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Parks department cites large maintenance backlog, requests staffing for new recreation centers
Summary
Parks and Recreation reported a backlog of capital and maintenance needs across 700+ acres of parkland, with 41% of assets rated high‑need and 31 FTEs on staff versus a 52–53 benchmark; leaders asked council to fund phased staffing to operate new recreation centers and to address deferred maintenance.
Leslie Andrews, director of Parks & Recreation, told the council that the parks division is managing a broad portfolio of parkland and municipal grounds and is operating below national staffing benchmarks while many amenities have reached a high‑need classification.
Andrews listed the department’s scope — roughly 700 acres of parkland, 21 neighborhood parks, multiple specialty facilities and a 48‑acre cemetery — and said staff recently completed an asset assessment that found 41% of capital assets have high levels of need and 63% of amenities require replacement. “We are currently 41 below the benchmark staffing level for a parks system,” Andrews said, reporting 31 full‑time employees versus the NRPA benchmark of roughly 52–53 for comparable service levels.
The department asked for two full‑time positions (one per new recreation center) to support programming and operational hours and described constraints on offering after‑school camps and evening hours because of limited staff and building footprints. Andrews also said safety improvements (lighting and cameras), restroom replacements and tennis‑center upgrades are among high priorities.
Council members requested program metrics for summer programming and asked staff to return with more detail so the council can evaluate funding tradeoffs during the FY27 budget process.
