COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, March 24, 2009 2:20 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN, CHAIR COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO RESOLUTION 090057 - Resolution authorizing Council's Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to hold public hearings for applicants seeking nomination to serve on the Commission on Parks and Recreation... - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
We are going to begin, and I learned from across many years ago, go with what you got and do the best with what you have. So we're going to start that way while we continue to wait for additional tech support. Let me open my remarks and move to the very clear instruction that we will need you to honor to capture everything that you have to say. My name is Blondell Reynolds Brown. I serve as Chair of City Council's Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and joining me is Vice-Chair of City Council's Committee on Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, you will hear from Councilman Curtis Jones. We need to thank my colleague in this long journey, Councilman Darrell Clarke, who is actually Chair of the committee next door, who together we walked down this road to get to this day and this hour. We must also thank our Mayor, 3 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Michael Nutter, whose support of this effort was strong well before his tenure as Mayor. Parenthetically, you should know that Councilman Clarke and I went to then-candidate Mayor Nutter in November of '07 to let him know that we had done a lot of work. We actually had more than nine votes and we were ready to call this bill up for a vote. At that time, candidate Nutter said, Could you please hold the bill a little while longer, allow me to become Mayor and weigh in further on the bill, and committed to us that he would be supportive but also, more importantly, find additional dollars so that we could really add the teeth of what many thought were lacking. And he became Mayor and honored his word and signed the bill into law. Let me also thank both the Recreation and Park advocates and the employees, who each and every day, during this process and during their times that 4 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 they served in those departments, seek every day to improve our Park and Recreation facilities. As this process moves through, it is our commitment that we will pledge to find the best and the brightest candidates that reflect, first, the diversity of the City in its entirety and the diversity of the users on both the Recreation and the Park side of the equation. We all know that this has been a monumental challenge, one that myself, my staff and City government is excited to continue to face as we move to this milestone on this journey. As we're going to find a dedicated and passionate Commission on Parks and Recreation, the search continues today. What has happened to date, we have had 194 applicants. When I tell you that the talent, the breadth and depth and ideas that we have heard over those sessions, it has been remarkable, truly 5 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 amazing. The talent of the persons of all stripes and from every single walk of life, from a 21-year-old entrepreneur to a 70-year-old silver fox -- that's what he called himself -- and to everything in between. Folks have stepped forward to tell us how they care about the parks. So it's been never for a second boring, all extremely, extremely exciting and a reassuring affirmation that this was a good place to end up. What are the ground rules? We're going to call you up three at a time. We're going to ask you to please sit in any one of these three chairs. It will be imperative that you turn your mike on so that our transcriber can take all of what we have to say. We're going to ask that you please honor what was reflected in the e-mail, and, that is, that you speak two, no more than three minutes. This is a slight tradition from a regular hearing, where we typically engage in a lot of exchange. Today we're 6 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 principally in a listening mode, unless we have questions regarding clarity. So we ask that you please honor the clock. In those other two sessions I actually had a clock and I only had to use it once. So I only had to become the police officer for time one time.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention the tech staff that were extremely helpful in the gathering of all of our paperwork, Hal Thickhander, and the City Council tech staff, Sharon Ortiz, who was with us from the President's Office. They, along with my Chief of Staff, David Forde, have been extremely helpful in making sure that we've been adequately prepared today. And so with that, I would like to ask the Co-Chair of this Committee, Councilman Curtis Jones, please offer a few words.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. The instructions of my Chairperson were 7 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 actually directed at you, but also meant for me, which was that we will be in a listening mode, and that means for me not to ask you too many questions. Her instructions shall be obeyed. My observation over the last couple of hearings have been that a great number of people absolutely love Parks and Recreation, and the passion in the testimony has come across and the overwhelming response has come across, and I would just say that we are in an interesting point in time where we were able to get Mr. DiBerardinis to come from Harrisburg to come back to his home to be a part of this, and we are truly excited about it. We are at a point in time where our Mayor, even in spite of tough economic times, is committed to the well-being of the Park system and the Recreation process, and I think that you and your outpouring have taught us a couple of things. 8 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 What I think your partner, Councilman Darrell Clarke, talked about was that we were going to be forced to make a tough decision and whittle this down to a limited number of people, but what we hope to do is create an environment in the process, more important than environment, that will take some of the talent and ideas and funnel it into a place, no matter who gets picked, that we can use going forward, because some of the ideas have been tremendous. I'm just thankful to be a part of hearing about what some of the ideas and passions are from the participants. Thank you.
You're welcome. You're welcome, Councilman Jones. And so with that, the process begins. And, again, my reminder as a former teacher, please honor the clock. Hello? Feedback? 9 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 (Yes.)
Yes, okay. With that, please allow Barry Esslinger, I.A. Maitland and Joseph Manko to please move to the center table, grab a mike, turn it on. And we'll welcome your full name and then proceed with your testimony. Thank you very much. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Okay. Thank you. I've been a lifelong worker in Center City Philadelphia. By way of education and background, I have a degree in landscape architecture. I have two years of graduate training in transportation and engineer from 10 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Villanova. I'm registered as a landscape architect in states actively and as a 4 registered planner in the State of New 5 Jersey. 6 I've always worked in downtown 7 Philadelphia. For the last 41 years, 8 I've been with Cope-Linder Architects, 29 9 of those as the principal in charge of 10 landscape architecture. 11 By way of relevant history in 12 terms of parks, I was involved in the design of the first Sesame Place, the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing. In the '60s, I was a volunteer designer and partial builder of three neighborhood parks. The people with whom I was working were very surprised to find out I wasn't being paid to do it, but I was there two or three nights a week designing and building. I've been involved with the Center City District's streetscape design, Ben Franklin Parkway improvements, Triangle Park, the Cret 11 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Cafe, Second Street, all sorts of urban improvements for the last years. 4 In terms of related experience, 5 I'm the landscape architect of record for 6 a seven-acre downtown park in Omaha, 7 Nebraska right now, which is currently 8 under construction, will be finished this 9 year. 10 I'm a member of the Open Land 11 Institute, Philadelphia Chapter Executive 12 Committee. I was on the Planning Board 13 in Upper Dublin Township for 12 years, 14 six years of those as Chairman. And I 15 put my money where my mouth is. I've been supporting groups and agencies like Greenpeace, Worldwide Life Fund, Galapagos Foundation, Nantucket Land Conservancy. Every kind of historic and environmental group you can think of, I've been involved with. I think basically I have the training and the enthusiasm and I'd like to spend the time being involved with the Fairmount Park Commission. I think it's 12 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 a terrific group and I've worked with people like Mark Focht in the past, and I would certainly like to be part of what's happening in Philadelphia. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Thank you, Councilpersons Reynolds Brown and Jones. I will be a silver fox in October, but not yet. My goal is to further Mayor Nutter's goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in America. I believe I can help him achieve that goal, but let me share with you in two minutes my experience and what I'm going to be doing in the future. I served for 27 years as a Commissioner of Lower Merion. I oversaw the Parks and Recreation Committees, and I merged them, so I do have that familiarity, and I have as one of my 13 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 three letters of reference a letter from the Manager of the Township. I served for years on the 5 Lower Merion Conservancy. I have a 6 letter from Michael Weilbacher, who is 7 the Executive Director of the 8 Conservancy. 9 And then we moved into the City 10 of Philadelphia. I now am serving my 11 second year in the Fairmount Park 12 Conservancy and I have my third letter of 13 reference from John Binswanger, who is 14 Chair of the Fairmount Park Conservancy. 15 I also served for two years on the 16 Fairmount Park Commission. Being put on 17 there while I was in Lower Merion, we 18 then since moved into the City. 19 I served two years as general 20 counsel to the Environmental Protection 21 Agency's Region 3, and for 18 years 22 taught environmental law at University of 23 Pennsylvania and Vermont Law School. And 24 for the last 36 years, my practice has 25 been limited to environment land use law. 14 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I did serve for eight months on the Zoning Board at the pleasure of Mayor Nutter. It may not have been my pleasure, but it was his pleasure. And from a recreation standpoint, I've been active with Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis from the time it was a national junior tennis league 30-some years ago, as is my wife, and, therefore, I know the Recreation Department that way. With respect to the future, I am the Co-Chair of the Sustainability Advisory Board. Anne Papageorge and I are the Co-Chairs working under Mark Alan Hughes, and that is something that I asked the Mayor, to let me get off the Zoning Board so I could serve on Sustainability. I am going to stay active with the Fairmount Park Conservancy, and when Michael DiBerardinis accepted this offer, it became like, Wow. I had the pleasure of working with him at DCNR, because I am the Governor's designee to Chair 15 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Pennvest, and it's the Governor's loss and the Mayor's and your gain. So I look forward to doing that. I have made copies of my 6 application and these letters. I don't 7 know if you want them or not. 8
But I see my being 11 of the Parks and Recreation as an attempt 12 to being able to further my 13 Sustainability Co-Chair position, because 14 9,100 acres is a jewel that we must 15 continue to have as the centerpiece. 16 Just ask the Water Department how 17 important it is. And that's where 18 Fairmount Park Commission was first set 19 up, to be able to protect the water. 20 Thank you.
That's right. It's nice to know the history. Please state your name again for the record, not for us but for our transcriber. 16 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
Joseph M. Manko, M-A-N-K-O. I never thought with the name Manko I would be one of the first people to do anything, beginning with an M.
Yes. We would welcome written testimony and letters of recommendation. All of that matters in this hearing process. So please accept that, if you would. And ideally, I would like to have materials on the front end, because I'm a note-taker. Councilman Jones, any comments?
That's very, very important. So, again, we welcome testimony and any other documentation that you're 17 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 bringing with you, all of that, as a part of this process. I.A. Maitland -- if I re-call the name, it may be because they may not have been here. And we are going to circle back at the back end for folks who arrive after their name is called to give everyone a chance. Kimberly Massare, Sam Matthew, Fred Maurer. Thank you. Matthew McClure, Michael McCrea, Alan McHale. Please move to the witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Okay. Not 18 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 a problem. We're going to start right here and circle right around.
Please make sure you turn on your mikes and speak into the mike. Proceed.
My name is Fred Maurer. It's M-A-U-R-E-R. I do not have written testimony today.
I will provide you with an outline of the form that you requested for application, the same order you've done. I don't want to repeat it here. I've been experienced for a long time. I would like to read into the record the recommendations that I have since I do have copies of them, but I think instead of me talking about myself, I'd like other people to talk about what they think about why I should be part of 19 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Commission. First one is from the Friends of Tacony Creek Park and it comes from Bill Krantz, who is the President. We founded -- I'm part of a charter member of the Friends group years ago. 8 So in the letter of 9 recommendation, it says, "In regards to 10 nomination of Fred Maurer, we are well 11 acquainted with his work. He has 12 astonishing knowledge of local history, a 13 published historian, responsible for the 14 erection of an official historical marker 15 commemorating the Whitaker Mills. He's a 16 watershed advisor, an active member and a 17 Vice-President of our organization." 18 The second person for 19 recommendation is from the Historical 20 Society of Frankford and it's signed by Debbie Clack, who is the past President of the Historical Society. She's just going out of term this year. I've been a member with them for about 30 years. "To City Council, in regards to 20 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the nomination of Mr. Fred Maurer, we are acquainted with his community work of advocacy for public parks and recreation and local history research. He is an active member and published a watershed history in his Grubtown monument book." The third recommendation I have is addressed from the Juniata Golf Foundation. That's a part of Fairmount Park in Juniata, and the letter is from Robert Wheeler, who is the Executive Director of the Foundation, and it says, "In regards to the nomination of Mr. Fred Maurer, we are very familiar with his community work of advocacy for golf courses and public parks and recreation. Mr. Maurer has been involved with the parks and recreation in the City of Philadelphia for over 20 years, and he will be a tremendous asset due to his long tenure." I'll leave that here for the Clerk.
We'll 21 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 certainly accept that. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. Good afternoon. MR. McHALE: Good afternoon, Councilwoman. Madam Chair, members of the Committee, I'd like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to present myself as a candidate for a position on the Board of the Fairmount Park Commission. My name is Alan McHale and I'm an outreach worker for the Rhawnhurst NORC, an organization in the Northeast that works with senior citizens in their own home. I'm also an award-winning community gardener and a lifelong user of this great city's parks and recreational facilities. These are indeed challenging times for our parks and recreation centers, as the Mayor's recent budget address made abundantly clear last week. However, with all the challenges we face, we are also presented with a wonderful 22 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 opportunity. When the people of Philadelphia voted to merge the Park and Recreation Department, they voted for a new beginning and a new direction. This process and these hearings exemplify a new openness that allowed so many quality candidates to believe that they could be a part of that new direction. My earliest memories of the Park system was learning to swim at Hunting Park Pool well over 50 years ago. For the past 35 years, I've been actively involved with myriad community groups and organizations that have allowed me the opportunity to go to every corner of this city. I have set up at fundraising flea markets, been involved with more community clean-ups that I can count and have been an active supporter of both the Parks and the Rec systems. It's difficult to sum up a lifetime of experience and concern about these issues in two or three minutes. Suffice to say that my background as an 23 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 involved community person and my resume are open books for anyone to read, and I'm very willing to answer any questions that the community might have. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
You're very, very welcome. Thank you for your testimony. MR. McHALE: Thank you.
If you had to ID one or two skill sets that you believe you bring to this anticipated body, they would be what? MR. McHALE: The ability to go into diverse communities and sell an idea and a commitment to a passion.
Good afternoon. My name is Kimberly Massare and I served 24 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 for several years on the Philadelphia Green's Parks Revitalization Project as the Park's Network Coordinator, and I worked firsthand with community groups from across the City, as well as staff from the Department of Recreation and Fairmount Park, and I organized a lot of large-scale events over the course of the year, like Fall for Your Park and Spring Into Your Park, that brought neighborhood activists and volunteers from across the City together out to support their parks and show their care for our Park system. And I believe that we're on the cusp of a new era for Parks and Recreation in our great city. We have the opportunity to breathe new life into these cherished public spaces and re-imagine the possibilities for future generations and Philadelphians. It is incredibly important work on which the new Commission on Parks and Recreation is about to embark, and it will require hard work, creativity, patience, perseverance 25 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and visionary thinking. It would be a tremendous honor to serve on the new Commission on Parks and Recreation, and I believe that my diverse experiences within Philadelphia's Park systems have led to a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. I feel a deep sense of commitment to assuring a bright future for our city's Park system, and I thank you for the honor of your consideration.
I do have a copy of it and I also submitted a letter of recommendation.
Good afternoon. MR. McCLURE: Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Councilman Jones. My name 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 is Matt McClure, Matthew N. McClure. I'm a lifelong resident of the City of Philadelphia who, like many in this room 5 or not all of us in the room, realize that to a large measure the quality of life of our residents is influenced by the quality of parks and recreation centers. I have applied for this position on the new Commission because I believe I have the right skill set for the job, a record of community involvement, an understanding of the importance of the new department in the lives of our citizens and the appropriate sensibilities regarding the role of the new Commission to be an effective Commissioner. Currently, I make my living as a real estate lawyer at Ballard Spahr. Throughout my legal practice, I have worked on some of the more complex real estate matters in the City. I have advised public, private and non-profit sector clients in the areas of historic 27 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 preservation, open space preservation, effective land use management and environmental regulation. Additionally, I've worked on important pro bono representations directly germane to the new department. For example, I represented the John Bartram Association in a multi-year battle trying to stop a waste transfer facility to locate next to actually historic Bartram Gardens. I've also provided pro bono representation to the Philadelphia Mural Arts advocates and consequently the Mural Arts Program. Furthermore, my record of community involvement has prepared me for service on the Commission. Currently, I serve on the Board of Directors of important community-based organizations - Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center, the Green Woods Charter School, Need in Deed and East Falls Development Corporation. As someone who actively grew up using the parks and recreation centers, I 28 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 understand the extraordinary role they play in providing opportunities for our children and improving the City's quality of life. As City Council knows better than anyone, the core challenges facing the City and its residents, even before this current recession, are dramatic. Alarmingly, 46 percent of our children come from single-parent households. As a kid that grew up in one of those single-parent households, I understand the incredible role that our parks and recreation centers can play in helping kids stay busy and on the path of productive lives. If selected as a Commissioner, a large portion of my time and thinking would be dedicated to seeing how we can best utilize the Department's phenomenal assets, improving the lives and unleashing the potential of our city's children. To be truly effective, the Commission must be responsive to the needs of the communities in which our 29 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 parks and recreation centers lie. For me, that means the Commission should not be a disconnected commission located downtown holding hearings of policy. For me, that means the Commissioners must be involved in their communities, must attend civic association meetings, must be conversant on the political issues and also must be currently engaged with elected officials throughout this city. No one understands the needs and concerns of our residents better than the 14 members who make up the City Council. 15 For the Commission to be effective, it 16 must work closely with Council. 17 In closing, the health and prosperity of Philadelphia is linked to the future of our Parks and Recreation system. We as a city must decide to treat the system with incredible care. By investing in the Park and Recreation system, we invest in the people and fabric of our city. For the foregoing reasons, it would be an honor to serve on 30 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Commission.
Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Good afternoon. MR. McCREA: Good afternoon, Councilwoman. Good afternoon, Councilman Jones. My name is Michael McCrea and I'm President of my local advisory council at the Feltonville Youth Access Center, President of Philadelphia Recreation Advisory Council citywide, civil engineer and pig farmer applying for a position on the Commission on Parks and Recreation. In these elected and volunteer positions, I serve a number of very diverse and very different constituencies. At Feltonville Youth Access Center, we partner with the Recreation Department to deliver vitally needed services to the youth of our community, involving fundraising, access to grants and other funding from both local and state representatives, as well as private donors. We just recently completed a 31 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very large and involved public-private partnership, taking a generous pledge of $200,000 from Shire Pharmaceuticals and, with the help of Councilwoman Sanchez, added $250,000 in capital dollars, used that pool a funding to hire our own contractor and complete a total renovation of our outdoor facilities in only three months, start to finish. Our partnership with so many individuals and entities is what really made this happen. Philadelphia Recreation Advisory Council represents the local volunteer advisory council citywide, each one representing their own local recreation center, park or playground. Every community, just like every neighborhood, has its own identity and individual needs. I think serving as a collected body of passionate, dedicated volunteers for more than ten years gives me a truly unique perspective in serving a citywide constituency, and I believe it would make me a valuable asset to this 32 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 new Commission. Credibility and independence are two of the most important qualities I think needed to serve on this Commission, and both are qualities that I think I've exhibited for most of my life. As Vice-President and President of both my local advisory and the citywide, the folks we represent continue to rely on us and that we will stand up for and support what's in their best interest. Otherwise we would not have continued to hold these positions for so long. The fact that we've served for the length of time that we have should speak for itself. It's about standing up for what's right regardless of popularity or personal gain. I also believe I possess an extensive knowledge of the Philadelphia Parks and Rec system, both from a volunteer perspective and also from a management perspective, having worked with several different administrations of 33 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 both Parks and Recreation on many issues. In addition, I understand the effort it takes to provide these vital services from both an administrative and a volunteer perspective, balancing expectations with the ability to provide basic services and bridging the gap between them. The land management and environmental experiences I bring from my job as a civil engineer are also key points in considering my qualifications. I believe these and the previously stated characteristics ultimately qualify me to sit as a new member of the Commission on Parks and Recreation. To be successful, the Commission on Parks and Recreation has to be able to stand on its own and achieve an individual identity, taking on the difficult issues that have continually retarded the growth of both the Park and Recreation Department systems, and my application was submitted for my deep 34 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 belief that I can help make a difference and assist the new Commission in accomplishing these goals of creating a Park and Recreation system that benefits everyone and that we can all be proud of. Thank you.
I can't help it, Madam Chair. Where is your pig farm? MR. McCREA: It's actually a piece of Fairmount Park. We run a 4-H club in the 4 section. You actually gave us a grant for a thousand dollars last year from the Philadelphia Activities Fund. And I have a picture too I brought for you. I didn't know if I'd see you today or not.
I'd love to see the picture. Thank you. MR. McCREA: But it's a piece of Fairmount Park. Actually, it's Saul 35 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 High School actually uses it, all the way the end of Spring Lane right behind the Schuylkill Valley Nature Center.
And what is the pig population in Philadelphia? MR. McCREA: Probably about a couple of dozen maybe at certain times. At this point there's not, but normally we only do the pigs -- because we have to actually have a place to sell them at the end. So there has to be an end point to it. So you can't redo pigs all year round unless you breed them, and we just don't have the facilities or the wherewithal or the money to breed, so we buy pigs for the kids in like August and we take them to different shows and then we go to the Pennsylvania Farm Show every January and we sell them. We show them and sell them at the Farm Show in January.
Well, once again, did you win a ribbon at all? MR. McCREA: A couple of the 36 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 kids did. I don't show them. I'm the club leader. I'm the pig farmer and the club leader. I don't show.
I just wanted to thank you in these tough times for bringing home the bacon. MR. McCREA: Thank you.
That was pretty good, Councilman Jones. That's a classic example of the richness of our parks. Who knew? And I've been to all -- good for you, sir, back there. I've been to all parts of the City and visited most of our high schools. Did not know that. MR. McCREA: It's pig, sheep and cattle also. There's sheep and cattle also. My daughter has raised all three.
Well, we thank you very, very much for your testimony. MR. McCREA: You're welcome. 37 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
Thank you all for your testimony. Thank you very much. Lawrence McKnight, William Mellix, Jeannine --
Wow. Cheryl Mobley, Joseph Moore, David Mora. Please feel free to come to the witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Please hand us your testimony on the front end, if you're able. Thank you. Anyone else have written testimony you want to offer now? Great. We'll start here at my far left. State your name for the record and 38 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 we'll proceed.
I'm David Mora, candidate for Park and Recreation Board. I am Latino heritage, and in two weeks, I'll be 50 years old. For the last six years, I've been on a leave of absence from my City job as an agronomist with the Water Department. I have a total of years of City service. I'm currently 11 an employee of AFSCME Local 2187 as a 12 staff representative. I am also the 13 Vice-President of Local 2187. 14 I have always had an interest 15 in green space. Our family moved to 16 Marlton, New Jersey when it was a small 17 town of five to six thousand people. My 18 brother, who works as a crew chief in the 19 Water Department's Stream Restoration 20 Unit, and I used to wander the wood lots 21 and creeks near our home in Marlton 22 catching turtles, frogs and tadpoles. 23 Even the fear of Rocky Mountain Spotted 24 Fever and encephalitis could not keep us out of the woods. We saw farms disappear 39 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and worried that our playground would disappear and become a crop of houses. Currently, the farms and wood lots that were behind our home are the last green space in all of Evesham Township and is owned and preserved by the Township. Our family moved back to the City via Puerto Rico in 1970. With the exception of four years in my early '20s, I have always been a resident of this great city. Juniata Park and Frankford Creek became our playgrounds. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences. Many of my schoolmates currently hold leadership positions in Fairmount Park. I'm a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor's degree of Science and Agricultural Education and with the emphasis in horticulture. During my college years at Penn State Abington, I worked at Fairmount 40 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Park at FDR Golf Course in South Philadelphia under Jim Donaghy for the summers, and I worked on the grounds crew at Penn State Abington during the rest of the year. After college, over a period of several years, I taught as a per diem substitute and a long-term substitute at Saul High School, teaching soil and water conservation, forestry, wildlife and ag mechanics. Some of my former students worked for the Fairmount Park and the Department of Recreation. For one season, I worked at Melrose Country Club in Cheltenham as the greens keeper. After that, I owned a landscape company known as Mora's Landscape, where I worked hard and put a lot of my knowledge to work. However, I was a poor businessman and with a pregnant wife, I needed a secure and full-time job. I had taken a test for the City and was hired first as a correctional 41 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 officer but later hired by Fairmount Park as a Grounds Worker I. Within a year and a half, I was a Grounds Worker III, which is a supervisor position. I was on the list for Park Management Trainee when I was hired as an Agronomist I by the Water Department in 1990. As an Agronomist I, I was involved in the composting phase of biosolids and the marketing of compost. I later was asked to develop an idea to move excess green compost from our site. I came up with compost -- I came up with the compost giveaway program. I also encouraged compost use by all government agencies. I applied for and received approval for compost to be used in highway projects in Pennsylvania. I co-wrote the first two biosolids use approvals given by the State of Pennsylvania. I was also able to place in City contracts that biosolids compost could be used in lieu of meeting topsoil requirements. I was responsible to 42 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 ensure that all compost met all federal and various state regulations. I reviewed and reported data to the State of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. I arranged for the sampling of biosolids products for the 503 regulations. I arranged for yearly approval of samples for biosolids going to landfill. I lent various pieces of equipment to Recreation, the Park, the School District and the Pennsylvania Hort Society.
I encouraged Fairmount Park, Recreation and the School District to use our compost.
I encouraged Fairmount Park and Recreation to use our compost and I worked with Penn State Cooperative Extension Service training those people. As for recreation, because I believe the Board members should have a balance of park and recreation experience, I played organized street 43 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 hockey in the league at Simpson Playground, sledding in Wissinoming Park and Juniata Golf Course. My friends and I would pay cents to skate at Tarken 6 Ice Skating Rink. 7 And as you can see, I'm a 8 long-time City resident and have an 9 extensive background of horticulture and 10 a user of recreation facilities and would 11 have valuable input into the discussion 12 on park and playgrounds. I would be a 13 representative from the Far Northeast. 14 Being of Latino heritage -- 15
Okay. (Continued) 18 -- I would add diversity to the Board, 19 and as a union representative, I could 20 give a union perspective on various 21 projects and programs. I would be a 22 strong advocate for raising money and 23 finding sponsors for the Board. 24 Finally, I would be greatly 25 honored to serve my fellow citizens as an 44 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 inaugural member of the Philadelphia Park and Recreation Board.
Good afternoon. My name is Jeannine Missaoui. I also come from a very diverse background. I actually have genetic heritage from every continent in the world, although I am mostly Native American and Afro Hispanic, with a little Anglo European thrown in there. I embrace my own ethnic diversity the way I do the City. I really love living in Philadelphia. I've lived here about ten years. And I have to say, I'm totally thrilled with the way the City had the forethought to lay out the Park system for the use of its residents. I've come from Long Island in the days when it was rural and I grew up in a farm community and farming, no doubt about it. There was no other way to survive there. And I just really became very sad growing 45 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 up watching farms just be chopped up, with no regard for what was going to happen in the future. And it became very, very apparent to me at a very young age that paying attention to open space is really key to human survival, and not to mention it's not just how beautiful it looks, it's really key to health, and also when you really think about it, water, drinking water recharge, must happen through open space. If you don't have enough open space, you're not going to have enough drinking water. It's going to be polluted if you allow everything to run off. So I think that everything is deeply connected, and I see that Philadelphia has begun to really look at that. I think our Water Department is very forward-thinking. I think Mayor Nutter is very forward-thinking, and I also am seeing a lot of developments happening, for example, with the Delaware River waterfront. I've spent a lot of 46 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 time going to welcome meetings around the City. I'm a voting member of the Regional Citizens Committee for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. I'm also a Board member for a local NAC, the Kensington Area Neighborhood Advisory Committee, which is in Harrogate, Philadelphia, between Juniata, Port Richmond and Bridesburg, which is a very low tree cover area, very -- it's very ethnically diverse, but the economics are rather depressed there, and we're really -- we're working on a new business -- our small business administration for the locale, where in fact we're going to have our first business dinner tonight and our first business breakfast this Friday. We have a lot of projects of that nature going on. Our next project at the NAC will be an outreach for children. We recognize that there's a huge problem with truant children, and I think a lot of the people 47 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 are very disconnected from their neighborhood. So in our discussions at the NAC, we really, really look forward to having some outreach through block parties this summer. We're seeking funding for that now. And we have a Soccer in the Streets program going on. We're going to bring in an arts program for the children, and then connect people with our services and also our small business administration.
Thank you. In any event, I have a very diverse background. I'm also in finance. I work as an accountant. I am in the middle of tax season right now. So I have a great knowledge of finance. And I was also a very competitive athlete as a youngster and I was until a recent car accident. Also --
-- being a farmer, I was also involved with retail nurseries and did a great deal for that community also. Thank you very much. I would be very thrilled to serve on the Philadelphia Commission for Parks and Recreation.
Good afternoon. My name is William Mellix and I would like to thank the Committee for this opportunity to present my testimony to become part of a new City agency that will have significant responsibilities with the future of our Parks and Recreation facilities. I have been involved in the landscape/horticulture industry for over 40 years, 19 years operating a landscape construction company and 21 years with Synterra Limited, a Philadelphia-based 49 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 landscape architectural firm who I'm presently working for. The roles and responsibilities of the Commission as defined in the application are consistent with my responsibilities that I perform at Synterra. My main responsibility as a Project Coordinator is to manage projects, oversee design schedules and manage budgets. I am also extensively involved in working with public and community groups and multiple City agencies. One of the responsibilities of the Commission will be to adopt standards and guidelines for Park/Recreation lands and facilities. I have years of experience in that area. I have managed the development of standards and guidelines for a variety of projects, such as landscape master planning for Temple University, the University of the Virgin Islands and Cheyney University. My responsibilities also 50 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 require presentations and coordination with City agencies such as the Fairmount Park Commission, the Philadelphia Art Commission and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I believe that I have developed a cordial and constructive working relationship with all of those agencies. I have worked on a multitude of projects here in the City that include Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, Northeast Community Center, Please Touch Museum, Schuylkill Banks and Feltonville Middle School. I specifically identify these projects to show the diversity of the projects that have contributed to my growth and experiences. I am also a Board member of the Nile Swim Club in Yeadon, the Chair of the Yeadon Planning Commission and I'm on the executive committee for the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. Being involved in these organizations 51 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 allow me the opportunity to sit on the reviewing side of the presentation table. As a result, I have gained unique insight from being both a presenter and a reviewer. I believe that transparency and openness are essential to the success of this Commission. The vision for future development and prosperity of our Parks and Recreation systems will be in the hand of this new Commission. I believe that I possess the qualities and character needed to be a beneficial contributing member to this Commission. Thank you for your consideration.
And thank you very much for your testimony. Good afternoon. MR. McKNIGHT: Good afternoon. My name is Lawrence McKnight. I am a registered professional engineer in three states.
Let me 52 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 just ask you to pause for one moment. Did you submit testimony? MR. McKNIGHT: I do have written. I'm reading it, if I can give it back to you.
Surely. I just want to keep my notes correct. So now I need to listen. Go ahead. I'm sorry. MR. McKNIGHT: I'm a professional engineer registered in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. I have a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with a minor in ecology. I also have a Master's in Engineering Management. I recently received the 2008 Visionary Award Honorable Mention from Sustainable Land Development Today for the Village at Spring Ridge. I'm currently employed by Westrum Development Company. We're the largest urban redeveloper in the City of Philadelphia. Being part of an urban redeveloper is the main reason why I'm 53 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 here today. I am a product of the Recreation Department. I'm born and raised in a fine neighborhood called Fishtown in Philadelphia. Recreation was always an integral part of my daily life and my upbringing. Youth league soccer, football and basketball kept me off the streets and provided me with the discipline to avoid the troubles of the streets and to strive to become the best person I could be. Traveling through other less fortunate neighborhoods also showed me how the lack of recreation or beauty of parks can lead to a depressed feeling and look of despair. Like you, my mother also instilled values in me. My mother is a teacher. My father was a cop. My father is retired now. They instilled the values of giving back to the community. When I graduated college, I joined a neighborhood group called the 54 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Ancient Order of Hibernians. It's an Irish Catholic organization that gives back to the community. I aided in reemergence of the neighborhood by designing and building a shrine to Our Lady of Knock at the Holy Name Catholic Church, participated in community clean-ups and doing whatever it takes to rid the streets of drugs. On a small scale, I believe I made my community a little better, and I hope to do the same on a larger scale with this Commission. My professional experience in land development and approval process with Westrum Development will allow me to apply the knowledge and skills required to visualize, design, construct and implement the goals of the Commission. As a manager, I was responsible for turning rural land or abandoned brown fields into residential subdivisions with both passive and active recreations. I performed site selection, negotiated with land owners, hired design consultants and 55 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 professionals, met with community and government officials, performed public presentations, obtained approvals from applicable government agencies, prepared bid documents and contracted with construction companies. All of these attributes and skill sets I feel would be a valuable asset to the Commission. During the design and approval process for a development, I have become familiar with the watershed and environmental regulations enacted by the City. Additionally, I've become very sensitive to the aesthetic value and civil pride that recreation and public parks provide for communities. I've also acquired the added value of interacting with community groups in order to provide a more sensible and welcoming new development into an existing well-established neighborhood. As a professional engineer, my education and experience affords me valuable knowledge of federal and local 56 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 regulations required to keep the safety and well-being of a public priority number one and apply the principles of engineering to the qualifications required by the Commission.
Ten seconds. The bell rang. MR. McKNIGHT: If I was appointed to the Commission, I feel I'd be able to make the City a better place to live. For too long residents of my age and my demographics have left the City in hopes of finding better amenities to raise their families in. I passionately feel that this city has all the tangibles to provide beautiful parks and trails to utilize and to establish recreations to better raise children in. I'm a product of this city and I want to make it better. I feel my background and experience in land development and engineering will add greatly to the Commission's responsibility to the people of the City. 57 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
Thank you very much for your testimony. Can we make sure we get a copy of his testimony. Please, sir, state your name for the record.
On November 4, 2008, the citizens of the City of Philadelphia voted to approve a change to the City Charter to dissolve the Fairmount Park Commission and combine the functions of the Commission with the Department of Recreation. I was not one of those citizens who voted for the change, but having lost at the ballot box, I've decided to step forward and 58 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 apply to become a member for the newly founded Commission on Parks and Recreation. The Fairmount Park system is huge and encompasses 63 parks and totaling 9,200 acres, and it's unique in its mixture of historic properties, wooded lands, open fields, wetland resources and public art installations. As an archeologist working in cultural resource management for over ten years, I believe I'm an excellent candidate for a seat on the Commission for Parks and Recreation. I've extensively worked with the National Historic Preservation Act and other relevant state and municipal preservation laws. I was responsible for acting as a liaison between clients and regulatory agencies, and I have a great deal of experience working with a wide range of agencies and organizations. I'm going to skip a paragraph just so I'm under time. Given the fairly recent events 59 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 surrounding the President's House excavations and the construction of the Liberty Bell Center, it's clear that the citizens of the Philadelphia metropolitan area believe that history is important and that archeology can be vital in revealing that history and making it accessible to the public. Not only does the Fairmount Park system and other City parks have documented historical sites, but they also represent the largest parcels of undisturbed land within the greater urban setting. These areas have the highest probability for containing potentially significant undocumented pre-historic and historic archeological sites within the City. A comprehensive plan to identify and examine such sites could be the key to developing a new form of historic preservation and tourism. In addition to City funding, grants for such research could be sought through state and federal agencies and through private institutions. Historic and cultural 60 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 resources are not renewable, and once they have been destroyed, they can never be recreated. The work of the Fairmount Park Historic Trust was initially developed to address the critical state of the significant historic resources owned by the City of Philadelphia and Fairmount Park. The Trust addressed these needs by providing support in matters of historic preservation to the Fairmount Park Commission. The Trust has done a noble job, but more can be done with the support of new Commission on Parks and Recreation. I believe that Philadelphia could be a model for utilizing its historic resources for new historic preservation and tourism opportunities. Philadelphia's parks and their historic resources can be the key to opening a new chapter in the City's life. Finally, I would like to state that I'm a lifelong Philadelphian. I graduated from Central High School and 61 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Temple University for my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. I have chosen to remain here and raise my two daughters here. My family utilizes the parks and playgrounds in Philadelphia, and I would like to make them something my children would be happy and proud to play in for years to come. It will take courageous individuals to become leaders to help show the world how great our city and our parks can be, and I want to be a part of this new exciting change. Thank you.
Thank you very, very, very much. Let me just say just as a picture, this panel represents the diversity that our city looks like, and it's a classic example why this process really did work, the democratic process. So we are great to have those who believed in it and we're great to have converters, those who saw at the end of the process that this really can be a 62 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 good thing for all of us. So thank you very much for your testimony. Thank you all. Cheryl Mobley, Wayne Morra, Daniel Muroff, Sylvia Myers, Richard Nalbandian, Joshua Nims and June O'Neill. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Okay, then. We'll start right here at my left. Good afternoon.
Thank you. Everyone applying for this position is passionate about seeing the Parks and Recreation system grow and prosper. Everyone that comes before you 63 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 knows we have a precious jewel that must be protected, polished and showcased for all to see and appreciate. The skills I offer are my training and expertise in natural resource economics, a background well-suited to tackle the charge of the new Commission to expand and diversify the fundings and resources for operation. We all know budget cuts are here and more are coming. To secure the Parks and Recreation system in Philadelphia, we have to find alternative revenue sources and be ever vigilant that those revenue sources are used to the most efficient manner; for example, by directly involving communities in the administration of recreational leagues or in training local people to run their own pools rather than shut them down, to look for synergistic alliances between City Hall and neighborhood groups for managing recreational opportunities for all citizens. We have to get our hands on new 64 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 revenue sources, especially community development grants, stimulus grants and corporate grants. We have to find new ways to merge the public and the private sector. As corporations attempt to rebrand their image, the Parks and Recreation Commission will have the unique opportunity to partner with business. Businesses, specifically financial corporations, will have a chance to repair their image, while the Parks and Recreation system will have a chance to develop a path to sustain fiscal vitality. The West African Conservation and Educational program that I co-directed derived almost its entire budget from corporations such as Marathon Oil, Exxon Mobile and Hess. Additionally, we should consider new modes of operation and new entrepreneurial ventures like the very successful Bargemusic program in New York City. We should require event operators to pick up their own trash or pay a fee 65 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 more municipal clean-up. We can streamline the licensing process for Park vendors and entrepreneurs who pay taxes, thus augmenting the revenue stream. And, finally, since so many of our suburban friends and neighbors avail themselves of the benefits of the Park, shouldn't they pay a part of the cost? We simply can't afford free riders anymore. As a member of the Commission, I believe my primary contributions will be threefold. First, as a professional trained economist who has worked with the EPA, worked in Africa in partnership with agencies such as USAID, Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund; second, as a college professor for 30 years who has experience not only in the classroom but working collaboratively building consensus, even among faculty members; and, last, as one with a deep unbridled love of our city's parks and a robust belief in the benefits of recreation. 66 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 In summary, a person who will work to secure sustainable fiscal vitality for the Parks and the Recreation system, a collaborator and a consensus builder, and a hard worker who will protect and enhance open space we've been endowed with and maintain and enhance the recreational opportunities we are all entitled to. Thank you for this opportunity.
Thank you very much for your testimony. I do have a question, but I want to hear all testimony first. Please. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, members of City Council. My name is Sylvia Myers. I am here today, as I feel I am qualified to be considered for an appointment to the newly created Commission on Parks and Recreation. I have been an integral part of many facets of the Fairmount Park. I have been a volunteer connected with the preservation 67 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 of historic Laurel Hill Mansion for the past 30 years. I have been a garden chairperson. I have conducted tours. I've worked with youth groups brought to the house through our outreach program. As a volunteer with the Roxborough/Manayunk/Wissahickon Historical Society, I have developed an appreciation for the significance of what is in the Park and its role in the development of our city. In my community, I have been a volunteer in the revitalization of Gorgas Park. This work involved the restoration of a War Memorial and raising funds. As a result of my work in conjunction with the Friends of Gorgas Park, I can honestly say the Park is now a gathering place for families and a focal point for summer concerts, movies and community fairs. One of the assets I bring to the position is my experience with the youth of Philadelphia. I am a committee 68 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Kids Grow Expo, which is designed to teach inner city youth the value of horticulture. I bring hands-on knowledge of trees and shrubs. I have cultivated award-winning hollies and evergreens. I became a Master Flower Show Judge after years of schooling and actual show experience. I bring to the Commission a lifelong love of conservation and plant cultivation. Because I have made the Park an important part of my life, I feel strongly that I can advocate on behalf of the Park and those who use the facilities on a daily basis. My pride in the Park, the City and its people is no secret to anyone that knows me. I would like an opportunity to be of service to the Park in this new way and come here today to ask you to give me a chance to be further involved in the best park in the world. I'm not the tallest candidate, I'm not the youngest candidate, but I 69 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 pledge to be the most dedicated member should you see fit to appoint me to the Commission of Parks and Recreation.
Good afternoon. My name is M. Richard Nalbandian. That's N-A-L-B-A-N-D-I-A-N. I would like to --
I would first like to thank the Committee for convening this inclusive and transparent process. The Parks and Recreation system in Philadelphia is a unique and invaluable asset. The system's aesthetic, environmental, social and health benefits are many faceted and they are available to every resident of our 70 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 region. But in order to realize the full potential of these benefits, a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach is needed. I am currently an Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning at Temple University and a Research Fellow in its Center for Sustainable Communities. I won't take time here to review in detail my professional credentials and experience since they are included in my application and the attached resume. However, I would like to highlight my 40 years of experience as consultant, manager, researcher, government official and teacher in earth and environmental sciences and planning. I have worked with small and large municipalities, citizen and advocacy groups, non-profits and large corporations to establish and use best management practices for responsible land development and environmental protection 71 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and restoration. I have helped to plan new communities and open space systems and land reclamation projects in many parts of the U.S. and abroad. I have lived and worked in Philadelphia for nearly 30 years and have acquired an intimate knowledge of much of the Fairmount Park system and of open space and parklands in neighboring communities through my recreational use and through my work as a principal investigator in the Center for Sustainable Communities' watershed and land management planning efforts in the Pennypack and Wissahickon Creek watersheds. If selected to serve on the Commission, as a professional community and regional planner, I would seek to contribute to the development and clear articulation of goals, objectives and strategies that integrate the necessary disciplines, community needs and citizen concerns. And as an environmental 72 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 scientist, I would seek to ensure that the selected strategies are based on sound science and represent best management practices. Thank you for your consideration of my application.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you very much. I want to thank -- my name is Dan Muroff, M-U-R-O-F-F. I want to thank the Council Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs for allowing me the opportunity to present in front of you today and to share why I believe I would be an important and valued asset on the newly created Commission on Parks and Recreation. I believe in our city. I believe passionately not only in Philadelphia's people, but also in those things that make our city so special, 73 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 including our city's park system. When I make my way downtown from my home in the City's Northwest, I pass through bold rocky bluffs that trace a path directly to the Schuylkill River, which winds across a pasture that ends at an urban landscape, and this never ceases to inspire me that this routine, yet special experience, along with a great appreciation for the exceptional history buried within this landscape, that has elevated my passion to help preserve and improve our parks. I view Philadelphia's Park system as having potential that is yet to be realized. While cities like Vancouver and Washington, DC have effectively incorporated their park systems into their cities' narratives, Philadelphia has an even more expansive historic, unique and dramatic park system to offer. We can do more to elevate the Park system and develop a narrative that better informs our community and nation that 74 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Philadelphia is a city with something unique. In this way, we can leverage our assets and make our parks and our entire city stronger. The trust to preserve this valued asset must be balanced with an understanding that a healthy and sustainable park system must embrace thoughtfully considered and sustainable development. That is why I have worked collaboratively along with other advocates in the City's Northwest to further development of the Cresheim Trail from Montgomery County to Forbidden Drive. That is also why I have worked as President of East Mount Airy Neighbors to support additional funding for our neighborhood parks like Pleasant Playground. These are examples of the sort of smart growth worth supporting. As a member of the new Commission, I would accept this responsibility with tremendous respect for the long and important legacy that is 75 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Fairmount Park and for its preservation for the generations to come. I believe I would be a worthy asset to the Commission, and I thank you for your consideration. I'd like to also add I'm originally from the region and I left for about or years, and I moved back to 9 Philadelphia because I believe in this 10 place, and passionately so. 11 So I thank you very much for the opportunity to express my sincere interest in this.
Well, it certainly comes through from you and from all of you. The authenticity is without question. Let me thank you for your prepared testimony, and let me ask you, if I may, Dr. Morra, the Bargemusic program, briefly tell me what that is.
It's a program that -- what they do is, they bring concerts out to a barge right on the river over by Brooklyn, and it's just a 76 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 big happening. They have it five, six days a week, and it's just a big happening out there, and it just attracts a lot of people. Any time I think that you can get any kind of private ventures working in the Park, I think it's a win-win situation, and that's why I said about streamlining the licensing process to get more vendors to use the Park and get more revenue for the Park that way. I really think that's a key revenue source for us as time goes on.
Well, that's a classic example of the long list of ideas we've been able to glean from a lot of the testimony. It's another classic example. Thank you all very, very much. Cheryl Mobley, you're welcome to come to the table and offer your testimony. Joshua Nims, June O'Neill, William O-S-T-A-P-C-H-U-K. I want to honor that pronunciation. Gregory 77 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Pastore, Katie Pastuszek. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
If you have testimony, my little helper, who is out of school but is going to work today, if you could pass the testimony to Miss Brielle. This is my American Express card. School is out. She's working with me, my daughter, Brielle Brown. Good afternoon, everyone. Please state your name for the record and offer your testimony.
Good afternoon. I'm Cheryl Mobley-Stimpson. I'm in a little bit of pain. I'm just coming out of a muscle spasm, Councilwoman, but I'm very happy to be here today. I'm also known as Cheryl Mobley, also known as Dr. Cheryl, also know as Leon and Cameron's mom, and I consider it an honor to appear before you today with testimony supporting my application for Commissioner. 78 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 In law, there's a Latin phrase often used, Res Ipsa Loquitur, which simply means that things speak for itself. Therefore, I will not speak for my resume. You have access to that to read at your convenience. Rather, I will bring to your attention the following: I'm a fourth-generation South Philadelphian raising a fifth-generation of South Philadelphians, a third-generation public school graduate, a second-generation college graduate and teacher - B.S. from Cheyney, M.A. from Ohio State, J.D. from Howard Law and ABD/Ph.D Penn State - second-generation block captain and fourth-generation member of Union Baptist Church in South Philadelphia, where my family has served since the late 1800's, early 1900's. I'm a former second International Vice-President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and the highest elected ranking elected officer to serve from this area. 79 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'm a change agent and I'm here today to help. I'm passionate about serving people. You see, it's this DNA. My mother's first cousin was Melvin Burgess. Germantown Settlement has a building named after Melvin that stands at Wayne and Chelten Avenues, and my own mother was legendary in teaching. She didn't have to brag about it, because the things spoke for itself. I have developed a reputation for creating substantive strategic alliances and have experience in the state Legislature, non-profit arena, as a community advocate and small business owner, and I'm now repositioning myself due to an accident and this very tough economy, and that brings me to this moment. My children have become change agents and impact players in baseball. They also play soccer, football, were downhill ski racers with the USSA Association, played basketball and ran 80 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 track. I've submitted their athletic bios, so I won't go into that, but one of my crowning achievements has been to develop two African American boys as Division I/Major League Baseball prospects from the inner city in the Northeast portion of this country, almost unheard of in this day and age. So I sit before you today to state that it's taken all I've had to give. Maybe I could have made some different judgments along the way, but there really was no help from the City to assist in this effort, and that is exactly what I'm here to talk about very, very briefly, that there needs to be a partnership, more of a partnership, around parks and recreation, as relates to children and families and in the City of Philadelphia and beyond. I have used recreation centers and parks all through the City. As a child I used Vare, Chew and played in Wharton Square. My children have used centers throughout this entire city, 81 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 playing at DV, Taney, SEYAA, SABRE, Anderson, Fairmount, Elmwood, Feltonville and other centers and parks throughout the City from the south to the northeast. They've also used centers and parks throughout Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Bucks County. I'm a second-generation block captain and I'm trained in greening and systemic approaches to preservation, and my own church is actually considered for preservation on the National Registry.
So let me advise you, you missed the opportunity for the rules. Everyone had three minutes. So you have 15 seconds to wrap up.
Okay. In closing, there are many careers that are waiting to be developed using parks and recreation. There are fractured lives that can be mended. They are waiting. I want to publicly thank Councilman Bill Green for what he has 82 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 done in the life of my older son, and I wanted to go on record as thanking Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who has written my letter of recommendation for today, as well as Gail Connor, who is President of a local environmental firm that's located in Delaware County, and also Chuck Pearsall, who is the Athletic Director of one of our stellar prep charter schools, Prep Charter in South Philadelphia. Again, I want to hold hands with you. I have a proven template beyond a resume. Remember, Res Ipsa Loquitur. Everything I've done speaks for itself.
Good afternoon. I'd like to begin by thanking the members of the Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown for your commitment and 83 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 your service to the natural places and the future leaders of this great city. I'm honored to be here today among such worthy citizens who, like me, share a commitment to the lasting preservation of this city's parks and urban wilderness and, equally as important, share a desire to provide the City's young people with experiences that will shape their futures and the future of this city. As I thought about what I wanted to share with the Committee relative to my application to serve as a member of the new Commission on Parks and Recreation, I too decided not to talk about myself, but rather to talk about those experiences that I work to deliver. I concluded that the best spokespeople for Outward Bound's place at the table are the students that we serve. As the Executive Director of Outward Bound, I want to tell you stories of three students, and it's my hope that you will 84 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 recognize the value of including Outward Bound's voice among the others that you select to serve the Parks and Recreation systems in Philadelphia. In 2000, Outward Bound offered its first five-day Philadelphia urban-based expedition course to nine students and the Vice-Principal of Furness High School in South Philadelphia. The students selected to participate included a diverse mix of student government representatives. Among the participants was a young woman of Chinese heritage whom I will call Xuai. Xuai appeared enthusiastic during the start of the course, packing her backpack methodically, following directions and quietly assuming her place alongside her crew mates. I met the group on the third day of their course in Philadelphia as they were beginning the rock climbing activities at Livesey Rocks in the Wissahickon Valley Park. According to the instructors, Xuai had 85 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 been a quiet participant on the first few days of the course, not complaining; however, keeping to herself much of the time. At the rock site, however, Xuai demonstrated her fearless ability to scale the rock face, dancing to the top, tagging the bell and repelling back down to congratulatory cheers from her crew mates. By the afternoon as the group centered around the 30-foot pole at our high ropes course on the other side of the Wissahickon Creek, Xuai easily climbed the ladder, stepped quickly up the staples on the side of the swaying pole, skillfully maneuvered herself on top of the tippy plate at the top of the pole and turned carefully around to face her crew, ready to take her leap of faith off the top. We ask our students to share with us something about themselves they wish to leave behind as they jump from the pole high in the trees secured by a full-body harness supported by ropes, fed 86 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 through a technical belay system with their crew mates holding them on the ground. Xuai, using what many believe to be the first-time full sentences in perfect English came through her lips, said, I want to be a leader and I want to leave behind my shy and timid self and step into a new me, ready, willing and able to take safe risks to make my world a better place. With that, she leapt forward, gracefully flying through the air before landing safely on the ground. The Vice-Principal and I watched her as her crew mates enveloped her in a group hug. The instructors were moved. The Vice-Principal, through tears, shared that she had never before experienced such a profound learning opportunity for her students.
So I would ask that you try to wrap up for the last 15 seconds.
This is Outward 87 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Bound at its finest moment. These are only stories of one of the three of the more than 12,000 students and teachers we serve here in Philadelphia. Our mission is to inspire leadership, and we believe we are accomplishing this task with the support of our incredible partner schools, youth-serving organizations, the City Department of Recreation, Fairmount Park and the many other organizations that collaborate with us to provide the life-changing experiences known as Outward Bound. Here in Philadelphia we're blessed with the beautiful natural places of Fairmount Park, the expansive recreation opportunities and, most of all, with amazing young hearts and souls ready to experience these wonders. We see it every day here in the City, in the parks and in partnership with our recreation centers.
Thank you 88 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very much. Please don't leave yet. Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon. My name is Greg Pastore, P-A-S-T-O-R-E. Thank you for this opportunity to speak.
I have no written testimony per se. I did hand up another copy of my original application with a recommendation letter. My application contains my background and credentials. I am a member of the Zoning Code Commission as a culmination of my years of community service. I just wanted to state a few particular thoughts and opinions I have relating to parks, rec and the new combination. First of all, it is a good thing -- I think this is obvious, but needs to be restated -- that the parks be bifurcated by operations rather than by agency. It's important that we understand that parks are land 89 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 management -- a land management company, and recreation is really for the activation of those land uses on that land. So we have to understand that that's what we're trying to achieve here. In no particular order, a couple of thoughts I had was, one of these things about land management will be watershed management. That really is job one of the Fairmount Park Commission overall -- of the Fairmount Park overall. Drinking water is job one A and storm water runoff is job one B. As long as we can protect those things, activating the space, as other people have said, is probably job two that we need to do. People using the parks intensively is a good thing as long as we're not violating the passive value of these parks to us. Another thing that -- one thing that I see lacking in parks today is honoring, from the City's perspective, the social contract. The lack of trash pick-up in the small pocket parks and the 90 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 neighborhood parks is really an absurdity, and dogs need to be on the leash where appropriate and not on the leash where appropriate. Those are some things that friends groups can't do, individual citizens can't do. That's the responsibility of the government and I think ultimately the responsibility of this Commission to get that point across, that that's something that the government gives to the people, is the rules under which things are done at the parks and the certain support services so that then citizens can give back, to the extent they can, and enjoy. One particular example of a vision for the Park as far as activating the use is the lakes at FDR. There's no 20 reason that the facility there, the pavilion, can't be a great space. It's just sitting there. All we have to do is look at the Water Works on the Schuylkill to understand the analogy to what the lakes can be. At that same location, you 91 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 can take a power boat, but you have to climb down like a muddy bank to get there. There's not a dock. And the Boston Swan Boats and umpteen places around the world are a counter example of how that's done, if you just care a little bit. I guess I would like to just conclude by saying that the combined conditions mandate to manage the City's public lands. It does dovetail very well with my experience as a, so to speak, steward of private land. I'm used to making decisions, sometimes hard decisions, about things in my community and citywide, and that's something that this new Commission is going to have to do. There's no two ways about the fact that some decisions that need to be made are hard, whether it's budget issues or otherwise, as other people have said, and we need to be able to do that. So thank you.
You're 92 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very welcome. Good afternoon.
My name is William Ostapchuk. That's the pronunciation. O-S-T-A-P-C-H-U-K.
You're welcome. A longtime resident in Northeast Philadelphia. As a 73-year-old concerned senior citizen, I truly believe that I can bring a perspective to the City parks and community centers, what they mean to the elderly, the youth of the fine city notwithstanding. In my resume, I listed my credentials, which include a business degree from St. Joseph University. I earned my degree in five years at night while working full time and raising a family. Now, I don't have firsthand experience to the specifics of operations of Parks and Recreation facilities, so one may ask what could I bring to the 93 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 table. My response, a willingness to work with my contemporaries and the elected public officials such as yourself to achieve the highest standards in doing what is best for the parks and recreation centers. Recognizing that these are very difficult economic times, some hard decisions will have to be made. But if decisions are made with common sense and best intentions, our diversity should come together for the betterment of Philadelphia citizens. That's what I would fight for. There is one specific element that I would like to address, which is maintaining a clean environment in our Parks and Recreation facilities. This includes keeping them trash-free and well kept. This notion, in my view, is to be exercised and promoted by its users, without which anything else would be muted. Finally, as a social member of Glen Foerd Mansion Preservation for a 94 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 number of years and a past social member of Friends of Pennypack Park, I feel akin to being associated to the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation, although I recognize that it's a much bigger responsibility. Your consideration is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
You're welcome. We thank you for your willingness to offer testimony and state your interest, despite the fact that many of you have a huge responsibility. To the both of you, let me say you should be encouraged, because one of the first things that happened under the former Managing Director, Phil Goldsmith, is that he did actually what you suggested, combined the operations like grass cutting. There's no need to have one set of grass cutters for Parks and another set of grass cutters for Rec. Let's have one to take care of both. And so the alignment of some of those 95 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 functions and operations began to happen immediately. So those were good signals that we were on our way to doing what Councilman Clarke and I needed to do. So I simply wanted to acknowledge and affirm what you stated in your testimony. To you two ladies, I need to ask, briefly state what one or two skills you bring to the table for consideration on the Commission. Please. Because your testimony reflected other perspectives, but for our purposes here.
When I started in my position as the Executive Director of Outward Bound in 1999, we served ten schools and we served a total of about 58 students a year. Last year we served 2,800 students and teachers across the City of Philadelphia in representing schools in all ten Council districts. We've built a program. I manage a Board. I know how to manage a non-profit organization. We are completely non-profit, so our funding comes from a 96 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 little bit from the School District, a little bit from the state and a large percentage of it from individual and private entities.
Yes, Councilwoman. The two things I want to highlight, because I have a number of diverse skills that I bring, but number one, I'm a post-secondary education expert, and I think every single thing that this City does that involves children and youth needs to be connected to post-secondary education in some form or fashion in a way that's both systemic and in a way that's strategic, and certainly utilizing Parks and Recreation, there are a number of areas that could be touched upon with regard to career development once you're talking about sports. We're not just talking about kids being able to go to the NCAA and 97 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 play, although that's important, if they can get there. We're not just talking about them trying to get to the professional level, but we are talking about all the various careers that are connected to sports. There's sports law, there's sports medicine, there's sports as it relates to parks and recreation. So I hope I made myself clear there, just regard post-secondary education expertise. And the second thing is my ability to mobilize vast networks as a result of my own tenure in this city in terms of the length of time I resided, the length of time my family has existed here and all of the arms and legs that stretch out from there from the standpoint of work, from the standpoint of just socialization, church, any number of things, existing in the neighborhood. That's important, because that does not exist today. All the way down to the grassroots level, again, in a way that is 98 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 both strategic and in the way that's systemic, and so what we end up with is one-hit wonders. We take five steps forward and three steps backward, and every time there's a new Administration, there are new areas to be explored, tasks to be accomplished, but going all the way down to the lowest common denominator, it's not happening. Things are not connected up. So that's what I bring.
Thank you very, very much for your testimony. I would like to acknowledge my colleague in this endeavor, Councilman Darrell Clarke. Councilman Clarke, please offer a few words.
Absolutely. We indicated early on that 99 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 you actually chair the other Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and because of the urgency of dealing with the stimulus dollars, we had to get those agencies in on the record.
Yeah. I just wanted to, first of all, thank you for continuing to do a great job on this very important initiative. You are a trooper -- or a troopist. What is it when you're woman? First, how is everybody doing? I just wanted to apologize, as Councilwoman said, that I'm actually chairing as we speak the Committee on Fiscal Stability, and we're talking about the significant revenue that's going to be coming to the City of Philadelphia. So we brought in all of the stakeholders, SEPTA, the housing authorities, job training, all of the various entities that will be charged with spending we hope what will be approaching a billion dollars in the City of Philadelphia. So 100 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I had to do that, because I want at the end of the day to be in a position to put more money in both our Parks and our Recreation systems. One of the things I said earlier -- I know those of you, Laura and the folks that have been here at all of the hearings, I just wanted to say -- and I don't know if it was mentioned yet.
Unfortunately, most of you all will not be successful, and that's just the simple case of numbers. But in the first two hearings that I've been privy to in terms of sitting there and listening to the candidates, it became increasingly clear, although it was clear when we first got the initial applications, that there is no way that, given the quality of people, that we're going to be able to select 24 nominees and, in retrospect, wish that we 25 had said possibly we should have 100 101 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 people on this. I mean, the quality of the people that have come in, I tell you, it's just been amazing, and it's encouraging to understand that people in the City of Philadelphia, one, they care so much about their Parks and Rec systems, but the quality of the people and the commitment has been extremely encouraging. So one of the things that became clear to us is that we have to make sure that we keep people engaged, because what we don't want to do is nominate people and the Mayor selects 16 nine of those 25 and then the rest of you 17 say, Well, I took a shot at it, so be it, 18 and go on about your daily business. We 19 can't let that happen. We got to keep 20 you engaged. So we're working on a 21 strategy that will create -- and I don't 22 want to say exactly what it is, but it 23 will be something that will allow people 24 to continue to participate in a 25 meaningful way and both provide 102 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 substantive recommendations and influence the strategies as it relates to policies on Rec and Parks. The other thing, for those of you that are successful -- and hopefully somebody in this room will be there -- there were some concerns early on in this process about this being a, quote/unquote, advisory council and not in the position to influence policy. I would like to say that from our perspective, that cannot be anything further than the truth. We are going to be leaning on this group in a significant way to ensure that you help develop strategies on parkland, rec land, disposition, watershed management, policies as it relates to dealing with young people and older people on these various recreation needs. So one of the other things that we wanted to make sure, because we have created what I believe probably should be a blueprint on how to have a transparent 103 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 process and being proactive and getting people engaged, we're going to expect, although we're not going to be in charge of this Commission, but we're going to expect and encourage that this Commission takes its show on the road. We would like to see you have these public debates in various parts of the City to solicit ideas from all of the citizens to make sure that we get an accurate picture of what should actually happen in our system. So, again, I want to apologize, but I want to thank all of you for showing your interest and your commitment. I got to go back across the hall and hopefully wrap up this very important initiative. I've actually compared my notes with the Councilwoman from the first two meetings and they're pretty similar, so I plan on looking at her notes on the third and get a clear sense of where I need to be. 104 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
So thank you all. I apologize, but I got to go over here. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you very, very much. So he not knowing and not having heard testimony, we have already heard testimony of the importance of doing just that, going to the trench level in neighborhoods and communities that we can hear up close and personal what we expect. So thank you, Councilman Clarke. So thank you all for your testimony.
Thank you very, very much. Joshua Nims, June O'Neill, Carmella Paulmier, Stephen Pawlowski, Clifford Pearlman, please proceed to the 105 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
June Pelzer, Tony Pich, Frank P-I-T-Z. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Okay, then. State your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Carmella Clark Paulmier. That's P-A-U-L-M-I-E-R, and I would like to thank the Council for having this meeting so that people can have a chance to state their views and to apply or be considered for a seat on the Commission.
Let me get right to the point and tell you that I'm applying to the Commission because I have been a lifelong --
I need you to speak into the mike. Pull it closer 106 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to you. It won't bite you, I promise.
I have been a lifelong resident of the City of Philadelphia and taken advantage of both the Parks and Recreation resources provided by the City. I have fond memories of my family outings to the old Smith Playground and learning to swim and take advantage of the situations there, and my very first working opportunity was on the staff of Camp William Penn back in the Poconos in the early '70s. Every major point of my life has involved aspects of recreational parks in Philadelphia, so I would like to share my interests and abilities and be a representative for the everyday people who use the Parks and Recreation opportunities provided by the City. My background in the service of the Parks and Recreation has been in mainly historical preservation and lands management and then recreational aspects of the Wissahickon Valley and horseback 107 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 riding, gardening and horticulture and the management of the grounds and around the area of the Monastery complex. I have been the manager of a former Park property that was turned over to the Boarders and Stewards of the Monastery, and I served as a Board member for a number of years from the financial end, raising money for grants, preserving the property and overseeing the management of the associated grounds and interest of the property. This involvement has given me a deep and abiding feeling of care and concern for the parks and the recreational facilities that are involved in it. And I feel that the facilities are one of the untapped areas of treasures in the area, and I would like to serve on the Commission so I can reciprocate the pleasure I felt as a Park and Recreation consumer and user. I do realize that it's not an easy task and that it will take a lot of 108 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 time, energy and commitment, and I feel I have all of that when it comes to the City of Philadelphia and our Parks and Recreation Department. So I would like to thank you again.
You're welcome. Thank you for your testimony, and we thank you for honoring the clock. Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon. I'm Clifford Pearlman, P-E-A-R-L-M-A-N. Thank you for this chance to tell you a few things about me. I thought I would talk a little bit, if I might, about my use of the Park, just as a Philadelphia resident, what I've come to learn about the Park through a number of consulting assignments I did with the Park at the behest of the William Penn Foundation several years ago and what I've learned as someone who started a business in the City in 1980, a strategic planning business that grew to be the largest of 109 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 its kind in the country when I left it in 2000. It was a niche market consulting firm. Our client base was grant-makers and the entities in which they had -- their grantees in which they had a particular interest, which is how I got involved in doing some work with the Park. I'm sort of an exercise nut and I live downtown, and I think I have probably made the 8.4 mile loop around the river from Lloyd Hall probably more different ways than just about anybody. I ran it when I was younger. When my knees went -- I ran it and I cross country skied it back in the day when we used to have large snowstorms in this city. When my knees went, I started to bike and then inline skate, and now I row six miles a day on the river, which is about all my knees will let me do at this stage in my life. I've been a youth tennis player at Seger Playground. It's at 10th and 110 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Lombard. Seger is interesting because the Rec Department staff there has historically run a reservation system for people who pay a $25 fee in order to be able to reserve courts, which is a big thing in tennis. This is maybe one of the rec sites that does this. And then a few years ago when the courts needed resurfacing, the fees that it built -- these reservation fees that have been built up over the year paid for the resurfacing of the court sort of outside of the City budget. Kind of an interesting model. I also do some work on the river as a rower. I do some work with the head of the Schuylkill Regatta. One of your staff members each year opens an invitation from me inviting you to come down for a guided tour, but I know how busy people are on October weekends. Maybe I'll just move to talk a little bit about my work with the Park at the behest of the Foundation. I've done 111 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 a number of assignments. These are back a few years ago. I worked with the then-President -- oops. I got to move here.
-- (continued) in the rollout of the $25 million capital infrastructure grant that the Park made and then in the development of a professional development curriculum for staff at the Park. And I'll just have to leave my third aspect of my work to stand for itself in my resume. Thank you so much.
You're very, very welcome. Thank you. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Councilwoman Reynolds Brown. It's an honor for me to be here at this point, and I'm not going to take up a lot of time.
You have 112 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 three minutes like everyone else. You can use all of your three minutes.
Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. My name is June Pelzer. That's P-E-L-Z-E-R, and I just want to say a few things here. I've always had a love affair with the Park system. From a child I've been going to the Park, because we grew up poor in West Philadelphia, didn't have any money to go anywhere else. Therefore, we utilized Fairmount Park as a form of recreation. This was all that we had. Kelly Pool, League Island, Gustine Lake, these were the places that we swam. And I even remember when Kelly Pool had a 17-foot-deep pool there with a diving board. That's long gone now. I'm talking about late '50s, early '60s when we enjoyed being children in this city, 113 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 in West Philadelphia in particular. I've been involved for a long time with different organizations in Philadelphia. I'm a member of the business association of West Parkside. I'm a member of the Parkside Association. Civic organizations I've been drawn to in my quest to help Fairmount Park in any way that I could, because Fairmount Park to me is like an old friend and I just didn't want to see it just decline. I wanted to do all that I could to help Fairmount Park survive and be the park that it can be. There's so much potential there. And I am not going take up any more time. I have two letters of recommendation here that I would like to give you, and they both pretty much sum up what I am about. I'm a hands-on person. I participate every year in Philadelphia Cares about Fairmount Park, even with my two granddaughters. I brought them up when they were little. 114 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 My husband and I practically raised them from the time they were little, and I brought them along with me with the shovels and everything and we'd get out there and clean, and I showed them the way, you see. And I would like to just end by saying I'm here because I have a great interest in furthering Fairmount Park and in doing whatever I can to make it more successful. I know it can be a world-class park system. I've been to other cities and states and I've seen what they have to offer, and I believe we can bring ours up to par also. Thank you.
We thank you all very, very, very much for your testimony. We deeply appreciate it. Please, we'd like to acknowledge another member of our Committee who is splitting himself in two as well, also a member of the Committee on Fiscal Responsibility, Councilman for 115 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the 1st Councilmanic District, Councilman Frank DiCicco. So we want to acknowledge his presence for the record as well. Next up, Tony P-I-C-H, Frank P-I-T-Z, Arthur Plaxton, Curtis Pontz, Carla Puppin. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon, everybody. Please state your name for the record, and we will pay attention and hear your testimony. Please, sir.
Good afternoon. My name is Curtis Pontz, P-O-N-T-Z. I appreciate this opportunity. The numbers are daunting. Several hundred applicants are no doubt deserving of consideration and only nine members to be appointed. So I am here today not to rehash my resume, but to cite the considerations that I believe set me apart from the other worthy candidates. 116 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 My ties to Philadelphia are extraordinarily deep. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Temple University Law School, and I've lived my all adult life in Philadelphia. I'm also a lifelong Philadelphian by dint of commitment. That commitment is embodied in my community activism, as reflected in my resume, which has involved my holding influential leadership roles in a wide range of organizations aimed at bettering the quality of life in our city. Professionally, I served for two years as senior counsel to the Pennsylvania State Police while a Deputy Attorney General for the Pennsylvania Justice Department, enabling me to acquire a keen insight into issues closely related to public safety in our Parks and Recreation facilities. I worked for years for a Fortune 300 25 company. For 15 years I was, among other 117 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 duties, the company's Director of Environmental Litigation, having been charged with implementing strategies to improve corporate-wide responsiveness to environmental regulations. I insisted on responsible corporate citizenship and respect for our environment. As Director of Compliance Programs for that company for seven years, I directed all compliance training activities and enforcement of the company's code of ethics among over 20,000 employees. And since retiring from the corporate world in 2001, I have taught organizational ethics at Drexel University School of Engineering. I cannot imagine being better suited to help the new Commission gain the high regard and respect as an ethical model of governance it will hopefully want for itself. In the area of sports programming, I served for ten years as the Commissioner of the Chestnut Hill 118 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Youth Sports Club High School Basketball League, composed of high school students from Germantown, Mount Airy, West Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill. For years I coached basketball and baseball teams for the same sports club. In addition to serving on the Board of West Mount Airy Neighbors, I'm an active member of its Streetscapes Committee, helping to plant trees and participating in community landscaping projects and, for the past several years, have personally spearheaded the steady collection of litter in my neighborhood. In my view, two primary responsibilities of the new Commission will need to be, one, to mobilize our citizens in order to supplement the diminishing City resources available to collect litter and otherwise maintain the beauty of our parks; and, two, to obtain alternative sources of funding to assure the survival of our city's Park system and Recreation facilities. 119 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
I am prepared to work untiringly on behalf of the Commission in helping to initiate volunteer clean-up projects and in fundraising efforts. Being retired from my former corporate position, I will be able to devote considerable time to such tasks without having to face the competing constraints and tugs of full-time employment. I have been personally involved in active and successful fundraising efforts over the years. I hope my credentials will be considered as distinguishing me from the field of applicants and will motivate Council to support my nomination to the new Commission. I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate in this selection process. Thank you.
You're 120 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very welcome. Thank you. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon. My name is Carla Puppin, P-U-P-P-I-N, and thank you for this opportunity to speak. I guess I describe myself as a grassroots community, greening, tree-hugging activist. I am borrowing the Philadelphia Parks Alliance slogan from a few years back: "Great parks make great cities," and I'll take that further: Great partnerships make great parks, because that is how I view the forthcoming merger of the Department of Recreation with the Fairmount Park Commission, a great partnership in the works. I started cleaning up my corner park near the Italian Market in 1990 soon after I had moved to my neighborhood. It was inconceivable to me that my young children could not play in their corner park, but that was the truth. Broken glass, broken benches, dead trees, 121 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 litter, graffiti, the litany was all too familiar in the early 1990's for so many of our parks, large and small. I organized my friends and neighbors to form a friends group, but it was a partnership that took our group and that of many others to new levels. The Parks Revitalization Project partnership between the Department of Recreation, Philadelphia Green and established and newly forming parks groups throughout the City gave so many of us, all volunteers, not only the means to improve our parks, but it brought representatives from parks groups from all across the City into one room at PHS headquarters. We met each other. We recognized our common concerns and problems. We attended workshops, and we learned from one another. We strategized and we appeared at City Council hearings, and the word spread. From three parks groups in 1993, there are now over 90. When I began my friends group 122 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 in 1990, I was thinking only of my park. Nineteen years of community and grassroots organizing later and I see my park as part of the network of parks and recreation centers, each one an essential part of the fabric of our city and of each of our neighborhoods. I know volunteer groups -- volunteers from parks groups all across the City. I know firsthand their concerns, their challenges and their successes. I have worked with the Department of Recreation staff. The new Commission has a crucial task ahead of it in establishing standards and guidelines for the Park and Recreation system and of thinking creatively to expand funding sources. I would bring my years of grassroots experience and skills, a collaborative spirit and commitment, and my enthusiasm to the Commission if chosen. Thank you.
Thank you 123 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 for your testimony. Good afternoon.
Chairwoman Reynolds Brown and Councilman DiCicco, my name is Arthur Plaxton. I'm going to get right at I think what is your concern. What can I do for the Commission and for City Council. And I think the first thing that I can offer is effective communication ability, and as evidence of this, I suggest you look at my application, which I won't go over again, but I have endeavored to be complete, succinct, concise and understandable. So a communication ability is the first thing that I can offer. The second thing that I can offer is an effective business analysis of whatever the problems are that the Commission will face. I have a Ph.D. in operations research from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. That's basically the application of 124 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 mathematics to problems of business. I have served on the faculties of Drexel University and of Philadelphia University in the areas of finance, statistics and management. And there's a saving that the Commission might be able to achieve in the sense that I can either direct some surveys of the operational problems or the financial problems of the Commission myself or I can be a person that can supervise and work with whatever consulting organization or firm the Commission or City Council wants to work with. I am a retired person. I have over 40 years of experience. I've lived in Philadelphia for over 30 years and been active in my neighborhood, and I think above all, I want to be an advocate for the protection and expansion of parkland, whether we're talking about Fairmount Park in total or simply adding a pocket recreation area in a neighborhood where there is a vacant 125 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 piece of land and the people who reside in that neighborhood would benefit by it. I want to protect that. Once something is paved over, it's gone forever and it's paved over, and that's a loss, whether the economy goes up or down or the population goes up or down. We need to keep and protect and enlarge Parks and Recreation land. And I'm open to questions now.
Well, thank you very, very much for your testimony. Thank you all. I continue to be awestruck at the commitment for sure which comes through, but the expertise that will certainly be available once we finish up this process. Thank you all very much for your testimony. Councilman DiCicco. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: This is kind of like being a judge in a beauty contest, trying to figure out how you 126 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 pick a few and have to disappoint so many others, who are all well qualified. It's going to be tough.
It sure is. Please come forward Scott Quitel, Anne Rahn, Shawn R-A-I-R-I-G-H, John Rajca, John Randolph and Phillip Ranly. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon, everyone. We'll start over on my left here. Please, sir, if you state your name for the record, we'll proceed with your testimony.
I'm Scott Quitel and I thank you for this opportunity. My own background includes extensive experience in land management, landscape design, ecology, horticulture, arboriculture, business, law, marketing and finance, but that represents in brief as two lives. I had a past life with a 127 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 JD and MBA and started and ran three successful businesses, switched careers because of my love for ecology, and am currently the managing ecologist running an east coast division of a midwestern firm called Applied Ecological Services. D. ecology studies at Drexel. I've held or hold several township commission seats -- I live in Whitemarsh now. I'm from Philadelphia -- Planning Commission, Environmental Advisory Board and Shade Tree Commission. I've also had numerous volunteer positions. I'm an ambassador for the Friends of the Wissahickon. I also do voluntary restoration efforts in my own town. I have won awards from PHS and Temple. I was formerly a Foundation for Architecture guide and other things like that. I've truly loved Philadelphia parks for my entire life. I feel the essence of my unique value to the Commission is twofold. 128 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 First, as a career, I practice sustainability and urban ecology. I use my scientific knowledge to determine what is the best use of urbanized land, how to preserve, conserve, protect, restore, manage and maintain various urban land forms. Second, I do all of this with very tight budgets. I regularly help restore forests, meadows, streams and wetlands. I help implement reuse of vacant land, brown fields and capped landfills. I oversee master plans for urban parks, trails, athletic fields, zoo lands and wildlife corridors. In each instance, I help determine the most sustainable long-term use of land that is most beneficial to humans and all of nature, and I do so with extremely limited funds. The issues that confront Philadelphia's parklands are extremely similar to the issues that I feel I face on a daily basis. 129 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 The expertise I possess that may be of most value to the Commission is the following: I'm a practitioner of sustainability and management of natural and built environments in urban settings, working with limited resources. I'm an ecological scientist, but an ecologist with academic practicality. I understand fully how to balance scarce ecological resources and scarce economic resources, all within the context of urbanism, dense population, heavy land use and competing needs and interests. Here is also who I am: I am what you get when you cross a dad who was raised at 52nd and Parkside with a mom who was raised near Cobbs Creek Parkway, a nature-loving son fiercely passionate about Fairmount Park. Over the years I've abetted this passion with firsthand knowledge of how to care for urbanized land with limited funds. I just want to close with a story that I feel is fitting for what 130 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 we're doing here. About six years ago, I went on a field trip to the natural area around the environmental center on Cobbs Creek Parkway. Mark Focht led the tour, which focused on a stream restoration, community-led clean-up and improvement efforts, and a wet meadow restoration. I was literally captured on the spot by all that I was observing. There was a stream being moved literally, a newly created wetland meadow and amazing volunteer effort to clean up debris, remove invasives and plant new trees. The whole scene just felt right for me. For the first time ever, I actually experienced professional love at first sight. Then at some point along a recently restored stretch of Cobbs Creek while on this tour, which by the way is where my mom and then later myself played as kids, I exclaimed, This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And ever since that life-altering experience at Cobbs Creek, I've literally dedicated myself to 131 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES.
090057 healing urbanized lands and putting nature back at scales that range from small fields and streams and wetlands to very large natural lands and reclamation areas. In sum, given my professional experience and deep Philadelphia Park passion, I can think of no better way for me to give back to Philadelphia than by serving as a member of the Commission on Parks and Recreation. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Shawn Rairigh, and you're perfectly excused for not being able to pronounce that.
Did you 132 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 offer us testimony? I just want to be sure.
You've already received my academic and professional credentials detailing my education and careers as a city planner, so today I really want to talk about the importance of green space and outdoor recreation, particularly for urban residents. Last year I had the pleasure to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, all 2,176 miles from Georgia to Maine. It took me six months, two weeks and a few more days, and I just carried my life on my back at that time. Obviously I saw some great stuff, but one of the things that really sticks in my mind is the 80 miles in Virginia that I spent hiking 133 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 alongside about two dozen teenagers and their guide. The kids were on a probation program. They had committed crimes of whatever offense and were out in the woods to hike 80 miles in Virginia. To see them immersed in nature, exploring the daily rhythms, the sun rising and setting, to get them to -- watch them understanding their bodies for the first time as a natural thing, it was really an amazing experience, and it shows the transformation power of nature, parks, recreation. I'm sure everybody that comes to you and across the City has ideas for our Park. The real challenge isn't getting ideas for the Park. It's implementing those ideas and funding those ideas. So understanding how the Park system is used now, what it is, how it came to be and how it relates to the surrounding urban fabric I think is critical to answering that challenge. 134 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Number one, the Park system is a regional asset. It's not just a City asset. Anybody that goes to Kelly Drive on a Saturday or goes to the Zoo can tell you it's chock full of suburbanites. It's actually one of the largest remaining open spaces in the region and it's a nice mixing bowl for the region. As such, it ought to be a regionally funded asset too, not just a City-funded asset. The Park system is how most of us experience natural world and outdoor recreation. It helps fight obesity and fosters environmental respect. It gets kids away from the TV. But this is also what attracts volunteers. We have a huge untapped resource in the population of Philadelphia and the region that we should be using for building trails, for running programs, for maintaining landscapes. And just like the parks were created in the beginning as watershed protection, also as urban development schemes to get housing built, new 135 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 development, they can be used for that again. Even during this downturn, we're still experiencing new residential growth. Tax-increment financing and some other planning tools can be used where you take the increased value of properties as they're developed near parks. That increased revenue should be put into the parks, which is why that development is there to begin with. Now, obviously that gets into further discussion when it comes to rebates and things like that. And likewise, the Park system ought to be used to rebrand Philadelphia. Portland, Oregon was an industrial mess in the 1970's and well into the 1980's, but when they really applied themselves into a bike system and fostering a relationship with the nearby outdoor assets that they had, the mountain and things like that, they totally rebranded their city, and there are hundreds of 136 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 thousands of people that have moved to the Portland area just because they think of it as a very natural, very recreational type of place. Our Park system is already better than everything they've built. We should be using that. That's pretty much my summation. So I will pass it along.
Thank you for your testimony. I do have a question, but I want to hear everyone's testimony first. Please. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Councilman DiCicco. My name is John Randolph and I thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today. Hearing testimony from over 200 highly qualified applicants is a daunting task, and you have my humble thanks as a citizen for undertaking this job. My qualifications have been gained through my experience at the Schuylkill River Development Council, the 137 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Waterfront Center in Washington, DC and the Schuylkill River Park Alliance, as well as years spent 7 in the design and construction business. 8 Specific areas of my experience 9 and skills that are relevant to the 10 Commission start with community 11 leadership, neighborhood revitalization 12 and fundraising. I am Founder and past 13 President of the Schuylkill River 14 Development Council, a non-profit 15 organization dedicated to the 16 revitalization of the Tidal Schuylkill 17 River. Under my ten-year-long 18 leadership, the Council was transformed 19 from a neighborhood grassroots group to 20 the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, with a completely new Board composed of corporate and government leaders. Over 15 million was raised for Schuylkill River Park, which has in turn leveraged over 300 million in real estate 138 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 development projects that are either built or planned. The first responsibility of the new Commission is to adopt standards and guidelines relating to Park and Recreation land and facilities. While at SRDC, we completed the Tidal Schuylkill Master Plan, a project costing over $1 million, involving numerous public meetings and the coordination of many consultants, resulting in the creation of a new vision and guiding principles. Many of the lessons learned from that experience, as well as my experience with the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, are directly applicable to the Commission's role to adopt standards and guidelines. The second responsibility is to assist and advise the Commissioner and others to promote, support and enhance the image of Park and Recreation facilities. Again, my experience with SRDC prepared me well for this task. 139 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 When we began our work on the Tidal Schuylkill, the future River Park, despite having been on the City Comprehensive Plan for years, was a 6 desolate, abandoned landscape. Our first 7 job was to transform the image of the 8 river to convince people who had never 9 associated the tidal river with anything 10 more than dirty water and trash that it 11 could become a recreational destination. 12 Today the Schuylkill Banks has over 13 16,000 visitors a week who enjoy it as a 14 place to relax and get outdoors, a place 15 to walk, jog, bike or just go fishing. 16 It is through these experiences 17 that I believe I have the qualifications 18 and the passion to be a member of the new 19 Commission on Parks and Recreation. I 20 want to thank you for your time and 21 consideration. 22
Thank you 23 very, very much. 24 Good afternoon, sir. 25
Hello, members of 140 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 City Council, especially Chair Blondell Reynolds Brown. My name is Phil Ranly, and today has been a very exciting day for me. Just earlier today I witnessed the launching of the Green Business Commitment with Michael Nutter and 32 other companies down at the Rohm and Haas center signing a green business initiative. And businesses are seeing green, green building, green infrastructure, green communities and a green Philadelphia. And I think as we sit here today and think about what we want from our Park, we have to start with a vision of what we want that to look like. And my vision of the Park is, I believe we can shape a Philadelphia that offers valuable recreation opportunities for our youth, thriving natural parkland that incorporates green infrastructure, and safe, walkable tree-lined streets for every Philadelphian. I will make an excellent Commissioner. My active involvement with 141 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Fairmount Park demonstrates my passion, my commitment to sustainability and my training at Rohm and Haas, and my network of land management and community advocates provides me with a wealth of advisors. I really think this Commission needs people that can get things done. And four years ago, I saw a need to get some recreation started in the Park, so I started the Wissahickon Trail Classic 10K run up in Andorra, and it has steadily grown every year, raises money that goes directly back into the Park, and we get over 500 participants in that race every year. This year I'm leading an effort at Clifford Park, maybe known as Thomas Mansion. And as Councilman Clarke was saying, we need to take our show on the road, and one way we're doing that is we're putting up blogs, we're e-mailing, we're working on websites and getting other community leaders interested in 142 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Clifford Park to get volunteers and get the efforts there to do some natural restoration efforts. I could go on with other things, but let me just read from my letter of recommendation. To quote Dr. Katie Hunt, who is a Sustainability Director for Rohm and Haas and member of Philadelphia's Sustainability Advisory Board, "I have no 12 doubt that Phil will emerge as a leader on the Commission. Phil has the stamina and the skills to serve on the Commission. He has the training to make database decisions and formulate solid recommendations, the network to vet and refine these recommendations and the organizational skills to engage residents and involved community leaders - Dr. " To quote Dan Gordon, Founder of the Wissahickon Wanders, "Phil Hanly has produced an impressive track record both in helping to preserve and to promote" -- 143 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and I think that's important, to promote -- "Fairmount Park. " So as my colleagues have articulated, I think I bring an established network of park users and advocates to this Commission. I thank you for your consideration. And, once again, I will say it is important we bring this show on the road. And if you just give me 15 more seconds, I know like, for example, 144 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 there's things we want to do at Walnut Lane Golf Course and other facilities like that throughout the region. We need to get into the communities and talk to those people there. And as I was saying, I've been promoting efforts in the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers by going to neighborhood groups and doing meetings at libraries, and, like I said, the Internet and the communications that you can get by e-mail and blogs and networks is quite tremendous. Thank you.
Thank you all very, very, very much, gentlemen. Don't go yet, because we have -- your name, sir.
You don't 145 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 have to be quick. Equity is important here.
Okay. Thank you. Gee, I'm just blown away by the quality and qualifications of the people here. I actually feel out of place. Basically I'm just a dreamer and an organizer. I always feel like I'm a voice crying out in the dark, and this gives me a chance to make my views heard. Not too much about me. I'm retired from the Philadelphia Police Department. I was in the Communications Division, Police Radio, for over 16 years. So basically most of the input I 17 would have would be law enforcement. But 18 I do have a lot of ideas of my own. 19 The big thing I would like to 20 see with Fairmount Park is to make it a 21 destination. Not an amusement park, but 22 a destination, especially with the 23 historic part, the houses. We have park 24 houses that are falling down, such as 25 Mount Pleasant. Things like that we 146 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 could have possibly a hook-up from Old City into Fairmount Park with the tourists. We have tourists come all year round, and if we had the park houses open all year round, we would give them the destination. Also, the other thing is people movers. The first monorail in the United States was at our Centennial in 1876 and it was there in Fairmount Park. I would like to see something like that rebuilt, put back up. That's a people mover around the Park. Maybe take them back into Old City or at least up as far as here, City Hall, maybe Love Park. And even further than that, the Mann Music Center, which seems to be lying fallow now. That should also be somehow revitalized, with professional groups running the things, maybe -- I don't even want to use a name. Maybe Comcast Spectacor, maybe Electric Factory, maybe independent entrepreneurs who would come up with ideas to put on a show. I don't 147 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 know, like we have at Penn's Landing, a doo-wop concert. And the last thing is, I would like to also have this further expanded into Valley Forge. Valley Forge is going to be having an American Revolution -- oh, I don't know what they call it. A complex. We're not that far away. I believe the Schuylkill Valley Trails are eventually going to end there, and they're talking about a metro rail line to go from here in Center City into Reading, which would stop in Valley Forge. That would encompass all Old City. That would encompass Fairmount Park. That would encompass Valley Forge. If you are a tourist, you would have a destination there, somewhere to go, not just wander around the streets. And that's basically what I have to offer, and I thank you for letting me have my say.
Absolutely. Thank you for your ideas. 148 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 You should know you're the first of the 100-plus persons I've listened to who mentioned going that far, that far north. So that's an example that all ideas matter, and dreamers are needed. We need them. And President Barack Obama was an organizer. So we should never, ever diminish what we bring to the table. Great to meet the dreamer and visionary of Schuylkill River. I'm a user of that, and brilliant, brilliant landscape in our city.
Let me thank you all for your very, very impressive testimony. Thank you very much.
Please. Please. Please. And state your name for the record.
I'm Scott Quitel. 149 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 This doesn't have to do with my candidacy. It just strikes me in hearing everything -- and I wasn't here for the first two sessions -- that given that you're only going to have nine out of this pool --
Let me just -- amendment. We're going to offer names to the Mayor, yes. 11
Okay. But given 12 the talent of the pool that's not going 13 to be accepted and the amount of passion 14 that exists on the part of so many 15 people, it will be a shame to just put 16 that aside and not figure out a way to do 17 something with that, because I'm sure a 18 lot of us, if we didn't get on the 19 Commission, would still want to be 20 involved in some other way. So there 21 must be something to do with that. 22
23 Absolutely. Yes. Your time did not 24 permit you to hear remarks from 25 Councilman Darrell Clarke, who actually 150 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 has a vehicle that he's not prepared to make public yet, but he and I have been in discussion where we intend to capture, we intend to capture the rich talent pool and ideas we've heard from those who do not make it to the list of 25. So, yes, there will be a Part 2 or Chapter 2 once we have completed this process in getting the names to the Mayor's desk.
We agree with you 2,000 percent. And that became very evident to us in our very first hearing. So thank you. Thank you all. Otto Reichert, Carol Rice, Carlos Rodriguez, you're welcome to come to the witness table. Wendy Rosen, Robert Rovner and Hector B-A-E-Z. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Let me, if I may, call up the last candidates. Wendy Rosen, Robert Rovner, Hector 151 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 B-A-E-Z, Johannah Fine, Rose Gray, Alvin Hornstein, Robert Lambert. And if you arrived after I called your name, you're certainly welcome to come and be seated, because we're going to -- please.
I am here today -- well, first of all, my name is Carol Rice. I'm here today as a citizen interested in serving on the Park and Recreation Commission. I bring to you an extensive background in the field of recreation, having retired from the City of Philadelphia Department of Recreation after 35 years, and I have continued to be involved in activities that are recreation related. In addition, I have been involved in park-related areas that have given me an even greater understanding and appreciation of the need for open space, environmental protection, trail development for the hiking enthusiast, the bike user and the average citizen who uses the Park for 152 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 pure enjoyment. I recognize that this is an advisory committee -- and I stand corrected since Councilman Clarke changed it from an advisory committee -- that needs to organize and determine its direction, while at the same time be responsible for seeking input from the community. It will be vitally important for this Commission to listen and relay the interest the community has, their suggestions for cost-saving methods and seek ways to utilize the community interest to continue services that reach all the segments of the citizenry. This new Commission concept has been a long time in coming, since most municipalities across the country have always had combined services. The idea of combining the Recreation Department and the Fairmount Park has been discussed and preliminarily developed for many years. It is important that input is sought so that both departments see the 153 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Commission as an advocate for their vital programs. The Commission will need to review commissions in other like cities, evaluate their effectiveness and then develop guidelines that meet the needs of this community. I did not put in my testimony any other background information, but even though I retired, I'm still very active. I am with ASAP, which is After School Activities Partnerships, which is an organization that recruits volunteers to provide after-school programs. Primarily chess is our big focal point. I'm on the Board of Caring People Alliance, which is a large non-profit in the City of Philadelphia that serves the entire family. And I have after my whole life being spent in Philadelphia, we moved, but we couldn't go far, because I made my husband understand that I couldn't go away from Philadelphia. So I am now on the Warrington Park and Recreation Board. I am the Chairman. 154 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 And I have had the opportunity to work with the other side, the Fairmount Park side, which is the Warrington Park Department, and have an understanding of the needs of that particular area. So I am interested in coming back, quote, to the City of Philadelphia as a volunteer and being part of this Commission. I think that I can bring some good ideas, some commitment and some advocacy to this Commission. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Where is Warrington?
All right. Just for perspective. Thank you. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon. My name is Hector Baez. I am a civil engineer who specializes in storm water management, site design and planning. 155 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I've prepared a short statement for this hearing. The Fairmount Park system is a great example of the effect that good planning and good strategic management can do. The Fairmount Park system benefits thousands of citizens on a daily basis and really adds to the character of the City. This large Park sustains many businesses within the area and provides Philadelphians with a unique outdoor retreat full of history, nature and wellness. Fairmount Park is also a great location for a plethora of venues ranging from weddings to the famous crew races along historical Boathouse Row. If chosen, I would appreciate assisting in the direction and implementation of the Park's resources. I think my background in design and construction of infrastructure would serve the Commission well and my knowledge of wetlands, coupled with thoughtful planning to conserve the 156 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 natural resources of the Park while simultaneously providing access to the all the Park's rich amenities. As a resident and homeowner in Philadelphia, I would also like to join the Parks and Recreation Commission to better serve Philadelphians near their homes. I've always wanted a more active role and direction in Philadelphia, and I feel this Commission would be an excellent opportunity to have real impact on developing some of the neglected areas. It is my opinion that the City's Park system has a direct correlation to the quality of life of its residents. Many parks throughout the City have grown to be an integral part of its neighborhood, and with the success of each park comes a stable, safer, more aesthetically pleasing surrounding area. This all translates into higher property values and intangible benefits like quality of life. Once these parks and 157 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 neighborhoods become stabilized, they will provide a better context to introduce recreation activities that can further serve the residents of the City. The unique neighborhood system, with block captains and community organizations, can provide an essential partnership with the Commission to assist in providing successful, well-targeted strategies that will help the City grow. Stimulating neighborhoods can come from the rehabilitation of existing parks or by expanding the City's Park system by utilizing the vast inventory of vacant lots owned by the City. Those selected vacant lots can be improved and maintained by City and community organization partnership. These are some examples of the impact I hope you achieve if chosen by this panel. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Thank you 158 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 for your testimony.
My name is Johannah Fine. I live in West Philadelphia, and I'm surprised to say I'm relieved to be here, and the surprise at my own feelings is, I was so worried about the initial publicity about how few people had shown interest in the Commission, and I will go home and sleep well tonight, because I have heard a group that I would like to hang around with.
I wanted to say to everybody, Hey, gang, my people. Thank you for making us aware of each other more through this kind of forum. So aside from being enthusiastic and discovering, wow, lots of folks are willing to step up, I'm an instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at Temple. I'm very stiff today from teaching students how to yank out invasive plants yesterday. Ouch. Noble work. 159 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I am a certified arborist, have been a volunteer with Philadelphia Green, University City Green and many West Philadelphia groups for almost years 6 in greening and community development. 7 My daughter went to -- who is 8 now 19 and in college -- went to 9 pre-school at 51st and Spruce, and one of 10 the reasons I chose the particular 11 pre-school was that it was right near 12 Malcolm X Park, and I had this idea that 13 wouldn't it be wonderful because when we 14 walked home, we could walk home through 15 the park. But I didn't know the park 16 well, and this is 16 years ago. And so 17 on nice days, I would drag her home 18 through the park, and she finally said to 19 me, Mommy, I don't like to go this way. 20 And I hated saying why, and she'd say, Mom, we can't walk on the grass, there's glass everywhere. Mommy, it's ugly here. And I had to admit to myself that a lot of the trees were dead, and as a biologist, I had been fighting noticing 160 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 that all the trees were the same age and that they had been planted -- actually, there were two age groups. Most of them were planted in the 1920's or '30s and a very few in the 1950's. And so we stopped walking through the park, because it was so sad. But this is the same time when the same kid was our official tamper when we were out planting street trees with Tree Tenders and learning to work with Fairmount Park. A couple of years later I went to work as the head gardener in Bartram's Garden and got to know Fairmount Park and its wonderful crew, who I love deeply, because we all learned to work together, by golly, because Bartram's Garden is part of Fairmount Park, but is duly administered by a non-profit along with Fairmount Park. So I pick up a lot of skills in how to bridge that, putting the non-profit and the government work 161 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 together as the gardener, but I kept coming back to Malcolm X and thinking, how do we get so stuck like this. And an amazing thing happened, because it turned out all around the City there were other people like us, whether they were Tree Tenders, you heard from Carla Puppin today. She's another one of -- our numbers multitude, and we're in every neighborhood, who we're saying, You know what, I think we can do better than this and we can work "with" as against working against the Rec Department, Fairmount Park. We learned to partner. We learned to buddy. And if you go over to Malcolm X Park today, you will see what Gregorio Cojulun and friends have achieved. You can have church picnics out there. You can have revival meetings, family picnics, and last fall Malcolm X --
-- Malcolm X Park was the staging area for the planting of 162 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 168 trees, all across West Philadelphia, so that this once dismal place was the center of hundreds of people going out, pulling the beauty and strength of the park and the community into its streets from what had once been bleakness. I want to bring that capacity to the Commission. There's many of us who can bring that capacity, and I'll tell you the truth, I don't mind who brings it, but I want it brought. We can squeeze a quarter out of a nickel. We can work together with government agencies, non-profits and communities, and we make things happen for everybody. Let's do more of it.
Good afternoon, and thank you very much for holding this. It's been -- I think the passion that we have heard has been what's most exciting to me. 163 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
My name is Kay Sykora and I currently manage the Schuylkill Project, which is a waterfront project that is between East Falls and Manayunk. It's two CDCs. We're funded by William Penn, and we're looking at the trails and the green space and the connections into the neighborhood.
Kay Sykora, S-Y-K-O-R-A. I'm sorry. I'm out of order because --
No. It's not a problem. I just want my records to be accurate.
Okay. Thank you. Testimony about picking up trash and being frustrated, it's interesting because somehow from that I moved into partnerships with Fairmount Park, past President of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, which is a regional 164 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 planning and implementation group that's funded through DCNR. I've sat on committees of DCNR and worked with many City agencies through the Schuylkill Project, and for years I headed up the 7 Manayunk Development Corporation. So in 8 that role, I started a lot of the 9 planning that resulted in improvements to 10 the Fairmount Park. So for over 30 11 years, I've worked to support and advance 12 Parks and Recreation, the communities of 13 Manayunk, Roxborough and East Falls. 14 I've always believed that they were our 15 biggest asset. And I'm really ecstatic, 16 as I said earlier, over the public 17 interest and commitment that we see now. 18 In the early years, you didn't see so much of that. But it's grown, and that's very exciting. And it was validated recently in a report done by Peter Harnik that was released through, I believe, the advisory group to Fairmount Park, which talks about the dollar value. But this is just the beginning. 165 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I mean, we're talking about green parks, connecting them with trails. We're working on connections not just to other parks, but to Lower Merion, across our bridges, where we are trying to secure funding for that into Montgomery County through the Valley Forge Trail. Our waterfronts, accessibility to all these amenities for all neighborhoods, because not all neighborhoods have access to this stuff, the programming that makes it alive, and most of all what people keep forgetting to talk about is the sustainability for the long term. I mean, all this is really exciting and it's exciting that people are interested, but how are we going to take care of it for the long term. I've been actively engaged in many kinds of planning. We've secured grants for public funding for planning, for projects, for operations. We've partnered with many groups, a wide range 166 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 of environmental and groups doing the same kind of work. We've created programming for our park area for education for our schools. We bring the schools down. We have boating activities. We have educational. We're working with the Water Department now on some storm water mitigation projects. We also have created volunteer groups. We have four or five, who each have different kind of special interests. And they are not just volunteers. I mean, that's part of it, but they also bring their passion around wanting to help expand the effort. You can see the physical results of these efforts when you see the Schuylkill Trail in Manayunk, when you see the Manayunk Canal improvements, which are halfway done and still have a ways to go. We're due to have a major park constructed on lower Venice Island, which will begin construction in July of '09, and that will include both park 167 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 space and a performance center, which will service the entire city. We're going to be working with non-profits that are involved with that. Capital dollars are not easy. I mean, that's obvious, but it's in part because it's been a small pool of money and there hasn't been a lot of competition, and now there's a lot of people that want those dollars. But I believe that people's passion will bring this forward and we'll begin to see, after the economy begins to straighten out, more dollars. But the biggest challenge for the future, particularly in the smaller neighborhoods, will be around sustainability, because with volunteers you can do a lot, but one of the things we did because we have volunteers and we kind of fell short is, we did a whole study over the last two years of operations and management, of how we can support the Parks and Rec, and what we 168 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES.
090057 found is, it's a very complicated bag of solutions. It's one that we want to take and sort of have more of a citywide dialogue, because some of them do involve citywide thinking in terms of TIFs or bids or that kind of thing. So the answer is complicated. It's not easy. But it requires us as the public to continue to raise the bar of expectation, and I firmly believe that will raise the bar what will happen with our parks.
So sustainability will be a difficult conversation for the future, but -- and all this is competing with very real other infrastructure needs with the City, we recognize that, but our parks are absolutely critical for the future of the City of Philadelphia, and I would like very much to be a part of the Commission to help see that move forward. Thank you. 169 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
Good afternoon. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I am David Dannenberg. I was scheduled Tuesday. I was away at a conference.
I have a prepared statement. I think I've got it down to three minutes.
There is currently growing recognition of the importance of natural open space and of regular physical activity to both the health of the planet and physical and mental health of the nation's citizenry. Over a hundred year ago, long before the first national park was created, the leaders of the City of Philadelphia had the foresight to commit large swaths of land to naturalized open space. They did 170 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 this, first of all, to protect the sources of the City's drinking water and, second of all, to provide places of refuge from the daily grind of city life. Today our parklands remain Philadelphia's most valuable asset, an asset that cannot be replaced. This physical legacy makes Philadelphia unique among cities in the northeast. As the surrounding regions have succumbed to rapacious development while largely neglecting open space, Philadelphia stands uniquely poised to create the model 21st century green city. Two things have been a constant in my adult life. The first is that I work with young people. My wife likes to say I've been mentoring adolescents since I was one. The second is an abiding interest in conservation, of the interface between people and the natural world that sustains us. In my professional life I'm a teacher, and in that capacity, I have the privilege to bring students with me weekly to 171 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Fairmount Park, each week renewing my conviction that there exists essential connections among physical activity, outdoor experience, public service, individual responsibility and the process of maturation. In a related way, I was instrumental to enhancing the volunteer conservation work of the Friends of the Wissahickon, a role that has allowed me to connect education and conservation with a variety of recreation park users that constitute a broad cross section of fellow Philadelphians. Most importantly for our purposes here, for the past ten years I've been active on the Board and on committees of Friends of the Wissahickon. Most of my efforts have been focused on the conceptualization and steering of the Sustainable Trails Initiative. This multi-million-dollar project stands among the one or two largest private projects ever undertaken on behalf of the Philadelphia citizens and visitors who 172 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 use Fairmount Park. My leadership and participation in this product has ranged from physical labor to the intellectual challenges of conceiving and effectively communicating the intricacies of the project to public agencies, private institutions and various stakeholders. I have the pleasure of working with City agency personnel at the district level in the field and at various administrative levels, as well as with volunteers of diverse ages and backgrounds. I have experienced firsthand the satisfaction of bringing together sometimes vehemently opposed user groups to work in harmony toward common goals.
Through this work, I've honed my ability to appreciate differing perspectives and to speak sympathetically to others' concerns, without compromising essential principles. 173 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'll skip ahead here. Communities all over the country are scrambling to create and improve public parks and recreational facilities, while Philadelphia boasts one of the best and most extensive networks of park and recreation infrastructure in the country. We can capitalize on this asset for the long-term benefit of our city's social and economic health or we can let it further deteriorate or succumb to piecemeal dismemberment in pursuit of short-term gain. As a Commissioner, I'd remain focused on the long-term integrity of our Parks and Recreation system, along with short and mid-term enhancements. To accomplish this, I'd encourage public-private partnerships, along with the pursuit of dedicated long-term city, state and federal funding. My range of experience will provide perspective. My principles will provide integrity. Thank you for your 174 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 consideration.
Thank you for your testimony. Thank you very much. Good afternoon.
My name is Janice Ries Stern and I'm not sure whether I'm on the list today.
Do you have -- I see it. Okay. I just want to be sure.
Yes. And I handed my testimony and letters of recommendation to someone here. Thank you very much for convening this hearing and for taking a leadership role in really rationalizing the resources in the City Parks and Recreation and Fairmount Park Commission.
Thank you. It only took nine years. You must persist and remain a possibility thinker and bring others along the way down the road.
Yes. I can 175 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 completely relate. I have been a Philadelphian for 30 years, and I believe there is a powerful connection between health, well-being and recreation. I regularly kayak, walk, hike, cross country ski and plant trees in the City. My credentials, which are adequately documented in the application -- and I don't want to spend a lot of time on that right here, but they include that I'm a lawyer, I have a degree in urban studies and I've recently worked with a non-profit organization concerned with natural land preservation. I'm also an educator and I worked as a teacher and administrator in Philadelphia and in the suburbs for eight years. My work experience includes 20 years of board and leadership positions at Inglis Foundation, which is the operating foundation here in Philadelphia dedicated to improving the lives of people with physical disabilities. As 176 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Chair of Inglis Housing Corporation, I oversaw staff in the financing, design, building of approximately 150 units for people with physical disabilities. Most of those units are in Philadelphia. As an Inglis officer, I also oversaw investment of its multi-million-dollar endowment. I was the creator of the Inglis Ace Award Program. It took me ten years to convince my colleagues that it made sense for us to give some money away in order to know more about what other people were doing in the community, and so I identify with your nine-year effort. The Parks and Recreation Commission enabling language calls for the new Commission to represent many diverse constituency. It doesn't specifically call for representation of people with physical disabilities, and I am not a person with a physical disability, but if appointed, my connection to the disability community 177 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 will allow me to add a perspective that could be valuable to the Commission and the people it serves. In anticipation of the creation of the new Commission, I have been studying the guidelines of other cities with respect to sale, purchase, trade and lease of parkland. Sound public policy about parkland and recreation facility management requires clear guidelines about how they are to be used. Clear guidelines will create a fair and efficient process for evaluation of economic development opportunities within public lands and recreation facilities. And I believe that Councilman DiCicco referred to this in a recent article in the Inquirer, and I think that Mr. Randolph and some other folks here have said how important these guidelines are. Without them, we will continue to confront time-consuming and expensive conflicts over competing priorities, such 178 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 as we experienced with the Fox Chase case and Burholme Park.
So basically what I'd like to say, since I have so little time, is that we need to figure out ways to establish collaboration between private industry and public resources. We have an obesity problem in this country. We have an asthma problem. There are ways in which we can share costs, share revenues and share goals with funding streams that are provided to address these issues. So apart from my fierce commitment to recreation --
Did you hear me? I think you've honored the 15 seconds.
Okay. Apart from my fierce commitment to recreation and 179 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 parks, the other reason for my interest is that I am a very creative person. I'm a creativity junkie, if you will, and I look at this as an amazing opportunity to think outside the box, to think strategically, to bring people together and to really avail ourselves of all kinds of opportunities that are out there that don't traditionally align themselves with parks. We will find the connections, and that's how we will support what we need to do here. So thank you so much.
You're very, very welcome. We thank you all for, again, your very, very interesting and passionate testimony. Thank you for your testimony. Alvin Hornstein, Robert Lambert, Rose Gray. And I believe that may wrap us up.
Ray Devlin. Please come forward. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for your indulgence and your patience. Please state your name for the record and then offer your testimony. Please.
Alvin S. Hornstein. I'm going to give you a little testimony that's kind of different. I'm going to tell you what I accomplished for Fairmount Park from the years 1966 to the years 1977.
For five hours 181 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I've been standing at my old boss staring down at me, Mayor James H.C. Tate. I hope he approves of what I'm going to be telling you. He appointed Abe Rosen as the City Representative in 1966, and Abe immediately called me and asked me to be his Deputy. In 1968, he approved Abe Rosen becoming President of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Abe asked me to go ahead and join him as Director of Tourism and Public Relations. Here's where I've accomplished for Fairmount Park between 1966 and 1977, and it really was accomplished without any money from the City, which I'm sure you're glad to hear. I have other plans, about a dozen, that I can talk about at the end of the procedure. That may cost some money, but I'm hoping that the stimulus money might help us out. I was Director of Tourism and Public Relations for the Convention and 182 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Visitors Bureau from 1968 to 1977. From '66 to '68, I was the Deputy to Abe Rosen. We had a group called the Philadelphia Area for Tourism, which I was the Executive Director. We went on from there. We created new brochures, and historians wanted to lynch me, because I took Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell off of the brochures and put the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on the brochures as the front. When the hotel people asked why or the historians asked why, it was very simple. Independence Hall and Liberty Bell is a three-hour toilet stop for most bus trips and we wanted them to stay longer, because the hotel people wanted to put heads on their pillows. So we felt that the Parkway and Fairmount Park was the answer, because if you stayed in one of those institutions for a few hours, the odds are you'd put your head on a pillow that night and stay in one of our hotels. And that was the purpose of the Convention and Visitors 183 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Bureau, to get tourists. Hotel people did not consider a tourist if you came in by bus, touched the Bell, went to Independence Hall, had lunch, went to the toilet and left for New York or Washington. So we created the Parkway and Fairmount Park as the gem, the undiscovered gem of Philadelphia. My campaign was called Welcome to Surprising Philadelphia. We won a national award from Discover America for that one year for our program. The Tourist Bureau had no money to send me to San Diego, so when I told them to mail me the trophy, they gave in and sent me to, at their expense, to San Diego to accept the trophy. Now, we got a lot of publicity on that. So Surprising Philadelphia was our answer to the fact that nobody really knew Philadelphia. All they knew was Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Frank Binswanger, Sr. was our Vice-Chairman in those days. He came in 184 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and chewed me out, because nobody went to see the colonial and historical houses.
That's it? Well, anyway, I created the trolley buses that Mr. Binswanger raised the money in two years. I created the Cultural Loop Bus, which also went to the Fairmount Park, colonial houses, the Zoo and all the Parkway institutions. I also would like to ask you a question, Madam Chairman. How many people here know that there's a Japanese Teahouse in Fairmount Park? They all do. Well, this is a great group, then, because no citizens usually go there to visit. Why? Because we have no activities going on there. So my point, when Elaine Malbin, who was one of Frederick R. Mann's proteges, came to Philadelphia in Madam Butterfly, she had a tea ceremony, which drew a lot of people, and it hasn't been used since, to 185 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the best of my knowledge. I also --
All right. I started the familiarization tours with the airlines, and they never did it before because they say nobody ever asked them. So in eight years that I was there, we had about 300 or more travel agents, tour operators and travel riders come visit Philadelphia. On Friday night, we went to Franklin Institute for dinner and a Mummers String Band. They had never given money to a tourist legislative committee of our state until they spent that night in the Franklin Institute. The next year -- Joel Bloom just passed away, but Joel Bloom was the Director, and he got a grant from the state for Franklin Institute for the first time in the history of Philadelphia. So that was another accomplishment. 186 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057
All right. I helped develop with the women's groups from the Academy of Natural Science a Super Sunday, where a half a million people in the first week in October went to have a great time in Fairmount Park Parkway. It was destroyed a few years later by the illegal vendors. So the Zoo -- we had a Zoo Year's Eve party on midnight.
Okay, then. Thank you very much for your testimony. Good afternoon, sir.
Hello. My name is Raymond Devlin. I am a longtime resident of Green Hill Farms neighborhood of 187 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Overbrook in West Philadelphia, and I'm honored to be here before you to discuss my candidacy for the Board membership to the Fairmount Park Commission on Parks and Recreation. To me, this service is a great opportunity to give back to the City that I love in a way for which I have significant knowledge and experience and for a cause for which I have great passion and interest in the Parks and Recreation resources of the City of Philadelphia. Fairmount Park and its facilities is nationally recognized for their excellence. Philadelphia's Park and Recreation facilities and centers are an ever-important resource to the stability and viability of the neighborhoods of the City. I believe that with my professional background of 30 years in land use planning, community and economic development, finance and education, I will be a valuable asset to 188 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Board, the City, the Parks and Recreation staff and ultimately to the end users of the Parks and Recreation facilities. I'm proud to say that I was a commuter for ten years in Philadelphia and I greatly appreciate it from my home in Green Hill Farms in West Philadelphia. I commuted months of the year and I 11 was very appreciative of the Parks 12 Department treating it as a commuting route and plowing it during snowing days. It didn't stop me from going to work and it didn't stop them from plowing. And I'm also an avid cyclist and a runner. I have run actively within a number of marathons and half marathons, and I really appreciate the resources that Philadelphia avails to it to the groups that use that as a fundraising mechanism. I have worked as a community development consultant with the Water Works, Lloyd Hall, the Please Touch Museum, and appreciate the redevelopment 189 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and reinvigoration of active resources, and what I will bring to the Board is a vision and a big picture to help the staff augment its abilities to fulfill its day-to-day responsibilities, and I hope to be a sound and insightful and concerted colleague to my fellow Board members. That's it.
Well, thank you for your testimony. Thank you also. Thank you all for the rich, rich mix and blend of talent that this City indeed represents. This concludes the third of a four-part series of our hearings. The Committee will stand at recess --
Can I say something, Madam Chair? Point of information.
Yes. Let's hear a point of information from my colleague and Vice-Chair, Councilman 190 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Curtis Jones.
I just want to point out that our Chairperson, Blondell Reynolds Brown, has not only championed this cause, but has proven to me today that she has stamina beyond all stamina to listen to all of these testimonies, and I guarantee you, she listened to them and I guarantee you she made notes about each of them. Whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, she probably made notes, and I just want to on the record say and thank her for being Chair.
Well, thank you very, very much. You can be assured I took good notes -- (Applause.)
Thank you. (Continued) -- that I'll be able to share with all members of this Committee so that we indeed seek to achieve the long-term goal we've been after. So thank you, Councilman. 191 3/24/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 And know that this Committee stands at recess until March the 26th at 1 o'clock p.m., and we hope to reconvene in City Council Chambers. Thanks again for being here and for your important testimony. (Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs recessed at 5:20 p.m.) - - - 192 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on March 24, 2009, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)