The Observation Deck

Observers,

I was asked to post this report that will be released tomorrow night to City Council. It is in response to public hearings held this fall. If you feel compelled, please come to City Council to discuss tomorrow at 7:30pm. It is a short docket, only 17 items. Please note that the following report is simply a cut and paste from a Word document. At the end you will find references to hard copy documents.




The State of Parks and Public Properties

A Report of the Youth and Recreation Committee of Lakewood City Council
Ryan Patrick Demro, Chairman
Kevin Butler, Member

February 14, 2007


History

In August of 2006, the Chairman of this committee received numerous complaints from residents regarding the status of our parks . In response to these concerns, the Committee was convened to investigate the existing conditions, to collect information from constituents and city employees, to identify the root causes of the unacceptable conditions, and to report back to City Council and the Administration as to its findings and recommendations .

Findings

A majority of the concerns that residents, user groups, and city employees highlighted about the parks could be categorized into three areas: Maintenance, Planning, and Policing. Specific complaints are delineated below.

Maintenance
1) Staff Reductions/Reallocations- Employees of the Division of Parks pointed to this issue as a root cause of the inability to maintain/improve parks in the way they had been maintained in the past. Specific examples include:

a.) There is only one Inspector/Cleaner in the Division, in the past there
were two such positions . This is contributing to the lack of attention
to public restrooms.

b.) Parks employees were taken off of their regular assignments on
twenty occasions (38.42 hrs.) in FY ’06 to be used as crossing guards.

c.) Employees were used to assist other divisions such as
Municipal Income Tax where they renovated the City
Hall Annex Building to meet the needs of that division,
and parks employees were also used to move the
Divisions of Community Development and Youth to their
new locations .

d.) Parks employees are also being used to board up houses
on occasion.

e.) No full-time staffing exists at Madison Park.


2) Litter- The public cited several instances of a lack of attention to litter
that degrades the cleanliness and appearance of the park. Specific
examples include:

a.) A plethora of cigarette butts can be found throughout Lakewood Park .

b.) Trash brought to the park by users and that which emanates from the
concession stand can be found throughout Lakewood Park.

c.) The trash cans at the skateboard park are often overflowing with
garbage .


3) Reporting- The public expressed a willingness to be helpful in
reporting issues such as litter, graffiti, and damaged equipment;
however, there is no established or communicated mechanism
to accomplish that activity.

Planning
1) Lack of Citywide Master Plan- While a Master Plan exists for
Lakewood Park, there is no plan that accounts for the other
major parks within the City or the numerous other pocket parks
and green spaces. A lack of planning has led to numerous
complications in the management of citywide recreation.
Specific examples include:

a.) User groups must deal with inadequate facilities spread
throughout the City rather than concentrated quality
facilities that are properly maintained (ie., tennis courts,
soccer fields, baseball diamonds) .

b.) The scattering of parks throughout the City creates
difficulties for staff to properly maintain and monitor .

c.) Reinvestment by the City in parks and recreation
facilities is haphazard and inefficient, thereby wasting
tax dollars in both the long and short-term .

d.) Facilities such as Little Links are closed and become havens for
criminal activity and blight .

e.) Maximum scheduling of facilities to benefit the user
groups is neglected (ie., lighted facilities for evening
use).

f.) There is no constant reexamination of the recreation needs of the City
(ie., decline in tennis, growth of skateboarding).


Policing

1) Lack of presence- Regardless of the reason, the lack of presence by
the police within the parks has led to increased vandalism, criminal
activity, and a loss of the sense of security on behalf or residents.

Specific examples include:

a.) Adults with small children feel chased away from
Kaufmann Park as a result of unruly teens who
congregate and use foul language and engage in
intimidating behavior .

b.) Youth are participating in risky, inappropriate and illegal
behaviors such as public sex acts and marijuana use .

c.) Park security officers are ineffective and do not
substitute for a proper police presence .


Recommendations/Potential Solutions

A majority of the issues and concerns highlighted in this report have short-term solutions that can be implemented in the next few months to provide a better atmosphere in our public parks in the coming year. Solutions yielded from the planning phase are expected to be long-term and could likely be implemented in five to seven years.


Maintenance
1) The Administration should reassess its budget request for
the Division of Parks for FY’07. The Department of
Resources should reexamine, in conjunction with the
Director of Public Works, the duties and roles assigned to
various personnel to determine if changes should be
made to increase efficiency or ensure appropriate
workloads.

2) Purchase appropriate receptacles for cigarette butts
in public parks.

3) Add trash receptacles to parks in an effort to contain
litter and increase the number of pickups.

4) Create a mechanism or clearly communicate an existing
mechanism for reporting park issues to the Division of
Parks.

5) Place signs on tennis courts citywide indicating that they
are not to be used for skateboarding.

6) Consider installing a privacy fence along the western
border of Kaufmann Park.

7) Trim back trees and brush in the alleyway on the
western side of Kaufmann Park and add appropriate
lighting.

Planning

1) City Council should make a referral to the Planning
Commission to begin to study and assemble a Parks
Master Plan for the entire community.

Policing

1) The Chief of Police should reassess the policing strategy
for the parks and reconsider the FY’07 budget request if
necessary to ensure adequate policing in an effort to
restore a sense of safety among user groups.

2) City Council, in conjunction with the Mayor and Chief of
Police should reexamine curfew laws with regard to
youth.

3) The Chief of Police should begin to attribute all calls
requiring a police response to a park to the park and not
to the residence from which the call originated.


Conclusion

It is evident that the citizens of Lakewood focus strong value and community pride in our park system. There is no doubt that it should be one of City Council’s highest charges, in conjunction with the Administration, to address the issues of mismanagement and lack of staffing in the coming year. Anything less is simply unacceptable in a city with one of the highest tax rates in Cuyahoga County and a reasonable claim that it has excellent city services.

APPENDIX A


Correspondence follows this page.

(These pages are not included in the electronic version, but consist of emails and letters sent to Councilman Demro.)

APPENDIX B

Dates/Topics of Public Hearings

The Youth & Recreation Committee of Lakewood City Council will meet at the following times to discuss issues related to the management of our city parks:

Thursday, September 21, 2006, 6:30pm, Lakewood City Hall
Topic: Maintenance
Administration officials requested to attend: Director of Public Works
Division of Parks staff

Thursday, October 1, 2006, 6:30pm, Lakewood City Hall
Topic: Policing
Administration officials requested to attend: Chief of Police

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 6:30pm, Lakewood City Hall
Topic: Planning
Requested to attend: Members of the Planning Commission

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. There will be ample opportunity to speak to the committee about your concerns.

Sincerely,


Ryan Patrick Demro, Chairman
Kevin Butler, Member

Councilman Demro

As always, thanks for taking the time to join us.


.

Councilman Demro and Butler thank you for filling us in on the park situation.

My suggestion would be to explore selling the parks off, especially in circumstances where a particular park may be harder to police and may provide less of a benefit to the citizens, compared to other parks.

Doug

Councilman Demro and Butler thank you for filling us in on the park situation.

My suggestion would be to explore selling the parks off, especially in circumstances where a particular park may be harder to police and may provide less of a benefit to the citizens, compared to other parks.

Doug, please don't tell me you are serious. Parks when maintained are an asset to a community. The parks are not the problem, it is lack of maintenance and lack of policing. The situation at Madison Park is beyond sad. There is no reason for the state of the equipment or at this point lack of equipment. I do plan on being at the council meeting tomorrow and I do plan on speaking my mind on this issue. As a parent it really angers me that this has gone this far. It doesn't take a genius to realize how bad the parks are, I just don't understand why a report had to be issued. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the work by Mr. Demro and Mr. Butler but I feel these issues are very evident and they should have been taken care of period.

Danielle I did not say sell all the parks, although I could see some merits to that. That discussion would be better suited in the global forum as a libertarian vs republican vs democratic vs socialism argument.

My point was for possible exploration of selling/divesting certain park areas that may be more hassle than they are worth. For instance, Little Links. I have never been to Little Links. I do not know how much space it takes up, but I am told that it has been closed for awhile. I also have been told in person by many Lakewood residents who have been here much longer than the short period I have been here that it was never any good in the first place and was always a waste of space. That's just what I have heard. I have not hired a professional survey company to solicit opinions. However I now see online that people say there are criminal activities, etc. occurring at Little Links.

As I said, I don't know anything about Little Links firsthand, just what I know from others. Maybe Little Links just needs a little renovation. Maybe it will be easy to dig up all the holes and convert it to a nice picnic area or miniature wildlife sanctuary.

However, I think one of many options, generally speaking, for an individual troubled park area should be divestiture. That does not necessarily mean the sale to private individuals who will turn the property into another apartment building (although there is nothing inherently wrong with apartment buildings). It could mean sale or transfer of the park to the Audubon Society, a nonprofit historic society, the schools, etc.

I don't think because a specific piece of land was given to the city 100 years ago that the city should have to manage it forever, come tornados or high water until the next Ice Age covers Lakewood, especially if the city has shown it is unable to properly manage the property.

What do you think the answer to the park problem is? More taxes? Same taxes but a reallocation of resources? Doubling of police (as some have suggested on this forum)? A different mayor? Is the city able to maintain the parks properly now, if it really wanted to? or not? As far as the park employees complaining of understaffing, etc., maybe it is true maybe it isn't. I don't follow the city employees around every second while they are on the clock, but understaffing is always the party line given by any city or union employees and can't be taken at face value due to conflicts of interests.

Doug

While Lakewood Park has apparently been a success story, as far as amenities and services are concerned, the stories that I'm hearing regarding Madison, and Kaufman parks appear to be serious.

As a retired teacher, I can say that whenever there is a wooded, or reclusive area where unsupervised youths can congregate, trouble is probably not far away. When I taught at Parma High, State Road Hill, behind the school was a potential magnet for problems.

Hopefully, law enforcement officials are already examining options; including perhaps, audio/video monitoring of Lakewood's reclusive parkland areas, so that the bad guys will go elsewhere this summer.

If not, we need to find out why.

Many thanks to Councilman Demro and Councilman Butler. The City is lucky to have two men like you on council.

However, I am a little skeptical of the claim that the parks and City property are in such poor condition because there are not enough City employees.

Last year the City had 768 employees. Twenty years ago the City had far fewer employees and seemed to manage just fine. It seems as the population declines, employment levels increase and less is accomplished. It is one of those mysteries of government.

While Lakewood Park has apparently been a success story, as far as amenities and services are concerned, the stories that I'm hearing regarding Madison, and Kaufman parks appear to be serious.

I'd have to disagree. Lakewood Park has several issues too including broken and missing equipment. I know many people think these are non-issues but as a parent they are a big deal. Its all part of a larger picture and its pretty ugly. All the parks are needed and used. My family really misses Little Links. When we went sledding the other day my kids asked if it was going to open this year. I couldn't tell them because I haven't heard of a plan to renovate it, but I am not saying there isn't one. I told my son he should ask the mayor. My kids can point out all the graffiti and broken stuff at the parks. They want it fixed. They use the parks and they want them to be clean and in proper repair. Is that really so much to ask?????

Bill,

The number of employees you quoted is slightly off, here are the actuals:

'03- 555, '04- 548, '05- 527, '06- 536, Budgeted for '07 548.

Doug,

The report simply states the information that was collected in the hearings. The Mayor was apparently unavailable to attend them and this was the information provided by his Administration. If he feels that Parks is understaffed he should budget for it, and if not, he should figure out where the management deficiencies are in the workload. We only provided "potential solutions" we are not saying those are the absolute answers to the problems. We just wanted it to be known that we were not simply complaining without providing suggestions. In fact, many of the suggestions came from residents.

Ryan Patrick Demro wrote:If he feels that Parks is understaffed he should budget for it, and if not, he should figure out where the management deficiencies are in the workload.

Can't City Council vote for more park budgeting if that's what the solution ends up being? I understand the mayor might propose the budget, but doesn't council need to approve it?

Of course I could also be wrong in how the city government works.

Bryan,

No my old friend, you hit it right on the head; however, there is another issue to be considered. City Council people are part-time, that means we are not there on a day-to-day basis to manage the City. It really falls to the Mayor and his staff to determine what is necessary. We can and do set parameters if we think things are out of line, and funds are limited of course. This means that if the Mayor has other priorities he will shift funds there instead of to the parks.

The heart of the matter is the management. So we might need to think beyond the ancient government paradigm of, "It's broke, so we must need to invest more money to fix it." Sometimes the real analysis belongs on an accurate measurement of the workload, how duties are distributed among employees, and opportunities for cross-training for dual use of an employee.

All I know is that we need to get the parks in order before spring sets in, and knowing Cleveland that probably means we have another 3 months.

Ryan Patrick Demro wrote:Bill,

The number of employees you quoted is slightly off, here are the actuals:

'03- 555, '04- 548, '05- 527, '06- 536, Budgeted for '07 548.

First, I want to thank you for your attention to this matter. Oversight is an important function of our City Council and I am glad you take that responsibility seriously.

The number of 768 city employees in 2006 that I used came from Jennifer Pae. I had asked her for the number of W-2's issued to City employees and the number of City employees in 2006.

According to the City report of 2005, there were a total of 689 full time and part time City employees in 2005. The audit reports that their were 527 full time City employees in 2005 so I am assuming your figures are for full time employees.

I have some reports from the City audits of the 1980's. As soon as I find them I will list the employment numbers, I will include full and part time employees.

Again, thank you for your attention to this matter. I personally think this is a management problem and not a manpower problem.

DougHuntingdon wrote:My point was for possible exploration of selling/divesting certain park areas that may be more hassle than they are worth. For instance, Little Links.

I don't think your idea should be dismissed out of hand.

Kaufman Park is underutilized and in poor condition. If the current Drug Mart site was replaced with a park framed by the old Mason Hall and the old Christian Science Church the current park could be used for a small retail development.

A new park across from the new library could be a beautiful and practical addition to the City. Such a plan would create a new development area, replace a worn park with a new park and create a bit of beauty on Detroit. American cities tend to forget the beauty.

How about a new park near Rockport? It could be built as a public square with a place for meeting and greeting, maybe some music, something to bring people out on a summer day. That foot traffic could create a new business center.

Doug,

I first saw your comments today about the "re-defining" or selling of parks.

For years, I have thought that would be a good idea for Kaufman Park. Even just give the park to the owner of the Drug Mart strip center with hopes for future new development. A place for two or three restaurants... bringing life closer to the city center.... A large retail center with good parking to attract national chain stores, health food store or a new competitive grocer. .... force the developer to create some park space that could relate to the Library, the Masonic Temple and The Old Church Building.... Make this park relate to Detroit Road not the railroad tracks... make the park be a place where people gather where they can be seen no be able to hide.

I have recently also thought that bringing the city government to this site would be a good idea. Bring more employees closer to the city center.... consolidate all the numerous government "out buildings". I think this idea might have merit for the east side of town too... whatever momentum has started slowly @ rockport might be accelerated with more space. The east side of town could have more apartments, condos, retail or offices..... the east side of town could be the medical hub if the clinic building gathered praises. this land could be given to St. Ed's for a major prep school campus?...

The garages that exist at the existing government center could be re-located to Berea Road (a much more suitable location)... The park idea still works especially during the time that employees are in the building.

The Kaufman Park Site and it's adjacent existing underutilized retail strip center are just what could make the "street-scaping" and "city centering" projects more exciting.

Mark,

That is a good idea and many have suggested renovating the this plaza which is out of date. But.... Kaufman field is heavily used. I will grant that it isn't great and it floods easily - but baseball/softball is played there everyday and most nights in the summer. That seems to me to be the reason that nothing has not been done there before.