaller than the safe distance required by the Americans with Disabilities Act for wheelchairs and other devices. We want our accessible trails to actually be accessible. This is becoming even more important considering our aging population and the increasing number of people who have mobility challenges. When we combine increasing accessibility with evolving products like electronic bikes (ebikes), we find challenges that need to be managed. A trend that has been around for decades and is growing in complexity and intensity: user conflict. With the growing popularity of ebikes and increasing investment in multi-use trails and trail connections, the user conflicts that park and recreation professionals have navigated in the past have become even more challenging. In Fort Collins, Colorado, which is a Platinum Bike Friendly community 8

Parks & Recreation

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(tinyurl.com/39n5hcm2), the city ran a one-year pilot project to assess ebike usage on paved trails. The pilot enabled city staff to collect data on, understand the acute issues with and implement policies governing road, bike-lane, and paved- and natural-trail access for all classes of ebikes. Another trend for our field that virtually all agencies are feeling acutely is the competition for labor. Add to this “The Great Resignation” and retiring baby boomers, and our agencies are losing significant institutional knowledge. This trend isn’t going away and will put even more pressure on establishing clear policies and documented procedures, building career pathways to attract and retain talent, and investing in creative workforce development strategies. Stay tuned for more on this topic from us in the coming months. I want to sign off with a shout out to San Francisco Recreation and Parks and our valued partner, KABOOM!, which was lauded recently by UNICEF’s 2021 Cities Inspire Awards in the ChildFriendly Environments category (tinyurl.com/ rkv7w23y). Their Heron’s Head Nature Exploration Area (tinyurl.com/vwmt3wfv) was recognized as a place that “encourages people of all ages to engage with diverse natural elements, while promoting more equal access to outdoor play and nature.” This is a great example of responding to the trend of creating cities and public spaces that work for all ages. Congratulations! To everyone doing the tough work of responding to current and future challenges, we see you and thank you!

KRISTINE STR AT TON President and CEO

21_2571_ParksnRec_JAN Mod: November 17, 2021 11:45 AM Print: 11/30/21 12:19:41 PM page 1 v7

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NRPA’S MISSION: To advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair of the Board of Directors Carolyn McKnight-Fredd, CPRP Eagle Methods Management Consulting Dallas, Texas

Treasurer Xavier D. Urrutia Alamo Colleges District San Antonio, Texas

Joanna Lombard University of Miami School of Architecture; Miller School of Medicine Department of Public Health Sciences Miami, Florida

Mollie Marsh-Heine Earthjustice Boulder, Colorado

Carolyn McKnight-Fredd, CPRP

Secretary Joshua Medeiros, Ed.D., CPRE

Eagle Methods Management Consulting Dallas, Texas

City of Bristol Parks and Recreation Bristol, Connecticut

Joshua Medeiros, Ed.D., CPRE

At Large Nonet T. Sykes Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

At Large Mike Abbaté, FASLA, LEED AP Abbaté Designs Portland, Oregon

President and CEO Kristine Stratton, Ex Officio National Recreation and Park Association Ashburn, Virginia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Abbaté, FASLA, LEED AP Abbaté Designs Portland, Oregon

Kathy Abbott Boston Harbor Now Boston, Massachusetts

Jesús Aguirre, CPRE

City of Bristol Parks and Recreation Bristol, Connecticut

Arnold L. Randall Forest Preserve District of Cook County Chicago, Illinois Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

Xavier D. Urrutia Alamo Colleges District San Antonio, Texas

City of Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Las Vegas, Nevada

Philip Wu, M.D. (Retired) Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region Portland, Oregon

Lexington, South Carolina

Anne S. Close

Jose Felix Diaz

James H. Evans

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Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning South Miami, Florida

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Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

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PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G | J A N UA RY 2 02 2 |

Parks & Recreation

EDITOR’S LET TER

A New Year With New Insights and Fresh Ideas There’s nothing like the start of a new year. It’s a time for new insights and fresh ideas for elevating the park and recreation profession. From an editorial perspective, it’s also an opportunity for our thought leaders who have their finger on the pulse of emerging trends to share what they’ve gleaned within the pages of this month’s issue. In the cover story, “Plan Z for Miami,” on page 34, past NRPA Chair and former board member Jack Kardys provides an overview of an ambitious project designed to dramatically enhance the quality of life for 2.8 million Miami-Dade, Florida, residents and 16 million annual visitors to the Rickenbacker Causeway, as well as serve as a case study for other cities and communities across the country that imagine their own park-centric urban master plans. Plan Z is a public-private partnership proposal for the Miami LOOP, which is a 225-mile trail concept that would offer more transportation options, as well as make bike and pedestrian trails safer and more equitable. “The creators of Plan Z have envisioned this multi-modal plan as being an integral part of the Miami LOOP, which would connect the mainland’s Commodore Trail, Underline, Ludlam Trail and Miami River Greenway with Biscayne Bay and its waterfront along the Rickenbacker Causeway,” Kardys writes. Next, Parks & Recreation Editor-at-Large Richard J. Dolesh offers the much-anticipated “Top Trends in Parks and Recreation for 2022,” on page 40. This year’s trends touch on park infrastructure, climate change, workforce retention and technology. Dolesh also addresses the challenges affecting today’s youth sports. “Multiple studies have found that there has been a sharp and continuing decline in youth sports participation,” he points out. “Concurrently, there also has been a steady decline in physical activity by youth.” Lastly, we hear from another expert in the field, Neelay Bhatt, vice president of PROS Consulting Inc. and a former NRPA board member. In the feature article, “Next Practices for the Post-Pandemic 2020s,” on page 46, Bhatt takes a closer look at how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has altered the field of parks and recreation. What’s more, he identifies key “next” practices in recreation programming, placemaking, financing, as well as experience building. “Park and recreation departments must look at every aspect of their system and ask themselves, ‘Is this an offering or is this an experience?’” Bhatt writes. Hopefully, this month’s issue provides many valuable takeaways that you can share with your park and recreation staff. Most importantly, may 2022 bring you much inspiration and continuous success as you faithfully serve your communities and constituents.

VITISIA “VI” PAYNICH Executive Editor Director, Print and Online Content

Parks & Recreation

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PRESIDENT AND CEO Kristine Stratton VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND DIRECTOR OF PRINT AND ONLINE CONTENT Vitisia Paynich vpaynich@nrpa.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND WRITER Lindsay Hogeboom lhogeboom@nrpa.org MANAGER OF ONLINE CONTENT Jennifer Fulcher-Nguyen jnguyen@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN Kim Mabon/Creative By Design CreativeByDesign.net SENIOR CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER WESTERN REGION AND ASIA Michelle Dellner 949.248.1057 mdellner@nrpa.org SENIOR CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE Paul Semple 916.880.5225 psemple@nrpa.org DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Melissa Hunter 703.858.2199 mhunter@nrpa.org PHOTOGRAPHY Dreamstime.com or NRPA (unless otherwise noted) MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Anthony-Paul Diaz, Chair Michael Abbaté, FASLA Neelay Bhatt Ryan Eaker Beau Fieldsend Kathleen Gibi Paul Gilbert, CPRP Tim Herd, CPRE Brian Johnson, CPSI Denise Johnson-Caldwell Roslyn Johnson, CPRP Michele Lemons Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Lisa Paradis, CPRP Paula Sliefert Shonnda Smith, CPRP, AFO Ronnetta Spalding

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WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION 40 Years of Law Review Get to know James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., author of the monthly column By Vitisia Paynich

or 40 years, James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., has contributed his well-received Law Review columns to Parks & Recreation magazine. To mark this notable anniversary, Parks & Recreation caught up with him to learn more about his career in parks and recreation law and the lessons he can share from four decades of authoring the column.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES C. KOZLOWSKI

Parks & Recreation: What inspired you to pursue a law degree? James Kozlowski: While completing my masters and beginning the doctoral program with a focus on park resources at the University of Illinois, I completed two graduate courses in urban planning law, which were taught by an attorney. I saw a very interesting and unique opportunity to develop a similar non-traditional career path for my-

Parks & Recreation

self in parks and recreation law. To do so, I thought I would need a law degree while earning an income. So, I left the Illinois doctoral program and returned to Baltimore to begin night law school at the University of Maryland while working as a claims representative for the Social Security Administration in a Baltimore branch office. While attending law school, I also was admitted to the recreation doctoral program at the University of Maryland College Park. After earning my law degree, as part of my doctoral program at Maryland, I developed my course in parks and recreation law, which focused on negligence liability. P&R: What drew you to the field of parks and recreation? Kozlowski: Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, until I left for college in Baltimore, my life revolved around my neighborhood park as well as the recreation centers and the free public pool where I learned to swim. During high school, I also worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local [YMCA] and the Philadelphia Aquatic Club. Following college in Baltimore

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and graduate school in Chicago, I was a 10th grade English teacher for one year in Baltimore County. While swimming laps after school at the local [YMCA], I realized swimming had led me into teaching and began to acknowledge that I was more interested in pursuing a career in parks and recreation as opposed to continuing to work in secondary education. While it sounded like a fanciful idea at first, I started to seriously consider a career change to pursue my interest in parks and recreation. I read several books about recreation related to agencies within the [U.S.] Department of the Interior, specifically the National Park Service, and the old Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. I also developed a list and sent inquiries to the major universities with graduate programs in parks and recreation. While I got a discouraging letter from the department chair [at the] University of Maryland, I got very supportive replies from [University of] Illinois [and The Pennsylvania State University] where Dr. Betty van der Smissen was department chair. Betty had both a doctorate in recreation and a law degree with a legendary focus on legal liability. Years later, I got to know Betty who appreciated my work. I applied and was accepted into the master’s program at [University of] Illinois. Prior to leaving for Illinois, a fraternity brother, who was doing graduate work on the role of urban parks in neighborhood revi-

The author’s note, acknowledgments and preface from the original volume of Recreation and Parks Law Reporter, published in 1984.

talization in Baltimore, introduced me to NRPA and a visit to NRPA headquarters in Virginia, where I first met my future NRPA colleague, Dr. Don Henkel. P&R: Tell us about one of the most unusual cases you’ve come across. Kozlowski: My April 2003 article reviewed the opinion of the Louisiana appeals court in the case of Henry v. Parish of Jefferson. In this case, the Jefferson Parish Department of Parks and Recreation was found not liable for several shootings [that] had occurred at a recreation center playground on the evening of November 14, 1992. I was retained as a defense expert by a Louisiana attorney who I later discovered is the brother of singer Harry Connick Jr. As an expert witness for the defense, I gave a day-long deposition and was scheduled to testify at the trial more than a year later on September 12, 2001. The attacks on 9/11 prevented myself and my park and recreation colleague, Dr. Fran Wallach, a playground expert for the plaintiff, from traveling from Washington and New York to New Orleans for the trial. I was told material from our depositions was read into the trial record. Editor’s Note: To read an extended version of this article, please visit nrpa. org/40YearsOfLawReview. Vitisia Paynich is Executive Editor and Director of Print and Online Content at NRPA (vpaynich@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

W E A R E P A R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N

Transforming Fair Park in Dallas By Dan Biederman

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIR PARK/BIEDERMAN REDEVELOPMENT VENTURES

or 135 years, Fair Park in Dallas — the site of The Cotton Bowl and the State Fair of Texas — has been a local treasure. But throughout the decades, revitalization has been increasingly needed. Over time, the park has experienced a long list of setbacks: financial shortfalls, tensions with its neighboring communities, management turnover, loss of tenants, and a lack of ongoing preservation and maintenance. These setbacks led to a loss of identity, relevancy and use for the park. The site had become a sleeping giant that would awaken once a year for the state fair or an occasional event, but then would quickly return to a state of dormancy and neglect.

Parks & Recreation

Putting the Park Back in Fair Park

Addressing Fair Park’s Challenges

In 2014, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings convened a task force to discuss the future of Fair Park. Its recommendations included the need to enhance access and activity, “to put the park back in Fair Park,” and to establish a public-private partnership to manage and market the park. In January 2019, these recommendations took form when the new operators of Fair Park — Fair Park First, Spectra and Biederman Redevelopment Ventures (BRV) — were chosen to revitalize the park.

The biggest struggle for Fair Park is becoming a space for recreation and leisure on an everyday basis, yearround. This is where the new operators of Fair Park stepped in to provide a slate of free programming and amenities with the goal of building an everyday audience. BRV’s philosophy is simple — program first, then everything else will follow. BRV also has led the development of an updated master plan in partnership with the Minneapolis office of the design firm Perkins and Will. The principal goal of this plan is to green the park. Currently, the grounds are

The Community Park within Fair Park is the first step to putting the green back in the park and the first project from the master plan to be implemented.

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comprised of more than 75 percent impervious surfaces with parking lots accounting for most. This has led to the park’s alternative moniker — Fair Parking. This overarching issue lays the foundation of the plan’s recommendations — to turn gray into green, increase the site’s resiliency and create more usability. The Community Park within Fair Park is the first step to putting the green back in the park and the first project from the master plan to be implemented. Currently, the location of what will become the Community Park is one of the site’s largest parking lots, but was historically a Black neighborhood acquired via eminent domain in the 1960s to provide the State Fair of Texas with more parking. One of BRV’s goals for the new Fair Park is to give back to the surrounding community and to restitch the neighborhood by building a stateof-the-art space that is curated by the community — from design to programming to amenities. The Community Park will be the epicenter for daily programming and will feature Texas-sized amenities — splash pads, multiple play structures for different ages and abilities, a performance pavilion, and flex lawns, to name a few. Studio-MLA of Los Angeles has been selected as the park designers and the park is slated to be completed by 2024. By turning gray to green and providing free programming — selected by those who live near the park — the new Community Park will be a welcome addition to Fair Park. Dan Biederman is President of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures Corporation (contactus@brvcorp.com).

Parks & Recreation Wins Gold in 2021 TRENDY Awards

arks & Recreation magazine received its third consecutive gold medal award for “Best Monthly Trade Association Magazine” from Association TRENDS during the organization’s 2021 TRENDY Awards. Honorees were selected from among nearly 300 entries in the association publications contest. “We are once again proud to be recognized by Association TRENDS for our commitment

to uplifting and empowering our members as they continue to advance the park and recreation field,” says Gina Mullins-Cohen, NRPA vice president of communications and chief marketing officer, in an NRPA press release (tinyurl.com/ym6te2pf). “Our staff continues to be humbled by the reception to our magazine and looks forward to providing highquality content for years to come.”

Member Benefit: Solving Access and Inclusion Issues By John N. McGovern, J.D.

ark and recreation agencies have always been in the solutions business. This brief overview shows one way to use solutions expertise for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliance efforts. The ADA title II regulation, published by the U.S. Department of Justice, applies to public park and recreation agencies. It has several “ADA 101” requirements. One of these requirements is to create an internal process to solve access and inclusion issues. We know how important it is to use words that match intent. The title II regulation at 35.107(b) refers to the internal solutions process as both a complaint procedure and a grievance procedure, all in one sentence. But those words create an adversarial situation where one does not exist. Let’s review the following exam-

ple: A parent comes to your park and recreation agency and asks for one-on-one staff support in an after-school program for her son, who is on the Autism spectrum. You and your therapeutic recreation staff, or someone who knows both disability and recreation, schedule a time to meet and conduct an assessment (as required by

title II). The parent has not made a complaint or filed a grievance — the parent has simply asked for support for the boy. Here, you can be all about solutions. Set the right tone and invite your participants to trust that you, too, want a solution. NRPA members receive a discount on all accessibility audits and services provided by WT Group LLC. To learn more, visit nrpa. org/MemberDiscounts. John N. McGovern, J.D., is Principal-in-Charge at WT Group LLC Accessibility Practice (jmcgovern@WTGroup.com).

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Parks & Recreation

RESEARCH Parks and Recreation Feels Impact of Labor Shortage By Kevin Roth

t is not just your agency. Employers across the United States are struggling from a labor shortage not seen in many decades. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were more than 10 million open jobs this past fall. As bad as that sounds, it represented an improvement from the summer when there were a record 11 million unfilled jobs. As a comparison, the number of open jobs averaged slightly more than 7 million in 2019 and 3.5 million as recently as 2011. Local and state government employers are facing a particularly acute problem in finding workers. Back in July, there were 523,000 open local and state government jobs (excluding education). By comparison, there were 364,000 open jobs in a pre-pandemic July 2019, which was double the 180,000 unfilled jobs back in the summer of 2011. Park and recreation agencies are competing with private-sector employers for enthusiastic and qualified workers. Those employers, too, have been unable to fill their many employment opportunities. In July, private-sector employers in the healthcare and social assistance space had 1.762 million unfilled jobs, while there were 1.672 million open positions in accommodation and food services. The combined total was 30 percent greater than the number of open jobs in July 2019 and more than triple the number of employment opportunities during the same month in 2011. Exacerbating the issue is what some people refer to as The Great Resignation. Abundant job opportunities, shifting life priorities and growing caregiving needs at home have led people to leave their current jobs at a record pace. More than 4

Parks & Recreation

million people quit their jobs in both July and August 2021, a 15 percent increase from the comparable months in 2019 and more than double that of the same months back in 2011. In August 2021 alone, 86,000 non-education state and local government workers quit their jobs. Also weighing heavily on park and recreation agencies’ hiring is the number of people who are able and willing to work. More than 8 million workers left the labor force during the first months of the pandemic in spring 2020. Not all of them have come back. Increased caregiving needs at home (caused in part by a lack of availability of childcare), changing life priorities resulting from the pandemic and early retirements all have left the United States with fewer workers than before the start of the pandemic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there were 161.458 million people in the U.S. labor force this past October. This was a decrease of 3 million people compared to February 2020. Viewed a different way, the labor force participation rate for people ages 16 and older was at 61.6 percent in October, down from 63.3 percent from February 2020 and 64.2 per-

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cent from 10 years earlier. The labor force participation rate has not been this low since the mid-1970s. What these numbers signal is that the U.S. labor market is as tight as ever seen in the modern era, adding to the already long list of challenges felt by park and recreation agencies across the nation. Park and recreation leaders find themselves competing with better-funded employers that can offer higher wages and benefits. Agencies that faced sharp budget cuts during the pandemic and resulting recession are simply unable to keep up with rising labor costs. As a result, parks and recreation must entice workers with non-financial benefits that come with their jobs, including the ability to serve their community. Parks and recreation is a people business, where 165,000 full-time employees and hundreds of thousands of part-time workers deliver programming, provide services and maintain the essential infrastructure of more than 10,000 agencies across the United States. For example, there is no substitute for skilled people in delivering out-of-school time and youth sports programming to millions of children each day. And, it takes consummate professionals to maintain the parklands, trails, buildings, aquatic facilities and sports fields that make up the typical agency. An inability to find qualified, enthusiastic workers will hamper many agencies from delivering on their missions. Next month, we will look at some of the broader labor market trends, with a particular focus on the struggles surrounding hiring younger seasonal workers. Kevin Roth is NRPA’s Vice President of Research, Evaluation and Technology (kroth@nrpa.org).

NRPA PARK PULSE

Parks and Recreation Brings Health and Wellness Into the New Year

94% of U.S. adults have health and wellness goals for 2022. Top goals include:

Drinking more water and eating healthier

Increasing exercise and daily step counts Reducing stress

Getting outside more often

Park and recreation agencies are primary providers of public spaces – such as parks, trails and recreation centers – and programs where people can fulfill their health and wellness goals.

Each month, through a poll of 1,000 U.S. residents focused on park and recreation issues, NRPA Park Pulse helps tell the park and recreation story. Questions span from the serious to the more lighthearted. The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com).

Visit nrpa.org/ParkPulse for more information.

FINANCE FOR FIELD FINANCE FORTHE THE FIELD The Trend of Expanding the Scope of Parkland Dedication Ordinances By John L. Crompton, Ph.D.

ourts have consistently endorsed and enhanced the principle of communities passing the costs of growth through to new residences that created the costs. The enhancements have led to the emergence of “new normals” manifested by expansion of the types of parks that are eligible, inclusion of development fees, and inclusion of reimbursement clauses. Figure 1 below shows a continuum of the evolution, extension and expansion of parkland dedication ordinances that has occurred over the past half century.

Ad Hoc Agreements Before the tax revolt of the late 1970s, many cities believed they could achieve more parkland by fostering developer good will through negotiating ad hoc agreements than by mandating it be dedicated. This approach meant the parkland being secured depended on the economics of a development, a developer’s sense of noblesse oblige, local needs, and the aggressiveness and expertise of elected representatives and city officials in negotiating with developers. However, developers frequently are represented by specialist lawyers and consultants whose expertise typically far exceeds that of local city planners, so taxpayers are disadvantaged. Although a goal of negotiated agreements is to prevent friction with developers, it often creates friction. A principle of good governance is “horizontal equity,” which requires that equals should

be treated equally. Since negotiated “donations” are determined on a case-by-case basis, it is likely this principle will be breached with substantially different levels of dedication being exacted for similarly situated developments. The need for a more sustainable vehicle became apparent in fast growth cities when the political climate and legislative actions emanating from the “tax revolt” of the late 1970s and early 1980s made raising taxes for acquisition and development of park facilities infeasible in many communities. This stimulated the widespread enacting of parkland dedication exactions.

Neighborhood Land Dedication The earliest approach to replace negotiation with a fixed formula imposed “mandatory dedication” of land for neighborhood parks

(Figure 1, stage 2). Developers were required to deed a specified amount of land on their site for a park. However, requiring the dedication be in the form of land meant the size of the acquired land was determined by the size of the developer’s project. Because most projects involved a relatively small acreage, only small, fragmented spaces were provided. They offered limited potential for recreation and were relatively expensive to maintain.

Fee-in-Lieu of Parkland This limitation encouraged cities to broaden their ordinances to require developers to pay a fee-in-lieu of the fair market value of the land that otherwise would have been dedicated (Figure 1, stage 3). This meant the dedication was no longer confined to a developer’s subdivision, because fees could be spent off-site. The shift to a cash option also enabled cities to expand ordinances beyond acquiring land, so funds could be used to develop improvements on parkland and/or to renovate existing parks.

Parkland-in-Lieu of Fee Some communities have elected to require payment of fees to be the default norm, and land-in-lieu of a fee

Figure 1: Continuum Showing the Evolution and Expansion of Parkland Dedication Ordinances

Parks & Recreation

Ad Hoc Negotiated Agreements

Neighborhood Parkland Dedication

Fee-in-Lieu of Land

Land-in-Lieu of Fee

Dedication Beyond the Neighborhood

Development Fee

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payment to be an exception option exercised at the discretion of the city (Figure 1, stage 4). This reflects the reality that a large majority of dedications are in the form of fees rather than land. There are three reasons for this. First, many ordinances specify they will not accept land dedications of, say, less than five acres. Thus, if the level of service for the land dedication is 100 dwelling units per acre, then only projects of at least 500 units will have this option. Second, if cities are “landlocked,” then new growth is primarily going to be infill development, often characterized by higher structures rather than a bigger footprint, so no land is available. Third, cities that have made substantial front-end investment in parks that is intended to meet future needs may require subsequent dedications be in cash to reimburse the costs of those investments.

Dedication for Parks Beyond the Neighborhood

alization that providing only land requires existing taxpayers to pay the costs of transforming bare land into a functioning park. Thus, the intent to require new growth to pay the cost of the demands it places on parks is not fulfilled. If a park development fee is not required and the community fails to approve a bond issue to transform raw land into a functioning park, then the result may be desolate open spaces devoid of park-like qualities that are a blight and public nuisance rather than a benefit and positive asset.

Creating Greater Awareness Although the courts have embraced stages 5 and 6 of Figure 1, relatively few cities have adapted to this trend. Consequently, the unrealized po-

tential of parkland dedication ordinances is arguably the lowest hanging fruit of capital funding sources for parks. Part of the reason for this is that the implementation of the ordinances is the purview of planning departments, not park and recreation departments, since they are a component of a city’s subdivision regulations. Their unrealized potential suggests that park directors should perhaps take a more proactive role in making city managers and elected officials aware of their full potential. John L. Crompton, Ph.D., is a University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor and Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University and an elected Councilmember for the City of College Station (jcrompton@tamu.edu).

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This expansion of dedication requirements (Figure 1, stage 5) recognizes that new residents do not confine their use only to neighborhood parks. The initial focus on neighborhood parks was based on the premise that residents walked or biked to the nearest park. In contemporary society, data frequently show most users are likely to drive to the park that best meets their needs for a desired experience. Selecting a park to visit is usually based on which amenities are desired, rather than which park is closest. Commercial Grade

The Emergence of Park Development Fees The emergence of park improvement fees in the new millennium (Figure 1, stage 6) reflected a re-

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ADVOCACY

A Michigan park stretches along the Detroit River.

A Three-Pronged Approach to the Success of Michigan’s Parks By Tina Nowakowski

f the past two years have taught us anything, it is that nobody can succeed on their own, and the success of parks and recreation is certainly not exempt. In 2020, Michigan Recreation and Park Association (mParks) joined forces with a broad and diverse coalition of like-minded nonprofits, private-sector organizations and municipalities to tackle their biggest advocacy effort to date — Proposal 1: Vote Yes for MI Water, Wildlife and Parks. The proposal, which appeared on a contentious November 2020 ballot, expanded the work of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) and helped protect the state’s drinking water sources, wildlife habitats and parks for the future. The amendment sought to safeguard a constitutionally protected revenue source for conservation and recreation efforts for future generations, insulating it from partisan gridlock. “We are so lucky that more than 40 years ago, our advocates had the

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forethought to create [the MNRTF] program to protect Michigan’s lands and waters,” says Clay Summers, executive director of mParks. MNRTF serves as a key funding source for Michigan’s park and recreation agencies, allocating more than $1 billion from oil and mineral royalties to protect the state’s natural resources and to develop outdoor recreation opportunities for residents.

Grassroots Efforts mParks members were pivotal to the

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success of Proposal 1. While park and recreation departments were unable to encourage their communities to vote for Proposal 1, they stood up to tell the importance of the MNRTF. More than 20 municipalities in Michigan adopted resolutions endorsing the ballot proposal.

Partner Organizations The Nature Conservancy, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Heart of the Lakes, Michigan Environmental Council, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, and mParks spearheaded the efforts in support of Proposal 1. Together, these organizations created branding, messaging and ballot language; gathered endorsements, sponsorships and worked to get press

coverage; but most importantly, they gathered more than 70 organizations — nonprofits and private-sector companies — to sign on in support of the proposal (tinyurl.com/yucveyb3).

Bipartisan Support Proposal 1 had broad, bipartisan support from the start. The Michigan Legislature unanimously agreed to put the proposal on the November ballot in 2018, and all of Michigan’s living governors supported adoption of the proposal. Michiganders made history by overwhelmingly voting “yes” on Proposal 1. Voters across the political spectrum voted to commit oil and gas royalties to the protection of our land, water sources and parks in perpetuity.

“Proposal 1 passed because of strong bipartisan support from conservationists and environmentalists, business and community leaders and our elected officials. This is a victory for Michiganders in every corner of the state,” says Becca Maher, Vote Yes campaign manager. “With the passage of Proposal 1, voters sent a clear message to Lansing, [Michigan] — we must prioritize protecting our natural resources and conserving and creating access to our outdoor spaces, now and for future generations.” Our collective action continues as mParks works with partner organizations on an educational campaign, called protectMI. Launched in 2020, protectMI is the voice of the public lands and water, where we find spaces for learning and exploring, havens

for healing and solace, and outdoor recreational opportunities. proctectMI celebrates these outdoor spaces by raising awareness of their accessibility and sharing the stories of projects funded through MNRTF. The partnerships that mParks develops are crucial to its success. By joining forces with organizations that share similar missions, mParks is given a louder voice to tell the stories of park and recreation agencies and advocate on their behalf. This in turn leads to successful legislation that supports Michigan’s public lands and recreation facilities, as well as opens the door for funding opportunities for these spaces. Tina Nowakowski is Director of Communication and Strategic Partnerships for Michigan Recreation and Park Association.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MIRNA VALERIO

HEALTH & WELLNESS

As a writer and speaker, Mirna Valerio continues to encourage people to live their lives to the fullest via outdoor experiences in whatever spaces and ways they enjoy most.

Learning to Live to the Fullest By Lindsay Hogeboom

“

his is one of my core beliefs: that we allow people to live, to experience, and to express the fullness of their humanity every time and all the time,” reads Mirna Valerio’s website (themirnavator.com).

Valerio, who is also known as “The Mirnavator,” is many things — a former educator, ultrarunner and author, to name a few. “I am primarily a trail runner, although I run road races as well. I’m a DEI practitioner — diversity, equity and inclusion consultant,” she says in an interview with NRPA’s Cort Jones for the Open Space Radio podcast. “I’m a mom, I’m a cyclist. I get to work with a ton of amazing brands and companies just trying to get people to feel good in their bodies and to get outside in whatever way, shape or fashion is available to [them].” Valerio may be best known for 22

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her blog, Fatgirlrunning. In 2008, she had a health scare that prompted her to reignite her passion for running. Simultaneously, Valerio began documenting her experiences as a larger athlete in what she noticed was a sport dominated by thinner, whiter individuals. “I didn’t really know what blogging was. All I knew was that my friends were like, ‘Stop writing all your stuff on Facebook. Do a blog,’” she says in the Open Space Radio interview. “So, I start this blog and I got some pushback for calling it Fatgirlrunning because I identified as a fat girl who ran — same today — and I wanted to tell my story. I

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wanted to tell stories of what was important to me — what races I did, the experiences that I had, both positive and negative, and it caught on.” In 2015, Valerio’s blog was picked up by the Runner’s World website, and the exposure to her writing started a widespread conversation “about whether one can be fat and fit,” she says. “And of course, there were lots of positive and encouraging comments and conversations about this, but there were also negative and very presumptuous commentary as well. In the end, I didn’t really care, because it was about me reclaiming my own health. And if that motivated other people to do the same, to sort of reassess their life, reprioritize things, start a running habit, start a hiking habit — whatever it is, start a going

outside habit — then I was going to continue doing that.” Today, as a writer and speaker, Valerio continues to encourage people to live their lives to the fullest via outdoor experiences in whatever spaces and ways they enjoy most. “I encourage people to always redefine the outdoors or outside as it pertains to them and their own lives and where they live and their lifestyles,” she says. “If being outside means being on your stoop or porch, then that’s the outdoors…. We’ve got to get rid of these notions that the outdoors means just one thing.” For many people, their local parks are a vital component of their outdoor experience. According to the fitness blogger, there are a few simple steps park patrons and staff alike can take to make these places welcoming for all, so that everyone can enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of the outdoors. “I believe that we have to let people be themselves and do what it is that they do to make themselves happy. Just let them do it! And let’s not step in and try to box people in or pigeonhole them into something because they have a certain look about them, because they have a certain gender… or [because] you have some feelings about them,” she says. “And I think that’s a pretty easy thing to achieve — especially when we’re talking about the outdoors, we’re talking about parks…. Greet people, acknowledge their humanity, be kind, be forgiving. It’s just like the basic rules of humanity. Extend those to outdoor spaces, too.” Valerio concludes the interview with a succinct bit of advice: “If you know somebody who could

use the awesomeness of being outside, invite them along. With no expectations, with no ulterior motives but to help them take part in what it is to be human.”

To hear the interview with Valerio on Open Space Radio, visit tinyurl. com/2p8r84jf. Lindsay Hogeboom is Associate Editor and Writer for NRPA’s Parks & Recreation magazine (lhogeboom@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

EQUITY

Park and recreation professionals should center equity-based best practices in their youth sports programs, facilities and policies to ensure all children have access to a safe and welcoming youth sports experience.

Creating Awareness About Youth Sports Equity By Teresa Morrissey and Rachel Banner

t NRPA, we’ve spent the past year researching the youth sports landscape to learn ways we can support park and recreation professionals as they ensure that all kids have a fun, safe place to play sports — a place where they feel like they belong. The research was clear that when children play sports, they increase their chances to grow up healthy; feel good about themselves; build friendships; develop skills like teamwork, kindness and respect; and are more likely to succeed in school and in their future careers. At the culmination of our research, NRPA developed goals and principles that guide how we collaborate with park and recreation professionals to ensure all youth have the opportunity, motivation and access to play sports (tinyurl.com/475vzyvp). Because park and recreation professionals are community leaders experienced in working with youth, parents and partners to deliver youth sports, NRPA looks forward to working

Parks & Recreation

together to increase youth sports equity at park and recreation agencies, ultimately creating conditions that welcome all youth into sports and provide community-wide access to youth sports opportunities that are safe, fun and affordable.

Centering Equity in Local Youth Sports This fall, NRPA transitioned into its first year of action. We started by

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selecting 16 communities to serve as leaders in NRPA’s Youth Sports Strategy — providing grant funding to these park and recreation agencies to test approaches that increase youth sports equity. As we read grant applications, we found the following excerpt from a letter written by a little leaguer to Mayor Jane Castor in Tampa, Florida: I’ve been playing softball for four years and recently noticed a problem. My home little league...only has ONE softball field and at least FOUR baseball fields. I understand baseball was invented first, but softball needs a little more attention. I am aware boys usually play more sports, but it’s not the [1800s] anymore. Girls are starting to play sports now, in particular softball. At softball, some of my practices have been getting cancelled because there’s a [baseball] game taking place on the field and there’s nowhere else for the game to go. I’m writing to you to get more softball fields EVERYWHERE...

While the letter’s plea is a stark reminder that not all youth have equitable access to youth sports, it also illuminates ways we can work to level the playing field. But we must first acknowledge that sports were not always open to everyone. For example, it wasn’t until the 1964 Civil Rights Act that people of color were allowed to use all recreational facilities and that mixed race sports teams were protected under law. Park and recreation professionals in Tampa took the letter as a call to action. After assessing field distribution and availability by demographic and neighborhood characteristics, they found that only five of the city’s 39 little league ballfields are playable for softball. Over the next year, the city of Tampa will begin converting several baseball fields to accommodate softball play as part of its goals to reduce gender disparities in sports citywide.

local and affordable options. For this reason, NRPA’s first step to supporting park and recreation professionals as they build relationships with families in their communities is the Youth Sports Communications Toolkit (nrpa.org/YouthSports CommunicationsToolkit). Extensive research surrounding family values in youth sports serves as the basis for toolkit messaging. When testing the toolkit messaging with parents and caregivers via focus groups and surveys, nearly all families reported they would be more likely to register their child for park and recreation sports after exposure to the messages. The free toolkit includes sample outreach copy for email, newsletter and social media promotion, along with a series of customizable graph-

ics. Agencies can add their logo, URL and specific sports offerings to tailor the assets to their community. Park and recreation professionals across the country are working to develop more equitable access to youth sports and play opportunities for all. As leaders in communities, it is essential that park and recreation professionals center equity-based best practices in their youth sports programs, facilities and policies to ensure all children have access to a safe and welcoming youth sports experience. We encourage you to join us as we build a collective movement toward youth sports equity. Teresa Morrissey is NRPA’s Program Manager, Park Access (tmorrissey@nrpa.org). Rachel Banner is NRPA’s Director of Park Access (rbanner@nrpa.org).

Attracting Families to Your Youth Sports Programs NRPA seeks to build awareness around the role of park and recreation professionals in building youth sports equity. Over the past year, we heard that park and recreation agencies deliver affordable, close-to-home sports options that emphasize the long-term, healthy development of children. Yet, we found that in many communities, one of the largest barriers to play was quite simple: families aren’t always aware of the youth sports options available at their park and recreation agency. Quality, community-based sports have become critical during the recovery from the pandemic. This gives park and recreation agencies an opportunity to market their offerings since parents desire more

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Parks & Recreation

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORTHBROOK PARK DISTRICT

CONSERVATION

Environmental stewardship was at the forefront of the Techny Prairie Activity Center construction project.

Sustainable Construction Decisions A natural solution for the Northbrook Park District By Joan Scovic

t is not often that park and recreation agencies bring two multimilliondollar capital projects to fruition in the same decade, let alone the same year. The Northbrook Park District, located in Northbrook, Illinois, experienced this perfect storm in 2021 with the construction of Techny Prairie Activity Center, as well as course renovations and a new clubhouse at Heritage Oaks Golf Club. Through a Comprehensive Master Plan process conducted in 2016, several priorities for investment were identified based on community input, inventory and analysis comparisons to state and national standards, demographics and financial capabilities. This process launched an initiative called New Places to Play. Both projects were designed using sustainable practices, upholding the park district’s

Parks & Recreation

overall mission to enhance the community by providing outstanding services, parks and facilities through environmental, social and financial stewardship.

Techny Prairie Activity Center Techny Prairie Activity Center (TPAC), a 44,200-square-foot net zero energy building, opened to the public in January 2021. This state-of-the-art facility, lo-

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cated in Techny Prairie Park and Fields, offers sweeping views of the surrounding prairie. Users are immersed in nature and open space while experiencing a futureforward highly efficient facility. TPAC offers a fitness floor with cardio and strength training equipment, group fitness studios, an indoor track, a gymnasium, a multipurpose room and office space. Environmental stewardship was at the forefront of this project from its inception. This six-acre property, acquired in 2011, required extensive remediation efforts to remove pollutants. The site’s former factory was demolished, and bricks and metal elements were dismantled and recycled. Following these efforts, the park district received

An eye toward sustainability led the decision making for both the Heritage Oak Golf Club golf course renovations and new clubhouse construction.

a No Further Remediation letter from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The park district applied for and was awarded a $1.78 million grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF), which provides grants for exemplary buildings that maximize energy efficiency through net zero energy building status. Northbrook is only the second park district in Illinois to receive an ICECF grant for construction of a net zero energy building. Efficiencies were created at TPAC in a holistic manner to meet net zero energy building standards, addressing increased on-site energy production and decreased energy consumption. The energy generated from the 833 rooftop photovoltaic (solar) panels will be greater than or equal to the amount of energy used in the building during a 12-month period. Design choices throughout the project focused on reducing greenhouse gases and the building’s overall carbon footprint — including highly efficient mechanical systems, airtight construction, increased levels of polyisocyanurate insulation, high-performance low-emissivity coated windows that are strategically placed to maximize ambient light, and LED lighting with occupancy and light-level sensors in the building and parking lot. All of these netzero features are explained through large-format signage in the lobby that also includes real-time performance data. Inside and out, the property was designed with sustainability in mind. A 200-foot bioswale in the parking lot incorporates native plants to collect, manage and

filter stormwater prior to sending it to the nearby prairie basin and a branch of the Chicago River. The landscape plan includes pollinatorfriendly naturalized areas, along with 68 newly planted trees and the development of no-mow spaces to reduce the use of chemicals and gas-powered machinery. Solar production and building consumption numbers are following the model developed by architectural firm Wight & Co., and the facility was recently added to the Illinois Net Zero Honor Roll and Watch List by the Illinois Green Alliance.

Heritage Oaks Golf Club In response to the priorities identified in the master planning process, Northbrook turned its attention to Heritage Oaks Golf Club (HOGC), formerly known as Sportsman’s Country Club, a 27-hole golf facility dating back to 1931. The renewed facility re-opened to the public in August 2021. An eye toward sustainability led the decision making for both the golf course renovations and the new clubhouse construction. While the property was already Audubon certified, natural components were enhanced by expanding

ponds, planting 356 trees, and using permeable pavers to improve stormwater management, retention and reuse on the property. Additionally, parking lot asphalt was removed, and a dustless grinder was brought onto the site to break the asphalt down for use as a construction base. Then, new concrete was poured using technology that introduces recycled carbon dioxide into the fresh concrete. This process not only reduced the site’s carbon footprint, but also transportation effects and construction waste. With the team from RATIO Architects, design decisions were carefully made — including certified, sustainably sourced wood siding; carpet made from 57 percent post-consumer recycled content that is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its life; Greenguard gold standard laminated countertops and surfaces; and even lawn furniture made of 100 percent recycled milk jugs. Through careful planning and a commitment to creative and sustainable solutions, the Northbrook Park District will continue to serve as the responsible steward of New Places to Play, fulfilling the mission of this 95-year-old park district. Joan Scovic is Director of Marketing and Communications for Northbrook Park District (jscovic@nbparks.org).

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Parks & Recreation

L AW R EV I EW

In the case, Adams v. Palm Beach County, Plaintiffs allege they are entitled to minimum wage payments under state and federal law.

Public Golf Course Volunteers Make Minimum Wage Claim By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

n the case of Adams v. Palm Beach County, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 191114 a (S.D. Fla. 10/4/2021), Plaintiffs were golf course attendants at the Osprey Point Golf Course operated by Palm Beach County, Florida (the County). As part of that arrangement, they were permitted to play golf for reduced greens fees. Plaintiffs alleged that they were employees of Palm Beach County and, therefore, entitled to minimum wage payments under state and federal law. Separately, Plaintiff Gerald Kasmere alleged that he suffered employment retaliation after he complained about not receiving minimum wages. In response, the County filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ lawsuit. In so doing, the County argued that the Plaintiffs fell within an exception to the minimum wage laws for public agency volunteers.

Facts of the Case The County solicited golf course volunteers through the website for its parks and recreation department. The posting for Osprey Point stated: This is a high volume 27-hole golf facility that opened in 2010. 28

Parks & Recreation

The course is the first in Florida to receive Audubon Certified Classic Sanctuary status. Volunteers serve as course rangers, driving range attendants and bag drop attendants. Hours vary. Nights and weekends preferred. Osprey Point

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volunteers enjoy being outdoors, getting to know others with similar interests and reduced fees to play and practice golf. The website further stated in red print: “This site doesn’t provide court ordered volunteer hours.” The website also indicated “an unlimited number of volunteers are needed” and “Osprey Point volunteers enjoy reduced fees to play and practice golf.” Plaintiffs performed work at the direction of, and for the benefit of, the County at the Osprey Point Golf Club. They performed duties as assigned by management, including being a cart attendant, ranger, ranger assistant and range ball picker. They were required to

follow strict rules with regard to the performance of their duties, such as not sitting while on duty. They were not paid wages. They were, however, offered discounted rounds of golf if they worked at least one shift of at least seven hours per workweek. They also were allowed to accept tips. A typical greens fee for a paying customer at Osprey Point was $96. Plaintiffs were permitted to play for $5. Between October 2016 and November 2019, Plaintiff Gerald Adams played approximately 31 discounted rounds of golf. Between February 2019 and August 2019, Plaintiff Michael Shaw played approximately 43 discounted rounds of golf. Between October 2016 and March 2020, Plaintiff Gerald Kasmere played approximately 95 discounted rounds of golf. At unspecified times prior to October 2020, Kasmere complained several times to his supervisor and other golf course officials employed by the County that he was not being paid cash wages for his services, which violated federal and state wage laws. He was on furlough in 2020 while Osprey Point was closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In October 2020, Kasmere met with a manager from Osprey Point to discuss returning there after the furlough ended. The manager explained that Osprey Point “needed workers in the ‘volunteer’ positions because some workers who had previously been in those positions were unable or unwilling to return to work because of the pandemic.” The manager further explained that new pandemic-related policies would prohibit Kasmere from cleaning golf clubs or loading/

unloading golf bags. He also explained that the tip jars were being removed. Kasmere “complained that removing the tip jars would make it even harder on ‘volunteers.’” Kasmere “objected that it was bad enough that the County did not pay wages and obtained free labor from its ‘volunteers,’ who were entitled to wage payments.” Kasmere was then told “for the first time that no positions were available.”

Motion to Dismiss In response to the County’s motion to dismiss, the federal district court acknowledged that it “must view the well-pleaded factual allegations in a claim in the light most favorable to the non-moving party,” in this case, the Plaintiffs. While assuming “all the allegations in the claim are true (even if doubtful in fact),” the court noted “the factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” As cited by the court, the Supreme Court had emphasized that “to survive a motion to dismiss a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” According to the court, factually unsupported allegations based “on information and belief ” are not entitled to the assumption of truth. On a motion to dismiss, the issue before the federal district court was, therefore, whether Plaintiffs had alleged sufficient facts to plead a plausible claim for compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. (FLSA).

Fair Labor Standards Act As described by the federal district

court, the FLSA “requires every employer” to “pay to each of his employees a minimum wage.” 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1). Further, “Employee” is defined in the FLSA as “any individual employed by an employer.” 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(1). Within the context of the FLSA, “‘Employ’ includes to suffer or permit to work.” 29 U.S.C. § 203(g). In contrast to employees, the FLSA implementing regulations acknowledge: “Individuals who are not employed in any capacity by State or local government agencies often donate hours of service to a public agency for civic or humanitarian reasons.” Moreover, the court noted: “There are no limitations or restrictions imposed by the FLSA on the types of services which private individuals may volunteer to perform for public agencies.”

Public Agency Volunteer Exception In particular, the federal district court recognized: “There is an exception for an individual who volunteers to provide services for a public agency which is a State, a political subdivision of a State.” Under the FLSA, this “Public Agency Volunteer Exception” would apply “if the individual receives no compensation or is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee to perform the services for which the individual volunteered.” Such services, however, must not be “the same type of services which the individual is employed to perform for such public agency.” 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(4)(A). As cited by the court, the FLSA implementing regulations defined a “volunteer” as: An individual who performs

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Parks & Recreation

L AW R EV I EW

hours of service for a public agency for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered, is considered to be a volunteer during such hours. 29 C.F.R. § 553.101(a). Such individuals are considered volunteers and not employees of such public agencies if their hours of service are provided with no promise expectation, or receipt of compensation for the services rendered, except for reimbursement for expenses, reasonable benefits, and nominal fees, or a combination thereof....

In this case, the County had argued Plaintiffs were not “employees” under the FLSA because “the right to play golf at a reduced fee is not ‘compensation’ under the FLSA.” Whether the furnishing of expenses, benefits or fees would result in individuals losing their status as volunteers under the FLSA can only be determined by examining the total amount of payments made (expenses, benefits, fees) in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation. 29 C.F.R. § 553.106. Further, the court noted the FLSA regulatory definition of “volunteer” must be “applied in a common-sense way that takes into account the totality of the circumstances surrounding the relationship between the person providing services and the entity for which the services are provided, in light of the goals of 30

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the FLSA.” In so doing, the federal district court would look “at the objective facts surrounding the services performed to determine whether the totality of the circumstances supports a holding that, under the statute and under the regulations, the non-paid regulars are volunteers.”

Objectively Reasonable Expectations In this case, the County had argued Plaintiffs were not “employees” under the FLSA because “the right to play golf at a reduced fee is not ‘compensation’ under the FLSA.” In the alternative, the County claimed the right to play golf as a reduced fee was a “reasonable benefit” for volunteers under the FLSA. In addition, the County maintained “Plaintiffs did not have an objectively reasonable expectation of wages or the equivalent.” In response, Plaintiffs contended “each round of golf was in-kind compensation worth approximately $91.” For purposes of the motion to dismiss, viewing the allegations in the complaint in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the federal district court found Plaintiffs’ subjective belief that they should be paid wages for their services was “not objectively reasonable.” In so doing, the court noted “the positions they accepted at Osprey Point were clearly and unequivocally advertised as volunteer positions”: The job posting does not mention wages. The job posting also listed discounted golf as something the volunteer could “enjoy,” equivalent to being outdoors and getting to know others with similar interests, neither of which is akin to compensable wages. A

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person seeing that posting would not reasonably conclude that wages would be paid. Moreover, in the opinion of the court, “working as a ranger or cart attendant at a public golf course is akin to other positions that are amenable to volunteerism,” as described in the FLSA regulations. 29 C.F.R. § 553.104(b). In this particular case, the court also found “nothing inherent about the job or job duties that would reasonably suggest that wages necessarily would be paid.” On the contrary, in the opinion of the court, it was “not objectively reasonable to expect wages when you sign up for a position advertised for volunteers, that can be performed by volunteers, then do not receive wages for an extended period of time.” Under such circumstances, the court held: “The only objectively reasonable conclusion from those facts is that you have accepted a volunteer position that pays no wages.” As characterized by the court: “Plaintiffs’ argument to the contrary borders on frivolous.”

Reasonable Benefit Further, examining “the totality of the relationship between Plaintiffs and the County,” the federal district court determined “the ability to play golf at a reduced fee was a reasonable benefit that was consistent with the economic realities of the particular situation.” Plaintiffs had argued the “reasonable benefit exception does not apply because the record does not support a finding that discounted rounds of golf are ‘commonly and traditionally’ provided to public agency volunteers.” The federal

The federal district court determined “the ability to play golf at a reduced fee was a reasonable benefit that was consistent with the economic realities of this particular situation.”

district court rejected this argument. In the opinion of the federal district court, this argument was “incorrect for several reasons.” First, the court noted “the statute does not include a ‘commonly and traditionally’ requirement; it speaks only of ‘reasonable benefits.’” 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(4)(A). In so doing, the court acknowledged that the FLSA implementing regulations do discuss “certain benefits that are ‘commonly and traditionally provided,’” and found this description to be a “non-exclusive example”: Individuals do not lose their volunteer status if they are provided reasonable benefits by a public agency for whom they perform volunteer services. Benefits would be considered reasonable, for exam-

ple, when they involve inclusion of individual volunteers in group insurance plans (such as liability, health, life, disability, workers’ compensation) or pension plans or “length of service” awards, commonly or traditionally provided to volunteers of State and local government agencies.... Whether the furnishing of expenses, benefits or fees would result in individuals losing their status as volunteers under the FLSA can only be determined by examining the total amount of payments made (expenses, benefits, fees) in the context of the economic realities of the particular situation. 29 C.F.R. § 553.106. Accordingly, the court noted: “the ultimate touchstone is reasonableness under the totality of

the circumstances of the economic relationship.” In this particular instance, the court determined the value of the discounted golf played by Plaintiffs. For Adams (at $91 per round), the value was $2,821 over a 38-month period (an annual average of $890). For Shaw, it was $3,913 over a seven-month period. For Kasmere, it was $8,645 over a 42-month period (annual average of $2,470). In the opinion of the federal district court, the benefits of these amounts were “consistent with the economic realities of the situation” for volunteers: Plaintiffs were volunteering at a golf course; they were offered discounted rounds of golf that could be used only on “certain days, times and locations where discounted golf rounds were made

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The federal district court concluded: “Plaintiffs were receiving a reasonable, noncompensatory, limited, golf-related benefit for volunteering at a golf course.”

available.” The benefit could only be used at County-owned courses. Providing this benefit did not directly cost the County anything. If a Plaintiff opted to play a discounted round of golf, he still had to pay the County $5. Further, the court found no indication in the complaint that “allowing these discounted rounds precluded others (who would pay full price) from using the courses.” The complaint, therefore, failed to allege “the County suffered a loss of other revenue.” As a result, the court found nothing in the complaint to “refute the logical inference that there was no material marginal cost to the County from allowing an extra round of golf to be played” by the Plaintiffs. Moreover, the court found no indication in the complaint that 32

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“this benefit could be monetized by transferring it to a third party.” Based upon all of these factors, the federal district court concluded: “Plaintiffs were receiving a reasonable, non-compensatory, limited, golf-related benefit for volunteering at a golf course.” In the opinion of the court, this conclusion was consistent with the examples in the Department of Labor FLSA regulations. Under these regulations, the court noted “reasonable benefits” included “inclusion of individual volunteers in group insurance plans (such as liability, health, life, disability, workers’ compensation) or pension plans or ‘length of service’ awards.” As characterized by the court: “Providing someone with insurance or permitting them to participate in a pension plan is a more significant

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(or at least equal) benefit than a golf course providing discounted rounds of golf.” The federal district court also cited precedent from a federal appeals court, which had held a stipend for a school golf coach was a “nominal fee” for purposes of the Public Agency Volunteer Exception. In the cited precedent case, the federal appeals court had held “as a matter of law that the stipend was not ‘compensation’ for service rendered because it was paid without regard to the number of hours worked” and “the amortized hourly rate was less than the federally-mandated minimum wage.” Similarly, in this case, the court found “the discounted golf privilege only accrues after a minimum number of hours are worked” but, once earned, the privilege was “not tied to the number of hours worked.” Further, the court found the value of the benefit to Plaintiffs Adams and Kasmere was “comparable to, or less than the annual stipend” in the cited precedent involving the school golf coach. In particular, the court noted that the complaint did not allege the number of hours that each Plaintiff worked. As a result, the court determined the complaint “does not create an inference that the value of the discounted golf benefit exceeded minimum wage.” Moreover, in the opinion of the court, “Plaintiffs mistakenly argue several times that the Court is bound by nonfactual, irrelevant, or unsupported allegations in the complaint” that Plaintiffs received “compensation” and “in-kind compensation.” In so doing, the court found Plaintiffs had confused

“facts worthy of the assumption of truth” with “legal conclusions or unsupported allegations,” which are not sufficient to overcome a motion to dismiss. According to the court, the fact that Plaintiffs subjectively expected to receive compensation was irrelevant. Under the FLSA, the issue was “whether an objectively reasonable person would have expected to be paid wages for these positions.” Under the circumstances of this case, the federal district court held the complaint “fails to allege sufficient facts to establish a plausible claim that Plaintiffs were employees” under the FLSA.

makes it unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint related to non-payment of wages.” 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3). In this case, Plaintiff Kasmere also had alleged the County had violated the FLSA by retaliating against him for complaining about compensation and not returning him to his volunteer position following the pandemic furlough. Since Kasmere was not an “employee” of the County, the court similarly dismissed this FLSA claim for retaliation.

Retaliation

Conclusion

As cited by the court: “The FLSA

Having determined that Plaintiffs

had failed to plead sufficient facts to establish that they were “employees” under the FLSA Public Agency Volunteer Exception, the federal district court granted the County’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ minimum wage claims under the FLSA, as well as analogous state law which was consistent with the FLSA. See also: Unpaid Student Interns Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. James C. Kozlowski. Parks & Recreation. May. 2010 Vol. 45, Iss. 5 (tinyurl.com/45bs7xaf). James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an Attorney and Associate Professor in the School of Sport, Recreation and Tourism Management at George Mason University (jkozlows@gmu. edu). Law review articles archive (1982 to present): mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

Creating Equity-Based System Master Plans NRPA’s online tool can help you create master plans grounded in equity and inclusion. nrpa.org/ParkMasterPlanning

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Plan Z for

The creators of Plan Z have envisioned this multi-modal plan as an integral part of the Miami LOOP, which would connect the mainland’s Commodore Trail, Underline, Ludlam Trail and Miami River Greenway with Biscayne Bay and its waterfront along the Rickenbacker Causeway.

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By Jack Kardys

n 2012, the June issue of Parks & Recreation featured Miami-Dade County’s Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan, which outlined the 50-year vision of the county to radically improve quality of life in the region and serves as a model for municipalities around the country interested in developing park-centric urban and suburban master plans.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PLAN Z CONSORTIUM

A multi-modal plan is kickstarting a bicycle and pedestrian highway culture change in Miami-Dade

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Plan Z for Miami creates a separated, protected and dedicated bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the entire causeway to eliminate bicycle and pedestrian conflicts with automobiles. It focuses on elevating and realigning the main roadway on and across Virginia Key, increasing climate resilience against sea-level rise and storm surge on Miami-Dade’s most vulnerable park and roadway asset. This realignment produces 20 acres of new park and beach area on the south side of Virginia Key, affording residents and visitors additional and fully accessible recreation opportunities. By replacing the Bear Cut Bridge, Key Biscayne’s residents and the island’s billions of dollars in public and private assets are further protected from the impacts of South Florida’s hurricanes and storm surge.

The plan took into consideration the parks, preserves and public spaces of Miami-Dade and included the greenways, blueways and complete streets that connect people to the communities they live, work or play in. Since its adoption, the master plan has been instrumental in encouraging and cultivating partnerships that have built more than 150 miles of greenways and bike trails across Miami-Dade — with more on the horizon. One of the potential projects is Plan Z, a public-private partnership (P3) proposal that sits at the intersection of architecture, urban planning and public health. As an enhancement to the county’s original North Dade Greeway Plan, the creators of Plan Z envision this multi-modal plan as an integral part of the Miami LOOP, which would connect the mainland’s Commodore Trail, Underline, Ludlam Trail and Miami River Greenway with Biscayne Bay and its waterfront along the Rickenbacker Causeway.

Accessing the Rickenbacker Causeway The completed Plan Z and Miami LOOP would deliver safe bicycle and pedestrian access for all 2.8

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million Miami-Dade residents and more than 16 million annual visitors to the Rickenbacker Causeway — a public space that has become Greater Miami’s Central Park. With more than 2,000 acres of state, county and municipal parklands and preserves, as well as a shoreline of nearly 20 miles of accessible recreational waterfront that opens to Biscayne National Park waters, the Rickenbacker Causeway is one of Miami-Dade’s most valuable public spaces. Unfortunately, Miami-Dade County’s infrastructure coffers have not been sufficient in retrofitting this recreational asset to protect cyclists and pedestrians, and to adequately prepare for the threat of rising sea levels. What’s more, the Rickenbacker Causeway, with its aging infrastructure, is ranked as one of Miami’s most vulnerable public assets. As such, Greater Miami is in dire need of a coastal-resiliency plan that incorporates best practices in green infrastructure with feasible public and private funding strategies to ensure the Rickenbacker’s longterm survival. The asset was named after Eddie Rickenbacker, the American, World

War I flying ace who founded and presided over Miami-based Eastern Air Lines. The causeway opened in 1947 and provides access to Greater Miami’s most prominent recreational, entertainment and educational facilities that include the Miami Seaquarium, the Miami Marine Stadium, Virginia Key Park, Crandon Park, the Village of Key Biscayne and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on the island of Key Biscayne, among other notable attractions. The Rickenbacker Causeway is Miami-Dade’s most popular recreation corridor, attracting hundreds of thousands of pedestrians, joggers, walkers and cyclists each year. However, the lack of a physical separation between the

cars and bikes — combined with excessive speeding and intoxicated drivers — have contributed to multiple fatalities and injuries over the past 20 years. A report produced by the National Complete Streets Coalition found that Florida’s biggest cities — Miami, Jacksonville, TampaSt. Petersburg and Orlando — are some of the most dangerous places to be either a bicyclist or pedestrian in America. Florida’s death rate for cyclists and pedestrians was found to be significantly higher than the national rate. The grim reality of these numbers was made worse after learning more about members of the community who were fatally struck while riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway — as was Aaron Cohen.

In February 2012, Cohen was killed after a driver veered into the bike lane on the Rickenbacker Causeway in a lethal hit-and-run. This accident not only sparked the “Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act,” which was a Florida State measure designed to make penalties for hit-and-run drivers more punitive, but it also catalyzed a movement of local advocates fighting to change Miami-Dade’s streets and open spaces. Bernard Zyscovich is one of those advocates.

Designing and Implementing Plan Z As an architect, urban planner and lifelong cyclist, Zyscovich launched Plan Z for Miami with the vision

The completed Plan Z and Miami LOOP would deliver safe bicycle and pedestrian access for all 2.8 million Miami-Dade residents and more than 16 million annual visitors to the Rickenbacker Causeway.

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to create a separated, partly elevated bicycle and pedestrian pathway that would safely connect Miami’s mainland to the Rickenbacker Causeway. Over the years, Plan Z has evolved to incorporate additional elements that would transform the Rickenbacker Causeway from its outdated, dangerous, singleuse infrastructure into a world class, multi-modal transportation and recreation asset that promotes equitable public access, health and well-being, coastal resilience, and environmental protection. For more than 10 years, Zyscovich has been on a pro-bono journey that included a public engagement process where community members and elected officials learned more about Plan Z and why Miami needed a plan that addressed the critical mobility issues it could no longer run away from. Despite the overwhelming community support and excitement Plan Z spurred, these conversations also

brought to light the challenges the plan needed to overcome before becoming a viable public infrastructure project. Namely, who was going to pay for it? The State of Florida and MiamiDade County have long encouraged P3s through business-friendly statutes designed to incentivize the use of private funding for public infrastructure projects. Traditionally, public agencies have paid for road, park, sewer system, airport and seaport improvements by either raising taxes or issuing bonds. As political sentiment changed and budgets tightened during The Great Recession of 2007, public officials have rejected raising taxes, issuing bonds or increasing fees to pay for infrastructure projects. This dilemma has opened a door for P3s to come in and help see through critical projects. Understanding the benefits of P3s, Zyscovich formed a team to create the Plan Z Consortium.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAITAI6769 /DREAMSTIME.COM

The Rickenbacker Causeway is Miami-Dade’s most popular recreation corridor, attracting hundreds of thousands of pedestrians, joggers, walkers and cyclists each year.

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The consortium submitted an unsolicited proposal — Florida’s state statutes allow entities to submit privately-funded public infrastructure proposals to local governments — to MiamiDade County. The proposal outlined how the Plan Z Consortium would fund, design, build, maintain and operate the Rickenbacker Causeway while building the signature Plan Z bicycle highway, replacing the vulnerable Bear Cut Bridge, elevating the causeway to meet its climate-resilience objectives, and developing a new 20-acre bayfront park within the causeway’s right of way. Miami-Dade County also recognized the importance of this P3 project and launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to address the critical infrastructure needs facing the Rickenbacker Causeway. Miami-Dade assembled a team of county transportation,

Plan Z has evolved to incorporate additional elements that would transform the Rickenbacker Causeway from its outdated, dangerous, single-use infrastructure into a world class, multimodal transportation and recreation asset that promotes equitable public access, health and well-being, coastal resilience, and environmental protection.

parks, environmental, finance and procurement specialists to determine the feasibility of such a project. Subsequently, a Design Criteria Package was created by a county engineering consultant to guide the county’s causeway design objectives. This included hiring a financial consultant to ensure that financial calculations were accurate and achievable. The time is certainly right for P3s, especially with the federal infrastructure bill encouraging state and local governments to consider this type of funding model for complex projects like Plan Z and other types of multi-modal transportation endeavors. Former President and CEO of Enterprise Florida and Florida Secretary of Commerce Bill Johnson, an advocate for P3s and Plan Z, says the community benefits of this endeavor “include a transfer of risk for cost overruns that

protects taxpayers. The county's RFP for the Rickenbacker ensures a competitive bid process, significant public engagement and the use of private dollars to benefit the greater community.” Johnson also points out that the RFP creates capacity for potential federal infrastructure matching funds. “The federal infrastructure bill will likely increase private activity bond volume for surface transportation projects, a central financing tool for P3 projects that lowers the cost of financing and encourages private interest,” says Johnson. While the future of the Rickenbacker RFP and its scope and timeframe for proposal submissions are currently being reviewed by county elected officials, the Plan Z team remains committed to their vision for transforming the Rickenbacker Causeway. “Plan Z has undoubt-

“The federal infrastructure bill will likely increase private activity bond volume for surface transportation projects, a central financing tool for P3 projects that lowers the cost of financing and encourages private interest.” edly kickstarted a conversation in Miami-Dade, and we are eager to contribute to this cultural shift by bringing to Miami this critical infrastructure project,” says Zyscovich. “What started out as a quest to get some green paint on the pavement grew into a multijurisdictional discussion on how to improve overall transportation, recreation and climate resilience.” Jack Kardys is President of J Kardys Strategies, LLC, and a Plan Z Consortium Member.

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TOP

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIRK FLOYD/KDRONE SERVICES

in Parks and Recreation for 2022

Kirk Floyd, founder and owner of Kdrone Services in Maryland, flies midsize drones to apply insecticides and fungicides for horticultural and arboricultural purposes and seeds landscape areas with pinpoint accuracy. Parks & Recreation

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A prediction of what trends will impact the field of parks and recreation in the upcoming year

t is once again time for the Top Trends in Parks and Recreation — an eclectic, sometimes cheeky collection of observations and predictions about what will be the most significant trends to emerge in the field and industry of parks and recreation in 2022 and beyond. So let’s get down to it.

By Richard J. Dolesh

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Parks as Infrastructure The American Society of Civil Engineers rates the state of the nation’s infrastructure in its quadrennial report to Congress and the president. The 2021 report states that parks support economic prosperity, prevent damage from stormwater and build healthy communities, but that despite increased popularity, “State parks and local parks face a $5.6 billion and $60 billion deferred maintenance backlog, respectively.” A Golden Age of Park and Recreation Infrastructure? With the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 that permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Act at $900 million annually, and the recent passage of long-sought infrastructure funding in the INVEST in America Act, there will be billions of dollars available for land acquisition, park and recreation planning, and infrastructure maintenance, repair, and development. Agencies that are prepared will be able to tap into funding for roads and bridges, climate change resiliency, renewable energy utilization, waste reduction and recycling, and even “tree equity.”

Climate Change The Role of Parks in Reducing Urban Heat Islands One of the more pernicious effects of climate change is the trapping of extreme heat in dense urban areas. Often, these highly developed areas contain little heat-absorbing natural cover and have high percentages of impervious heat-collecting surfaces, which amplify extreme heat in the daytime and then radiate it in the night hours. The concentration of waste energy, air pollution and loss of tree canopy cover all magnify 42

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the negative health impacts as well, which affect vulnerable and lowincome populations the most. Not surprisingly, New Orleans; Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Houston; San Francisco; Boston; Chicago; Miami; and Baltimore have the highest urban heat indexes, according to the Climate Central report, Hot Zones, Urban Heat Islands (tinyurl.com/2p8brafj). Parks and green spaces are proving to be among the most effective tools to combat the effects of urban heat islands, and cities and urban counties are looking to maximize the benefits of their park systems to combat urban heat island effects.

Macroeconomics of Parks and Recreation Where Are All the Workers? The Great Resignation has been identified as one of the most significant trends caused by the pandemic. Many have speculated on why people are quitting their jobs at a higher rate than ever before. While some factors are evident, such as lack of affordable childcare, others may include dissatisfaction with pay, unacceptable working conditions, and a desire for greater purpose in the jobs they choose. Whether it is an effect of The Great Resignation or not, agencies are suddenly without vitally needed part-time staff who work as lifeguards and provide after-school programming and childcare, to name two examples. Barbara Heller, who leads the park and recreation practice for BerryDunn, a national consulting firm based in New England, says, “The biggest pain point is the recruitment and retention of part-time staff. This trend is off the hook. I am basing my findings on feedback from every agency we work with. This

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year, it is clearly salary. Parks and rec agencies are competing against Starbucks, Amazon and other private-sector companies that provide better salary and benefits. Fifteen dollars per hour is now the standard, and many park and rec agencies are nowhere near that.” Workers who have multiple opportunities for jobs with better pay and more flexible hours may like the purpose-driven aspects of park and recreation work, but they may find better pay, better benefits and more flexible hours in other jobs of the gig economy. Kevin Roth, vice president of research, evaluation and technology at NRPA, says, “Parks and recreation is facing the same pressures that retailers, service industries and other employers are in finding qualified workers.” The pressures pushing up wages are not necessarily only a result of the pandemic, he says. These are market forces, and many park and recreation agencies cannot keep up. “Cities and agencies may not be able to offer the same range and amount of services to the public that they have in the past,” he says. “And, this is not going away in a few weeks or months, either.” Despite the great need and intentions of some agencies to expand out-of-school time programming, there could paradoxically be more agencies getting out of beforeschool and after-school programs, day care, and summer camps due to a lack of qualified and available workers. “This has huge implications for the future,” says Heller. “It is really important to quantify the implications and provide this information to elected officials now.”

Technology Drones, Bots, Mowers and More Kirk Floyd, founder and owner of

Kdrone Services in Maryland, flies midsize drones to apply insecticides and fungicides for horticultural and arboricultural purposes and seeds landscape areas with pinpoint accuracy. “Drones can economically reach areas that are inaccessible by any other vehicle, even [all-terrain vehicles],” he says. Floyd says that commercial drones will be utilized in parks. They can fly low-altitude grids to seed pollinator meadows, apply herbicides with precision control, and do inspections of buildings within a centimeter of accuracy. The $105 billion commercial mowing machine market is rapidly evolving with implications for parks and recreation. In June, Forbes reported on the introduction to the market of fully autonomous commercial mowers by Scythe Robotics of Boulder, Colorado. Other equipment manufacturers, like John Deere and Clean Scapes, are working on similar fully electric, zero emission mowers that are projected to require far less maintenance than internal combustion-powered mowers that often require replacement after just a few short years. Kiwibot, Starship Technology and a half-dozen other robotics companies already have deployed pedestrian robots that will traverse sidewalks and public paths for deliveries and other services. Amazon and FedEx are now in final stages of testing their delivery bot fleets. Ten states have adopted robotfriendly regulations that appear to be giving bots legal rights as pedestrians. As Axios reports earlier this year, Greg Lynn, CEO of Piaggio Fast

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIRK FLOYD/KDRONE SERVICES

Drones can fly low-altitude grids to seed pollinator meadows, apply herbicides with precision control, and do inspections of buildings to within a centimeter of accuracy.

Forward, says that some companies want to deploy their bots in bike lanes where they can travel at greater speeds than on sidewalks. Imagine your park rangers attempting to write a citation for a bot involved in a collision with a pedestrian or cyclist (tinyurl.com/3432yjw4).

Recreation Program Trends Decline in Youth Sports Participation Multiple studies have found that there has been a sharp and continuing decline in youth sports participation. Concurrently, there also has been a steady decline in physical activity by youth. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play State of Play 2021 report shows that before the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, participation in youth sports declined from 45 percent in 2008 to 38 percent in 2018 (tinyurl.

com/4wbm63kf). Most kids ages 6 to 12 playing a team sport quit by age 11, and since the pandemic, three in 10 kids who previously played say they are no longer interested in playing again. These statistics have alarmed youth sports organizations and child health experts alike. One way some agencies are addressing these issues is by hosting sports sampling programs. These specifically designed programs are held over a day or a weekend, during which sports trainers, players and leaders give kids an opportunity to try a variety of sports out for an hour or two and then move on to another sport. Rachel Banner, director of park access for NRPA, believes that we will see considerable innovation in how sports programs are offered and that there will be a return to community-based sports.

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nights and other recreational activities for kids who most likely have never experienced these games and sports before. He agrees they have seen a big drop off in participation in youth team sports. “[COVID-19] didn’t help, either,” he says.

and pickleball influencers. The best part about pickleball is its universality. Virtually anyone can play, and schools and recreation centers are expanding opportunities for youth to play in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings.

Pickleball Ascendant When does a niche recreational sport go big time? Just trace the history of pickleball since its inception in 1965. Now named as the fastest growing sport in America by The Economist, pickleball is estimated to have more than 4 million people playing it annually. With its exponential growth has come stories and videos of celebrity players

Is This a Thing? Smashing Pumpkins in Parks? In October and November, recreation programmers on NRPA Connect expressed keen interest in pumpkins — smashing pumpkins, that is. Brad Muckenhirn, recreation supervisor in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, says his agency’s first-ever Pumpkin Chuckin Party was an unqualified success. “We were blown away by the support from the community. We encouraged the public [to] dress up in their Halloween costumes and bring their afterHalloween pumpkins to the party. We set up the event on a hill and had bowling pins to knock down, jumps to jump and a repurposed playground slide to launch pumpkins into the air. The whole point was just to enjoy watching your pumpkins smash. We took two one-ton trucks full of smashed pumpkins to our town compost facility at the day’s end. We are already talking about how we might close down a city street next year and have pumpkin races — like pinewood derbies, you know — pumpkins with wheels.” Kristen Herndon, facility and aquatics coordinator for Greensboro, North Carolina, says they held their first Pumpkin Smash this year on the first Saturday after

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTEN HERNDON/GREENSBORO PARKS AND RECREATION

“Park and recreation agencies are ideally positioned to be the multisports providers,” she says. Josh Medeiros, superintendent of Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services in Bristol, Connecticut, says his agency has seen the same decline in participation in youth sports and is now looking at some non-traditional sports. For example, they are supporting mountain biking for youth and have partnered with Bike Bristol, a nonprofit volunteer group, to build a pump track for kids and teens. Medeiros says that they have instituted pop-up parks in neighborhood parks around the city where they host mini-golf days, family game

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Greensboro, North Carolina, held an event where participants brought pumpkins to smash with hammers or shoot from a slingshot.

Halloween. They had participants bring their pumpkins to smash with a hammer or sledgehammer, (small hammers for little kids, of course), or shoot them from a giant slingshot they had erected at the site. “We signed people in, had them sign waivers, and gave them info on what they could do with their pumpkins. It was a great success! We are looking at adding food trucks and music and a firepit next year.” How can you top smashing pumpkins for fun? Plan an event for next year.

Quick Takes Smart Dog Parks Dog parks are no longer just for dogs and dog owners, says Beth Cherryholmes Miller, CEO and founder of Wagtown, a national nonprofit based in Dayton, Ohio, that advocates for dog-friendly communities. “Dog parks need to be cooperatively planned from the outset,” she says, “involving the entire community, government agencies and dog owners.” Miller believes that in the same way that we look for enrichment activities for our children, dog owners look for the same for their dogs. “Our relationship goes from ‘you own your dog, your dog is family, your dog is your child,’ to ‘your dog is your soulmate.’” Thirty-eight percent of people now travel with their dog, according to research by the National Association of Realtors (tinyurl.com/ p5wa72w6). Sixty-eight percent of people say that pet-friendly policies influenced their decision to buy or move, 43 percent believe that their

PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH MILLER/WAGTOWN, INC.

Sixty-eight percent of people say that pet-friendly policies influenced their decision to buy or move and 13 percent of people would consider moving if their dogs are not happy with where they live.

dog’s opinion matters on where they live, and 13 percent of people would consider moving if their dogs are not happy with where they live! Maybe one way to take this trend seriously is to just imagine dogs as taxpayers and consider their preferences accordingly when planning new dog parks. Glow in the Dark Plants to Light Trails A team of chemical engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has made astonishing progress in producing light-emitting plants. Professor James Stranos says they inserted a solution containing light-storing and light-emitting nanoparticles into the spongy layer of leaves, called the mesophyll, in several common plant species. The research is ongoing, but it could lead to being able to landscape trails

and park pathways with chemiluminescent plants that would remain lit all night, thus reducing energy costs and lighting infrastructure. Parks Everywhere The advent of green roofs is offering new opportunities to site innovative parks. The trend is best exemplified in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, which built DakPark, a rooftop park that adorns a 4,000-foot-long building complete with play courts, gardens, a kiosk selling refreshments and even sheep that graze contentedly. Parks will be everywhere humans can find a spot for peaceful reflection — underground, underwater and on the tops of buildings. Space is the next frontier for parks. Richard Dolesh is NRPA’s retired Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Editor-at-Large for Parks & Recreation magazine (dolesh@gmail.com).

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NEXT PRACTICES FOR THE POSTPANDEMIC 2020s

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Shaping the future with next practices for programs, places and paying for it all By Neelay Bhatt

he world as we knew it changed in March 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The global population collectively weathered changes in the way we lived (shutdowns, physical distancing and masks), worked (Zoom and virtual), and even played (outdoors and without spectators).

At the end of 2020, we hoped the worst would be behind us with the advent of vaccines to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but 2021 had other plans. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G | J A N UA RY 2 02 2 |

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At the end of 2020, we hoped the worst would be behind us with the advent of vaccines, but 2021 had other plans. The emergence of the Delta variant was responsible for a national shutdown for 1.3 billion people in India, travel closures to the United States, and sadly, even more lives lost. I am cautiously hopeful that we have turned the corner in 2021 with schools, businesses and travel opening up, and in-person gatherings resuming, including the first hybrid NRPA Annual Conference.

The Fosbury Flop As we look to 2022, I am reminded of high jumper Dick Fosbury, who literally reversed conventional techniques by turning his back toward the bar and jumping over it rather than facing the bar as was typical. His technique, since named the Fos-

bury Flop, helped him set a world record in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. He revolutionized an entire sport by doing the exact opposite of what anyone else had done before. He refused to follow “best practices,” which are rooted in the past, and instead created his own “next practice,” which was focused on the future. With this in mind, let’s look at the next practices for the postpandemic 2020s.

Next Practices in Programs Esports It is no longer a matter of if or even when esports will grow, but rather, how soon. Newzoo’s annual survey shows the global esports audience is projected to grow to 646 million (up from 395 million) in a five-year span from 2018 to

2023. That amounts to nearly two times the entire population of the United States. GGLeagues, a platform for recreational esports players, shared info from its survey of park and recreation esports community members. This showed a high participation in gaming (65 percent played video games between two and five hours daily) and a corresponding high participation in weekly physical activity too (58 percent participated in sports or extracurricular activities several times a week). These results show that participating in esports and actual sports is not mutually exclusive. Seeking professional expertise, agencies — such as Town of Windsor, Colorado, Parks, Recreation and Culture; City of San Marcos, California; City of Smyrna, Georgia; and others — have partnered with esports experts, like Bull Esports Consulting, to design, create and launch their esports leagues and grow them locally. What’s more, the North Carolina Recreation and Park Association and Florida Recreation and Park Association have launched statewide Esports Championships. Hybrid Programs The world went from operating in person to entirely virtual, to now, a hybrid model best showcased during the 2021 NRPA Annual Conference, which truly embodied the theme of Adapt, Connect, Unite and Lead. Going forward, our workplaces would benefit the most if we adopted this hybrid approach by recognizing the value of inPark and recreation agencies with a foundation or conservancy have an available option for accepting donations in cryptocurrencies.

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F TMENT O TLE DEPAR Y OF SEAT .COM/YUR4JAU8 ES RT U IMAGE CO ATION | TINYURL RT TRANSPO

Seattle’s Stay Healthy Streets initiative facilitates people walking, rolling, biking and playing.

person connections and the flexibility of virtual engagement. This applies to conferences, training workshops, routine meetings, and even staff roles that do not have to be in person in the same location all the time. It will enhance talent recruitment beyond a geographic area and create increased gender parity in the workforce since women shoulder a disproportionate burden of caregiving and often are forced to leave inflexible jobs or put their careers on hold. Self-Driven and Connected A practice that accelerated significantly during the pandemic and will continue to grow is that of solo subscription-based activities while being connected to a larger community virtually. Peloton, a company that offers live streaming workouts on bikes or treadmills, experienced explosive growth during the pandemic, and while engagement is slowing down it is still significant. Tonal, a company that offers a smart home gym and personal trainer, counts celebrity athletes, such as Serena Williams and LeBron James, among its investors and believers. As lives get busier, this provides people a chance to be social with the flexibility and customization of an in-home experience. asensei is a rowing machine that incorporates personal coaching through an app that monitors your rowing pace and form. For outdoor lovers, Strava helps runners and bikers track their performance and share with a globally connected community. These are a part of a universe of growing tools that enable users to

pursue their individual fitness and recreation goals, while feeling a sense of belonging and connection to a larger community, and without driving in traffic or snow or having to worry about finding alternative childcare. For park and recreation agencies — especially ones with membershipbased fitness and recreation centers — these can compete or complement you. The best you can do is provide the most welcoming guest experience because that is one differentiator that being alone at home cannot replicate. This includes investing in ongoing staff training and tools (e.g., Omnify Inc., a booking and scheduling software) that can enhance your customers’ experience.

Next Practices in Placemaking Reimagining Streets and Connectivity A welcome change during the pandemic was transforming streets to be people-centered — from pet walking and biking to outdoor din-

ing and street games. In surveys for systemwide master plans, walking, biking and connectivity are among the top priorities nationally. Oakland, California, is evaluating Slow Streets, an initiative the city piloted during the pandemic; while Seattle received positive feedback on its Stay Healthy Streets initiative meant to facilitate people walking, rolling, biking and playing. As part of the program, many streets are only open to cars traveling to homes and destinations along those streets. The time is now to prioritize a future where streets are designed for people over cars or parking. Not Places, Experiences When people think of Disney, they typically don’t recall a single ride or a show, but rather an entire experience that connects varied offerings for diverse audiences. As we imagine designing future parks, plazas and public spaces, this emphasis on creating an experience will help increase visitation, enhance length

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NEXT PRACTICES

of stay and — if commercial opportunities like concessions exist — generate greater revenue. The icing on the cake: visitors who have a memorable experience that brings them back want to share it with others. A prime example of this experience creation is a facility that combines another huge trend: pickleball. Smash Park is a sports, food and entertainment (“eatertainment”) spot that combines the restaurant experience with entertainment options and dedicated pickleball courts, resulting in a smashing (pun intended) success. The business that started in Des Moines, Iowa, is expanding nationally.

Park and recreation departments must look at every aspect of their system and ask themselves, “Is this an offering or is this an experience?” Using Technology to Drive Outdoor Activity New Zealand-based GEO A.R. Games, the 2016 finalist for New Zealand Innovation Awards, created Magical Park, a digital playground using geospatial augmented reality. This helps kids view architectural wonders, travel through the solar system and play motion games, all while physically exploring their local park. This is now in parks across the United States and, most recently, was implemented in

Zionsville, Indiana, in late 2021. As much as a parent, teacher or a park and recreation professional may wish differently, technology today is intertwined in a child’s daily existence. We can fight (and often lose) the battle between the outdoors and technology, or we can use technology to get more kids outdoors and active.

Paying for It Next Practices Build-Operate-Transfer Build-operate-transfer (BOT) is an approach where a government entity authorizes a private company to finance, build and operate a project for a period of 20 to 30 years, hoping to earn a profit. After this time, the project is returned to the entity that originally authorized it. Compared to the standard design-bid-build approach where every phase is broken out (i.e., design, procurement, construction), the BOT approach can integrate all three phases under a single developer’s umbrella, resulting in reduced timelines, lower costs and potentially lesser risk. In Indiana, this is gaining popularity based on a statute, with completed projects ranging from a police department building and parking garage in Fishers, Indiana, to the West Lafayette Wellness Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. Foundations and Conservancies These are not truly next practices but ongoing ones, yet the park and recreation field has not fully maximized its fundraising potential. As more agencies seek earned Using geospatial augmented reality helps kids view architectural wonders, travel through the solar system and play motion games, all while physically exploring their local park.

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Neelay Bhatt’s grandmother (Dadu) embraced the unknown with a smile and never stopped learning until her last day.

Cryptocurrency Donations In April 2021, as India was in the throes of the pandemic, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, donated 50 trillion tokens — then worth $1.2 billion — to India’s Covid-Crypto Relief Fund. Today, park and recreation agencies with a foundation or conservancy have an available option for accepting donations in cryptocurrencies. The Giving Block is a crypto donation ecosystem that allows people to donate crypto and for nonprofits to start accepting them. They have launched the Crypto Giving Pledge, which asks individuals to donate 1 percent of their crypto to nonprofits whose mission they believe in. Park and recreation agencies should be on the forefront of their giving list based on the impact we have at every level in a community. Bonus: Watch this space for two Cs of next practices in the United States — Cricket and Cryptocurrency.

The Most Important Next Practice Prioritizing People: Create True Belonging This quote from Arthur Chan, diversity, equity and inclusion strategist and founder of Arthur Chan Consulting, summarizes it best: “This emphasis on true belonging is not a next practice or a trend, but a journey of a lifetime.” The Value of Belonging at Work,

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEELAY BHATT

income sources, resources such as NRPA’s Guide to Fundraising (nrpa.org/GuideToFundraising) and groups such as the National Association of Park Foundations (the-napf.org) are valuable in educating leadership on the importance of fundraising and setting up structures to do so.

a study from BetterUp (tinyurl. com/473tp7fy), examined the measurable value of belonging in the workplace. The organization surveyed 1,789 full-time workers from various industries and found that a strong sense of belonging results in a 56 percent increase in job performance and a 50 percent decrease in turnover risk. Prioritizing people and creating a true sense of belonging is the surest way to succeed and maximize impact in your community.

Conclusion My life’s greatest love, my grandmother (Dadu), fought for India’s independence as a teenager, was married in her teens and didn’t complete high school until her late 20s. Yet, she also learned English in her 60s, traveled alone to the United States in her 70s and danced away at a festival in her

80s, all because she embraced the unknown with a smile and never stopped learning until her last day. As we face (and shape) the future, let us also channel that spirit of growth with a smile on our faces and a desire to forever keep dancing — maybe at our local park or recreation center!

My Moment of Zen It’s better to flop like Fosbury than stand at status quo.

Neelay Bhatt is Vice President of PROS Consulting Inc. (neelay.bhatt@prosconsulting.com).

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Parks & Recreation

OPERATIONS The Clubhouse: Ardmore’s Way to Play By Alicia Henry

he Clubhouse is a family entertainment center (FEC) that sits inside the largest park in Ardmore, Oklahoma — Regional Park — and is operated by the City of Ardmore Parks and Recreation Department. The Clubhouse includes 31 arcade games, a redemption area, two indoor party rooms, a soft play area, a dining room and The Clubhouse Café. The Clubhouse Café features traditional favorites, including wings, burgers and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, but also serves up delicious southern delights, like chicken fried steak and fried pork chops. Guests can dine indoors or outdoors on the patio. The outdoor attractions include Raceway Go-Karts, Shade Tree Mini Golf, Flight Line Zip, Eagle’s Landing Adventure Courses, Water Wars, Rowdy’s Raceway Pavilion, three treehouses for parties, and Ardmore’s first seasonal ice rink. The Clubhouse is two stories with an open upstairs area to allow expansion. ing towns want not only an FEC, but also one that can be supported and maintained. The City of Ardmore committed to funding the project with the help of local foundations and Tax Increment Finance funds. Numerous meetings and decisions took place before the project finally broke ground in April 2019. After 18 months of construction, the doors officially opened on September 23, 2020. Despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, The Clubhouse received overwhelming support and has been successful. The FEC has served thou-

Shade Tree Mini Golf is one of many outdoor attractions featured at the family entertainment center in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DREW BUTLER

This project began forming in 2016 when the Ardmore community voiced the need for an FEC. Members were selected for an FEC Committee and the four-year process began. Teresa Ervin, City of Ardmore parks and recreation director, submitted a Request for Proposal for a consulting firm to help guide the process. Davis & Davis Recreational Planning Consultants was chosen and came with high recommendations and experience. The feasibility study presented a positive outlook showing that the Ardmore community and surround-

sands of people, increased tourism to the city and received community gratitude. Additionally, Ardmore Parks and Recreation staff have learned immensely. As park and recreation professionals, we still are adapting and integrating our processes. The Clubhouse operates differently than recreational facilities and needs to produce revenue. We have had to develop packages that are a balance of affordable and profitable. As a park and recreation department operating an FEC, we have unique opportunities to run recreational programs in a nontraditional setting. Ervin states, “Ardmore Parks and Recreation Department is passionate about the community and the quality of life that we provide for our citizens and guests. There are many avenues in recreation and each person has a different interest. We now have the opportunity, with the creation of The Clubhouse, to reach out to a sector of our community that may not have benefitted from our other activities or facilities, but now they can. With the right location, the funds and the support of your decision-makers, cities can make [an] FEC work for them.” Our ultimate goal in parks and recreation is to serve the needs of our community in the best way possible. The Clubhouse is another avenue to do just that. The Clubhouse is “Ardmore’s Way to Play!” Alicia Henry is Parks and Recreation Assistant Director for City of Ardmore, Oklahoma (ahenry@ardmorecity.org).

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(ISSN 0031-2215) is published monthly by the National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148, a service organization supported by membership dues and voluntary contributions. Copyright ©2022 by the National Recreation and Park Association. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of NRPA. Issued to members at the annual subscription price of $30, included in dues. Subscription: $46 a year in the U.S.; $56 elsewhere. Single copy price: $7. Library rate: $58 a year in the U.S.; $68 elsewhere. Periodical postage paid at Ashburn, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Editorial and advertising offices at 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148. 703.858.0784. Postmaster, send address changes to Parks & Recreation, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148.

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Park Bench

Sometimes, a grieving or melancholy heart can be soothed and lifted when the afflicted person does something good without an expectation of receiving anything in return. That’s what Harold McKay, a Korean and Vietnam War veteran, did when he purchased a park bench in honor of his late wife and had it installed along the popular Nolan Creek Hike and Bike Trail in Belton, Texas. McKay, now 93, was a frequent user of the trail system in Belton. During his regular morning walks, his thoughts would often turn to his late wife, Arminda, who died in 2013. The couple had spent 64 years together before she passed. Soon his walks included a diversion from the well-worn path to the nearby offices of Belton Parks and Recreation, where he learned about Belton’s Legacy Program, which allows residents to honor friends or family by making park improvements in their honor. In many cases, the improvement is as simple as planting a tree. McKay began with two trees, one on each side of a nondescript concrete pad located adjacent to the most popular walking trail in Belton. This spot also served as a natural place for older walkers to take a break. The only problem was that it lacked a place to sit down. This inspired McKay’s plan to recognize his wife while adding an important missing component to the trail. He discussed his idea with staff at the City of Belton, and they helped him accomplish his goal. “Now he has a tangible reminder of his wife every day he walks the trail,” Belton Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Bates says, “and his family and many others will enjoy the trees and bench for generations.” Ask McKay how he and Arminda met, and he immediately gets nostalgic. It was 1948, and he was home on leave from the military when he took a seat in a restaurant in Wolfe City, Texas. Here is how McKay describes the encounter: “Oh man, I thought, ‘My God, I don’t have to look no more. There she is — right there, just waiting.’” Decades later, McKay, with a heart filled with warm memories, picked out the perfect location for a bench, which honors her with a placard inscribed with both their names. It is fitting that he chose a bench to honor his beloved Arminda, because when he first saw her, she swept him off his feet. The walkers who enjoy the gift of the bench may never know the depth of feeling that brought it about, but its donor knows, and his heart is better for it. – Paul Romer, Public Information Officer, City of Belton, Texas Harold McKay sits on a park bench dedicated to his late wife, Arminda.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BELTON PARKS AND RECREATION

Arminda’s Bench: An Enduring Love Story

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PARKS & RECREATION JANUARY 2022 ◆ MIAMI-DADE MAKES A CULTURAL CHANGE ◆ TOP TRENDS IN PARKS & RECREATION IN 2022 ◆ WHAT WILL THE FIELD LOOK LIKE POST-PANDEMIC?

Parks & Recreation Magazine January 2022

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