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Parks Alive program draws thousands; parks staff ask council for more volunteers and resources
Summary
Parks Alive, a Parks Department neighborhood-focused engagement program, reported rising participation—about 4,230 total visitors last year and an average of 141 per event—and staff said volunteer shortfalls and rising vendor costs limit the program's capacity. Parks asked alders to help recruit volunteers and consider support to expand reach.
Deborah Allen, of the Parks Department, presented an overview of Parks Alive, describing it as "community building, placemaking, resident engagement, and a safer neighborhood strategy." Allen said Parks Alive began in 2022 as an interdepartmental effort to bring resources into neighborhoods via 33 events and partnerships with community-based stakeholders and mobile service providers.
Allen gave performance figures for the most recent season: total participation of about 4,230 people across events, an average of 141 participants per event (a 19% increase year over year), a largest recorded attendance of 343 at one site and estimated attendance as high as roughly 400 at some parks. The program staged 33 events, recorded 82 on-site support volunteers and reported 11 live music performances, 12 food-truck appearances and 14 movie screenings. A typical Parks Alive day runs from roughly 4:30 p.m. setup to a 5:00–7:00 p.m. event.
Allen told the committee staffing and vendor costs limit how many people the program can reliably serve. "We budget to serve around a 100 to a 130 people," she said, noting food and fuel price increases have tightened margins. Allen said the program had only about 40% of the unpaid support it requires, and asked council members to use their influence to help recruit bilingual greeters, data collectors and volunteers to improve on-site support.
Council members asked about replication and equity. Allen said Parks can provide guidance to neighborhood groups that want to replicate a Parks Alive-style event but that a plug-and-play package is not currently available. She noted strong partnerships with local organizations such as the Diana Davies movies-in-the-park program, which provided film-screening support; Allen said expanding movie screenings or equivalent services would require council investment and partner coordination.
Next steps: Parks asked alders to promote volunteer sign-ups via the City of Madison volunteer site and to consider support for program expansion where appropriate.
