Parks & Recreation - May 2015

LWCF and Rep. Rob Bishop | Housing, Parks and the Supreme Court | Remaking Rec Centers M AY 2 0 1 5 W W W. N R PA . O R G

Selling South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard — from one-room schoolhouse to top promoter of the state’s public lands Page 42

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contents may 2015 volume 50 | number 5 | www.nrpa.org

During the 2013 federal shutdown, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard turned to the business community to keep public land icons like Mount Rushmore open to the public, a key factor that drives tourism through the state.

COVER STORY

42 Selling South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard promotes his state’s natural resources and public lands to encourage economic development and a sustainable future

Read the digital edition of this issue online at http://ezine.parks andrecreation.org.

Danielle Taylor

FEATURES

48 Equal Housing, Equal Access Green access, disparate impacts and residential segregation before the U.S. Supreme Court Robert GarcĂ­a

52 The Remaking of Rec Centers Seven key elements that hardly existed 15 years ago are having a profound impact on the planning and design of recreation facilities Stephen Springs and Dwayne Brinkley

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contents may 2015

departments

columns

6 Web Exclusives

8 Perspectives What the Park and Recreation Professional of the Future Needs to Know Barbara Tulipane, CAE

12 Letters 14 50th Anniversary Archive Throwback: May 1982

16 Community Center Seeing Crisis as Opportunity 16 Agency Spotlight: Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department, Oklahoma 18 Notable News 20 NRPA Connect Hot Topics 20

22 By the Numbers The Truth About Parks and Dogs

24 People for Parks Teresa Baker: A Champion for Diversity Catrina Belt

25 Member to Member Safe Swimming in the Big Apple Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP

59 NRPA Update Celebrating 30 Years of Park and Recreation Month 59 PRORAGISTM to Measure Park and Recreation’s Economic Impact 60 Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge 61 Member Benefits: Camp Programming on a Budget 61

10 Editor’s Letter The Opportunity of Justice — for All Gina Mullins-Cohen

27 Advocacy The Case for LWCF Reform Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01)

30 Law Review Lower Liability Standard for Coaches During Competition James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

34 Future Leaders Integrating Evaluability Assessment into Youth Sport Programming Gareth J. Jones

36 Conservation From Simple Sprinklers to Smart Irrigation Samantha Bartram

38 Health and Wellness Safe Routes to Parks Rishma Parpia

40 Social Equity Rescued on a River Samantha Bartram

Member Spotlight: Roger Brown 62 Professional Development Calendar 64

67 Operations Can You Dig It? Mike Hale

70 Products 71 Marketplace 75 Reader Service and Advertiser Index 76 Park Bench Heart Attack Hero Marissa Bracamonte

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Page 30

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ParksandRecreation.org July 2015 marks 30 years of Park and Recreation Month and you are invited to celebrate with NRPA! Visit www. nrpa.org/July/Park-and-RecreationMonth/ToolKit to view NRPA’s toolkit and find the materials you need to celebrate Park and Recreation Month at your agency. Access posters, graphics and other artwork for your 2015 Park and Recreation Month outreach. Use the logos and artwork on a variety of materials including personalized banners, T-shirts, sunglasses or whatever you desire. For design files, please contact our Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist Roxanne Sutton at rsutton@nrpa.org. Stay tuned to NRPA’s communication channels and www.nrpa.org/July for new media materials coming soon!

NRPA is going on a road trip and we want you to come with us! As we celebrate NRPA’s 50th anniversary and the upcoming Annual Conference, the Young Professional Network has organized a virtual road trip from Charlotte, North Carolina all the way to Las Vegas, Nevada. The blog series will make virtual stops at Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT)-accredited schools along the way to showcase academic programs and share information about the students who are shaping the next 50 years of NRPA. Check out the blog “NC2NV: Hitting the Road” (www.nrpa.org/blog/nc2nv-hittingthe-road) about our first stop — the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

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Check out our digital edition at http://ezine.parks andrecreation .org

Online registration is now open for the 2015 NRPA Annual Conference, held September 15-17 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Don’t miss your chance to connect at the industry’s largest tradeshow and help us celebrate 50 years of NRPA! Visit www.nrpa.org/Conference2015 to reserve your space and for details about the event, including conference highlights, a program schedule, exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities, accommodations information and more. Each year, thousands of park and recreation professionals come together for the premier annual meeting of the park and recreation community. The 2015 NRPA Annual Conference is a great opportunity to network with other park and recreation professionals, citizen advocates and industry suppliers in one place. The conference will provide hundreds of education sessions and learning opportunities tailored to parks and recreation. Come share your brand, learn about new products and innovations in the park and recreation industry, and be a part of our 50th anniversary celebration. Register today to ensure you are not left out of the fun! Make sure to check the website often, as we continue to add new information throughout the spring and summer.

Stay in touch!

NRPA website: www.nrpa.org Parks & Recreation website: www.parksandrecreation.org Digital edition: http://ezine.parksandrecreation.org NRPA Connect: www.nrpaconnect.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/NationalRecreationandParkAssociation Twitter: www.twitter.com/NRPA_news, www.twitter.com/ParksRecMag Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/nrpa Instagram: www.instagram.com/nrpa

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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 PA’ S L E A D E R S

What the Park and Recreation Professional of the Future Needs to Know On the occasion of NRPA’s 50th anniversary we take pleasure in reflecting on the past five decades, reminiscing about how we got to where we are today. It is enjoyable to look back on how our field has evolved, but it is also the right time to look forward and speculate on what knowledge and resources a park and recreation professional will need to thrive in the coming century.

In the past 50 years, a number of key events have influenced our profession. Understanding the past helps predict the future and will help us be prepared. For if there is one thing we have learned during the past 50 years, it is that change is a constant in our field.

Many consider the 1960s — when the modern iteration of NPRA was founded — to have been the golden age of parks and recreation. Cities and suburbs were booming and the public’s willingness to pay for new parks, new infrastructure and new services was at an all-time high.

Unfortunately, that willingness to pay dried up. In California voters approved Proposition 13, a property tax-limiting amendment that capped what many saw as runaway government and the unlimited growth of property taxes through ever-higher assessments. Many other jurisdictions followed suit, and over the years the public’s appetite to fund many government services, not just parks and recreation, diminished greatly.

This anti-tax philosophy continues today even though the desire for more park and recreation services has not abated. Thus, park and recreation departments are increasingly expected to offset the loss of general fund support with new forms of cost recovery — increased fees and charges, new forms of revenue and public/private partnerships that bring in additional funding.

The park and recreation industry has changed dramatically and so have the expectations for fully functioning professionals. The simple fact is, as the field changes, so must our skills. In 1965 only seven types of park and recreation facilities were categorized by NRPA. Compare that to the dozens of types of park and recreation facilities identified by agencies today, with more and more coming online virtually every day. New classifications of facilities are only a part of the picture, however. The skills needed by successful professionals have changed dramatically as well.

So what does the well-rounded professional need to know today? Here is a list — only a partial list, mind you — but it is a good starter for the professional of the 21st century: Commitment to technology. Success means committing to technology fully and learning the most effective ways to utilize it. It means understanding and applying GIS knowledge as a means of visualizing relationships. It means understanding and using tools like PRORAGISTM to explain how economics, population, leisure activity, proximity and other datasets relate to each other and how all are critical for making decisions when deploying resources and personnel.

Full-range marketing and communications skills. Just knowing how to read, write and speak in public aren’t enough anymore. Success means mastering and using social media, learning how to go mobile, using apps to communicate with the public, and deploying your marketing skills in creative and innovative ways.

Evaluation Design. Many have said it — if you don’t count, you don’t count. You must build in to program design methods to

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evaluate the effectiveness of what you do and the investments you make. And if you don’t base decisions on information and data you have collected, even in ways as simple as counting visitors or understanding peak-use demand, you cannot reliably estimate the impact and benefits of what you do.

Strategic Positioning. If there is one thing that the new PRORAGIS data shows in the just-released Field Report, it is that professionals need to know how to interpret data to communicate to elected officials and decision-makers how parks and recreation provides solutions to problems and saves taxpayer money. Without question, the well-equipped professional must know how to position his or her agency as a problem-solver, money-saver and provider of the public good. As more and more responsibilities are assigned to park and recreation agencies, this is becoming a vital skill set.

Collaboration. To succeed in the future you must have the knowledge and skills to build partnerships, whether for fundraising, public/private partnerships, community- and friends-raising, or interagency cooperation.

Providing the expertise required to successfully manage and program these facilities has led us to create comprehensive tools like PRORAGIS and educational offerings that will keep all park and recreation professionals on the cutting edge and moving forward. A recent demonstration for agency directors on how PRORAGIS can instantly show walk and drive times, recreation expenditures, leisure activities, income level, age and racial demographics based on specific locations in a community — not just now, but projected five years into the future — left them speechless.

If you don’t think you that you need to apply any of these tools, resources and skill sets to your work, you are running the risk of becoming irrelevant and missing the opportunities to better serve your community.

The skills required of today’s professional look very different than they did 50 years ago, no doubt about it. But NRPA is committed to providing you the resources and education that you need. Our future depends on it.

2377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 2 703.858.0784 | www.nrpa.org

NRPA’S MISSION: To advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jack Kardys

Chair of the Board of Directors Detrick L. Stanford, CPRP

Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department Miami, Florida

Clayton County Parks and Recreation Jonesboro, Georgia

Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Great Rivers Greenway District St. Louis, Missouri

Brian Knapp

Past Chair Robert F. Ashcraft, Ph.D. ASU Lodestar Center Phoenix, Arizona

Treasurer Neelay Bhatt

Secretary Stephen Eckelberry

Molly Stevens Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

Houston Parks and Recreation Houston, Texas

LIFE TRUSTEES

Bartlett Park District Bartlett, Illinois

Beverly D. Chrisman

President and CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE

Anne S. Close

National Recreation and Park Association Ashburn, Virginia

Lexington, South Carolina

Fort Mill, South Carolina

James H. Evans BOARD OF DIRECTORS

New York, New York

Leon T. Andrews

Rosemary Hall Evans

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Barbara Baca

Cullman, Alabama

Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department Albuquerque, New Mexico

Earl T. Groves

Rebecca Benná, CPRP

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

Five River Metro Parks Dayton, Ohio

Chester W. Freeman

Gastonia, North Carolina

Richmond, Virginia

Harry G. Haskell Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Kevin Coyle National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Streams and Valleys Fort Worth, Texas

President and CEO

NOVA Parks Fairfax, Virginia

William “Joe” Turner

PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Jennifer Harnish

BAR BAR A T ULIPAN E, C AE

Michael Kelly

Chair-Elect Susan Trautman, CPRP

Kathryn A. Porter Mendham, New Jersey

Perry J. Segura New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice

Roslyn Johnson Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

Round Hill, Virginia

Eugene A. Young, CPRP Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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Parks & Recreation

9

EDITOR’S LET TER

The Opportunity of Justice — for All Thirty-seven years ago, in April 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act. The measure was created to target both deliberate discrimination and presumably unbiased procedures that had unfounded discriminatory influence. This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Fair Housing Act will continue to protect people from housing policies that discriminate in practice, without proof of intentional discrimination.

PRESIDENT AND CEO

Barbara Tulipane, CAE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Danielle Taylor

dtaylor@nrpa.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Arguments for the case called Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project were heard January 21, and a decision is expected by July 2015. Starting on page 48 of this issue, acclaimed civil rights attorney Robert García explains how the Court’s decision could impact the field of parks and recreation. This must-read commentary addresses why it is critical for each of us to understand the Act and the events leading up to the decision so we can accurately appraise the implications within all of our communities.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) in South Dakota has been in the news a lot recently. NBC’s Today and NPR introduced their audiences to a television commercial produced by GOED, suggesting people visit South Dakota instead of going to Mars. Why would they do this? The answer is simple. If you visit Mars, you will die, but go to South Dakota and you can live. This ad campaign (www.youcanliveinsouthdakota.com) is part of Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s efforts to position South Dakota as a state of opportunities, with a focus on its numerous outdoor recreational options. This issue’s cover feature boasts an interview with Gov. Daugaard by Parks & Recreation magazine’s Executive Editor, Danielle Taylor. This fascinating dialogue embarks on a story that not only positions parks and outdoor recreation as significant reasons to relocate to the state, but also speaks to one man’s vision and efforts to secure recreational opportunities for people with varying degrees of disabilities.

The feature on page 52 by Stephen Springs and Dwayne Brinkley examines the varying architectural design elements currently being included in plans for recreation centers. The recreation center of today must meet the challenging demands of millennials, as well as a steady progression of whims from the baby boomers. This story works through the complexities of design options allowing for health and wellness and intended to stimulate and support better programing.

This issue of Parks & Recreation speaks to only a fraction of the efforts our agencies go through in regard to equity and the ever-growing needs of a community. Let us know your position on these topics. We are eager to hear your opinions and share your stories.

GINA MULLINS-COHEN Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Publishing Editorial Director 10 Parks & Recreation

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Samantha Bartram sbartram@nrpa.org EDITORIAL INTERNS

Marissa Bracamonte mbracamonte@nrpa.org

Catrina Belt cbelt@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN

Creative By Design www.creativebydesign.net SENIOR MANAGER OF ADVERTISING

Dana Storm

703.858.2174 dstorm@nrpa.org (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 ©2015 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: $36 a year in the U.S.; $46 elsewhere. Single copy price: $4.50. Library rate: $48 a year in the U.S.; $58 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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Letters We hope the articles you read in Parks & Recreation are thought-provoking and engaging, and we want to hear your opinions on what you read in these pages. Through social media posts, website comments, emails to staff or posts on NRPA Connect, let us know how the magazine’s articles apply to your job and your agency. To submit feedback for this section directly, email Associate Editor Samantha Bartram at sbartram@nrpa.org.

The

Drones Are

Coming

By Richard J. Dolesh

V

irtually anyone who has flown a quadcopter or other modern drone will say that they are a blast to fly. Drones combine the cool factor of impressive technology, the excitement of unmanned flight and the thrill of exploration, all in one amazingly simple and easy-to-operate package. Whether you fly alone, with friends or with your kids, flying drones is just plain fun.

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an errant drone piloted by a possibly inebriated operator in Washington, D.C., who, while reportedly trying to impress a female friend at 3 a.m., flew his friend’s quadcopter from an apartment balcony a few blocks from the White House and crashed it on the White House grounds, causing major heartburn for the Secret Service.

Industry and media statistics on how many drones have been sold to the public differ slightly, but the sales totals almost defy belief. Hobby and commercial drones are reported to be selling at the rate of 15,000 or 16,000 per month, or almost 200,000 per year. That’s a lot of people who will be looking to get outdoors and fly their new drones.

And where will these people want to fly their drones? Why, in the wide open spaces designed for outdoor recreation, of course — parks!

Illustration by Kim Lewis

But drones aren’t only about fun.

They will have an impact on virtually every aspect of our lives from agriculture to energy, scientific research, conservation, public safety and more.

Drones have been labeled “disruptive technology,” and held up as avatars of the mythical “billion-fold improvements” that have taken place in computing, imaging, aeronautics, medicine and other fields. Drones will come to shape our lives every bit as much as cellphones, tablet computers and other game-changing technology.

Futurists are abuzz with speculation that you will soon have your Amazon packages or Papa John’s pizzas delivered to your door by drones.

Mainstream media outlets breathlessly report breaking-news stories about unauthorized or potentially dangerous drones, such as the recent story of

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Thank you for featuring “The Drones are Coming” in the March 2015 issue of Parks & Recreation magazine. In recent months, the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) has been working closely with NRPA to promote the establishment of flying sites in parks across the country. Your article points to the AMA as an ambassador for the sport of model flying, and the connection the organization has with recreational users throughout the country.

A model-flying hobbyist who enjoys flying the new types of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) can apply the rules found in the AMA Safety Code, which boasts 75 years of success. The AMA has also 12 Parks & Recreation

Parks & Recreation

49

partnered with leaders in the industry including Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Small UAV Coalition to develop a program for new hobbyists called “Know Before You Fly.” The FAA is partnering with the founding members of this program to spread the word about safe and responsible flying. Know Before You Fly is an educational campaign that provides prospective users with the information and guidance they need to fly safely and responsibly. More information about the program can be found at www.knowbeforeyoufly.org.

The AMA encourages the establishment of model aircraft flying sites to give hobbyists a safe place

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to fly. We encourage you to visit http://why.modelaircraft.org to learn more about the benefits of flying sites. Additional information will be shared at the NRPA 2015 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in September 2015.

Email from Tony Stillman, Flying Site Assistance Coordinator with the Academy of Model Aeronautics regarding Vice President of Conservation and Parks Richard Dolesh’s March feature article, “The Drones are Coming,” www. parksandrecreation.org/2015/March/ The-Drones-are-Coming

[Ed. Note: We received great feedback about Linda Oakleaf ’s April 2015 article, “A Virtual War” www.parksandrecreation.org/2015/April/A-Virtual-War. The piece explored the finer points of Ingress, a virtual game Oakleaf describes as “a combination of geocaching and capture the flag.” According to our readers, it’s also a fun and exciting way to blend outdoor time and technology in our community parks. Below, we share three of their comments.]

It’s worth downloading the game and having a walk around your park. Players have a goal of being within 40 meters of intended locations, and if something is strongly defended, they are forced to stand directly at the object — you would be fine standing next to a sculpture or

As an avid Ingress player, this article is right on the mark. Ingress players are already in your parks whether you know it or not. Connecting with their communities and taking an active role in encouraging them to be part of your park system can be mutually beneficial.

Plus, many Ingress players look for service opportunities in the communities where they play. If you are able to establish a relationship with your local teams, they may volunteer to give back to the community!

Comment from Josh Stock, Moderator, United Chicagoland Resistance As an Ingress player, this article makes me really happy. Oftentimes what we do looks really suspicious.

The more people know that we’re just playing a game, the better. And please, if we’re somewhere we’re not supposed to be, tell us! We probably didn’t know, and while it’s a really fun and engaging game, we all know that it’s not worth injuring ourselves or getting fined/arrested for.

Comment from D.J. McCarthy, Ingress participant

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you might have an issue standing in a bed of flowers.

It’s also worth noting the placement of portals versus drive paths. If cars are allowed in your property area, they may be playing while driving, and if they want to get the full value out of a round, they will make the loop four times. If you enjoy the opportunity of having players come out, do reach out to the local [Ingress] community, which is very easy. They will appreciate any guidance of being welcomed to the area as well as understanding rules if it’s a big problem to be in the area after dusk. If you have a paid facility, consider group discounts for Ingress players in large numbers. This applies to zoos, arboretums and so forth. To play the game effectively, it can take eight-plus players working together, which on a nice afternoon out can turn into 20 or 30 people all wanting to join in. There are also monthly events which have the possibility of breaking 100-plus people. I’ve played this game for two years and am an organizer for the local 10-100 person events, and it’s always great to have buy-in from the location we are at.

Comment from Dan Bailey, Chicagoland Ingress XFaction Event Organizer

Parks & Recreation

13

Archive Throwback: May 1982

By Samantha Bartram

I

n this issue of Parks & Recreation magazine, we’re pleased to feature an Advocacy column penned by Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, who uses the space to explain why the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would do well to give greater control of its recreation areas to the localities in which they’re found. He explains this in the context of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), up for renewal this year, which has seen a steady increase of fiscal allocation to its federal land acquisition side, while the State Assistance Program, as of 2013, received just 13 percent of those funds.

Bishop opens his piece with a shocking anecdote (I’ll leave it to you, dear readers, to turn to Page 27 to read this real-life horror story) meant to illustrate why updating the LWCF to allow cities, counties and states greater management of federal land within their jurisdictions, as well as providing robust funding for the State Assistance Program, could have significant impacts.

Travel with me back to May 1982, when the “News Focus” section of Parks & Recreation magazine was making similar pleas in its recap of testimony before the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies of both the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by then-NRPA Public Affairs Director Barry S. Tindall. As today, in 1982 talk of eliminating the LWCF was on the lips of policy-makers in Washington, D.C., and Tindall rose to the challenge of explaining why that program is so essential, as well as why municipal entities should play a role in its administration. Tindall also addressed budgeting concerns related to the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery (UPARR) program and the Historic Preservation Fund.

At the time, then-President Ronald Reagan was barely more than a year into his first term, and his now-trademark policies of debt reduction and

14 Parks & Recreation

government decentralization via “New Federalism” were in their infancy. The former is the Ghost of Christmas Future of today’s cut-focused federal budgeting process, while the latter was intended to transfer certain powers from the federal government back to the states — a reaction to President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies of old.

Tindall was made to perform a neat juggling act, simultaneously explaining why localities should have a significant role in administering LWCF monies (an ovation tracking nicely with the New Federalist ideal of giving greater control to the states) and decrying the Reagan administration’s embrace of New Federalism, saying the policy, “ignore[s] completely the subject of recreation and parks in an intergovernmental context.”

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Tindall’s testimony included six factors for consideration of why the LWCF, UPARR and Historic Preservation Fund should be continued and nurtured by parties both local and federal: “(1) Comprehensive state and local park systems appear to ‘absorb’ a significant number of recreation user pressures that, if not directed to nonfederal parks, could exert extreme pressure (and cost) on federal recreation resources. (2) Nonfederal recreation resource systems meet a variety of interstate and regional demands...(3) The states and local governments have demonstrated a continuing commitment to participate in all of the ‘threatened’ programs, despite serious program disruptions in each of the past two fiscal years. (4) Administration statements ‘that the states (and local governments) cannot effectively use’ LWCF and UPARR are based upon ignorance of the programs’ status or a deliberate attempt to mislead the Congress and others. (5) Recreation and park systems play an increasing, not diminishing, role in American society that relates to an array of social, economic and environmental values.

(6) The LWCF, especially, provides an extremely effective vehicle for redistributing fiscal resources accruing to all citizens through accelerated Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy extraction activities...”

In light of Tindall’s testimony and Bishop’s thoughts herein, it seems fitting to paraphrase ol’ Dutch during his 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter; “Here we go again…”

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@nrpa. org).

Community Center Seeing Crisis as Opportunity The City of Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks rises to the occasion amid tense protests

By Samantha Bartram

A

pril 12, 25-year-old Freddie Gray was severely injured while in Baltimore Police custody. According to reports, the young man’s spine was almost completely severed at his neck and officers waited 45 minutes before calling for medical help. Soon after, Gray would succumb to his injuries and his death would ignite a firestorm of protests across the city.

Baltimore is no stranger to tension between police personnel and the citizens patrolled, often low-income and people of color. According to a September 2014 Baltimore Sun investigation, between 2010-2014, “more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements [against the Baltimore Police Department] related to allegations of brutality and civil-rights violations.” Similar statistics and anecdotes of police-perpetuated violence from long-time residents have been plastered across television screens, newspapers and the Internet in the days following Gray’s death, painting a bleak picture of Charm City.

But, despite the heavy coverage of intense protests and a handful of incidents of violence and looting, another story is

Fifteen-year-old student athlete Lorenzo Simpson spent his time at the Cloverdale block party speaking to youth about non-violence.

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beginning to emerge — one of community, unity, compassion and support originating from the grassroots. For as deeply as Baltimore residents are hurt by the tension and violations that have most recently swept their city, they are equally as motivated to show their neighborly love and community pride. The City of Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP) has been at the forefront of that effort, providing for its constituents’ need to connect to one another and contribute to healing Baltimore.

Safe Haven Peaceful protests turned ugly Monday, April 27, as a small group of individuals attacked several businesses in West Baltimore, smashing windows, looting, setting cars ablaze and clashing with police. As a result, officials established a city-wide curfew, a state of emergency was instituted and schools were closed Tuesday, April 28.

Despite the chaos, BCRP recognized many residents, particularly youth, would need a safe place to go while school was out of session. The agency extended its community center hours to accommodate anyone who wanted to congregate, recreate and find a sense of calm amid the tension.

BCRP’s goal, as stated by Chief of

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Recreation Center Operations Tracey Estep, was “to offer a safe haven and resource to families.” “We wanted to provide quality recreation and leisure programs to any resident or community member coming into the centers… our after-school programs were also in session so kids could come, have access to a hot meal in the afternoon and a safe haven from the turbulence going on in the streets of Baltimore.”

Community Outreach While Baltimore residents were welcomed inside the city’s community centers, BCRP personnel also extended their efforts into the streets to assist in clean-up efforts and offer additional support where requested.

BCRP Public Information Officer Arli Lima also stressed the agency’s special facilities continued to operate amid the protests, offering still more opportunities for youth to work out any stress or anxiety. “We have a special facility literally blocks from where everything was going on,” Lima says. “Upton Boxing remains open and committed to servicing the youth of our community. Our skating and bowling facility is also open.”

April 28, BCRP joined forces with the mayor’s office and the Baltimore City Youth Commission to host an upbeat block party at the Cloverdale basketball courts, a much-appreciated distraction from the tense atmosphere blanketing the area. Dozens of young people, including well-known 15-yearold student athlete and Upton Boxing

star Lorenzo Simpson, spent the day playing basketball, listening to music, dancing, eating and showing support for their city. The party was “just blocks from North and Pennsylvania Avenues,” Lima says, where much of the unrest took place, but that didn’t stop people like Simpson from “going out in the community and speaking about non-violence.”

community — we hear their voices and we are trying to give them every aspect of recreation, leisure, health and wellness and be a meeting place where they gather and help get our city back

to where it was before the incidents that occurred on Monday.”

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

Ongoing Support Both Lima and Estep were buoyed by the outpouring of support shown to their agency by the community at large. Whole Foods and the Family League of Baltimore offered donations of healthy food to serve at area recreation centers and countless individuals have reached out with financial contributions and a desire to volunteer.

BCRP has also received hundreds of messages of thanks for its efforts during the protests. “From a communications standpoint, we have received massive online support through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — we’ve gotten more retweets than I’ve ever seen,” Lima says. “A lot of people are posting, ‘Thanks for supporting the youth.’ So it’s been very positive.”

Estep says people have also been personally calling their recreation centers to thank staff for keeping the centers open, hosting community events and giving folks a safe, positive environment in which to gather and support each other. “Under the leadership of [Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake] and [BCRP Director] Ernie Burkeen, we have a mission,” she says. “It’s a core component of what we’re offering to all our residents. We want them to know we’re here for them — we’re here as a hub of the community and a resource for youth. We’re not just here for kids to play sports, we’re here for civic and community engagement. We hear the

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Community Center

Agency Spotlight: Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department

By Walt Bratton, CPRP

Municipality: Oklahoma City Population: 620,000 Year Agency Founded: 1980 Annual Operating Budget: $33.4 million Director: Douglas R. Kupper Full-time Employees: 197 Part-time/Seasonal Employees: 300-plus

Essential Information One-hundred fifty-two parks, 21,000 acres of undeveloped and developed parkland (including three recreational lakes), five golf courses, 141 athletic fields, 113 playgrounds, 81 miles of multi-use trails/pathways, 10 community/ recreation centers, two senior cen-

ters, 17 spraygrounds, three community pools, two family aquatic centers, one 32,000-square-foot extreme skate park, four skate courts, 67 tennis courts, three disc golf courses, 11 fishing lakes, one nature center, one botanical garden, two arboretums, one municipal fish hatchery, two outdoor amphitheaters, Civic Center Music Hall (a 287,000-square-foot performing arts center) and the Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Performing Arts Center (an 80,000-squarefoot performance facility), one river corridor and one urban waterway.

City on the Rise With leadership that focuses on prosperity and the wellness of its citizens, Oklahoma City is setting

Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department’s newly renovated Ed Lycan Conservatory.

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itself up as one of the 21st century’s metropolitan success stories. The Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department plays a large part in that achievement. In an October 2012 Parks & Recreation magazine article, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett spoke of his experiences as a youth growing up playing sports in local parks, and doesn’t discount the need for more open spaces and wellness opportunities for citizens (www.parksandrecreation. org/2012/October/Green-Giants-Mayors-Who-Make-Parks-a-Priority). Under Cornett’s leadership, Oklahoma City’s Parks and Recreation Department has seen $89 million in General Obligation bond funding for capital improvements, and more than $280 million worth of investment in the MAPS 3 initiative (a one-penny, pay-as-you-go sales tax program now in its third iteration) that cites new capital projects including senior wellness centers, improved multi-use trails, a whitewater rafting and kayak center and a brand-new, 70-acre downtown park.

When complete, the new MAPS 3 park will connect the city’s busy downtown corridor to the Oklahoma River, a 7-mile expanse of waterway bordered by parkland and multiple recreation areas, including four parks, 13 miles of multi-use trails and a dynamic, nationally-acclaimed boathouse district that offers rowing, kayaking and other adventure sports to the public.

These types of programs are just fine with Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Director Douglas R. Kupper, CPRP, who took the helm of the agency in May 2014.

“Oklahoma City has a lot going for it in terms of forward-thinking leadership,” says Kupper. “Citizens aren’t afraid to invest in infrastructure, and don’t underestimate the importance of keeping young home-grown talent where it belongs. Parks are a natural extension of that, especially in terms of community health and wellness.

It’s my belief that parks and recreation programs are the No. 1 health and wellness provider to any city, both in physical and mental wellness.”

Emphasizing Community Health In January 2015 the City Council cited community wellness as one of its top six priorities, which aligns seamlessly with the priorities set forth in the recently completed Parks and Recreation Master Plan (playokc).

The parks master plan is part of the city’s new comprehensive plan that emphasizes citizen wellness through increased sidewalks, more active open spaces, a stronger recreation model and added multipurpose trails and on-street commuter bikeways.

For the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department, wellness includes a renewed focus on health and exercise programs in its Recreation Division. Staff is bringing new ideas to the table for adult sports leagues and fitness classes in recreation centers. The Oklahoma City Community Foundation, a private community funding arm and advocacy group, awarded the agency with a $22,000 grant to support nutrition and exercise education for adults over 55 years old. The department is also collaborating with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to establish a Parks Foundation in support of parks, recreation and cultural services.

Key Partnerships and Areas of Focus Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation enjoys partnership agreements with more than 190 nonprofit agencies, neighborhood and homeowner groups, as well as local foundations. One of these partnerships is with Wilderness Matters, whose $1 million investment at Martin Nature Park through the Integris Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Courage Trail is paving the way for individuals with disabilities to experience nature in a meaningful way through an accessible trail, interpretive signage and integrated smartphone application. Each of these collaborations benefits the community in sweat equity and private

contributions, allowing taxpayer dollars to be stretched.

In 2014 alone, the monetary value of these partnerships was more than $10 million.

Conservation is also a key priority, with park planners integrating rain gardens, xeriscaping and other sustainable landscape techniques in their park design, in addition to preventative maintenance in forestry and grounds management. A culturally diverse organization, the demographic makeup of Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation staff exceeds the demographics of the local community in racial and gender equality, providing a broad scope of services to citizens among each income and socioeconomic level.

All of these efforts lend themselves to greater success in key measures of the city’s Leading For Results (LFR) strategic business plan, which adds up to citizen confidence and a willingness to invest in new growth for parks and recreation, creating a future as bright as the city itself.

Walt Bratton, CPRP, is Assistant Director of the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department (walt.bratton@okc.gov).

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Community Center

Notable News n In celebration of Earth Day, Mayor Rick Kriseman of St. Petersburg, Florida unveiled solar-powered charging stations as a new feature of the city’s Sunlit City Parks program. The charging stations feature four enclosures for users to store and charge mobile devices such as phones and tablets. In addition, the charger’s controller has optional capacity for programmable nighttime lighting or other power needs that can be added to the station. SunSure Living, a local St. Petersburg company, designed the charging stations and city employees were responsible for manufacturing. Each station costs approximately $2,500 including fabrication and installation.

umenting the benefits of active time spent outdoors.

n On April 29, New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich and Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind introduced legislation aimed at connecting youth and families with the outdoors. The Healthy Kids Outdoors Act would support state, local and federal strategies to reconnect Americans with nature, keep wildlife wild and support future economic growth and conservation efforts. This legislation, which is supported by the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK), will give more visibility to the value alternative and expanded learning environments can have in significantly improving academic achievement in reading, math and science and will encourage kids and families to be active outdoors through unstructured play. It would provide incentives for states to develop five-year strategies to reconnect children and families to the outdoors.

It would also compel the development of a similar plan at the national level and support future research doc-

n On Earth Day 2015, the Hildebrand Foundation went public with a $10 million parks pledge to the Houston, Texas Parks Board. The grant supports the creation of a system of connected, linear parks and trails along Houston’s major bayous. This is part of the Houston Parks Board program, Bayou Greenways 2020, which will add 1,500 acres of new park space and 80 miles of new all-weather hike and bike trails. Currently, most of the existing parks in Houston are located in affluent neighborhoods.

However, this new plan will put parks into all neighborhoods of the city, allowing anyone easy access to green space. The end goal is to make Houston one of the top “quality of place” cities in America.

20 Parks & Recreation

n Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a controversial law allowing gun permit holders to carry their weapons in municipal parks. The law, which went into effect upon signing in April, blocks any local bans barring permit holders from carrying guns in parks. While some Tennessee residents consider the move by Gov. Haslam and the state legislature to be a victory for the Second Amendment, other residents are left questioning the safety of their parks. Tennessee state law previously allowed each county and city to decide whether to allow guns in parks.

For more news from around the industry, visit www.parksandrecr e a t i o n . o r g / 2 0 1 5 / M ay / N o t a ble-News.

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NRPA Connect Hot Topics

N

RPA Connect is the premier networking platform for park and recreation professionals. Here’s a preview of what your colleagues are discussing this month: 1) Lifeguard Pay: With summer right around the corner, it’s time to start hiring for those seasonal summer job openings. What’s the appropriate hourly wage for a lifeguard?

Your colleagues from all around the country share their current pay rates for lifeguards at their facilities.

2) Sustainability Plans: Is your agency thinking about creating or updating a sustainability plan? Professionals share their plans, policies and ideas. Visit this thread to get inspired!

3) Free Employee Fitness Plans: Do you offer free or discounted memberships to your fitness facilities to employees? Should you extend this benefit to your part-time or seasonal employees? Read this discussion to learn the best practices on offering a similar benefit.

4) Trail Etiquette Campaign: Whether it’s littering, picking up dog waste or trail sharing between pedestrians and bicycles, there can be a variety of issues regarding trail etiquette. Participants discuss techniques and promotions to change negative trail-user behavior.

Connect has more than 40,000 community members who have written upwards of 8,000 discussion posts and shared more than 2,500 library resources! Join your colleagues today by visiting www.nrpaconnect.org.

— Hayley MacDonell, NRPA’s Membership Programs Manager

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By the Numbers

The Truth About Parks and Dogs

Dog parks, or off-leash dog areas, have quickly become a leading feature in communities and parks across the country. Although they have been around for almost three decades, dog parks are currently the fastest-growing segment of city parks. Dog parks vary in size and design, but all provide a fun activity space with numerous benefits for dogs, their owners and the communities in which they live. Dog parks are a great addition to any open public space, as they encourage socialization between neighbors and their cherished pets. Most importantly, they provide a place where dogs can exercise and play freely with other dogs. Below, find some interesting stats on dog owners and dog parks across the country.

$7.5 billion: Estimated worth of the dog industry.

83.3 million: Number of dogs owned as pets in the United

States as of 2013.

56.7 million: Number of U.S. households with dogs as of

2013.

1979:

The year Ohlone Dog Park, the world’s first official dog park, was created in Berkeley, California.

1,200: Estimated number of dog parks in operation in the United States.

569: Number of dog parks in the 100 largest cities in the United

States as of 2010.

34:

Percentage increase in dog parks in the 100 largest U.S. cities from 2005 to 2010.

33:

Number of dog parks in Portland, Oregon — the U.S. city with the greatest number per capita, with 5.7 dog parks for every 100,000 residents.

150: Number of dog parks in Calgary, AB — the city with the greatest number per capita in North America, with 15.9 dog parks for every 100,000 residents.

107 acres: Size of the Elk Meadow Park Dog Off-Leash Area,

one of the nation’s largest dog parks located in Evergreen, Colorado. This park features 3.2 miles of trails, including two fenced-in areas totaling 6 acres where dogs can socialize, and 2.5 miles of natural-surface trails for hikes.

Sources: 2014 City Park Facts Report (www.tpl.org), Ohlone Dog Park Association (www. ohlonedogpark.org), Jefferson County Government (www.jeffco.us), The City of Calgary (www.calgary.ca), 2013-2014 National Pet Owners Survey (www.americanpetproducts.org), Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, Winter 2013, www.dogpark.com, www. petsafe.net, Wikipedia, Unleashed: Off-leash Dog Park Design Trends and Planning Tips 22 Parks & Recreation

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People for Parks Teresa Baker: A Park Champion for Diversity

By Catrina Belt

T

he great outdoors has always played an important role in Teresa Baker’s life. She grew up in Richmond, California, surrounded by national historic parks and endless opportunities to be active outside. “Visiting my local parks was an everyday activity for me. It gave me an outlet to be the wild child that I was,” she says. “As I grew older, my respect for the outdoors started to come into play. Understanding the important role we all play in protecting these open spaces started to become a reality for me. These spaces were not just places to play, but places that needed my protection.”

In March 2013, Baker took it upon herself to address a major issue plaguing parks and recreation— a lack of racial diversity. People of color are noticeably absent at national parks and other outdoor recreation areas.

Nonetheless, these missing segments of the population play a huge role in ensuring the future of our protected landscapes. “Every day I read about attacks on our open spaces — companies wanting to drill and restructure open spaces; watching the news and seeing bulldozers taking away land that belongs to wildlife, changing their habitat forever. These attacks should raise concerns for us all. Having faces that are not currently engaged in preventing these acts would be for the greater good, which is why being more inclusive is important,” Baker says. “Diversity in our outdoor spaces is important because people of color are lacking from the conversation on conservation. What better way to involve people of color in these very important conversations than to engage them in the spaces we need their help in protecting?”

During her lifetime of going to parks,

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Baker observed the absence of diversity firsthand. “The African American National Parks Event actually grew out of frustration — frustration from visiting national parks and not seeing faces of color, specifically African-American faces. I would visit parks on a regular basis and rarely if ever see faces that looked like mine.” After countless conversations with family, friends and colleagues about what could be done, Baker decided to launch a campaign to encourage African-Americans to visit our national parks. And so, Baker created a Facebook page for the African American National Parks Event and began her mission.

Since the launch of her campaign, Baker has worked year-round as a champion for diversity in outdoor spaces. Much of her time is spent reaching out to various mainstream outdoor organizations in an effort to spread awareness and create partnerships. She works closely with agencies like Latino Outdoors, Outdoor Afro and Hike4Life to spread their collective mission of bringing a more diverse audience to outdoor spaces. Baker is currently working on a project in partnership with Range of

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Light and the National Park Service (NPS). The Muir Campfire Discussion on Diversity and Relevancy will be a conversation addressing the legacy of John Muir and the relevancy of diversity in our parks and environmental agencies. There are already more than 18 different outdoor organizations and government agencies committed to the gathering, which will take place May 14-17, 2015. “This [event] will be the first of its kind, where we will convene around a campfire and not an indoor space for this solution-driven conversation,” says Baker.

Baker’s hope for the future is that more parks will participate and engage in the conversation about diversity.

And although her event is targeting African-Americans, she hopes to encourage all people to get involved in the outdoors. She says, “If I can leave you with anything, it is this quote from Sista Monica — ‘Get outdoors and embrace HER energy. Go to the wilderness and love on nature.’ That goes for each and every one of us.”

Catrina Belt is an Editorial Intern for Parks & Recreation magazine (cbelt@nrpa.org).

Member to Member Safe Swimming in the Big Apple

By Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP

N

ew York City’s coastline is longer than those of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco combined, and roughly 155 miles of it is comprised of publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed

by NYC Parks. Building along the waterfront has been a legacy of the past decade in our city’s history, and the benefits of access to the water reach beyond recreation — the coastline provides enormous educational and ecological benefits, and it offers a sense of openness to New Yorkers that is a welcome respite from an often-crowded city life. New destinations like Brooklyn Bridge Park attract 125,000 visitors on an average summer weekend and from Memorial Day through Labor Day our beloved beaches see upwards of 18 million visitors.

With outstanding numbers like this, it’s certainly a testament to our staff that the rate of drowning in New York City is far below the national average, but we know that even a single drowning is one too many. These tragedies can be avoided and we are committed to taking every step possible to help keep our children safe from harm in our city’s parks, beaches and waterfronts.

In the summer of 1936, Parks

Visitors frolic in the surf and sun at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York City.

Commissioner Robert Moses opened 11 Olympic-sized outdoor pools throughout the five boroughs, accommodating more than 40,000 bathers each. At a time when most people swam in the river to beat the heat, these pools offered a clean, controlled alternative and they had a huge impact on safety: in 1934 there were 450 drowning incidents in the city and by 1939 that number had decreased by about a third.

Back then, Moses found an equitable solution to the issue of water safety by providing widespread access to pools.

These days, we’re taking Moses’ lead with a comprehensive, three-pronged initiative that brings swimming education and water safety measures to communities that need it most.

Swim for Life In partnership with the city’s top providers of swim instruction, we’re teaching second-grade students vital water safety lessons as a class, during the school day. Swim for Life runs for three 10-week sessions during which students learn water entry, breath control and submerging, buoyancy, and treading. In our experience, second graders have proved the perfect candidates for this program — they are generally old enough to stand in the water and young enough that they have not developed body-image issues. As part of the program, students are also eligible for free annual memberships to NYC Parks’ recreation centers to practice their skills.

Since it was launched in 2011, more than 35,000 second graders have attended Swim for Life classes, and our goal is to one day reach all schools through this program.

Water Safety at Coastal Parks It’s our responsibility to ensure that safety is built into the infrastructure of our waterfront parks. Last summer, we completed a city-wide review of all of our boat launches and implemented a number of safety enhancements, including the installa-

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Member to Member tion of self-closing gates, solar-powered emergency call boxes, life rings and throw lines. We also increased signage and instituted a weekly inspection protocol of all of these elements by our enforcement staff.

Public Outreach After being struck by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, much of New York City’s boardwalk and oceanfront properties were damaged or destroyed. The city was able to open its beaches on

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time in the summer of 2013, and these days, we’re rebuilding to protect ourselves against the next storm. Since the steady pace of rebuilding our beaches has affected access, any closure notices or changes to beach operations are now being updated each day on our website.

We are also exploring ways to partner with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the entity that runs the city’s subways, to incorporate beach-clo-

sure information into their station announcements, as well as with the city’s Department of Health and Office of Emergency Management to share these notices on the web. Our hope is that by better informing beach goers of places where swimming is allowed, we’ll offer a safe alternative to illegal swimming at unsupervised beaches.

May marks National Water Safety month, and as we look forward to opening New York City’s beaches at the end of the month, we hope that park systems across the country will join us in the effort to make sure our summers are as safe and fun as possible.

Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, is Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (pressoffice@parks.nyc.gov).

ADVOCACY

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01)

The Case for LWCF Reform

By Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01) [Ed. Note: With the and Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) scheduled to expire at the end of September 2015, we invited a key decision maker — the new chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which is charged with reauthorizing the LWCF — to share his views on reforming the LWCF, including the value of the State Assistance Program and the need to provide a greater share of LWCF dollars to address close-to-home outdoor recreation needs. The following is a guest column from the Honorable Rob Bishop of Utah.]

W

ith summer quickly approaching and many Americans making family vacation plans to visit our nation’s federal lands, let’s imagine a scene. Hot, sweaty, physically exerted and mentally drained, a hiker comes to a fork in a trail on an afternoon trek through a popular Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recreation area. One direction leads safely back to the trailhead, the other to treacherous, overgrown terrain, unsuitable for human endeavor. Here’s the catch: there’s no sign differentiating the two.

Unfortunately, this story isn’t fiction. The trail in question is near Little Wild Horse Canyon in Utah’s Emery County. Sadly, this hiker lost her life simply because she picked the wrong fork in the trail. Why wasn’t there a simple sign — a clear direction showing which way to go and which to avoid? The locals had requested for years that the BLM put up a sign directing back to the trailhead, for this was not the first time a hiker had gone missing in this locality.

BLM, however, insisted the expense was not worth it and would destroy

U.S. Representative Rob Bishop has served Utah’s First Congressional District for 12 years. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Bishop serves on the Committee on Natural Resources, where in 2015 he was appointed chairman. Under Bishop’s leadership, the Committee on Natural Resources has restructured to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its legislative and oversight operations. The Committee’s agenda will focus on the responsible development of domestic energy resources, active management of federal lands, and greater collaboration with our state, tribal and local partners in the creation and modernization of related federal policies. This includes the LWCF. Prior to his service in Congress, Rep. Bishop served 16 years in Utah’s legislature, including as majority leader and Speaker of the House. Prior to entering public service, Rep. Bishop spent 28 years teaching high school German, debate and history. Rep. Bishop and his wife, Jeralynn Hansen Bishop, have five children and six grandchildren and reside in Brigham City, Utah.

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ADVOCACY

the “wilderness” experience. A sign would have cost a couple thousand dollars but would have also saved the hiker from her death.

The reason why the agency did not take this issue seriously appears to stem from oversight caused by the enormous maintenance backlog on federal lands, which is quickly climbing past the $30 billion mark. A simple solution paves the way out: Give more control back to the state and local governments that are much closer to the problem, nimbler, better able to fix what’s broken, and have a proven track record of providing safe and enjoyable recreation to the public.

Fifty years ago, Congress created the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The intent of the law was to “preserve, develop and ensure access to outdoor recreation facilities to strengthen the health of U.S. citizens.” Funding for LWCF is split primarily between two programs: one that funds state and local projects through matching grants (State As-

sistance, or, the “Stateside” Program, as it is frequently called) and one that solely funds federal land acquisition.

Originally, 60 percent of the funds in the program were specifically set aside for the Stateside Program. Over the years, intense lobbying from national environmental special interest groups has shifted federal land acquisition to become the lion’s share of LWCF. Despite far greater returns in fulfilling the intent of the 1965 law, in 2013, Stateside received just 16 percent of LWCF funds.

Today, the federal government’s land management policies are failing states and local communities. The BLM is responsible for administering more than 245 million surface acres, most of which is located in 11 western states and Alaska, and manages more than 22.9 million acres in the state of Utah alone. The BLM is responsible for more land than any of the other federal land management agencies.

Nevertheless, the Obama administration wants to spend millions of new

taxpayer dollars to purchase more federal lands, despite massive and growing maintenance backlogs and increasingly catastrophic wildfires that cost taxpayers billions of dollars on existing federal land. BLM’s long-term plan is to purchase another 647,000 acres at an estimated cost of almost $630 million.

When the federal government purchases new land with federal acquisition dollars under LWCF, the land is thrown on top of the heap of numerous other federal lands in desperate need of repairs and restoration. All the while, local counties and rural communities surrounded by federal land are let down. They can’t collect property taxes, and as a result, they struggle to pay for law enforcement and firefighters, schools and roads. The locals can’t even put up a sign showing hikers how to safely return to the trailhead. Almost 70 percent of lands in Utah are owned by the federal government. In my district, Daggett County is especially restricted — all but 2 percent of the lands are federally owned. That’s a crippling disadvantage.

Our federal lands should be valuable recreational and economic assets to our state and local communities. Instead, they are many times a liability and threat to local economies and our environment. The assumption that the federal government is a better steward of the land than states and local communities is at the heart of this policy failure. BLM should focus on taking care of the sweeping swaths of land it already owns and be a better neighbor to adjoining state, tribal or local lands instead of reaching out its hands for more, more, more.

Chairman Bishop presides over a 2014 House Committee on Natural Resources meeting on Capitol Hill.

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over land management decisions that directly affect them, which includes a more robust and equitable distribution of LWCF to the Stateside Program.

This September, the LWCF program expires. Many politicians simply want Congress to extend the law as it currently exists. To me, however, passing a 50-year-old law without common sense reform is a missed opportunity. There are different needs today than when the LWCF was created half a century ago, and the program has failed its original intent. Growing maintenance backlogs and existing management barriers at BLM and across all federal management agencies must be addressed before we even consider giving the federal government more land. It is also prudent for us to look at creative and wiser ways to spend LWCF funds. Most importantly, we need to provide state and local com

munities with greater control and involvement over land-management decisions that directly affect them, which includes a more robust and equitable distribution of LWCF to the Stateside Program.

The story of Little Wild Horse Canyon is a tragic admonition of the failings of the federal government and LWCF. Had more control over these lands been vested at the state and local level, the problem could have been identified, corrective action could have been taken and a life could have been saved.

LWCF is an important program, and now is the time to reinvent it to fulfill its purpose.

Rep. Rob Bishop represents Utah’s 1st Congressional District.

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LAADW V OR CE A VC I EYW

Lower Liability Standard for Coaches During Competition

By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

H

ead injuries and possible concussions are unavoidable inherent risks in contact sports. Participants necessarily assume the inherent risks in a contact sport, including potential concussions. Accordingly, there is generally no legal duty for coaches to protect against or eliminate such unavoidable risks inherent in a contact sport. Sport coaches, however, do have a legal duty to use reasonable care not to increase the risks to a participant over and above those risks of injury that are unavoidably inherent in the sport.

Once a participant in a contact sport sustains a concussion, the risk of a second, more serious concussion increases, particularly when a participant is returned to the competition after exhibiting concussion symptoms. As a result, once a participant exhibits readily observable symptoms of a concussion, a coach may owe a legal duty to restrict an injured player’s participation to avoid further aggravation of the initial head injury sustained during a competition.

30 Parks & Recreation

While a coach in a contact sport owes a legal duty not to aggravate a pre-existing condition, even one sustained moments earlier during a competition, the federal court in the Mercier case described herein still had to determine whether a coach in a contact sport will only be held liable for reckless misconduct, not mere negligence.

Basketball Head Injury In the case of Mercier v. Greenwich

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Academy Inc. 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103950 (Dist. Conn. 7/25/2013), plaintiff Jessica Mercier claimed her coach was negligent and reckless in failing to properly respond to her head injury during a basketball game.

Mercier was a student at Westminster School and a member of Westminster’s varsity women’s basketball team. On or about January 4, 2011, Westminster’s and Greenwich’s varsity women’s basketball teams played a game in Greenwich, Connecticut.

During the second half of the game, Mercier was struck in the front of the head by a player on Greenwich’s team. Bryan Tawney, Westminster’s coach, called a timeout.

Mercier told Tawney that she was dizzy, her eyes were blurry and she

needed to sit down. She sat on the bench for approximately five minutes, during which time Mercier alleges that she exhibited signs of a concussion and acted out of character.

Tawney asked Mercier whether she was ready to return to the game. Mercier re-entered the game. During one play, she lost her balance and alleges that she felt disoriented.

Sometime thereafter, Mercier was struck in the head a second time by a player on Greenwich’s team. Mercier asked to be removed from the game. Tawney removed her and did not put her back in for the remainder of the game.

Mercier alleged she suffered a concussion and other injuries. In so doing, Mercier claimed Tawney was “aware of the symptoms of head injuries and concussions and had received training and education in the prevention, recognition and treatment of head injuries.” Moreover, Mercier contended, “Tawney was aware that Westminster protocol required that athletes exhibiting symptoms of a concussion could not return to play before being evaluated by an athletic trainer or physician.”

In her complaint, Mercier alleged Tawney was “negligent in failing to have Mercier examined and evaluated after the first strike to her head.” Moreover, Mercier claimed Tawney was negligent “in failing to remove Mercier from the game as a result of her concussion-like symptoms.”

Foreseeability Accordingly, in this particular instance, the initial issue was whether the basketball coach should have foreseen that a head injury and possible concussion could arise out of conduct during this competition.

As noted by the federal district court, “determining foreseeability requires analyzing whether a reasonable person in the defendant’s position, knowing what he knew or should have known, would have anticipated the harm that resulted from his actions.”

As noted by the court, Mercier had alleged that she was “struck in the head,” and she had told Tawney that “she was really dizzy and her eyes were blurry and she needed to sit down.” Despite these comments regarding her head injury and symptoms, approximately five minutes later, Mercier claimed Tawney “asked her if she was ready to go in.” Under these circumstances, the federal district court found Mercier had alleged sufficient facts to establish foreseeability.

A coach can reasonably foresee that failing either to have a player checked out or to keep a player out of a game after that player complained of dizziness and blurred vision

Appropriate Legal Standard In response, Tawney argued that “Connecticut law bars negligence claims in the context of competitive contact sports.” Specifically, in the case of Jaworski v. Kiernan, 241 Conn. 399, 696 A.2d 332 (1997), the Connecticut Supreme Court had adopted a reckless or intentional conduct standard of care for coparticipants in contact team sports.

In applying this legal standard, the federal district court noted the initial issue was “whether the harm to the plaintiff was foreseeable.” If the plaintiff ’s injury was found to be foreseeable, the following four Jaworski factors would determine the extent of a coparticipant’s responsibility: 1) The normal expectations of the sports in which the plaintiff and defendant were engaged; 2) the public policy of encouraging continued vigorous participation in recreational sporting activities while weighing the safety of the participants; 3) the avoidance of increased litigation; and 4) the decisions of other jurisdictions.

The Connecticut Supreme Court subsequently applied this Jaworski rule to include coaches as well as coparticipants.

Specifically, the state supreme court had held reckless or intentional conduct was “the appropriate standard of care to be imposed on coaches for injuries caused by their players.”

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L AW R E V I E W

might result in the type of injuries that allegedly resulted in this case.

Having found foreseeability, the court then applied the first of the Jaworski factors cited above, viz. the normal expectations of the sport in which Mercier and Tawney were engaged. As noted by the court, “the normal and reasonable expectations of participants

jury.” Similarly, in the opinion of the court, “holding coaches to a negligence standard of conduct for decisions made during athletic competitions would certainly create an influx of litigation against coaches and schools for injuries directly caused by other players.”

In her complaint, Mercier argued her coach should be held liable for

The court acknowledged the more stringent standard of reasonable care to avoid neglegence liability might still be applicable... in contact team sports” would include “the potential for injuries.” Accordingly, the court found “Mercier had a reasonable expectation of injury while playing in the basketball game.”

Chilling Competition The federal district court then considered the second Jaworski factor, i.e., weighing the “public policy of encouraging continued vigorous participation in recreational sporting activities” against “the safety of the participants.”

According to the court, holding coaches liable for negligence could “dampen coaches’ willingness to aggressively coach their athletes.”

Coaches are often required to make split-second decisions during a game, and holding coaches liable for negligence for such decisions, including player substitution decisions, would dampen their willingness to coach aggressively and would unreasonably threaten to chill competitive play.

Moving on to the third Jaworski factor, the avoidance of increased litigation, the federal district court acknowledged that “there exists the potential for a surfeit of lawsuits when it becomes known that simple negligence will suffice as a ground for recovery for an athletic in32 Parks & Recreation

his negligent “conduct related to his supervision of her during a competitive event.” The federal district court disagreed. In the opinion of the court, consistent with court decisions in other jurisdictions, coaches should be held to the lower standard of care applicable to coparticipants during a competitive sporting event, requiring recklessness or intentional conduct as a legal basis for liability, as opposed to ordinary negligence. In the opinion of the court, “holding coaches such as Tawney to a negligence standard of care could improperly chill the coach’s role, which is to push athletes to perform in the context of a competition.”

Coaching decisions involve split-second, subjective decisions. Because such decisions are particularly prone to second-guessing, permitting a negligence-based standard of care would open the door to a surfeit of litigation and would impose an unfair burden on coaches such as Tawney.

That being said, the court acknowledged the more stringent standard of reasonable care to avoid negligence liability might still be applicable to “situations where a coach failed to provide adequate instruction or supervision before directing the player

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to take action that resulted in injury.”

In so doing, the coach recognized the different relationship between coaches and co-participants in a sport outside the heat of competition.

Accordingly, the federal district court held “a recklessness or intentional conduct standard of care” should apply in determining whether coach liability should be imposed in this particular competitive situation.

Recklessness The specific issue was, therefore, whether Mercier had alleged sufficient facts that would support a claim of recklessness against her coach. As noted by the federal district court, the Connecticut Supreme Court had defined “recklessness” as follows: Recklessness is a state of consciousness with reference to the consequences of one’s acts. It is more than negligence, more than gross negligence. The state of mind amounting to recklessness may be inferred from conduct.

But, in order to infer it, there must be something more than a failure to exercise a reasonable degree of watchfulness to avoid danger to others or to take reasonable precautions to avoid injury to them. Wanton misconduct is reckless misconduct. It is such conduct as indicated a reckless disregard of the just rights or safety of others or of the consequences of the action.

Reckless conduct involves an extreme departure from ordinary care, in a situation where a high degree of danger is apparent. Such aggravated negligence must be more than any mere mistake resulting from inexperience, excitement or confusion, and more than mere thoughtlessness or inadvertence, or simply inattention. An actor must recognize that his conduct involves a risk substantially greater than that which is necessary to make his conduct negligent.

Applying this definition to the facts of the case, the federal district court found Mercier had alleged sufficient facts that, if proven at trial, would “plausibly support a claim of recklessness.”

In this particular instance, the complaint did not allege “Tawney observed Mercier being struck in the head.” Instead, Mercier alleged she had “told Tawney she had been hit in the head, that her eyes were blurry and that she needed to sit down.”

Moreover, while on the bench, Mercier claimed she “uncharacteristically sat quietly with her head in her hands and leaning on her knee.” Further, Mercier alleged “Tawney was aware of the symptoms of head injuries and had been trained and educated in recognizing, preventing and treating

such injuries.” Nevertheless, Mercier alleged Tawney then asked her “whether she was ready to go back into the game.” Accordingly, under the circumstances of this particular case, the federal district court agreed Mercier had alleged sufficient facts to establish recklessness.

Even if Tawney did not intend for his request to constitute an order, one could find that asking Mercier to return to a game, after she told Tawney she had been struck in the head and had blurry vision, constituted “an extreme departure from ordinary care.”

One could also find that failing to request and provide medical treatment for Mercier after learning she had been struck in the head and had blurry vision involved “a reckless disregard of the just rights or safety of ” Mercier.

Conclusion Having found the appropriate legal standard for coach liability in a competition to be recklessness, the federal district court would not allow Mercier’s negligence claims to proceed to trial. The federal district court, therefore, granted defendant’s motion to dismiss Mercier’s negligence claims. The federal district court, however, would allow further trial proceedings to fully consider the issue of recklessness to determine potential coach liability in this particular instance.

James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an attorney and Associate Professor in the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism at George Mason University (jkozlows@gmu.edu).

Webpage with link to Law Review articles archive (1982 to present): http://mason.gmu. edu/~jkozlows.

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FAUDTVUORCE ALCEYA D E R S

Integrating Evaluability Assessment into Youth Sport Programming

By Gareth J. Jones

R

ecreational sport is increasingly being positioned as a viable mechanism for promoting positive youth development. These programs ideally use sport as a context to help participants develop critical assets such as social competence, self-esteem and interpersonal skills.

Despite these potential benefits, research regarding their effectiveness has produced mixed results. For example, although sport participants have demonstrated higher levels of self-esteem, emotional regulation and social skills than nonparticipants, youth sport has also been linked with engagement in delinquent behaviors, alcohol abuse and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The wide range of these results has led to a confusing body of literature that is difficult for practitioners to interpret and apply.

Methodological Critique In most studies, youth sport programs are categorized as homogenous interventions with less attention to the program characteristics necessary to promote youth development through sport. Although these characteristics significantly influence the capacity

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of recreational youth sport programs to achieve developmental outcomes, they are rarely accounted for in summative research. Consequently, outcomes — positive and negative — are often assumed to be the result of sport program interventions, when in reality a host of underlying structural

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and functional issues may have influenced results. Furthermore, by focusing disproportionately on outcomes, very little information regarding the conditions and processes necessary to support youth development is available for managers and staff.

Evaluability Assessment To improve the relevancy and applicability of summative research, scholars and practitioners have called for more process-based evaluative approaches to youth sport programs.

The practice of evaluability assessment (EA) provides an excellent pre-evaluation framework for young professionals to achieve this goal.

The underlying philosophy of EA builds off the rational model of or-

nizational decision making, which assumes that objectives are clearly identified and programs remain static. As many park and recreation professionals can attest, the assumptions underlying the rational model do not always hold! In fact, complex policy and management settings frequently compel practitioners to adapt their programs in the face of fluctuating resources, funding and organizational capacities. Despite the influence of these changes on program functionality, they are not always accounted for in summative evaluations. Consequently, the results may provide confounding or distorted information that is misleading to policy makers and practitioners. EA addresses this issue by ensuring the intended outcomes of programs are supported by appropriate organizational structures and program theory, thus improving the utility and interpretability of subsequent information.

Several frameworks have informed the use of EA, yet most models follow the same general form using three steps. The first step involves establishing program intent by identifying the goals, objectives and activities through a content analysis of program documentation (i.e. legislative history, regulations, budgets and monitoring reports). Researchers use this data to develop a logic model that connects resource inputs, intended program activities and intended outputs with their assumed causal links. The next step examines program reality through a mixed methodology involving interviews and focus groups with key personnel and site visits to programs. This allows researchers to reconcile the stated program intent with program reality to determine if it is functioning as intended. Finally, researchers discuss the results of this preliminary investigation with key stakeholders and report any discrepancies. If the program is ready for formal evaluation, the purpose and potential use of resulting information is discussed. If the program is not ready for evaluation, the researchers are able to offer specific program recommendations based on information gathered through the EA before further investments are made in evaluation.

young professionals elucidate these connections during the pre-evaluation stages, thus maximizing the efficiency of scarce evaluative resources. As research continues to inform policy and practice in youth sport, it is imperative to understand the linkages between program design, setting, implementation and developmental outcomes. Young professionals can utilize EA to confirm these critical factors are present in their programs before proceeding to formal outcome evaluations. This will not only improve the applicability of summative assessments, but also provide incisive information that will drive the field forward by allowing young professionals to logically trace key conditions and practices to specific youth development outcomes.

Detailed references for this article can be found at www. parksandrecreation.org/2015/May/Integrating-Evaluability-Into-Youth-Sport-Programming.

PARKS & R Salsbu

Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov

Gareth J. Jones is a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (gjjones@ncsu.edu).

Implications and Opportunities for Young Professionals By integrating EA into their programmatic process, young professionals can help initiate and lead a collaborative action-oriented partnership that combines researcher and practitioner expertise to facilitate a process-based approach to evaluation. Rather than spending significant time and energy attempting to understand mixed or counter-intuitive results, EA can help

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From Simple Sprinklers to Smart Irrigation Modern solutions help parks conserve precious water while maintaining beautiful grounds

By Samantha Bartram

P

arks and the open spaces that often define them serve as a sort of welcome mat for the surrounding community. The promise of soft, green grass, curated flowers, robust sports fields and well-tended trails beckons residents to their local parks, but these amenities don’t simply care for themselves. A great deal of time, labor and, perhaps most importantly, water, are necessary to maintain their beauty and utility.

cent of urban water use goes toward landscape irrigation, including city properties and parks. There are ways to water smarter, from advanced monitoring systems to creative irrigation and turf management.

As the world continues to grapple with the implications of climate change one fact is becoming clearer by the minute: water is a precious and ever-more-scarce resource. One need look no further than California, where record levels of drought have led this year to the first mandatory water restrictions in the state’s history. Gov. Jerry Brown’s executive order mandates that by next February, Californians reduce urban water use by 25 percent

Smart Irrigation “Smart irrigation generally speaks to providing exactly the amount of water plants need, when they need it and where they need it,” says Dana Lonn, PE, managing director at the Center for Advanced Turf Technology for The Toro Company. “We also must apply water at the right time in cooperation with varying weather conditions, including anticipating future rainfall events, to prevent wasting or overwa-

36 Parks & Recreation

compared with 2013 levels — the drought has been ongoing since 2012.

While water scarcity in other parts of the country is perhaps not as dire as in the Golden State, the subject has caught the attention of landscape maintenance workers and parks employees looking to reduce water consumption. According to HydroPoint Data Systems, which focuses on developing smart water-management solutions, 58 per-

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tering. Smart irrigation is about supplying the water that plants will use in the future, and not about replacing what they have used in the past.”

To do this, agencies need to bring their irrigation and turf management systems into the 21st century. Companies like Petaluma, California-based HydroPoint use technology and detailed site evaluations to target water where and when it’s needed most.

“Successful smart water management is not a magical process — it requires a solution that ensures the right data gets to the right person at the right time,” says HydroPoint CEO Chris Spain.

To achieve truly smart irrigation solutions, HydroPoint offers its clients site evaluations, irrigation system efficiency audits, leak detection, weather analytics, installation or upgrade of current systems and ongoing support and training to make sure operations are going smoothly.

Its WeatherTRAK system, which provides precise watering scheduling, high-resolution weather data, webbased oversight, real-time reports and alerts and training, is endorsed by the Environmental Protection Association (EPA) and has been deployed in municipalities across the country.

WeatherTRAK’s patented technologies, cloud-computing options and detailed analytics combine with onsite hardware, onsite/offsite flow sensors, wireless communication networks and smartphone apps, reducing water consumption between 16 and 59 percent for its clients. “We approach smart water management from every angle to ensure our sites are successful day after day,” says Spain.

Lonn’s recommendations regarding intelligent use of weather data and high-tech sensors align with systems like WeatherTRAK. “Onsite weather stations, local weather mea

surements obtained over the Internet, or in-ground moisture sensors are all technologies that can be applied to reduce or eliminate the guesswork in establishing how much water should be applied to the site to have the optimum plant performance,” she says.

form best. Once the variety is chosen and the site is prepared, a maintenance plan should be chosen with state-of-the-art technology. Irrigation systems that involve central control and moisture sensor technology allow you to make sure that you are

There are ways to water smarter, from advanced monitoring systems to creative irrigation and turf management.

Such multipronged approaches to water monitoring, paired with conscientious turf choices, are what today’s park and recreation agencies need to consider if water conservation is to be a priority. “Choosing the correct variety of plant material and then choosing a state-of-the-art irrigation system that utilizes sensing technology assures you are meeting the requirements that you outlined as a part of the planning process,” Lonn affirms.

Turf Management It’s important to consider geography, anticipated use and weather patterns when selecting appropriate turf. “In order for turf to be sustainable, it must be the right choice for the application,” Lonn says. “You need to look at the use of the site and the expectations of the community. It is then important to do some research to find out what variety is best suited for the climate and the anticipated use. The land grant college in your area is an excellent source of information. Also, the National Turf Evaluation Program (NTEP) has information on turf grass variety trials that is distributed across the country.

[Agencies] can look to those trials and find the turf varieties that per-

only using water when it is necessary to assure the health of the plants.”

Developing a Sustainability Plan Once the correct plantings and maintenance protocols are established, agencies should formulate a long-term strategy to ensure as much efficiency as possible in water conservation.

“Make sure that you understand the requirements of the site,” Lonn says.

“What is it going to be used for? How intensely will it be maintained? Research what varieties of plants are the best choice for the intended use and the climate, then employ the right people to [ensure water is applied] efficiently and scheduled properly.”

Taking proactive steps in water use and turf-management strategies will only become more important as time wears on, and agencies would do well to plan ahead. “Water is the oil of the 21st century,” says Lonn. “Water is in short supply on a worldwide basis, so it is important that all of us use our precious water wisely. When we use water wisely, we not only conserve the resource so that it can be used for other purposes, but we save money as well.”

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

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Safe Routes to Parks

By Rishma Parpia

T

he State Indicator Report on Physical Activity released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014 revealed that less than 38 percent of the U.S. population lives within a half mile of a park. People who are unable to walk to parks are deprived of the opportunity to engage in two instances of physical activity — walking to the park site and participating in activities at the site. Parks are an important destination that should be easily accessible to all citizens. Consequently, the key to ensuring accessibility to parks is through creating safe routes to parks within communities. When citizens have the resources to safely walk to parks, every trip taken by foot is an opportunity to engage in physical activity. Nevertheless, there are several physical and social barriers that make walking to parks undesirable, a result of engineering, zoning, land use and design trends that have existed in the United States for the past 50 years. Breaking down these barriers requires a shift in the transportation system paradigm from mobility to accessibility.

Obstacles Limiting Walkability to Parks Barriers limiting walkability to parks are dependent and unique to each specific community; however, distance and physical barriers are the most common obstacles in building safe routes to parks.

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• Proximity to Parks: Long distances to parks are a deterrent of park use. Research demonstrates that people who have easy access to parks are 47 percent more likely to walk at the daily recommended level than those who do not have

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easy access. Moreover, when the distance from a park doubles, the likelihood of park use decreases by almost 50 percent.

• Lack of Infrastructure: Lack of physical infrastructure is also a deterrent to park use. Incomplete and disconnected streets present difficulties for pedestrians, thus making walking to parks an unattractive choice. Many neighborhoods lack pedestrian crossings, pedestrian bridges, paved shoulders, pedestrian signals, medians, visible crosswalks, warning signals, signs, maps, landscape cues or in-pavement lighting.

• Crime and Traffic Safety Concerns: Traffic safety is a major barrier to active transportation. Research demonstrates that negative traffic perceptions are associated with decreased walking because

people purposefully avoid dangerous traffic areas. People are especially fearful of traffic volume and speed. Crime is another factor that discourages people from walking to parks. The type of physical design in and around parks can either create a risk factor for crime or a protective factor for residents of a neighborhood.

• Partnership Building: A major challenge to overcoming physical and social barriers limiting walkability to parks is determining how to work toward a unified goal through partnerships with local government agencies, nonprofits and community organizations.

Such challenges stem from the lack of understanding on issues related to walkability.

Essential Elements of a Safe Route to a Park There are five essential elements of an ideal safe route to a park; however, it is important to note that all the elements identified below are interrelated.

• Comfort: The conditions of the sidewalks and aesthetics are key factors to take into account when building a safe route to a park.

• Convenience: Pedestrian routes to parks should be in close proximity to where residents live. The route to the park should be no longer than a half of a mile (within a 10-minute walk) from where people reside.

• Safety: Physical separation boundaries are critical in establishing pedestrian safety. Separating pedestrian paths from roads with physical barriers is critical when building a safe route to a park so that pedestrians are not competing with automobiles.

• Access and Design: A safe route to a park must reflect various levels

of mobility. Proper design benefits all users and allows all citizens to use safe routes to parks. All walkways at intersections must also be reviewed for ADA compliance.

Ensuring multiple access points to parks is also important.

to gather feedback from residents on what improvements are needed for them to feel safe walking to parks.

While there are urban planning principles that encourage walkable communities, the planning and implementation process can be complex due

When citizens have the resources to safely walk to parks, every trip taken by foot is an opportunity to engage in physical activity.

• The Park: A critical element to building a safe route to a park is the park itself. While all the above factors are indeed crucial, the park itself must offer the amenities that the surrounding population will use.

How to Begin Assessing Barriers to Walkability There are three initial steps with which communities can begin assessing the barriers limiting walkability to parks: 1. Assessing Park Usage: The first step is to conduct a local needs assessment of the park to determine if it is meeting the needs of its community. Prior to implementing improvements on safe routes to parks, it is useful to know if residents are using the park, and if not, what the reasons behind that may be.

2. Walkability Audits: The second step is to conduct walking audits.

Walking audits are a simple and systematic way to assess a community’s walkability to parks.

3. Community Focus Groups and Public Participation: Since perceived safety is an important determinant on whether residents will use routes to parks, it becomes important to hold community focus groups

to policy, design and budgetary factors. An initial approach to improving walkability to parks is to understand the obstacles limiting walkability to parks in every community and identify essential elements required for a route to be classified as safe. Prior to implementing improvements to pedestrian routes, it is important for communities to assess walkability to their local parks and build community awareness by publicizing the barriers limiting access to parks in their neighborhoods.

In a time when our nation is faced with health, economic, social and environmental challenges, the dialogue around safe routes to parks requires further attention and exploration. Together, we can create neighborhoods that easily and safely connect to parks because safe routes to parks are vital components in creating a sustainable future.

To access the full report on Safe Routes to Parks, visit www.nrpa.org/ research-papers.

Detailed references for this article can be found at www.parksandrecreation.org/2015/May/Safe-Routesto-Parks.

Rishma Parpia is a Research Consultant at The Research WorkRoom LLC (rishma. parpia@researchworkroom.com).

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Stacy Sodolak

SOCIAL EQUITY

Rescued on a River Austin Youth River Watch helps at-risk teens develop critical life skills and a lasting commitment to environmental stewardship

By Samantha Bartram

A

ustin Youth River Watch’s Executive Director, R. Brent Lyles, doesn’t mince words when talking about the importance of involving youth from diverse backgrounds in conservation and nature education. “Achieving sustainability in our world is not going to happen if the only people on board are the same people who have been in the environmental movement for decades,” he says. “We have got to get a more diverse community of people who care about the environment, who care about nature and who want to protect our planet.”

Formed 23 years ago, the Austin, Texas-based River Watch is the brainchild of the city of Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), which oversees management of the water supply and environment of the lower Colorado River basin. The group was established with remarkable prescience on the part of municipal leaders

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faced with a cluster of concerns — in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Austin was experiencing increased incidents of teen violence that coincided with the town’s initial population explosion. Authorities were challenged to come up with a way to engage teens during their most critical idle hours — after-school and summertime — as well as mitigate

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the anticipated impacts of a huge influx of new residents on the city’s water system. River Watch, with its focus on “holistic youth development, environmental stewardship and academic success,” as stated by Lyles, was thus born.

River Watch isn’t a formal partner of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), but its work related to water quality and connecting teens to nature tracks with PARD’s and the Austin Watershed Protection Department’s (WPD) desire to have clean water, robust wetlands and a youth population passionate about environmental stewardship. And we’re not talking about youths who are already fre-

(Left) Austin Youth River Watch participants test nitrate levels at Bright Leaf Preserve, a 200-acre nature preserve in central northwest Austin.

quenting Austin’s many parks and fields for sports or other recreation.

River Watch engages at-risk highschool-age teens, often from low-income backgrounds and families of color. Teens who often have fewer opportunities to travel to natural places or spend time in area parks.

Unlikely Scientists River Watch serves some 120 students annually, recruited from nine area high schools. “Most of the students in our program have been labeled at-risk by the [Austin Independent School District (ISD)] — that can be because they’ve failed a grade or missed a lot of school, or maybe they struggled academically in other ways,” Lyles explains. “River Watch students come into our program and ideally they stay all through high school. This is a long-term program for our kids, and as such it allows us to give them personal and academic support over a long period of time.”

The majority of participants are recommended by older students already involved with River Watch or are identified by liaisons within the ISD, perhaps a science teacher or guidance counselor. The students are taught how to take water samples and test them for anomalies like dissolved oxygen, nitrates, conductivity, pH-levels and so on. This data is analyzed and recorded and then sent directly to WPD and LCRA, where it serves as a critical information source about water quality in and around the Colorado River.

“Our data are valuable in two ways: one is recording long-term trends — we have data sets that go back 20 years at certain sites,” Lyles says.

“The other is as early warning systems. We have lots of stories where we’re out visiting a site and all of

a sudden there’s a spike in nitrates that wasn’t there last month. Next thing you know, we’re calling the city’s environmental hotline.”

Mateo Scoggins, an environmental specialist with WPD, says the students’ work is essential to maintaining a healthy Austin watershed.

“They let us know when something is concerning, whether it’s bacteria or a large sediment plug coming down the river,” he says. “We periodically get together and talk about data, methodology, if they should be changing testing sites, etc.” WPD and PARD work closely where water quality, erosion control and habitat restoration are concerned, and Scoggins says that partnership trickles down to River Watch, as the teens spearhead riparian buffer plantings and similar projects. Scoggins emphasizes the students’ work is useful from a scientific and conservation standpoint, but he finds the group’s demographics particularly noteworthy. “[River Watch] takes a population in Austin that doesn’t generally spend a lot of time in and around streams and waterways and introduces them to really important stewardship goals and practices,” Scoggins says. “And they’re learning a bunch of other life skills that just happen to be told through that medium. I love that they’re using this very practical and real thing, at this place in our landscape, where they can learn about responsibility, accountability and stewardship. It’s a really fantastic partnership.”

Thriving with Support While the sampling, testing and recording of water quality data is certainly a bedrock activity at River Watch, it’s but one facet of this unique program. Once the students’

site work is finished, they return to River Watch’s “clubhouse” where the work of academic, peer and even nutritional support begins. “The first thing they do is hit the fridge,” Lyles says, laughing. “We have a fridge full of healthy food — for some of our students from low-income households it’s great to have this unlimited supply of healthy food.” Then, some students will begin recording the day’s test data, while others will receive help with homework or enjoy unstructured time playing cards or shooting hoops. “We might do an activity around learning how to use a checking account, or filling out a FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] form,” Lyles continues. “Some of these kids may be coming from a family where the parents didn’t go to college, so they need someone to tell them how that game is played. If a student is struggling in math or some other subject, we might be able to set them up with study help either from another student or staff that’s there. It’s on an organic, caseby-case basis, as different students have different needs.”

River Watch’s once-a-week after-school activities last around three hours or more, after which, “we drive our students home — every one to their front door,” Lyles says. “It’s a lot of driving, but we’re removing an obstacle. We want students to participate in our program, but they may not have their own car. If transportation is an obstacle to participation, we can remove that obstacle.”

River Watch has also managed to move students’ financial roadblocks. To address the needs of teens who must earn money after school to help support their households, River Watch pays a stipend Continued on page 68

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South

SELLING

Gov. Dennis Daugaard promotes his state’s natural resources and public lands to encourage economic development and a sustainable future

Danielle Taylor

By Danielle Taylor

Dakota H

e’s been dubbed “South Dakota’s No. 1 Salesman,” and the description definitely fits. Since winning the 2010 gubernatorial election with running mate Lt. Gov. Matt Michels and becoming governor of the Mount Rushmore State in 2011, Dennis Daugaard has worked tirelessly to advocate for the people of South Dakota as well as its spectacular natural attractions. With federally managed icons like Badlands National Park, Black Hills National Forest, Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Wind Cave National Park, as well as state-managed gems like Custer State Park and Good Earth State Park at Blood Run, Gov. Daugaard has plenty of remarkable resources at hand.

However, his job is certainly not without its challenges in terms of public land management. For the past several decades, a mountain pine beetle epidemic has plagued the

state’s forests, causing massive dieoffs in critical wildlife habitats. The loss of pheasant habitat has also become a state concern, and Gov. Daugaard has responded to both ongoing

crises with decisive, effective solutions. Furthermore, with several significant federal properties in his state, he and his employees work hard to function seamlessly with the national government, a relationship that drew widespread attention during the 2013 federal shutdown.

Fortunately, the governor brings unique insight to his position due to a specific set of formative experiences and motivations, and the South Dakotans he represents clearly approve.

Growing up on a family dairy farm in the southeastern corner of the state, Gov. Daugaard learned the importance of balancing sustainable natural resource management with economic realities. Both of his parents are deaf, and American Sign Language was the primary form of communication in his home as a child. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government from the University of South Dakota and

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his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University, working his way through both schools as a dish washer, waiter, assembly-line welder, water tower sandblaster and painter, city bus driver and security guard. Following law school, he worked as an attorney in Chicago for three years before moving home to marry his high school sweetheart, and his career included several years as a banker and nonprofit director before he turned toward public service.

Gov. Daugaard first ran for public office in 1997 and was elected as a state senator, and the voters re-elected him by wide margins in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, he was elected as lieutenant governor alongside Gov. Mike Rounds and then re-elected in 2006.

Accompanied by Lt. Gov. Michels, Gov. Daugaard won the 2010 election with 61.5 percent of the vote.

When they ran again last year, voters kept the pair in office with 70.5 percent voting in their favor, the largest margin in South Dakota history.

As a result of his experiences, Gov. Daugaard is extremely cognizant of and responsive to employee concerns at all levels as well as equity issues in public facilities, and he’s also highly aware of how preserving and protecting South Dakota’s natural resources is vital to the economic prosperity of the state. This writer was privileged to meet with Gov. Daugaard last September during his family visit to Custer State Park for the park’s wildly popular annual Buffalo Roundup.

Here, he shares his thoughts on managing South Dakota’s public lands, recent legislation to support parks and recreation throughout the state, and his thoughts on continuing his involvement with state public lands after his term ends in 2019.

Parks & Recreation magazine: As governor, your main objective has been 44 Parks & Recreation

to promote business and economic development in South Dakota, and you’ve recognized the potential of your state’s spectacular public lands to help make this happen. How have you seen the investments you’ve made in these areas generate positive returns for your state?

Gov. Dennis Daugaard: Our biggest return is seeing people using the outdoors as a place to get together, relax and share their experiences with each other. In South Dakota, we are blessed to have so many areas of natural, historical and cultural significance.

Each year sees the popularity of our state parks increase above the last.

Camping is at an all-time high.

In 2014, we hosted more than 290,000 camper units within our state parks when just 10 years ago we saw fewer than 220,000. We invest in these areas because these facilities and services are extremely important not only to South Dakotans, but to our guests as well. Our state parks and recreation areas contribute more than $440,000 to South Dakota’s economy each year. But what is equally important is that these outdoor recreational opportunities contribute to the quality of life for everyone.

We have also made significant investments in recent years to provide access to quality hunting opportunities. We have accomplished this through leasing programs, such as our Walk-In Area program. Both camping and hunting scenarios provide residents and visitors with an opportunity to enjoy the abundant wildlife resources of South Dakota.

P&R: Custer State Park is a particular jewel of state-managed public land, and it’s widely considered one of the top state parks in the nation.

Tell me about the funding that the legislature recently approved (SB 50) to upgrade the park and other

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specific projects contained within that plan.

Gov. Daugaard: Custer State Park will begin making $11 million worth of improvements at the resorts later this year. They will be replacing and upgrading existing cabins to meet today’s travelers’ expectations, preserving the historic rock work and façade at the Game Lodge, replacing the Legion Lake Store and upgrading other infrastructure.

P&R: I understand you’re pretty involved in the new visitor center happening here at Custer State Park. Tell me about that and what your role has been in bringing that about.

Gov. Daugaard: The folks in our Game, Fish and Parks Department (GFP) had this vision for an improved visitor center experience. Our visitor center here at the park is a very beautiful building, but it dates back decades and it’s very small. Not very many people can be in it at one time, and we really have no venue to play any videos or show them what is in the park, to vicariously give them a taste that might whet their appetite to see it in person. That at its essence is the goal of the new visitor center — we’ll have more exhibit space, but the crown jewel will be the theater where we can show them all the attributes that the park has, and maybe some things around our park that will hopefully, cause them to stay longer.

We’re pretty careful about debt in South Dakota, and we wanted to fund the visitor center without a lot of debt that the taxpayers would have to incur, and we didn’t want the visitor expenses to have to go up, so we did two things. We funded some of the visitor center with dollars that we had in our general fund, and then we also have a foundation associated with our park system that has raised private dollars. We took out some

Gov. Daugaard saddles up for a ceremonial wagon ride from the territorial capital of Yankton to the state capital of Pierre, part of last year’s statewide celebration of South Dakota’s 125th statehood anniversary.

long-term bonds so we can start construction, but the charitable commitments will repay those bonds, not taxpayer dollars.

P&R: With Mount Rushmore and the Badlands being two of the top tourism attractions in South Dakota, it was critical for the state economy to keep iconic sites like these open, if at all possible, during the 2013 federal shutdown. Tell me about your plan with GFP to keep these public lands open.

Gov. Daugaard: We wanted to engage in a couple of different ways.

First, the Wind Cave National Park had a campground that had a number of reservations. People who stay there visit the state park system and other tourism destinations in South Dakota, so when [Wind Cave employees] started to tell people “We’re going to have to cancel your reservations at Wind Cave,” we said, “Let us run Wind Cave — we won’t look for any financial support from the federal government. We’ll just keep it open and run it using state money.”

We also offered to keep Mount Rushmore open. The parking structure there is really the only fee that must be paid — when one arrives at Mount Rushmore, you pay to park.

That money doesn’t go to the National Park Service; it goes to repay the debt that was incurred for the park structure, so it’s a separate, self-funding entity that could continue. We said, “We’ll provide, with state funds, the state security personnel to allow people to visit.” Obviously, we wouldn’t be able to run the nighttime lighting ceremony, but we could pay for the lights to turn on. The visitor/ gift shop and restaurant are concessionaire-run, and the concessionaire doesn’t look for federal dollars. We tried to make an arrangement, but the federal government said, “No, if you’re going to maintain the park as open, it must be fully open in every aspect, so you must pay the federal government the amount of money we need to carry all of the expenses that we would pay to our employees.”

So we worked out an arrangement to do that instead.

As it turned out, that arrangement came into play just a few days before the shutdown ended, but it did come into play. Mount Rushmore was reopened, and we found a number of private donors to step up. I think we had two weeks’ worth of funding.

As it turned out, we only needed a couple of days, so we refunded to everybody what they had ponied up. It

was a good win-win. The businesses in the area knew the main attraction in the Black Hills would be open and attracting people, and all the other attractions that those Mount Rushmore visitors also go to see would still get those visitors coming to their doors.

P&R: You recently signed HB 1030 into law, which was enacted to increase safety for bicyclists on roadways throughout the state. Tell me about your involvement with this law and any other legislation you have approved that supports active recreation in South Dakota.

Gov. Daugaard: This legislative session, my administration brought House Bill 1030 forward to provide additional protections to bicyclists in our state. This bill requires motor vehicles to allow three feet of separation when they pass a bicycle.

In 2013, we passed funding for three Outdoor Heritage projects in South Dakota. The first project was to provide funding for the acquisition and development of a new state park called Good Earth State Park at Blood Run. This park is located just outside of Sioux Falls in Lincoln County, which is one of the most rapidly expanding counties in the nation.

We also passed funding that will

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Danielle Taylor

ant and what has been the result of these actions?

Gov. Daugaard: Hundreds of thousands of trees have been treated for mountain pine beetle infestation since we launched the Black Hills Forest Initiative in August 2011. Our treatment techniques have included removing infested trees for use in sawmills, as well as the cut, chunk and peel, and cut and chip disposal methods.

The number of acres infested with mountain pine beetle has dropped from 33,000 in 2013 to 16,000 in 2014. To sustain these efforts, the legislature appropriated $750,000 this legislative session.

Iconic natural attractions like these landforms in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park draw visitors from around the United States and beyond.

assess the environmental considerations of a proposed trail that will connect the George S. Mickelson Trail with Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Funding for these important projects also included substantial partnerships and private donations.

P&R: Developing Good Earth State Park at Blood Run to honor its historical Native American significance has also been a pet project of yours. Tell me a little about your involvement there as well.

Gov. Daugaard: [Iowa] Gov. [Terry] Branstad and I toured the site together — it was first preserved on the Iowa side, then South Dakota found some properties across the river and had a pretty aggressive acquisition ef46 Parks & Recreation

fort that spanned a number of years and resulted in us now having several hundred acres. I expect in the not-too-distant future Iowa will be announcing some land acquisitions.

One of our long-term goals is to have a bridge so that people on the Iowa side can come over free to South Dakota [and vice versa]. We’ll share that great landmass that straddles the river. We’ve definitely acquired a lot of property for Good Earth and still have hopes of more.

P&R: South Dakota has dealt with several conservation issues during your term as governor, including a widespread infestation of mountain pine beetles. What measures have you taken to respond to this crisis, why do you think it’s import-

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P&R: South Dakota has also experienced a loss of habitat for pheasant, an economically significant gamebird in the state. Tell me about the Pheasant Habitat Summit and South Dakota Conservation Fund you commissioned to respond to this situation.

Gov. Daugaard: Due to substantial pheasant number declines and public concern, a Pheasant Habitat Summit was organized to garner ideas to address habitat issues in December 2013. One of the outcomes of the summit was the establishment of the Pheasant Habitat Work Group.

This work group formulated eight recommendations to increase habitat in South Dakota, the driving factor behind pheasant production. One of the recommendations was to establish dedicated funding for habitat and conservation.

Through a mix of public and private contributions, the Conservation Fund appropriations will go toward habitat projects on private land to improve and maintain habitat beneficial to all wildlife while improving other environmental resources, such as water quality. These funds will be used to complement existing programs,

further elevate conservation on the ground and fill needs not addressed by existing programs.

Another recommendation was to facilitate greater collaboration among conservation partners, including a website that contains all available programs for landowners. Habitat is the key for all wildlife, and the development of a habitat central website is an important tool that will provide landowners and producers options and information to implement habitat programs that fit within their operations while benefiting wildlife.

In 2014, the pheasant population rebounded, with a 76 percent increase over 2013. Still, preserving and enhancing habitat is important for long-term population strength.

P&R: As the son of deaf parents, you’re acutely aware of the need to make public facilities inclusive and accessible for people with varying ability levels. How has this perspective shaped any policy you have supported in terms of equity in public spaces for South Dakotans?

Gov. Daugaard: It is extremely important that our outdoor places and facilities be available and welcoming to all individuals and families.

All recreational facility development takes into account the need to serve the widest range of participation possible. We continuously seek input on how we can make things better and more accessible.

Fishing docks, campsites, cabins, playgrounds, trails, resorts and comfort stations are just a few examples of facilities that undergo constant revisions of standards to better serve visitors of all abilities.

Here are some specific examples provided by GFP: • ADA-accessible campground comfort stations, bathrooms, lodges, camping cabins and campsites. The

majority of state parks also offer a wheelchair-friendly safety surfacing around playground structures, swing sets and play areas.

• Many state parks offer wheelchair-accessible fishing piers, with accessible parking that provides easy access for fishing. The area parks adjacent to the great fishing along the Missouri River also provide wheelchair-accessible fish-cleaning stations.

• Most of state parks and lake access areas offer wheelchair-accessible boat docks with transition plates.

• Ron’s Rooster Hunt is an annual pheasant hunt held near Pierre for sportsmen and women with physical disabilities — 2015 will mark the 10th year this event will occur.

Participants range in age from teens to seniors, with 20 hunters being the maximum number of participants.

Most years, this hunt is near or at full capacity. There is no cost for the hunt, but participants should come with a shotgun, shells and a current South Dakota small-game license.

GFP supplies the equipment (trailers, rangers, mules) that is used to shuttle the hunters.

• The Oahe Downstream Recreation Area north of Fort Pierre offers two specialty hunting opportunities. These hunts are held in cooperation with GFP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are designed for those hunters who require a wheelchair for their mobility. These hunts provide an opportunity for up to 12 total deer hunters each fall and up to five turkey hunters each spring (www. parksandrecreation.org/2014/November/Back-in-the-Game).

GFP also maintains a number of wheelchair-accessible trail systems such as the half-mile loop of Cottonwood Path at Oahe Downstream Recreation Area.

A new educational habitat area, the Oahe Downstream Prairie Butterfly Garden, also offers access for varying ability levels. From young classroom-aged children to the elderly, the garden offers a sensory opportunity of sight, touch, sound and smell of the wonderful flowers in bloom and the buzz of all the pollinators the garden attracts.

Each spring, our local elementary classes help plant the annual plants found in parts of the garden. Together we are hoping to grow more for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

One of the newest areas for all ages and abilities is the new Oahe Downstream Shooting Complex just five miles north of Fort Pierre off of SD Hwy. 1806. The area offers 20 ADA shooting benches found in five different ranges for 25 through 300 yards.

The area also provides a separate shotgun/trap area for those shotgun enthusiasts with accessible parking and shooting areas.

P&R: Once you’re out of office, do you have any thoughts or plans on how you might continue to support public lands and people working in parks and recreation across South Dakota?

Gov. Daugaard: I’m close to the directors of the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Dick and Sue Brown. Dick’s father and my father lived on adjacent farms, so we’ve known each other for years and both graduated from the same high school.

I wouldn’t mind being involved in the foundation and their efforts to enhance the opportunities we have in parks and wildlife in South Dakota.

I hope we can do that.

Danielle Taylor is the Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (dtaylor@nrpa. org).

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Equal Housing,

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Equal Access Green Access, Disparate Impacts and Residential Segregation Before the U.S. Supreme Court

By Robert García

A

t first glance, it may not seem like fair housing laws have anything to do with parks and recreation. However, we know that where people live has a direct impact on access to public green spaces, parks and other social needs like grocery stores, private-practice healthcare facilities and reliable municipal services including police and fire/rescue.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA), first passed by the U.S. Congress in April, 1968, just days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was drafted to help eliminate discriminatory housing policies and practices based on race, color, national origin and other factors. The FHA intended to promote our nation’s core values of equal opportunity, human dignity and just democracy for all and, indeed, the Act has helped to alleviate discrimination and integrate racially segregated neighborhoods. As a result, a larger share of residents enjoy greater access to safe parks, a clean, healthy environment, high-performing public schools, good jobs and reliable public services.

In January, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. The lawsuit pits the Inclusive Communities Project, a Texas-based

nonprofit whose mission includes promoting racial and socioeconomic integration in and around Dallas, against the state Department of Housing and Community Affairs, alleging the latter party acted in a discriminatory manner in allocating housing tax credits. The court’s decision in this case, expected in July 2015, could have significant implications for NRPA’s Three Pillars: Conservation, Health and Wellness, and Social Equity. Here’s how.

Disparate Impact Versus Intentional Discrimination The FHA prohibits practices that “otherwise make unavailable or deny” housing to any person because of race, color, national origin and other factors. In 11 federal circuit court rulings to date — all the circuit courts that have decided the issue — the FHA has been interpreted to uphold the disparate im-

pact standard. In other words, these courts have held housing policies or actions that have an unjustified and unnecessary discriminatory effect, regardless of whether a biased outcome was intentionally sought, are prohibited under the FHA. In its arguments before the Supreme Court, the Texas Department of Housing is urging that the FHA be interpreted to mean only purposeful discrimination would violate the act. For example, a housing authority, agency or seller would have to be intentionally discriminating against a potential client based on his or her race, color or national origin in order to be held liable under the FHA. If the court were to find in Texas’ favor, the effect could be wide-ranging in terms of deterring equitable housing policies and, as a result, could cause severely strangled access to quality communities for low-income residents and people of color. Effect, and not intent, is the touchstone for finding a violation under the FHA, in part because clever people may easily conceal their intent and motivations, but more importantly, because thoughtless-

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The City Project

that continue to limit the opportunities available to our children and grandchildren. Social science evidence confirms the determination of Congress that segregation is harmful and integration is beneficial for park access, personal and environmental health, educational achievement, access to employment, and other keys to a fulfilling life.

The CalEnviroScreen 2.0 score identifies communities in California that are most burdened by pollution from multiple sources and most vulnerable to its effects, taking into account their socioeconomic characteristics and underlying health status.

ness can be as disastrous and unfair as the perversity of a willful scheme.

Throwing out the discriminatory impact standard under the FHA could also affect an array of bedrock civil rights statutes that protect against unjustified and unnecessary discriminatory impacts.

Congress recognized that a comprehensive FHA would need to target both intentional discrimination and seemingly neutral policies that have discriminatory impacts based on race, color or national origin. Each of these forms of discrimination is instrumental in perpetuating the 50 Parks & Recreation

entrenched residential segregation Congress sought to eliminate. The lower courts unanimously agree that the Act’s stated purpose to end discrimination requires a discriminatory effect standard, because an explicit intent requirement would strip the statute of its effectiveness in alleviating segregation in practice.

While public attitudes toward residential segregation have improved in important respects, racial isolation continues to persist in ways that make the disparate impact inquiry necessary. Residential isolation based on race has effects across generations

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Improved Attitudes; Persistent Segregation Patterns of segregation and exclusion prevent people from living in communities that they can afford, that would connect them to greater opportunity — including access to quality parks and recreation — and that are consistent with their preference for integration and diversity.

Approximately half of all high-poverty census tracts in the nation are dominated by a single racial or ethnic group. African-Americans and Latinos represent 12 percent and 16 percent of the population respectively, yet they make up much smaller percentages of the residents in higher-income census tracts. This segregation affects everyone, as it isolates people from opportunity that would enable their economic mobility and limits greater economic participation. African-Americans are more isolated than any other racial group, with 75 percent of that population nationwide residing in only 16 percent of census block groups. With only one exception — the most affluent Asians — people of color at every income level live in poorer neighborhoods than do non-Hispanic white people with comparable incomes.

Residential Segregation and Adverse Health and Environmental Effects We know affluent communities tend to have more robust parks and rec-

reation systems, greater access to nutritious food sources, higher-quality healthcare systems and carefully monitored environmental standards.

Grave public health impacts — including asthma, cancer, diabetes and infant mortality, as well as psychosocial phenomena like violent crime and post-traumatic stress disorder — are now widely viewed as environmentally mediated consequences of residential segregation. Racially or ethnically isolated communities are much more likely to experience environmental hazards and adverse health impacts than are diverse communities, in a way that neither housing preferences nor income and wealth gaps adequately explain. Segregated communities are significantly more likely to experience high-volume releases of toxic chemicals, to breathe high concentrations of harmful air pollutants and to live in chronically substandard, lead-painted housing. Environmental justice is the environmental arm of the civil rights movement.

The map of California displayed herein illustrates that the same communities that are disproportionately of color and low-income are also the most burdened for pollution and vulnerability, and have the least access to green space. The figures included are determined through the CalEnviroScreen (CES) tool, which measures pollution and the resident population’s potential vulnerability to the effects of pollution.

In the communities that are the most burdened for pollution and vulnerability (the 10 percent worst score under CES), fully 89 percent of the people are of color and only 11 percent are non-Hispanic white people.

Statewide, the population average is 58 percent people of color.

In the communities that are the least burdened for pollution and vul

nerability (the 10 percent best CES scores), only 31 percent of the people are of color and fully 69 percent are non-Hispanic white people.

Sixty-four percent of people of color live in the most-burdened communities for pollution and vulnerability (the 50 percent worst CES scores) — only 31 percent of non-Hispanic white people live in those areas.

Only 36 percent of people of color live in the least-burdened communities for pollution and vulnerability (the 50 percent best CES scores) and fully 69 percent of non-Hispanic white people live in those areas.

Residential Segregation and Educational Impacts Equal housing opportunity is closely linked with educational diversity and achievement. Compelling evidence demonstrates that attending integrated schools is associated with a host of positive educational and life outcomes. Low-income students of color perform better academically in diverse school settings, with improvements resulting from significant peer effects and the reduction of resource disparities. In addition, research has found that students of all racial backgrounds tend to perform better academically — as measured by grades, test scores and high school and college graduation rates — in racially integrated schools, compared to those who attend schools that are racially and socioeconomically isolated.

Residential Segregation Limits Economic Mobility Today, segregation continues to impede access to employment and other resources, such that poverty remains entrenched and mobility out of reach to many people of color. Low-income areas are more likely to lack employment opportunities that pay above the minimum wage and offer

fewer reliable public transit options.

Without means to commute to higher-paying jobs, residents of segregated communities are locked into an employment landscape where opportunities for work are meager, health insurance is expensive or unavailable and options for affordable child care are severely limited.

The Discriminatory Impact Standard and Unconscious Bias Without the disparate impact analysis under the FHA, government and other actors would not be able to pursue cleverly concealed, intentionally discriminatory acts and policies, as well as seemingly neutral policies, no matter how harsh the impact, how unjustified the action or how readily available the non-discriminatory alternatives. Even actions that are not intentional can cause harm. There’s so much social science work about unconscious bias and how so much of what we do is not driven by conscious decision. The issue of “intent” is largely irrelevant to the need to address inequality and to challenge actions that operate in a discriminatory way, whatever the motive.

The adverse consequences of throwing out the disparate impact standard would cause harm for generations to come. The FHA demands that we remain conscious of the longterm legacy and effects of historical patterns of housing segregation. The civil rights struggle — which surely involves equal access to our parks, recreation opportunities and safe public spaces — continues to support human dignity and just democracy for all, in and out of court.

Robert García is the Founding Director and Counsel of The City Project and an Assistant Professor, Community Faculty, at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (rgarcia@cityproject.org).

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Photos ŠCharles David Smith, courtesy of Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects

The of

Rec Centers Seven key elements that hardly existed 15 years ago are having a profound impact on the planning and design of recreation facilities

By Stephen Springs and Dwayne Brinkley

I

t was a long, slow march between the field house template and the rise of the community recreation center. Whatever is coming next is coming awfully fast.

We’re at a moment when the built environment in recreation seems to be changing — not only quickly, but in many different ways. Recreation centers in some communities are following the collegiate trend toward wellness; in other communities, the recreation center and senior center are moving closer together philosophically and even sharing a site. In others still, such as in Mustang, Oklahoma, and Laredo, Texas, the recreation center and library coexist under one roof. Everywhere, the increased use and sophistication of master planning and city planning, and the greater emphasis on financial accountability, is bringing recreation departments into a more holistic relationship with other city departments.

As planners as well as designers of recreation facilities, we’re confronted with the accelerating pace of change every day. We’ve seen any number of factors that influence the eventual form and function of rec centers — but seven in particular currently have, and should continue to have, enormous influence on the next generation of facilities.

1

Holistic Planning Ten years ago, parks master plans barely addressed facilities,

and the standards followed in most cases were extremely rudimentary, involving a certain number of square feet of indoor space per 10,000 residents.

While city management as a field took hold a generation ago, citywide needs assessments are a much more recent phenomenon. Increasingly sophisticated recreation departments understand that the object is not simply to respond to current needs, but to understand how future

growth could impact the needs of the community at large.

Working with the city manager, the department will typically issue a request for proposals (RFP) to firms that specialize in performing needs assessments, or architecture firms like ours with a planning specialty. The primary purpose is to quantify information about the city in question and to benchmark comparable cities, both in terms of current population and expected population growth, and myriad other factors related to the respective recreation departments (current square footage/acreage devoted to indoor and outdoor activities, the size, structure and offerings of the recreation department, and so on).

With the study completed, a city and its recreation department have more than a theoretical understanding of how it can meet the needs of its constituents, as well as information about comparable cities with which it can draw com-

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parisons in terms of current facilities and the likely form that expansion of facilities might take. A planning firm might be able to recommend 75,000 square feet of indoor space within a certain time frame in a particular area of town, or a certain square footage of water surface budgeted at a certain dollar amount. NRPA had its eyes on this trend when it began developing its PRORAGIS™ database with the stated purpose of comparative benchmarking. However, given that PRORAGIS is as focused on operations as it is on other aspects of recreation, it remains a work in progress on applicability to facility development.

Together, though, this shift to data-driven decision making marks a huge leap forward in recreation. As the process of how cities look at their needs changes, exactly what cities provide their residents, and how, becomes that much more targeted and effective.

2

Financial Self-Sufficiency Previous generations of recreation facility planners at best paid lip service to the idea of net-zero cost of operation, and few facilities actually achieved it. Increasingly, however, state, county and municipal governments (this year, everyone from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to the Woodridge, Illinois, Park District) have declared that self-sufficiency is a requirement of new facility development, and this can only deepen as a trend in this post-recessionary environment.

Unlike libraries, the operations of which might be protected (for the moment) by the “free libraries” tradition embedded in their DNA, recreation centers are being heavily scrutinized.

Providing expensive specialized spaces such as pottery kilns or kitchens, or often unused or inflexible spaces (for example, an 800-square-foot racquetball court for two people versus 800

54 Parks & Recreation

square feet of fitness area), have to be reconsidered in light of their revenue potential. Any pricey program areas that survive this financial culling must be designed with sensitivity to energy use to help minimize overhead.

Funding new facilities used to involve defining a need for a recreation center, aquatic center or ice arena, and then deciding to meet that need, with (at best) a percentage of the total cost set aside for its ongoing operation.

Now, operational costs are a prevalent discussion from the beginning among city managers and recreation directors, as well as members of the public who weigh in on the city’s plans.

3

Overlapping Programs The focus on holistic planning and finances has a natural consequence — a realization about duplication of services and a rethinking of which “quality of life” services belong in which city-run facilities. The recreation center/library is one resulting hybrid, but even in communities where the physical buildings remain separate, there’s a trend toward libraries offering programming that was a natural fit in earlier community centers and second-generation recreation centers. Some of this might be driven by libraries seeking to retain their relevance in the Internet age, but there’s also evidence that “nonrevenue” activities are being shifted out of leaner, purer recreation centers. Computer classes are an example of an activity that recreation centers might have offered as part of their outreach to all classes and age groups within a community, but which are also now offered at libraries and senior centers (seniors being the people who most need the instruction). Other examples include nutrition programs and (if they’re equipped for it) cooking classes. Down the road we may see more overlapping job titles in shared facili-

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ties — one administrator performing the roles of parks and rec director and library director. This is already happening in some communities, where assistant city managers oversee cultural services, incorporating both parks and libraries. Particularly for communities of fewer than 50,000 residents, a shared facility separated into active and passive zones celebrating a community’s core values of health, wellness, social and educational opportunities, is an arrangement that benefits users and administrators.

In anticipation of a potential shifting of programs in and out of facilities, designers have to find ways of making spaces flexible without sacrificing the aspects that make them suitable for specific activities. Multipurpose rooms that can be subdivided remain a staple of these buildings, but greater care has to be taken in terms of sizing and materials — the subdivided rooms must be as programmatically functional as their parent space. In place of subdividable rooms, dedicated rooms can be made flexible while still steering them toward different activities — for example, a room with hard surfaces to accommodate activities such as crafts (requiring a moppable floor) and another outfitted with softer surfaces to accommodate educational programs, meetings or book clubs (requiring a quieter environment).

4

Generational Changes The recreation industry began warning of the changes that would be wrought by the aging of the baby boomers, the first generation to embrace fitness and wellness, at least a quarter-century ago.

Many communities, however, are still wrestling with the best way to meet the needs of this generation even as its youngest members enter their 50s. Five years ago, it seemed as if any investment in senior fitness could be justified, given the boomers’ high disposable in-

comes and ample savings, and their clout at the ballot box. The worldwide recession has perhaps altered the scope of some parks master planning where seniors are concerned, but this is still an enormous growth area and a largely untapped source of revenue for most recreation departments. This revenue comes with corresponding capital expenses — for example, the expectation of this user group is that their facilities should include more well-appointed family changing rooms.

At the same time, though, younger people — who in years past didn’t need opportunities or encouragement to be active — are the target of recreation departments on the front lines of the nation’s obesity epidemic. This is a critical issue in disadvantaged areas, where obesity rates are highest. Recreation directors as well as facility planners must grapple with how best to serve these different age groups, at the same time that they struggle with financial self-sufficiency — one of the biggest balancing acts of this era in recreation.

accordingly. In the case of a community with strong participation in table tennis, for example, facility planners should know and incorporate recommended clear heights for competitive table tennis in their planning.

6

Healthcare Another topic in recreation circles that goes back a quarter-century or more, healthcare is a natural fit in recreation centers that hasn’t quite become incorporated as people once envisioned, probably because of ongoing uncertainty about the delivery of care. A flurry of construction of lavish hospital- or clinic-based wellness centers also seemed to take away the need for a duplication of services, but it’s clear that as more people have health insurance, the larger the pool will be of community residents seeking preventive care.

Recreation centers will have to be designed to anticipate this growing need, which represents both a community-service and a revenue-growth opportunity for recreation departments.

7 5 Ethnicity Communities with very strong or growing ethnic populations know the effect that this can have on programming decisions, something that impacts facility planning as well. The impact goes beyond program spaces — more space devoted to futsal or table tennis, perhaps, in communities with large Asian or Latino constituencies — to all corners of a facility.

Witness changes made to natatorium operations and locker room design in facilities with large Muslim populations, for example, where the importance of modesty requires rethinking the trend toward more open locker room areas and lounges. Recreation directors need to know their clientele and their clientele’s recreation preferences, and facility planners need to expand their knowledge base to respond

Technology The infrastructure that allows recreation directors to meet their constituents’ almost insatiable need for connectivity and entertainment changes exponentially — so quickly that we often design certain technological aspects later in the job, because otherwise the equipment specifications would be out of date by the time they were ready to be installed. Security systems with scores of cameras and card readers involve one set of planning issues, and treadmills that are outfitted with video screens involve another. Recreation centers have become IT hogs — demand for wifi and onboard entertainment has grown so acute that, seemingly overnight, recreation centers have gone from being low-bandwidth buildings to high-bandwidth buildings.

This is an element that must be considered from a demand standpoint, but also from a project budgeting standpoint. As planners, we find that an enormous number of recreation professionals know of the need for accommodating technology, but don’t have a handle on the financial costs involved. One of our first questions to administrators is whether the city has a separate budget for integration of tech into their buildings, or whether their stated budget would be burdened by the costs involved. For administrators working with budgets that disallow the immediate purchase of multiple pieces of fitness equipment, but who wish to plan for future capacity, a key question is whether there’s enough bandwidth available to the site to support their plan. The importance, in this day and age, of a realistic IT budget built into the project budget from day one, and a plan that anticipates the pace of change, can’t be overstated.

Planning Ahead These factors are all influencing facility design — and facility designers. Architects accustomed to being judged on their design portfolio have found that many recreation program providers need substantial assistance in financial planning for facility planning.

Fortunately, architects with experience in this building type have been changing to meet their clients’ needs, too. With regard to the bottom line, you should expect that an architect brought in to help with a study necessarily has the ability to look at the holistic project and not just the construction and design component cost.

That is the mark of a good planner.

Stephen Springs and Dwayne Brinkley are principals with Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects in Dallas, Texas (ssprings@bswarchitects.com, dmbrinkley@bsw-architects. com).

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NRPA Update Celebrating 30 Years of Park and Recreation Month

How July became National Park and Recreation Month and today’s celebrations

By Roxanne Sutton

P

icture 1985. Ronald Reagan was President. The Cosby Show was the most popular show on television and “Careless Whisper” by Wham! was the No. 1 song. Most importantly, though, July 1985 marked the first celebration and endorsement of National Park and Recreation Month.

Prior to 1985, Park and Recreation Month was celebrated in June, but to better accommodate differing school schedules and climates, the celebration was moved to July. That year, NRPA worked with then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Walter Payton, Hall of Fame running back of the Chicago Bears, to endorse July as Park and Recreation Month.

In that initial meeting in the Vice President’s office, Bush said, “I commend the National Recreation and Park Association, for they remind us how precious and wonderful life is.”

Payton added to that sentiment by

sharing what we, unfortunately, know to still be true today, “Children, and really this applies to all of us, at times must be ‘sold’ on recreation. I know my own four-year-old son, Jarett, is much more likely to be interested in an activity or a certain toy once he sees other children have found it to be a good time.”

That year’s theme was centered around “Celebrate July” and NRPA’s tagline at the time, “Life. Be in it.”

The Internet didn’t really exist yet, so toolkits were mailed out and NRPA members could then mail in their order forms for Park and Recreation Month merchandise. While the technology

around Park and Recreation Month has certainly changed, our goals for “selling” everyone on parks and recreation have remained the same.

This year, we’re giving a nod to our history with a fun, throwback 1980s theme. But the crucial part of celebrating 30 years of Park and Recreation Month is looking at the enduring importance and impact parks and recreation makes in all of our lives.

Those first two endorsers of Park and Recreation Month went on to do immensely impactful things. Bush became President and skydived on his 90th birthday. Walter Payton went on to be a champion for organ donations and has an award in his name given to football players who exemplify community service. Much like them, Park and Recreation Month has evolved to be more impactful year after year.

While we focus a lot on the fun and programming of Park and Recreation Month, we also aim to pair this with an important message about the impact of parks and recreation.

We can’t wait to celebrate our 30th Park and Recreation Month anniversary with every one of you. You’ll find a copy of this year’s poster in this magazine and don’t forget to head over to www.nrpa.org/July to find all the supplies you need to start your celebration.

Roxanne Sutton, is NRPA’s Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist (rsutton@ nrpa.org).

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NRPA Update

PRORAGIS to Measure Park and Recreation’s Economic Impact

By Travis Smith, Ph.D.

H

ow much economic activity does your agency generate for your community? What about all the parks and recreation departments in your state — do you know what economic activity they produce? Or what about all parks and recreation agencies in the United States?

It’s a mind-boggling question, but NRPA is going to tackle it in the coming months. In collaboration with the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis, NRPA is embarking on a project that will conclusively demonstrate the economic impact of park and recreation agencies across the country. While we can safely assume that parks and recreation agencies spend billions of dollars annually on day-to-day operations, capital improvements and staff salaries, we don’t currently have any type of estimate about how many billions of dollars that might be. We know the qualitative and quantitative impact

of the parks and recreation field and profession is enormous — we just don’t know how enormous. Importantly, we’re using well-established, conservative methods to perform our evaluation and enlisting the services of world-class economists to examine the data. While our study won’t capture the economic benefits generated by parks and recreation-induced tourism or proximity-based increases in real estate value due to the scale of our country, the analysis that we base our evaluation on will be rock-solid and of the highest credibility.

What will this mean for you, the parks and recreation professional?

There are many ways that having this information can help those individuals dedicated to the field, as well as agencies across the country.

As mentioned above, it will finally allow us to compare the field’s incredible collective impact in comparison to other industries. While we know the annual economic impact of the outdoor industry is $646 billion (http://bit.ly/1CQKoQh), and even know that the craft brewing industry contributed $34 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012 (www. brewersassociation.org/statistics/ economic-impact-data), we don’t know the economic impact of the work that hundreds of thousands of park professionals do every day.

Additionally, this number will make elected officials at the federal, state and local levels sit up and take notice.

While some agencies are effectively making the case that their department is a great investment that drives economic activity, we know many elected officials just aren’t getting the message.

We also know that while there are many great examples and stories of the very important qualitative impacts that parks and recreation make on people’s lives, we’ve got fewer data-supported quantitative arrows in our quivers. At all levels, combining the stories of how parks and recreation impacts the lives of those in our communities with the cold, hard facts that studies like this one will produce will make our collective case supporting the value of parks and recreation all that much stronger.

Travis Smith, Ph.D., is NRPA’s former Vice President of Research.

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Camp Programming on a Budget

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re you planning for camp season on a tight budget? Worrying about how you will equip staff, impress parents and keep children engaged and excited? Fun Express is the answer! An NRPA Premier Member benefit and subsidiary of Oriental Trading Company Inc., Fun Express offers more than 40,000 products including bulk crafts, art and craft supplies, toy assortments, active play and games, apparel, accessories and much more.

Whether it’s a day- or week-long camp, Fun Express lets you choose items to use for both indoor and outdoor fun. This one-stop-shop covers the basics from crayons and paints to outdoor adventures, including parachutes and bamboo limbo kits. Fun Express’ camp guide will even inspire ideas for a new theme for each day. Under the Sea, Patriotic Pride, Fiesta Fun and the Wild West are but a handful of options. The products promote creativity, learning and fun, while delivering the keepsakes children and parents love.

Think this all sounds too good to be true? It gets better! NRPA Premier Members can take advantage of: • 20 percent off current Oriental Trading retail prices; • Free shipping on orders of $125 or more;

• Fast delivery — orders will arrive in 5-7 days; • High-volume discounts — agencies may call for quotes on large quantities; • Future-ship option allows you to order products now, ship and pay later; and • Free samples so you can try a product before you buy.

See why Fun Express is one of the most popular NRPA member benefits! Visit www.nrpa.org/Membership/Endorsed-Business-Provider/ Fun-Express to start exploring the possibilities today. Questions? Email Josh Mason at jmason@funexpress. com or call 888.999.0387.

— Hayley MacDonell is NRPA’s Membership Programs Manager

Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge The following question is a sample Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) examination question.

What is the best means to properly handle cash at recreation centers?

A. Implement detailed policies and procedures for cash collection B. Have two people staff each cash register C. Use duplicate receipts for all transactions D. Require all deposits be made at the close of business each day

Calling all beginning to mid-level professionals! The Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) is the national standard for all park and recreation professionals who want to be at the forefront of their profession.

For more information on the CPRP certification program and the answer to the above question, please visit www.nrpa.org/cprp.

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NRPA Update

Member Spotlight: Roger Brown

A

s NRPA reflects over 50 years of serving the parks and recreation community, we can’t help but pause to consider the men and women who left their mark on our still-evolving organization. Roger Brown, who served both as NRPA Southeast regional director and NRPA president in 1982, is one such individual. From his upbringing on a rural Georgia farm to his retirement in 1997, Brown has built a long and storied career as a champion of parks and recreation. In addition to his above credits, he was also instrumental in establishing the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District in Oregon, served as the International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration (IFPRA), and along the way, won too many accolades to mention here (although we will make note of his being honored with the prestigious Cornelius Amory Pugsley Medal in 2012). We coaxed Brown out of his springtime reverie in Jamestown, North Carolina, to talk about his life and career.

Parks & Recreation magazine: I understand you grew up on a farm in a relatively rural setting — describe what your relationship to nature and the outdoors was like as a child.

Roger Brown: I grew up on a small South Georgia farm. I was an only child and my dad taught me early on that we had to take care of our land, as it was all that we had. As a small boy, my desire was to be a cowboy!

When I was about 12 years of age, hoeing long rows of peanuts on our 110 acres, dad told me that he desperately wanted me to go to college.

He said, “This farm can hardly support our family, and it certainly won’t support both of our families after you get married.” Fortunately, I listened to dad and made sure I had grades that would get me into college. By that time, I wanted to be a veterinarian. However, introduction to some science and biology classes in college made me realize that I was not going to be a veterinarian! I eagerly embraced becoming a teacher and coach, falling back on my involvement in baseball and basketball while in high school. I entered the parks and recreation field via the recreation

62 Parks & Recreation

side, and set out to learn as much about the parks side as I could.

P&R: Give us an overview of your time with NRPA — how did you come to be a member of our organization and rise through its ranks, all the way to president in 1982?

Brown: I attended my first national Congress held in Chicago in 1959, along with my good friend, John Davis…We were introduced to the leaders of various national organizations and soaked in everything that was said. [John and I] became members while there.

When I accepted the director of parks and recreation position in Durham, North Carolina, in 1964, I became good friends with Jim Stevens who was on the staff of the North Carolina Recreation Commission.

Jim became a member of the NRPA Board of Trustees, and…asked if he could recommend me [for NRPA’s board] to Dr. Sal Preziozo, then NRPA’s executive director. The end result was that I was selected in 1969 to lead the Southern Region’s office in Atlanta. I served for about four-anda-half years and could not have been happier, but I still longed to be back

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in local government. I accepted a position in Miami Beach, Florida and became very involved with the American Parks and Recreation Society (APRS). I was asked to be a candidate for the APRS board, was elected and [was later elected] APRS president…

At that time, APRS and other units of NRPA had their presidents serve as members of the [NRPA] Board of Trustees. When my three-year term expired, I was asked to assume the role of NRPA president. My rising through the ranks, I hope, was due to my reputation and being lucky enough to have the support of some very key people along the way. I hope I did not let them down in my performance.

P&R: You visited parks all over the world during your time with IFPRA — what’s one experience that stands out from that time?

Brown: In Japan, I visited many very large parks that were once military bases for either the U.S. or Japan.

Today, the Japanese people use these parks for every conceivable kind of activity. They have elements that we have never thought of in the U.S. I was very moved to see how they took

a very difficult time in our history to turn negatives into positive experiences enjoyed by people of all ages. Every significant park in Japan also has a large Japanese garden. The tranquility and beauty of these gardens are unmatched anywhere else in the world.

the conference and becoming president of IFPRA. There has not been another IFPRA conference since that had as many attendees or made as much money for IFPRA. For Ralph’s trust in me and for NRPA’s support, I could not have been happier.

I worked hard with Dr. Sal [Preziozo], John Davis, Ralph Wilson, Dean Tice and countless others. Some battles we won; others we lost. I lost sleep over some of the battles. Were they worth it? I thought so at the time, but now, I sleep and let others do the worrying.

P&R: What’s one accomplishment in your career that stands out as particularly rewarding?

Brown: Successfully hosting for NRPA the 1989 IFPRA Congress in Greensboro, North Carolina. This was the first and only time that IFPRA has held a conference in the U.S. Ralph Wilson, a long-term supporter of NRPA and IFPRA, was scheduled to host the Congress. When he became ill in 1985, he asked NRPA to appoint me as his successor, hosting

P&R: Looking back over the 50-year evolution of NRPA, what are your overall impressions of the organization and its relevance today?

Brown: When one looks back over a period of time, it has been said that, “Those were the Golden Years, and the further back you remember, they were not as golden as you paint them to be.”

I can only say that I was there when the merger occurred. For me, it was the best thing that ever happened to our field. Others disagreed. Over the years,

P&R: What would you like to see happen during NRPA’s next 50 years?

Brown: Remember, this field and this organization are people- and service-oriented. Don’t forget the people and service by getting caught up in the next new technological development that will distance us even further from those people and services than where we are now.

— Samantha Bartram, Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

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NRPA Update NRPA is dedicated to providing learning opportunities to advance the development of best practices and resources that make parks and recreation indispensable elements of American communities.

Find out more at www.nrpa.org/education.

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SCHOOLS AND CONFERENCES NRPA Conferences and Schools are forums where the park and recreation community comes together to exchange ideas and information. Register now for these upcoming events. All NRPA Schools are held at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, unless otherwise indicated.

ONLINE LEARNING Summer camps are right around the corner and it’s time to get children outdoors. Check out our online Camp Administration course, developed in partnership with the American Camp Association, and the Connecting Children with Nature course, which addresses the causes of “naturedeficit disorder” and offers best practices for responding to this problem. Both courses are available for $75 to NRPA members and $94 to non-members, and they each offer 0.3 CEUs upon completion. Visit www.nrpa.org/elearning for information on these and a variety of other online courses available to you.

Are you a Premier member? If not, you could be missing out on the free Premier webinar series. Premier members receive access to free monthly webinars. Visit www.nrpa. org/webinars for a full listing.

www.nrpa.org/elearning

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August 23-28, 2015

September 15-17, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada

November 1-5, 2015

January 17-22, 2016

January 31-February 5, 2016

March 13-18, 2016

www.nrpa.org/education

Be a Park Champion Once a year is not nearly enough time to tell and show elected officials on Capitol Hill the essential nature of community parks and recreation. That’s why NRPA’s Public Policy team created Park Champions — an effort focused on empowering you to make change happen from your home turf. Park Champions will be educated on advocacy issues and how to advocate for vital park and recreation legislation through a series of free webinars.

Becoming a Park Champion will allow you to be a year-round ambassador for your agency and community and will help foster strong relationships with your Congressional representatives.

Important Dates for Park Champions January

May

February

May 21st: May Park Champion Webinar – “Speak Like an Advocate”

January 27th: 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST: Inaugural Park Champion Webinar

February 11th: 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST: February Park Champion Webinar – “Brainstorming”

March

March 18th: March Park Champion Webinar – “Breaking Down the Toolkit” March 26th: Park Champion Issue Webinar (Transportation)

April

April 1st: Park Champion Issue Webinar (Child Nutrition Reauthorization) April 15th: April Park Champion Webinar – “Planning Your Park Champion Event”

May 6th: Park Champion Issue Webinar (Conservation)

June

June 27th-July 5th: Park Champion events

September

September 15-17th: Park Champion recognition at the NRPA Annual Conference *Dates subject to change

Learn more and sign up to become a Park Champion: www.nrpa.org/Park-Champions

The Qualities of an Effective Director...

Leadership Strategic Visionary

Refine Your Skills at Directors School August 23 – 28, 2015 Oglebay Resort and Conference Center Wheeling, West Virginia

APPLY NOW AT WWW.NRPA.ORG/DIRECTORS

Operations Can You Dig It?

Selecting the proper earth drills and accessories can make a variety of park maintenance projects quicker and easier

By Mike Hale

I

nstall a fence. Plant trees.

Put in a new park sign. All these different projects share one common link — each requires the proper hole to be drilled in order to adequately complete the task. While all hole-drilling projects may appear to be the same on the surface, it’s often what’s below the surface that really matters. Whether the project calls for several identical holes in grass-covered loam, or a single, large hole in rocky soil, there are drills that allow park and recreation employees to complete projects efficiently and safely.

There are typically two common styles of engine-powered, one-man earth drills: hydraulic and mechanical. While often similar in appearance, these two styles operate differently and are built with distinct features and options to make them better-suited for certain projects.

Hydraulic drills tackle the most challenging soils, including frozen ground and rocky soil, because of their rugged bodies and powerful torque. Their precise operations at a low speed and high torque allow them to drill accurately in even the most difficult applications. Additionally, hydraulic drills typically have a reverse auger function that safely reHydraulic and mechanical earth drills look similar but excel in different applications.

Hydraulic drills are best suited for installing signs and planting trees, while mechanical drills are ideal for fitting fence and deck posts and planting small decorative plants.

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Operations moves the auger if it becomes lodged under a rock or tree root. And operators can use large-diameter augers with hydraulic drills, making them ideal for single-hole projects such as installing signs and planting trees.

Mechanical drills are compact, lightweight and pack a powerful punch.

These transmission-powered units feature high-speed auger rotations to quickly drill clean holes. These drills are best suited for use with small-diameter augers and, due to their high speed, are ideal for projects calling for several narrow holes, such as fitting fence and deck posts and planting decorative plants.

Based on the required hole diameter, the right size auger can easily be paired with the selected drill and most manufacturers will offer several options, from a 1.5-inch-diameter auger that is used for applications like soil nursery work, up to a 16-inch-diameter auger commonly used for repairing foundations.

In addition to efficiency, municipal workers need drills that require minimal maintenance and adjustments. One feature that can help with this is a snap-on auger, which

While all hole-drilling projects may appear to be the same on the surface, it’s often what’s below the surface that really matters. makes the change-out process quick and easy and eliminates the need for extra tools due to its snap button connection. And, snap-on auger extensions allow the operator to achieve various digging depths without requiring additional augers, adding versatility and saving money.

Thanks to the advancements in drill designs, park workers are able to tackle projects with efficient earth drills instead of their shovels and strong backs. Taking the time to learn about the differences in drill styles ensures the success of several aspects of a quality parks and recreation project.

Mike Hale is a Sales Manager with Little Beaver Inc. (mikeh@littlebeaver.com).

Continued from page 41 that roughly equals the wage offered at a fast-food job. “We pay them for their work as water quality monitors so they can say, ‘This is my job after school,’ and use it as a résumé builder, then we teach them how to write a résumé,” Lyles says.

The students who become involved with River Watch, whether a legacy (“Some of our students have several brothers or sisters going through River Watch — this year for the first time we have a second-generation River Watcher,” Lyles says) or new initiate, often experience a profound transformation. “The changes we see in kids’ lives can take different forms,” Lyles says. “For one kid it may be that they make the decision to stay in school and get their diploma. For others, it may be that they discover they actually love science — much to their own surprise. For another student, what he found in River Watch was a group of people who became his friends. This group had a different set of expectations than the group he usually hung out with.

At River Watch the expectations of the group are that you will graduate high school and you will go to college. This was someone who had a very difficult home life — he was as at-risk as they come. The change I saw him experience at River Watch was that he became more self-confident and he began to see the potential in himself to be a leader.”

For more information about Austin Youth River Watch, including updates on current projects, summertime activities, campouts and more, visit www.riverwatchers.org.

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

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Post your job openings on the nrpa Career Center!

When park and recreation professionals want to land their next job or break into the field they turn to the NRPA Career Center. With more than 16 million page views since its inception, the NRPA Career Center is the online resource for reaching qualified park and recreation professionals you won’t find anywhere else.

Employers can post job descriptions, search resumes, set up resume alerts and manage applications. The NRPA Career Center also offers resources that can help you such as sample job descriptions, background screening information and our new Executive Recruitment Concierge service.

Here’s why you’ll want to make sure your job postings are on the NRPA Career Center: 9 Each job posting is viewed by an average of almost 1,000 top job seekers.

9 Employers receive at least 10 job applications for each job posting on average.

9 There are an average of 800 new job seekers signing up for the Career Center each month.

9 The Career Center provides access to nearly 7,000 searchable resumes of highly qualified recreation and park professionals.

9 NRPA members receive a discount on job postings.

Pricing

NRPA members receive 33 percent off job posting packages and a FREE 30-day internship/seasonal position posting.

Get started now and post your open jobs.

Visit www.nrpa.org/Careers to view package options and rates.

800.626.6772 | customerservice@nrpa.org

Products Lane Lines Lincoln Aquatics presents its Competitor® lane lines, the official lane line for USA Swimming. Competitor is among the industry leaders in racing lane line technology. The lane lines are comprised of engineered series of discs and donuts that provide flow-through design allowing for turbulence control over the entire length of the lane. In addition, they eliminate dead spots and water reverberation back to the pool. Available in 4-inch or 6-inch disc designs. Competitor lane lines are custom made to your specifications. Visit the website or call for colors and designs. LINCOLN AQUATICS, 800.223.5450, WWW. LINCOLNAQUATICS.COM

Industrial Hose Flexaust’s Flex-Tube® PU Hose for bark mulch blowing is a coextruded polyurethane hose with a spiral ABS helix wear strip that is lighter, more durable and easier to handle than conventional heavy-wall PVC hose. Designed to reduce worker fatigue, this flexible hose is offered in continuous lengths up to 100 feet and can be supplied with optional swivel connectors to prevent twisting. Featuring a smooth interior to facilitate material flow, Flex-Tube PU Hose for bark mulch blowing is clear, and the yellow ABS helix drags easily across grass, stone and brick surfaces. Available in 4-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch diameter sizes, it operates over a -40°F to 200°F range for use in early spring and late fall. FLEXAUST, 800.343.0428, WWW.FLEXAUST.COM

Centrifugal Pump

Vehicle Solar Panels

Subaru’s PKV110 Centrifugal Pump uses heavy-duty design features yet keeps size and weight in check, making it one of the smallest, most compact pumps on the market. The PKV110 is backed by Subaru’s new five-year limited warranty, covering both the engine and pump. Although it weighs only 11.7 pounds, the PKV110 maintains many of the quality components found throughout the larger models in the Subaru pump line. The advanced, mini-four-cycle design of the EH025 engine allows for easy starting, as well as minimizing noise and odor. The 1-inch suction and discharge ports can cycle up to 28 gallons per minute.

SUBARU, 800.277.6246, WWW.SUBARUPOWER.COM

Fleet managers of 48-volt electric Club Car Precedent golf cars, Carryall utility vehicles and Villager LSVs can now capture, store and use solar power with the addition of Club Car’s new 100-watt Solar Drive Charging Panel Assembly. The high-quality panels are made in the United States of a lightweight, impact-resistant, photovoltaic material with a Teflon-like coating that protects the cells. Measuring 40 inches by 26 inches, the panels fit snugly on the canopies or cabs of Precedent golf cars, Carryall utility vehicles and Villager LSVs. They weigh less than 6 pounds and are less than half an inch thick. The panels come complete with a controller, connector to the vehicle’s power supply, all necessary hardware and installation instructions. CLUB CAR, 800.258.2227, WWW.CLUBCAR.COM

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PARKS TRAILS AND

PORTABLE SOUND SYSTEMS

MADE IN THE USA

MARKING PRODUCTS • TRAIL SIGNS & POSTS • PLAQUES & MONUMENTS • TRAIL & PATH MARKERS

Anchor Audio has a portable sound system for just about any application - small and large crowds, music and speech, indoor and outdoor. Anchor Audio Portable Sound Systems are easy to use, simple to setup and simple to pack up and GO!

ORDER BY PHONE 877.686.8565

FIND US ONLINE www.berntsen.com

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Available from:

markertek.com The Future of Broadcast Supply.™

Advance your career. Make the world better.

Earn your stripes at a top public university while staying at home.

Clemson University Master of Science Degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management

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Header Pak Dispenser 1002HP-4

Header Pak 1402HP

clemson.edu/prtm/graduate-program grdprtm@clemson.edu 864-656-3400

Poly Junior Bag Dispenser 1007-2

Pet Station 1003-L

Roll Bags 1402

Poly Pet Station 1010

All Dispensers & Trash Receptacles Include FREE Standard Preloaded SMART Litter Pick Up Bags™ & SMART Liner Trash Bags™. Hardware & Specification/Instruction Sheets Included.

DOGIPOT.com

800.364.7681

Ask about the all inclusive DOGIPOT DOGVALETS®.

DOGIPOT_0035_PARK&REC_3.375x4.75.indd 1R G | M AY 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O

10:27 AM71 Parks & 12/30/14 Recreation

marketplace

INCREASE PARK

RENVOECNOSUT!E AT

rks hip with pape rs e n rt a p In US, Go A across the ll the capital provides a the adventure tes and opera hile adding an w course creational exciting re your park. amenity to

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Precast Concrete Buildings For All Your Park & Rec Needs VERSATILE • DURABLE • FAST • ECONOMICAL • SECURE Standard and custom plans, styles, colors, finishes • Sizes from 10’ x 12’ to 50’ x 250’ Pre-engineered, Pre-assembled, Pre-plumbed, Pre-wired • Minimal site preparation Outperforms all other materials • Resistant to rot, vandalism, fire, blast, and storms Installation in just hours • Available nationwide from a network of Licensed Producers Concessions • Dugouts • Electrical/Mechanical • Hazmat • Maintenance Sheds • Offices • Press Boxes Pump Houses • Restrooms • Locker Rooms • Field Houses • Security Shacks • Shelters • Storage & more!

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72 Parks & Recreation

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Online Quote Form

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W W W. N R PA . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 5 |

Parks & Recreation

73

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74 Parks & Recreation

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Request free information from the manufacturers of the products found in this issue.

I prefer to receive the information via

Mail

Phone

Email______________________________________________

Name________________________________________________________________ Phone__________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________________State________________Zip_________________________ In 10 words or less, tell us which section of Parks & Recreation magazine is your favorite and why.

reader service

YES! I would like free product information!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please email your answers to gcohen@nrpa.org.

Check the product(s)/company(ies) that you would like information from: AQUATICS Water Odyssey........................................26 512.392.1155 www.waterodyssey.com ATHLETIC/EXERCISE EQUIPMENT Go Ape.....................................................72 415.553.0769 www.goape.com Greenfields Outdoor Fitness...................3 888.315.9037 www.greenfieldsfitness.com COMMUNICATIONS Anchor Audio/ Markertek® Professional........................71 800.522.2025 www.markertek.com EDUCATION/TRAINIING Clemson University................................71 864.656.3400 www.clemson.edu/prtm/graduate-program MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS/SERVICES Rent National..........................................73 800.352.5675 www.rentnational.com Tree Stabilizer.........................................74 800.691.1148 www.treestabilizer.com PARK PRODUCTS/SERVICES DOGIPOT...........................................29, 71 800.364.7681 www.dogipot.com Dog-On-It-Parks.....................................72 877.FIT.DOGS www.dog-on-it-parks.com Kay Park Recreation...............................74 800.553.2476 www.kaypark.com Livin The Dog Life™................................73 800.931.1562 www.livinthedoglife.com

Lockers.com............................................35 800.562.5377 www.lockers.com Metcraft Industries................................63 816.554.0300 www.metcraftindustries.com Most Dependable Fountains...................5 800.552.6331 www.mostdependable.com Murdock Manufacturing.........................7 800.453.7465 www.murdockmfg.com Mutt-Mitt®...............................................19 800.697.6084 www.muttmitt.com Paris Equipment Manufacturers Ltd.....11 800.387.6318 www.peml.com Pilot Rock................................................17 800.762.5002 www.pilotrock.com Polly Products........................................74 877.609.2243 www.pollyproducts.com Willoughby Industries...........................13 800.428.4065 www.willoughby-ind.com PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT Gametime®.............................................C4 800.235.2440 www.gametime.com Landscape Structures®....................C3, 73 888.438.6574 www.playlsi.com SIGNS/SCOREBOARDS Berntsen International..........................71 877.686.8565 www.berntsen.com

iZone® Imaging......................................73 888.464.9663 www.izoneimaging.com/NRPA15 Safety Play Inc........................................31 888.878.0244 www.safetyplay.net Scoremaster............................................74 888.726.7627 www.scoremaster.com STRUCTURES/SHELTERS Easi-Set Buildings..................................72 866.252.8210 www.easisetbuildings.com Shade Systems Inc....................................1 800.609.6066 www.shadesystemsinc.com SURFACING RubbeRecycle.........................................15 888.436.6846 www.rubberecycle.com SofSURFACES..........................................23 800.263.2363 www.sofsurfaces.com GROUNDS MAINTENANCE Bishop Enterprises Inc...........................33 615.233.5173 www.turf-aire.com John Deere..............................................C2 800.537.8233 www.johndeere.com/local Toro®........................................................21 800.803.8676 www.toro.com TURF PRODUCTS Superthrive®...........................................13 800.441.8482 www.superthrive.com

Mail the completed form to Gina Mullins-Cohen at NRPA, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 or email to gcohen@nrpa.org.

W W W. N R PA . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 5 |

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Park Bench

Heart Attack Hero For five years, Harold Evans and his wife Sarah had been walking laps without incident at Rock Creek Park’s gymnasium in Dawson County, Georgia, as part of a regular exercise group. “They come in every day about 6:30 a.m., quarter of 7,” Billy Mahaffey, maintenance supervisor at the park, says. One fateful April day, Mahaffey opened the gym as usual, greeted the Evanses and went about his normal routine. “I went around back, and when I came back out [Harold] was just lying there.” It quickly became apparent he was suffering a heart attack. Mahaffey observed the Evans’ friend, Peggy Anderson, who had joined them on their morning walk, attempting to give chest compressions as Sarah Evans administered mouth-to-mouth, “but she was just a petite thing and I could see she wasn’t pumping his chest hard enough,” Mahaffey says. In a subsequent interview with Dawson News, Anderson said she feared for her friend’s life. “I thought he was going to go. It was bad,” she said. Mahaffey continued his efforts until paramedics arrived on scene — it was the first time in his 13 years of employment at Rock Creek Park that he’d needed to use his CPR training, and he admits the experience shook him up. “I knew [Harold] — he’s a Baptist preacher in town,” Billy says. “[An experience like that] gets to you when you know somebody. Every morning I check on him now. I ask him, ‘Harold — you alright?’” Billy was awarded a plaque of recognition from the Dawson County Board of Commissioners to honor his heroic, life-saving actions. “It was emotional no doubt,” Billy says of the ordeal. “But I feel good, I’m doing good.

[Dawson County Parks and Recreation employees] also had update on our CPR training since this happened — it’d been a few years since we had it updated, but everybody has their training now.”

— Marissa Bracamonte, Editorial Intern for Parks & Recreation magazine

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HealthBeat is a good fit for fitness 速

HealthBeat provides exercise opportunities to people of all fitness levels and abilities.

Bring more users to your park with the HealthBeat速 outdoor fitness system. Reinvented with a contemporary design, patentpending resistance technology and three brand new stations, HealthBeat brings gym-quality equipment to the fresh outdoors.

The ability to pair stations together saves space and cost, making HealthBeat a perfect fit for outdoor exercise in the park, next to the ball field, or at a senior living community. Contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant for more information.

Watch HealthBeat in action at www.playlsi.com/hb.

playlsi.com

763.972.5200 888.438.6574

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To Light

IONiX™ combines architectural style with natural science to create an imaginative ShadowPlay™ experience unlike any other.

IONiX, The Art & Science of Play™.

GAMETIME.COM/SHADOWPLAY

800.235.2440 gametime.com

PARKS&RECREATION MAY 2015 ◆ Q&A WITH SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. DENNIS DAUGAARD ◆ HOUSING AND PARK ACCESS ◆ REMAKING REC CENTERS