Law Review

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.

In 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. 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 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

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

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 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 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 example, 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

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 “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 (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.

Retaliation

As cited by the court: “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.

Conclusion

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

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.

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

By Jack Kardys

In 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

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 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.

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. 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,

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

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 undoubtedly 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.”

“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.”

Jack Kardys is President of J Kardys Strategies, LLC, and a Plan Z Consortium Member.

TRENDS TOP

in Parks and Recreation for 2022

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIRK FLOYD/KDRONE SERVICES 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.

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

By Richard J. Dolesh

It 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.

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 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 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

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.

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 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).

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIRK FLOYD/KDRONE SERVICES

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.

“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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

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 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.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH MILLER/WAGTOWN, INC.

Richard Dolesh is NRPA’s retired Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Editor-at-Large for Parks & Recreation magazine (dolesh@gmail.com).

NEXT PRACTICES FOR THE POSTPANDEMIC 2020s

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

By Neelay Bhatt

The 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.

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.

Next Practices in Programs

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 Fosbury 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.

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 in-

Park and recreation agencies with a foundation or conservancy have an available option for accepting donations in cryptocurrencies.

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.

IMAGE COURTESY OF SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | TINYURL.COM/YUR4JAU8

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 dining 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

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.

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.

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,

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

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEELAY BHATT

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).