Re: citizens action to save parks

[Steve Barnick]

Friends and neighbors,
I put out a call to folks at PARD and APF regarding a post about the plight of our parks and here is what I got from Charlie McCabe of APF.

My take on this challenge is similar. If you really want to understand and comprehend the issues with our parks volunteer or organize a group to help make a difference.

Regards,
Steve

Hi Karen,

I read your post on Monday morning while I was out at Republic Square in downtown Austin, watering some of the trees that we planted a few years back as well as checking on the results of a volunteer mulching workday that we had last Saturday.  I wanted to provide some perspective from the Austin Parks Foundation on working with the city parks department and answering some of your questions.

First, I would start by saying that I feel like I have failed to clearly state the challenge that the parks department has - and has had since I've worked at the Austin Parks Foundation (June 2005) We have many, many parks and not enough city staff and resources to do all that needs to be done.  The reason why the Austin Parks Foundation exists is to bring volunteers and community groups together with the Austin Parks Dept to help adopt, maintain and improve Austin parks.

The staff of the Austin Parks Department really do care about our parks and work hard to do the most that they can.  All of the parks staff that I have worked with over the past six years care passionately about the outdoors and our parks system.  There simply is too much to do and not time to do it.  But they are understaffed and underfunded, and they need the added help that lots of volunteers - ranging from the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation, The Austin Parks Foundation, the Friends of Deep Eddy, TreeFolks and the Trail Foundation can provide.  The hiring freeze that has been in effect across the city since 2008 hurts the parks department much more than other departments, since 72 percent of the parks department's budget is staff salaries.

And our current drought has made things much, much worse.  Even with irrigation and regular water, trees are dying.  Trees we thought were healthy are dropping limbs or toppling over.  Its amazing and a little scary.

One fact that I mention over and over again to anyone who asks about parks funding is that many US cities - especially those in the 100 largest, have the same challenges.  The biggest portion of a city's budget goes to public safety - Fire, Police, EMS and hospitals.  In Austin, it's currently around 63 percent.  When there's a downturn - or the great recession as we call our current economic challenge, this puts tremendous pressure on the city departments outside public safety that do not have dedicated revenue streams, like Water, Wastewater or Solid Waste Services.  Parks, Libraries and public health are often the three services that feel the biggest squeeze.  Austin is no different. Actually, Austin is in much better shape than others.  For the current fiscal year, the City of Dallas saw a 35% reduction in staff.  This year!

The reason that we, as well as the other non-profits I mentioned - exist - is to help fill the gap between what needs to be done and what the city staff can actually do. Sadly, this is a gap that is only growing bigger.  We need more help.

This is why we have over 94 community groups who have adopted parks and are working with the city and APF (or the Trail Foundation) to help fund improvements, repairs, planting and more.

This is why we organize big volunteer workdays to work in parks citywide, remove invasive species on Barton Creek Greenbelt or mulch hundreds of trees in Zilker Park, which I know you came out and helped us with last summer.

This is why we fund grant projects in parks across the city and look for funding opportunities to help fund more.

The Austin Parks Foundation has 2.25 staff people, a volunteer board of directors and thousands of members who support us through annual donations.  We combine that with funding from sponsors, events (like the Austin City Limits Music Festival) and grants from many different foundations.  Our volunteers and members are the ones who really help us extend our reach.  They are the ones out helping us plant, mulch, water, clean-up, and remove unwanted plants and trees.

And in nearly all cases, city parks staff are working with us side by side.

In some cases, it does take a while to get plans approved, permission to water or mulch or plant or clean-up. Trust me, I feel the frustration at times as well.  But, the only reason for delays is because staff is juggling so many different projects.

So, I would humbly ask the following of everyone who has concerns over park maintenance and operation:

1) Help us advocate for more funding for the parks department.  The City Parks staff has put out both proposed cuts as well as noting unfunded priorities.  The Austin Parks Foundation is advocating for some specific targeted additions in staff, including staff for maintenance as well as staff to review and approve volunteer/non-profit partnerships.  We're also asking that pools not be closed and we work collaboratively to seek solutions to keeping pools open and thriving.  More info here: http://www.austinparks.org/bonds.html

2) Please come out and volunteer!  We have volunteer workdays going on even on these 100 degree days.  We'll be mulching, watering trees at Zilker in the coming weeks and continuing work on Barton Creek Greenbelt and in and around the Barton Springs Pool.  A list of volunteer opportunities is here: http://connect.austinparks.org/site/PageNavigator/event_home

3) Consider adopting a park.  Or tackling a mulching effort for newly planted or heritage trees near your house.  We'll even fund mulch and lend you tools to spread it: http://connect.austinparks.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5393

4) Give to the non-profit of your choice working on any park or open space issue.  They'll appreciate your support.  Trust me.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you out at a volunteer event soon.

Charlie McCabe
Austin Parks Foundation

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From: Karen Kreps <karenkreps@...>
Subject: [bartonsprings] Watering the trees--citizen action/PARD inaction!
To: "Bartonsprings-YahooGroups Com" <barton...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Friday, July 8, 2011, 8:26 PM

  This morning, when I arrived at BSP at 8 am, I saw five water sprinklers carefully arranged in rows so that the water actually watered the parched grass around the trees to the northwest of the bathhouse. This was a first. I learned that the woman who had been tending them had been hard at work watering the trees since 5 am. When I left at 10 am, she was just finishing the job, rolling up the hoses and packing the sprinklers in her truck. She was covered in mud, having slipped on the wet grass in her efforts. She proudly told me that she had finally gotten PERMISSION from PARD to water the lawn and that this was PARD equipment. She said, "If I don't do it, these trees are going to die. A branch fell off one last week due to how the drought has weakened the trees." I thanked her for her dedication and concern for the trees and said I wanted to acknowledge her tireless efforts--but she wants to remain anonymous. She asked me instead to credit Michael Fossum of the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation, http://www.austinheritagetreefoundation.com/, who was assisting her but who had just stepped away.

I don't get it. Why should a private citizen have to bust herself and work hard for 5 hours to do a job that should be performed by the staff of Sarah Hensley's Parks Department or the Michael Embessi's Forestry Department? Why isn't PARD looking after the trees after all that citizens have done to call their attention to the needs of the distressed plants? Why must taxpayers tax themselves physically do to what staff should be doing?

Along these lines, why doesn't the pool look any cleaner on Friday than it does when it is closed almost all day on Thursday each week? Why can't it remain open seven days a week? The revenue that is lost for the closure during the summer could surely be put to good use planting new trees and buying more sod to replace the over mowed and under watered grass that struggles to survive the over use.

I'd love to hear a reply from someone who represents the City of Austin.

KK

Karen Kreps