City signals interest in securing parks funding

As the county has drawn down funding for most city parks since the turn of the decade, the city has struggled to maintain its recreation facilities. At a workshop Monday, the City Commission indicated its displeasure with that status quo and explored its options for reversing course.

Monday’s meeting was held specifically to discuss the state of the city’s parks and recreation facilities. Funding parks maintenance has been an issue for the city since 2011, when a new interlocal agreement with Sarasota County saw the city assume control of 19 parks once maintained by the county.

At the workshop, city parks staff discussed the challenges it faces, unable to create programming outside of the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex and struggling to do more than mow the grass at other facilities. The group also discussed its options for overcoming those challenges with the commission. Solutions discussed included:

+ Keeping the status quo
+ Renegotiating the interlocal agreement with the county, particularly to secure funding for the Robert L. Taylor center
+ Creating a recreation district, a special taxing body specifically designed to fund parks and recreation efforts
+ Increasing the city millage rate with a resolution stipulating the extra revenue be directed toward parks and recreation
+ Continuing to develop partnerships with neighborhoods, foundations, schools and other organizations

In addition to expressing concerns about the county’s role in maintaining even the regional facilities it oversees — the city is responsible for funding the cost of repairs that exceed $5,000 annually in county-operated, city-owned parks — several commissioners indicated an interest in increased funding for parks. Vice Mayor Susan Chapman said she was interested in exploring all of the options presented other than the status quo, and said the Robert L. Taylor center should be used as a model.

“People are actually going there because it's such a nice facility and so well maintained,” Chapman said. “I look forward to that kind of activation in all of our parks.”

City Manager Tom Barwin said that many high-quality properties throughout the city, such as Water Tower Park and Gillespie Park, have fallen by the wayside due to a lack of activity in the parks. He said a system such as a recreation district could help create the type of programming that would both energize the neighborhood and discourage illegal behavior in the area.

“These are the kind of things that I think, over time, would be corrected and improved dramatically if we phase into more of a model that gives more energy and focus to recreational assets,” Barwin said.

The City Commission will continue its discussion regarding parks funding at a future meeting, at which point the public will be able to contribute to the conversation. Already, staff said, they’ve heard from residents willing to take a financial hit to help improve the city’s deteriorating parks.

“A lot of times, we hear from the community — ‘We would be willing to pay for increases in the level of services, but we want to know that's where our money is going,’” said Doug Jeffcoat, the city’s director of public works. “That's the underlying thing.”

Contact David Conway at [email protected].