We Are Parks and Recreation

Remembering Dirk Richwine: Park and Recreation Leader, Advocate and Mentor

On December 19, the field of parks and recreation lost one of its most dedicated and passionate leaders, mentors and advocates, Dirk Richwine.

“Dirk Richwine was one of [the] most committed politic [supporters] of the parks and recreation field,” says Jodie Adams, a past president of NRPA and past chair of the Gold Medal Awards Program Committee. “The passing of Dirk will be monumentally felt by the park and recreation organizations and communities he served and contributed to over his life’s work [throughout] our nation. One word can describe Dirk Richwine’s passing — heartbreaking.”

For nearly four decades, Richwine worked as a park and recreation professional. He was a graduate of Arizona State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in community recreation and Golden Gate University where he received a master’s degree in public administration. He began his career in parks and recreation working within communities throughout Arizona in various roles, such as recreation leader, recreation coordinator, recreation superintendent and assistant to the city manager.

He then went on to serve five years as the director of parks, recreation and community services for the City of Brighton, Colorado. Under his leadership, the department became a finalist for the Gold Medal Award in 1997, 1998 and 1999. During his tenure with the department, Richwine contributed to the design and construction of a four-field lighted sports complex, renovation of a youth sports complex, development of two neighborhood parks, acquisition and exchange of open spaces, trail access and development, establishment of a Cultural Arts Commission, creation of a Cultural Arts Master Plan, and more.

Richwine continued his park and recreation education throughout his career, graduating from Indiana University Bloomington’s Executive Development Program in 1986, and taking part in NRPA’s Revenue Management School for multiple decades.

In 1999, he joined the City of Henderson (Nevada) Parks and Recreation Department where he worked for 14 years, including nine years as assistant director. During his tenure, City of Henderson was awarded the National Gold Medal Award and became Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) accredited, becoming the second accredited agency in the Western United States. Additionally, while working for the City of Henderson, Richwine was critical to the completion of 16 new parks and more than 15 miles of trails. He created the parkland standards for future preservation, acquisition and development and contributed to many successful and highly impactful projects, including the department’s Comprehensive Plan, Open Space Plan, City Wide Strategic Vision, and development of the department’s first Business Plan.

To read more about Richwine’s contributions to the field of parks and recreation, visit nrpa.org/ DirkRichwine.

In 2019, Dirk Richwine (left) received the NRPA National Distinguished Professional award, which is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of parks and recreation.

The Path to CAPRA Accreditation

Milwaukee Recreation becomes nation’s first school district-run agency to receive CAPRA accreditation

By Brian Foley

Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Recreation’s affiliation with a public school district allows for a unique agency framework within the world of parks and recreation. As a department of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), our agency uses school facilities to serve the entire community.

Chapter 509 of the Wisconsin Laws of 1911 gave public school systems in the state the ability to organize and conduct recreation programs for both children and adults in their community. The law recognized that recreation is an educational process and that both recreation and education are strong forces in total human development and the formation of a city’s culture.

Our access to 146 school facilities allows us to direct resources into programming rather than toward brick-and-mortar infrastructure, thereby providing our community with the best possible value in recreation programming. In addition to the use of school facilities, we also program and maintain 52 outdoor recreation playfields throughout the city of Milwaukee.

The process for the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) involves a formal application, selfassessments, a site visit by a team of trained individuals (independent of Milwaukee Recreation) that results in a written report, and a hearing with the commission to grant accreditation. Making a commitment to the CAPRA challenge should not be done lightly, as it requires the full dedication of your entire department. However, recognizing the process would provide Milwaukee Recreation with the opportunity to measure our operations against the industry standard made the decision to pursue CAPRA an obvious one.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this year’s visitations were held virtually. After a highly-scrutinized review of Milwaukee Recreation’s operations and programming, CAPRA accreditation was granted, as the department demonstrated compliance with all 154 recognized standards.

Preparing for the final CAPRA submission was a multi-year process led by a core team of 10 individuals. Additionally, two department staff members became CAPRA volunteers and participated in several agency visits, which proved extremely useful as we moved through the process. Finally, using PowerDMS software to organize our evidence was invaluable.

After compiling and submitting the required evidence and completing the review process, Milwaukee Recreation became the first school district-run agency, and only the third agency in the state of Wisconsin, to earn accreditation through CAPRA. Several local media organizations have covered the news with stories and sit-down interviews, which can be found at mkerec.net/CAPRA.

“We are extremely honored to receive this prestigious accreditation,” says Lynn Greb, senior director of Milwaukee Recreation. “Our entire team remained committed to this effort from the beginning and has worked extremely hard to gather data, provide information and implement new strategies that ultimately allowed us to meet all the CAPRA standards necessary for accreditation. Thank you to the CAPRA commission and NRPA for this recognition, to our community for its continued support, and to our incredible staff that helped to make this accreditation possible.”

The pursuit of accreditation provided an opportunity for self-reflection that will guide our operations and services into the future. Work already has begun to prepare for the reaccreditation process in five years and while the commitment is never-ending, it is highly worthwhile.

Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Recreation became the first school district-run agency to earn CAPRA accreditation.

Brian Foley is Supervisor of Marketing for Milwaukee Recreation (foleybd@milwaukee.k12.wi.us).

Lessons Learned From Settlement Regarding Accessible Playground Surfacing

By Antonio Malkusak, PLA, CPSI

What is the best surfacing for playgrounds? This is one of the commonly asked questions that I and my fellow Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) training instructors get. Unfortunately, there is no one best answer. Many factors contribute to making the best selection for each situation, including cost (initial vs. long term), height of the equipment, installation, maintenance and accessibility. The more we know, the better decision we can make.

In June 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a settlement agreement with the Iowa City (Iowa) Community School District (ICCSD). The issue centered around a complaint that claimed the surfacing system installed and maintained by the ICCSD did not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A DOJ investigation revealed every ICCSD school did not satisfy the ADA requirements for their surface systems.

DOJ found issues with both unitary — rubber tiles, pouredin-place (PIP) rubber, artificial turf — and loose-fill — engineered wood fiber (EWF). However, the settlement agreement clearly does not state any of these surface types are unacceptable for ADA compliance.

To meet the requirements of the ADA standards, a surface system within the play area must be firm and stable. This means the surface system allows a user to propel themselves and be able to turn using the same amount of work as if they were propelling and turning themselves on a hard surface slope of 1:14 (or 7.1 percent). Another element of accessibility is removing any barriers on the accessible route to, into and through a play area. A barrier is any abrupt change in elevation greater than half of an inch.

There are several lessons from the DOJ Settlement Agreement with the ICCSD that can help us meet the ADA standard.

EWF, rubber tiles, PIP rubber, rubber mulch and artificial turfgrass can be acceptable accessible surfaces. However, installation, regular inspections and frequent maintenance are key to sustaining the surfaces as accessible. The International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association Voice of Play has an excellent guide on best practices for installing and maintaining playground surfaces (tinyurl.com/yc2rdps7).

Perform your due diligence on design, specifications and installation for surface systems. Ensure the design intent is carried out through installation. Anticipate where issues can happen and be proactive through the entire process. It will be nearly impossible for one to sustain an ADA-compliant surface if the initial installation fails to meet the requirements.

Train maintenance personnel how to sustain ADA compliance with the appropriate techniques and tools. Once a playground is opened and in use, inspecting and maintaining the surface system are vital to an ADA-compliant play area. Regularly inspect the play area to identify the surface depth, changes in condition and other potential issues. With loose-fill surfaces, check the transition areas, kick-out areas, and access and egress areas where surfacing can be easily displaced. For unitary surfaces, check for debris, loose objects and separation or seams splitting apart.

Another piece of the training is communication. What is the process when something is damaged or needs attention? To sustain ADA-compliant surfacing, it is important to know who is responsible and what appropriate corrective action to take if an issue arises.

Contact the manufacturer’s representative for best maintenance and repairs for their surfacing systems. Play-area owners should avoid making repairs or changes to the surface without consent from the manufacturers to safeguard from voiding the product warranty.

With proper care and attention to the details, park and recreation agencies can bring out the best attributes in any accessible surfacing systems for their playground areas.

Antonio Malkusak, PLA, CPSI, is President and Landscape Architect at Abundant Playscapes, Inc. (antonio@ abundantplayscapes.com).

Earn Recognition With an NRPA Award

Now through March 25, 2022, NRPA is accepting applications for its 2022 Awards Program. NRPA awards consists of the following:

The National Gold Medal

Awards, governed and administered by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in partnership with NRPA, honor park and recreation agencies throughout the United States and armed forces recreation programs worldwide that demonstrate excellence in delivering superb park and recreation services.

The Innovation Awards showcase the inspiring work park and recreation agencies do to improve and empower their communities through innovative practices in park design, health and wellness, conservation, and equity.

The Spotlight Awards are presented to individuals to honor their efforts — both professional and personal — in the field of parks and recreation. Award winners include park and recreation professionals, volunteers, engaged community members and park advocates.

Fellowships and Scholarships

provide recipients with the opportunity to attend and explore the operation of the field at the NRPA Annual Conference.

The Hall of Fame inducts individuals who have made extraordinary and lasting contributions to the advancement of the park and recreation movement.

To learn more about NRPA awards, scholarships and fellowships, visit nrpa.org/Awards.

Taking the Mystery Out of the Awards Process

What can you do to make sure your application stands out from the rest? How does the scoring process work? And, what are some pitfalls to avoid? In the webinar, “Taking the Mystery Out of the Innovation and Individual Awards Process,” representatives from the NRPA Awards and Scholarship Committee shed light on the awards application process. Learn more at tinyurl. com/4fce7jyv.

Member Benefit: Five Tips for Using NRPA Connect

NRPA Connect (connect.nrpa. org/Home) is an online networking platform that makes it easy to communicate with an experienced network of more than 60,000 peers ready to share best practices. Here are five tips to get the most out of using Connect: • Update Your Email Preferences –

In your Connect profile, under

“Community Notifications,” you have the option to customize when you receive emails. You can choose different options for different communities. • Join a Network – Networks are member-exclusive communities.

With a diverse set of networks, you can engage with like-minded professionals who face the same challenges and opportunities as you do every day. Many have monthly phone calls and meet during the NRPA Annual Conference. • Favorite Resources – When you want to save a resource (e.g., request for proposal, job description, brochure design, etc.), you can click on the blue “Action” button and “Add to Favorites.”

It will save the resource, so you always can refer back. • @Mentions – The @Mentions feature allows community members to mention other users in various locations on NRPA

Connect. @Mentions are a great way to invite specific individuals to join a conversation, provide recognition and call attention to specific resources. • NRPA Connect App – Now you can search resources, ask questions and browse discussions all from your phone. Search

MemberCentric in the app store to download today!