Investing in Parks, Investing in People, Investing in Well-Being
Building Resilient Communities...
Vlog Overview
My return to the academy to earn a PhD after 32 years of parks practice (in 2014) uncovered many practice realities extensively studied by researchers. This dual lens gives me a unique inside (practice)/outside (research) perspective (and visa versa) to bridge the two worlds. Each vlog will have a short video presentation followed by some key takeaway notes. I will use lots of “I” and “me” to personalize my experiences, with lots of examples. I will share park development policy and practice decision-making using an academic lens (i.e., institutional theory). My practice experiences were in the Edmonton region in the 1982 to 2014 period. Oh, and by the way, I have opinions that may or may not be popular with my planning brothers and sisters, or elected officials. The vlog provides an informed perspective. So let’s get started!
Todays Ice Sculpture - Investing in Well-Being
It is budget time in Edmonton and Calgary Alberta, Canada and elsewhere in the Province. Edmonton City Council is currently reviewing both capital and operating budgets for the next four year period. Municipal government taxes represent less than 10% of all taxes collected in the Province, and have the most restricted sources of revenue, limited by the dictates of the Provincial Government. Funding parks development and operations is critical to the creation of healthy, resilient communities but is just one of many demands for scarce municipal resources. Elected officials must spend wisely.
The video below provides insight into the benefits of park expenditures, opportunities for investment, approaches to establishing service levels, and how to make it all work: priority based budgeting and implementation strategies. For the latter, I am joined by Kelly Rudyk of “Its Logical,” to talk about priority based budgeting and implementation strategies. See below this video for takeaway notes.
Parks Takeaway Notes
Benefits of Park Investments (see November 14 Vlog)
Trees, grasses, soils and natural areas make our air cleaner, cooler and safer to breath that ensures our human, plant vegetation and animal life are more resilient to disease infestation and climate change effects. Parks reduce stormwater flows and protect our streams, rivers and lakes during extreme weather events. Parks provides places of active and passive, structured and unstructured recreation and leisure, venues of children, adolescent and adult play and learning, and critical connections to nature. Parks provide venues that facilitate connections to individuals and groups in the community to reduce stress, reduce crime, and reduce the othering of other races cultures, etc., while generally promote pro-social behaviours. Property values near parks are higher, result in increased tax revenues for governments, while parks employment in construction, programming and maintenance are economic generators. As such, expenditure in parks are effectively a form of protective services acting as community wide preventative health and wellness expenditures to taxpayers and community more broadly. A park system has been shown to reduce other municipal investments in roads, utility services, health care, and protective services (i.e., police, fire, social services). Think of park investments as Rx for the health and wellness of the community.
(Laurier Spray Park, Edmonton - Photo Source City of Edmonton)
Strategic & Budgeting Considerations
by Kelly Rudyk - It’s Logical - www.itslogical.ca
As we approach budget, lets ask how can we improve the well-being of the community, not how much taxes do you want to pay. A more prioritized budget process includes:
Establishing high level strategic priorities (e.g., in our video, well-being)
Identify current services provided and how well they are being used
Rank programs in terms of how well they achieve your vision/strategy
Allocate/re-allocate time and resources that meets priorities.
This may result in phasing into some service areas (i.e., programs and activities) not previously provided and deleting others.
Park Capital and Operating Budget Options by Dr. Robert Priebe
Investment Options
Greenspace – Land acquisition, grade, level, seed, trees, park signs, playgrounds, sports fixtures (goal posts), park furniture (benches, picnic tables, shelters), trails and walkways, walkway lighting, water play features, skate park features, washrooms.
(Silver Skate Festival Festival, Edmonton Alberta - Source: City of Edmonton)
Bricks and mortar indoor facilities on Reserve Entitlement Lands (parks) – ice, aquatic, equine centres, field houses, indoor soccer, fitness centres, fitness equipment, walking tracks, meeting rooms, ancillary commercial spaces (i.e., food services, equipment purchase, physio-therapy), climbing walls, indoor playgrounds, parking lots, facility signs and directive roadway signage, etc.
(Millenium Place, Sherwood Park Alberta)
Establishing Funding Strategies
Determine your strategic vision (see Kelly Rudyk above)
Develop Funding Roles and Responsibilities strategies based on that vision. In other words, capital and operating funding programs should define roles and responsibilities between the municipality and civil society. Base level service should be funded entirely by the municipality, shared level of service municipal cost shared with community partners, and enhanced level of services provided by partners but resident on park lands. Partners can include service clubs, NGO non-profit and for-profit entities.
Apply vision and roles and responsibilities to develop annual, and four year budget plans. Determine what programs and activities and associated green space and bricks and mortar facilities you will support, as well as the scale and scope of each. Some examples are provided below.
Focus on learn to programs or provide elite level opportunities as well.
Focus on outdoor vs indoor or both.
Focus on specific sports and activities vs others.
Focus on a combination of the above (likely scenario).
Develop the scale and scope of capital development and operations, and apply to develop capital and operating annual and four year budgets.