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Committee approves MOU establishing partnership between Parks Division and Friends Group
Summary
A committee approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that formalizes volunteer, fundraising and event roles for a Friends Group while confirming the city retains ownership and final decision-making for park property; the motion passed after a roll call (ayes: 5; 1 present).
A Parks Division staff member presented a draft memorandum of understanding Thursday that would formalize a partnership between the Parks Division and the Friends Group to support volunteer efforts, fundraising and programming at a city park. The committee voted to approve the MOU following brief discussion and a roll call vote.
The presenter said the MOU ‘‘sets forth a framework’’ defining respective roles: the Friends Group would support the park through volunteerism, fundraising and programming, and the Parks Division would continue day-to-day operations while final decision-making authority would remain with the city. ‘‘This agreement outlines the responsibilities of the Friends Group and the Parks Department or Division in the city,’’ the Parks Division staff member said.
Members asked for clarification on ownership of capital improvements funded by the Friends Group. The Parks Division staff member replied, ‘‘The city would own the property in the park.’’ That answer was recorded before the vote.
The president of the Friends Group board said they supported the MOU but would vote ‘‘present’’ on the motion because of a conflict of interest: ‘‘As the president of the board, of Friends Group, I don’t think that I think I have a conflict, so I will be voting present, but, obviously, supported,’’ they said.
After the motion to approve was made and seconded, the clerk conducted a roll call. Recorded responses were: Foley—Aye; Branson—Aye; Champine—Aye; First—Present; Wilkie—Aye; Ben Lowe—Aye. The chair announced, ‘‘Looks like the ayes have it,’’ and adjourned the meeting at 7:52 p.m.
The approved MOU includes guidelines intended to keep the park public, require that events be open to the community, and ensure activities respect the neighborhood. Item 5 of the draft was cited as listing event guidelines and fundraising parameters. The MOU as approved establishes the partnership framework; next steps for implementation (such as any formal signatures, timelines for events, or specific capital projects) were not specified in the discussion.
