Committee Hearing, March 19, 2009

COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, March 19, 2009 1:15 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILWOMAN MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ 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

Good afternoon, everyone. We are going to reconvene from the first round that was started yesterday on Resolution No. 6 090057. Yesterday we had 52 candidates slated to speak. Of that, 39 offered testimony. I will say to you that the breadth and depth of the talent and the ideas that came from those candidates was awesome. At no point were we bored at all with what citizens have to bring and share as we move towards the formation of this new Commission. We were extremely encouraged. Philadelphians really do care about our Park and Recreation system. It was absolutely inspiring. So today we're going to continue. Our format has been four hours, 50 candidates each. How about that? So today is the second lap of that 250 candidates. So let me please introduce to some and present to others my colleagues 3 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 on the Committee for Arts, Parks and Recreation. Councilman Curtis Jones to my immediate right is the Vice-Chair of our Committee, and Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, also a member of our Committee. As with any large endeavor of this scale, we need some ground rules, and it's important that you know what they are. We will be calling you up in groups of three. As stated in the e-mail that you all received, remarks should be no longer than two to three minutes. And I'm a former educator, and there's a tenet that says it takes individuals seven times to hear something before they really get it. So let me repeat. All remarks should be no longer than two to three minutes. Council staff will be collecting your written testimony, and we encourage you to share that with us -- if you do not have it, it would be helpful 4 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to us if we do get it -- and any other documents you wish to share with members of the Committee. As I indicated, we have a lot of people, approximately 50, and we want to give everyone a fair opportunity and the same amount of time to offer your opportunity. One different practice here is, we will limit our questions for clarity only. Unlike normal Council hearings where there is a lot of dialogue and debate back and forth, we'll be asking questions purely in those instances where we need clarity. I would be remiss also not to acknowledge my Chief of Staff, David Forde, along with Hal Thickhander and Sharon Ortiz, who collected all of the initial applications and has done all the work to get us to this point today. This does not happen as a solo act. They worked very closely together in making sure that we were adequately prepared 5 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 today. So with that, I will ask my colleague, Councilman Curtis Jones, to help us to be the time police, and we're going to proceed with our first six. The first three will sit at the witness table and the other three will be prepared to step in soon after they are done. So welcome. Please allow me to call up Hugh Gallagher, Tatiana Garcia, Mario Gentile, can take the seats at the witness table. They are to be followed by Penelope Giles, Stephen Gleason, Avi Golen. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Kenneth Goldberg, Nancy Goldenberg, Debra Goldstein, you're welcome to come and take a seat. Move up closer, because I see only two people here. We're going to fill up this witness table. So Kenneth Goldberg, Nancy Goldenberg, Debra Goldstein. If you can move forward, one 6 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 of the three of you can take a seat at the witness table and the other three can sit in the black chairs up on this side of the gate. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

We want to make sure we capture everybody's comments, so you must speak into the mike and you must always state your full name for the record so that our recorder is capturing all that you have to say. Please state your full name for the record.

It's Tatiana Garcia-Granados.

And you can proceed with your testimony.

Hello. My name is Tatiana Garcia-Granados. I'm a resident of the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in North Philadelphia and I'm honored to be here today. Strawberry Mansion is a 7 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 community blessed to have a beautiful thousand-acre section of Fairmount Park in its background. My husband, Haile, and I founded a non-profit organization called East Park Revitalization Alliance in 2003 with the goal of community revitalization through environmental improvements and health promotion. Since then, we have started after-school and summer programs that have served over 270 kids, launched summer job training programs for teens, planted 680 trees and cleaned and greened acres and acres of vacant land in the neighborhood. I am excited to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission and believe that I bring a unique perspective to the Commission. For the past five years, I have designed, operated and fundraised for innovative programming related to health and the environment. Under my leadership, EPRA has partnered with both the Department of Recreation 8 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and Fairmount Park to create youth programming that is focused on using Park assets to promote health and the environment. Our Healthy Choices after-school program and summer camp is operated in partnership with the Mander Recreation Center and seeks to engage neighborhood children in activities that promote health, like healthy cooking classes, hikes in Fairmount Park and tennis lessons. We also partnered with the Department of Recreation, Fairmount Park and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to launch the Youth Environmental Stewardship program, an environmental job training program for teens. We also worked with Fairmount Park to launch Discover Fairmount Park in YOUR Neighborhood, an environmental education program that seeks to introduce families to the many recreational, cultural and natural resources in their park. Our programs have been recognized for their innovation and 9 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 effectiveness. Discover Fairmount Park in YOUR Neighborhood won the Excellence in Environmental Education Award from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society, and the Healthy Choices program was recognized by the City's Department of Public Health for having the best youth environmental health program. As a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, I would also draw on my business experience and education from the Wharton School's MBA program. My first priority as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission would be to help existing after-school and summer programs tap into the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare subsidy for licensed childcare facilities. This would provide an additional reliable funding stream for programs like Healthy Choices that would allow the Parks and Recreation Department to better serve Philadelphia's youth and families without increasing the economic burden to the 10 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 City. The success of a merged Parks and Recreation Department depends on its ability to engage communities and constituencies and to develop partnerships that will lessen the burdens on government. I have been successful in engaging new constituencies to the Park, building a new group of potential Park stewards. I am a founder of the Young Friends of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, a group that seeks to involve young adults in the great community greening work done by PHS. I am also very proud of the environmental education and job training programs we have run for youth in my neighborhood, giving them the skills and passion to carry out the important work of caring for our environment. My daughter, Cecilia, was born four months ago. Her birth has really motivated me to work even harder to make our neighborhood and our city a place 11 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 where she can grow up and thrive. Thank you for your time and consideration for this important commission.

Thank you. We'll hear from all three testifiers and then we'll open it up to questions. Please, sir.

Mario Gentile. Good afternoon. To start, I'd like to briefly introduce myself. I'm Mario Gentile. I reside in the Fairmount area here in Philadelphia. Professionally I am a licensed architect, small business owner and Professor of Architecture at Temple University. In addition to holding memberships in various professional organizations, I have been chosen to serve on committees within these groups. At the community level, I help administrate a non-for-profit amateur adult soccer league in the City and also participate as one of its thousand-plus 12 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 members. Personally, my interests are in gardening and enjoying Fairmount Park with my wife and young son. My nomination to the Committee will prove beneficial on multiple levels. I will begin to explain from which two perspectives I will primarily use, if selected. Simply understanding and respecting others' opinions and being able to guide these into positive outcomes is something I've learned from teaching at the university level. It is important to realize that a good product comes from good input. As a Committee member, my role and responsibilities are something that can enrich a great many others' lives, and I look forward to being able to fulfill this promising future. From the professional perspective as an architect and having been involved with many projects at different scales, Fairmount Park has the underlying potential to be many things to 13 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 many people. It is grander in scale than that of an Olmstead type park system like New York's Central Park or Boston's Emerald Necklace. These parks were designed while Fairmount's was a collection of estates. This result offers interesting connections with the layering of different programs and paths that have greater potential integrating with different facilities within the Park. Within these current scenarios, there is always opportunity available for improvement. What becomes relevant during these tough economic times is the opportunity for development of athletic fields, structures and maintenance through volunteer and corporate partnerships that can be explored as the development of the Park is assessed. The adoption, stewardship or leasing of Park facilities by private organizations, whether non-profit or for-profit ventures, for public use can greatly enhance the amenities of the Park and act 14 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 as a possible source of revenue. Advising forward-thinking ideas from many levels of government and the private sector will be of importance as a responsibility of the Commission member. These ideas also need to maintain the reflection of the past within the restoration of historic facilities and management of the ecological standards. Through my training, being able to see these visions as proposed will allow me the insight to guide and aid in the development for the benefit of the greater public. On a personal level, as a member of the community and user of the Park system, I realize the personal attachment that people have to the Park and can empathize with them about not wanting to lose its charm when it comes to change. However, it is important to understand the effect of decisions to be made while serving on the Committee and always keep a greater understanding of 15 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 how these outcomes affect the public. In this capacity, I come to this role as a citizen who, like others, both benefit and wonder of the positive changes to be made. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Kristin Szwajkowski and I am testifying on behalf of Penelope Giles.

Testifying on behalf of?

Penelope Giles.

Okay.

Good afternoon, members of City Council. My name is Penelope Jordan Giles and I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corporation. Unfortunately, I am unable 16 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to attend the hearings in person and have requested that Kristin Szwajkowski, Board Chair of the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corporation, deliver my statement regarding my application today. First, thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony in support of my application to serve on the new Parks and Recreation Commission. I submit my testimony in my capacity as a resident of the earth and as a lifelong resident of this city. If I had a nickel for every time my heart cries in silence when I walk or drive through my neighborhood and the City seeing the trash that lines our sidewalks and streets like the grass, flowers and trees did so many forgotten years ago, I would be rich enough to do something about it. The same holds true for the sad state of so many of our recreation facilities which serve the citizens of our city. I wish to serve on the 17 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Commission to do my part to secure our future on this planet for our children's children. What we can do here in Philadelphia to preserve open space may be a small thing in a larger scope of the global picture, but it is the way back - city by city, town by town, nation by nation. The one thing we all have in common is residence on planet earth. I have been striving tirelessly in my own community to build consensus among diverse groups of people around a common vision. My community has determined that our physical environment is one of the most precious assets we have and that our recreation center is the heart of our neighborhood. Our city has acres of vacant land and underused parkland that could be put to better use. I look on the current economic situation as an opportunity to think out of the box and to seek short- and long-term solutions, including exploring new sustainable funding sources, while 18 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 reducing our carbon footprint. We should be thinking not just about how to preserve green space and improve our recreation centers, but also how they can work for us by providing job training, employment and urban farming opportunities. We may not be able to implement new ideas in the current economy, but we should be laying the groundwork now for future improvements to the Park and Recreation system. The health, both the mental and physical well-being, of our citizens is critical. All residents should have access to well-maintained green space and safe recreational amenities. If we begin to take better care of our piece of the planet, we will take better care of our citizens, and Philadelphia will be on the road to becoming the city we all know it can be. I applaud the efforts and leadership of our Mayor and all of you working to move this city finally in the 19 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 right direction. I hope that I may be a part of the solution by serving the City and its residents. In conclusion, while I am a passionate advocate for the environment, I am also a conscientious student of life and will serve with commitment, common sense and a collaborative spirit for the public good. Thank you for your time this afternoon. I will be submitting letters of recommendation in support of my application separately. Ms. Szwajkowski will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding my application. Thank you.

We thank you all for your testimony, and Councilman Curtis Jones has some questions.

First of all, the second day of these hearings like the first day have been insightful. I understand the limitation of your 20 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 testimony based on the fact that we want you to do it in three minutes. You can't reshape the world in that time. But I would be interested in -- a couple of things jumped out at me about land use in the Park, alternative land use that might generate a revenue, and I would be interested -- I heard farming in one, but no specifics on some. But what would some of those uses look like?

Just basically allowing either for-profit entities that have a corporate sponsorship for different facilities, whether it's athletic fields or some sort of amenities, like cafes. There are many willing businesses and business ventures that actually will jump at the opportunity to actually -- if the City was to sort of do some sort of lease for a dollar type of situation where they're in control, a for-profit entity can come in, sponsor, give X amount of dollars to support their cause and, in turn, allow 21 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the public to use that space for advertising dollars, profits generated from that in return for renting or leasing certain spaces or facilities.

I think a huge opportunity is to continue the -- or, I guess, to engage people in communities into the Park by having more events. I think a good example of that were the concerts last summer. That really drew people -- the concerts that can replace the Mann -- I mean, the Dell concerts neighborhood, and with -- if that became more of, I guess, a structured thing and a planned event, we could have a lot of economic development kind of surrounding it, and people who are -- I mean, whether the parking or the revenues from vendors or other things, and you have the benefit of bringing in revenue, but in addition, bringing in people into the Park so that they see the real value that we have in our parks.

I'll speak 22 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 about what we're doing in Francisville. We are using vacant land, which could be -- you could use the same model for parkland, in which we are creating job training opportunities and employment opportunities by creating an urban farm. If you were to do that with the parks, you could -- the Park could rent out land either to non-profit groups or for-profit groups, provide training opportunities in green jobs, and you'd be better utilizing the land and also providing not just job training, but entrepreneurship opportunities and produce potentially for underserved neighborhoods like Francisville, where we don't have access to fresh food.

Thank you for your answers. There's no A answer or -- there's no grade on it, but I wanted to hear the range at which we're talking about possible uses. I mean, remember, we had before us in one extreme the Fox Chase Cancer Center and people 23 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 looking at that. I've had people come to us with proposals to do a road race through the Park. And so I wanted to kind of get -- and this is open to anyone's interpretation of what that answer should be, but, I mean, as a body, as a Council, we need to at least get a sense of where the envelope begins and ends.

I'm pleased to introduce to some and present to others my partner who worked with me for the last nine years in really getting us to this point. He's a former member of the former Fairmount Park Commission and, therefore, brought a very unique, realistic, hands-on perspective as we went down this road, and that would be Councilman Darrell Clarke, who has joined us, and he is a member of this Committee. Thank you, Darrell. I do have one question. I was struck by your link, Ms. Garcia-Granados, your link between parks and licensed 24 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 childcare facilities. So just flush that out briefly.

Well, we've been operating an after-school and summer program at the Mander Recreation Center since 2005 and we've really been funding it -- I mean, it's in partnership with the Rec Department, so it's some City funding and then we've been going to foundations to fund the rest of it. And one of the kind of trials that we've had is to have our facility licensed as a childcare facility so that we could tap into this Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare subsidy. There are a lot of roadblocks, because it's City property. There are just a whole series of roadblocks, and one of them -- I mean, the easiest one probably is zoning. All of the recreation centers are zoned recreational, and to be licensed, you need to be zoned commercial. So, I mean, that's the first thing, the first hurdle, but there's a 25 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 few other hurdles that it would be wonderful to kind of address systematically so that other facilities could also be tapping into this funding.

All right. Just as a footnote and a sidebar, a lot of my work that I've done here has been around childcare. The first bill that I got passed in 2000 was to change the number of children we could take care of in a family childcare setting from four to six and the hurdles I had to conquer to make that happen. So I'd like to have my staff have a sidebar with you, because we have some other childcare initiatives in the pipeline and maybe we can be helpful with that specifically.

That would be wonderful.

So please make sure that you see David Forde on my staff.

All 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 right.

Let me thank you all for your important testimony, and we will now move to the next panel. I would like to ask to come to the black chairs here if you are here John Gough -- please forgive me if I mispronounce your name -- Jon Gray, Francine Griesing or Griesing. If you could just move up next to be ready to be seated. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Let me restate the procedure. There were six people that I called up that were sitting in the chairs. You're actually up next. I am now calling up individuals that will move to the black chairs. Do you follow me? So that we have a rotating kind of thing here. So Nancy Goldenberg, Debra Goldstein and the gentleman here were ready to come next to the witness table, 27 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and then the last three names I called, you now move to the black chairs so that you'll be next to come to the witness table. Do you follow me? No. 6

Play musical chairs. Just swap.

Repeat the names that are supposed to be at the mike.

Kenneth Goldberg, Nancy Goldenberg, Debra Goldstein.

Should be at the mike.

Excuse me. My name is Stephen Gleason and I think I was in the second set of three names.

Gleason. I'm looking at Francine Griesing. Maybe I need to get my eyes checked. Stephen Gleason. Please forgive me.

Thank you.

So Stephen Gleason, Avi Golen, Kenneth Goldberg, 28 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Nancy Goldenberg, Debra Goldstein, right? What's your name, sir?

Avi Golen.

So you should actually be seated and then --

At the mike?

Yes, at the mike. Welcome. Thank you very much. State your name for the record and then offer your testimony.

My name is Avi Golen. I'm a resident of Mount Airy of Philadelphia, and one of the goals of this Commission will be to maintain our current green space and recreational facilities, as well as find ways to expand and improve them. This is a tremendous challenge in the face of our current economic conditions. It will require new and creative funding mechanisms so these assets can be sustainable. We should explore the 29 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 opportunities of public-private partnerships and the marketability of these partnerships in the City. We can explore long-term ideas like urban farming, which provides for outdoor recreation and education, while at the same time producing locally grown, affordable food that will be good for our residents. We need to continue the effort to encourage volunteerism, which has historically been a critical component of the well-being of our parks and recreational facilities. We also need to develop new opportunities for community involvement. The significance of our Parks and Recreation facilities has a tremendous cultural and economic impact on our city. We need them to keep our residents active and healthy, which will in turn reduce the costs associated with poor health in children and adults in our communities. We can do this by making 30 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 sure access to green space can be enjoyed by all areas of the City. Our parks and recreational facilities need to be viewed as assets that will help attract and retain talented professionals and corporations who are weighing maybe their options on which city to move in or which city to live in. The fact that we have one of the largest urban parks can create a lifestyle that allows for one to escape the fast pace of the City, even if it's just for an hour, to run, hike, bike or just relax. This is a marketable aspect that can be made more saleable by preserving and improving these assets. I believe my experience listed in my application and resume will add value to this Commission. Thank you.

Do you have testimony to share with us that you're going to leave?

Yeah. 31 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Oh, terrific. Okay.

No problem.

Thank you. Please, sir.

Good afternoon. My name is Stephen Gleason. I'm a resident of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, a principal in Amerimar Enterprises, a Rittenhouse Square-based real estate investment and development company. I'm the father of three young boys, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia and also an avid biker, runner and former rower. I truly appreciate the opportunity to appear regarding this exciting opportunity for the City of Philadelphia. As everyone here knows, Philadelphia has an abundance of riches when it comes to park space and recreation areas. Comprising over 10,600 acres and 12 percent of the land area of the City, this system has the potential 32 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to be world class. However, the potential has been squandered over the years. We have a responsibility to those who came before us and to those who will follow to restore our Park and Recreation assets to their full potential. The creation of this commission creates a chance for a fresh start. Even in these difficult economic times when our region's resources are being stretched as never before, we have a chance to ensure that our Parks and Recreation areas achieve their world-class potential. It is an opportunity to fix up, to clean up, to secure and to improve our network. It will take fresh ideas, cooperation between different stakeholders and, yes, money. The first step is to inventory what we have, see how it is being used and create a vision for the future. GreenPlan Philadelphia is a great start, but its work cannot be completed soon 33 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 enough. Another vital ingredient will be partnerships between government, community groups, corporate neighbors and institutions. Each of these stakeholders must give input into the vision, but they also must step up when it comes time to implement the vision. This will include donations of ideas, time and money. Finally, realizing the potential of our parks must involve regional cooperation. Our neighboring suburban counties and municipalities should have both an opportunity and a responsibility to improve our parks. Just as the Art Museum, the Kimmel Center and the Sports Complex are regional assets, so should our Parks and Recreation areas. This will greatly expand both the pool of users and the pool of resources for our parks. I hope to revolutionize how we utilize our network of Parks and Recreation areas. A stroll past the Art 34 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Museum and along either River Drive gives a taste of the vast potential. It is our responsibility to realize this potential in every corner of the City so that our Parks and Recreation areas are used by as many people as possible to promote healthy and active lifestyles for all. Our goal should be nothing less than to make our Parks and Recreation areas world class and befitting of our great city. Thanks very much.

Thank you for your testimony. Let me say that it was November '07 when Councilman Clarke and I went to then see mayoral candidate Michael Nutter to let him know that we were ready to move our bill. We finally secured nine notes. At that time, Mayor Nutter -- we were predicting. We already looked into the crystal ball -- asked us if we would push the pause button, because he really wanted an opportunity to weigh in. And he gave his word that he would weigh in 35 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and figure out a way to make this vision that Councilman Clarke and I had real. He gave his word and he kept his word, became Mayor. We were able to take it to the ballot, and now today we are moving towards the formation of this commission. So I really want to publicly thank our Mayor Nutter and for coming up. (Applause.)

Please seize the moment, Mr. Mayor.

Madam Chair, thank you. Oh, she's going to give me a chair. The Chair gave up her chair. Madam Chair and Members Jones, Quinones-Sanchez and Clarke, I happened to be at something across the hall, but I'm understanding this is the second of four days, 250-some-odd folks interested in our Parks and Recreation combined system, and I just think that this is the bright and shining example of what 36 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 democracy and citizenship and participation is all about. I just really wanted to come in and say thank you. This is so exciting. And I want to commend the members for, again, their really hard work, paying attention, having this kind of process. This is brand new. It's never happened before. I don't know that anyone has ever truly met a potential candidate for the Park Commission, at least with the old process. So you're really doing a great thing, and I wish everyone well. I'll see the applicants in a different time.

Yes.

With the materials. But Council is doing a great thing here. I just wanted to stop by. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Please proceed with your 37 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 testimony. Give your name for the record.

Sure. Good afternoon and thank you for the privilege to testify on behalf of my candidacy to the City's new Commission on Parks and Recreation. My name is Nancy Goldenberg and for over years, I have clearly 10 demonstrated my commitment, both 11 personally and professionally, to Park 12 and Recreation issues in Philadelphia. 13 Allow me to highlight what I believe are 14 the most relevant. 15 Twice in my professional career 16 I worked for Fairmount Park, first 17 producing a Master Plan for the River 18 Drives in 1990 and more recently serving 19 as the first Director of the Natural 20 Lands Restoration and Environmental 21 Education program, a $26 million 22 initiative supported by the William Penn 23 Foundation to preserve and protect the 24 natural areas of Fairmount Park. 25 In my current position as 38 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Vice-President of Planning at the Center City District, I frequently work with the Fairmount Park Commission and Recreation Department on projects that range from renovating highly visible parks such as Aviator Park and Sister Cities Park on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, to maintaining neighborhood playgrounds and annually inventorying and planting street trees. I've raised millions of dollars for these projects and have managed their successful implementation. I've been an early proponent of measuring the economic value and social benefits of our city's open space and, to that end, have served on several professional panels with national experts sponsored by the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land Institute to help devise common measurement standards and guidelines for cities across the country. As a volunteer, I'm a past member of the Fairmount Park Advisory Council and a past Board member of the 39 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Philadelphia Parks Alliance. I currently serve as the head of the Friends of Carpenter's Woods. I am the founder of the Philadelphia Outward Bound program, which is headquartered in Fairmount Park and has for the last years actively 8 and successfully used our parks, 9 recreational and cultural resources as 10 fundamental tools for teaching leadership 11 skills to Philadelphia's youth. Outward 12 Bound underscores the principle of 13 service, and I am most proud of the fact 14 that over 12,000 of our students have 15 devoted and continue to devote thousands 16 of hours to help maintain the Park. 17 Personally as an athlete, I regularly use Fairmount Park as a runner and hiker. I have had the good fortune to travel to many of the world's extraordinary Parks and Recreation facilities, and I recognize that Philadelphia can and it must learn from other cities how to develop, manage and sustain more innovative and compelling 40 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 parks and playgrounds for both child play and as community gathering spaces. What I hope is readily apparent from my testimony is that I have an insatiable desire to give more back to my city, to use my talents and passion to improve Philadelphia for future generations. I can think of no more appropriate way to do this than by serving on the Commission on Parks and Recreation, and for that I seek your favorable recommendation. I have included in my packet to you letters of recommendation from my boss, Paul Levy; from a former boss or former -- I guess he was never my boss, Pete Hoskins, who actually left the Park when I came, but he did hire me to do the Master Plan for the River Drives, and from Janet Haas of the William Penn Foundation, with whom I had the honor of working with when I was at the Park Natural Lands program. Thank you very much. 41 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

You're welcome. Thank you for your testimony. Councilman Curtis Jones.

Thank you all for your testimony, but Ms. Goldenberg, we won't hold against you Paul Levy recommending you at all. My question -- and it's open to everybody, and I'm going to say, whatever I ask one panel, feel free of the other panels to respond to. But you mentioned -- and I think I know the answer, but I want you to say it for the record. How do you give economic value to social benefits of the Park? And I've read it before, but for the record, could you say what that means.

There are many ways that you can measure the value of a park. Some of those are purely economic property values, what you save from mitigating air pollution, things like that. But there are also a lot of social 42 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 benefits derived. Health, for example, just the value of being able to walk into the Park and release your stress and tension for the day. There are a lot of family reunions and block parties and many things that happen in the Park that bring people together in social events that wouldn't ordinarily happen, and there are ways that you can actually put a dollar figure on this.

I just wanted people listening at home that may not be a practitioner of this concept to understand what you meant, that if you walk in the Park and you are healthier because of it, you can reduce your cost of medical care. So I just wanted people to kind of get a sense of that. Thank you.

Anyone else like to comment? Please.

If it's all right, I'd like to respond to Councilman 43 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Jones' earlier question about an example for a private-public partnership. The best one that I can think of is the boathouse that was constructed along River Drive for the use of the St. Joe's Prep and St. Joe's University crews. I was involved as an alumni of St. Joe's Prep and the fundraising for that facility, and my understanding is the land was donated. The schools put up the money to construct the boathouses, but there was a condition attached to that, which was that that facility would also be used as the home for a facility to teach economically and other disabled children to row. So we got a beautiful new boathouse. The schools get to use it, but the City and its residents also benefited from this new program, and there are thousands of people rowing now out of that location that never would have had the opportunity to do so. And I'd like to see that replicated in other sports and in other parts of the park and 44 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 recreation centers. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? (No response.)

We thank you all for your testimony. So we have Debra Goldstein, John -- please pronounce your last name for me.

Gough.

Gough. Okay. Jon, with J-O-N, Gray, Francine Griesing, Michael Grasso, Jeffrey Hackett, Victoria Halliday. Your name, sir?

Jon Gray.

So the next three people, you're welcome to -- Jon Gray, you're welcome to sit at the witness table. Francine Griesing, Michael Grasso, Jeffrey Hackett, Victoria Halliday. Thank you very much. Councilman Clarke. 45 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, briefly I just wanted to make the statement similar to what I made yesterday since we have a new group here. First, I want to commend you on your leadership, not only in being the co-sponsor of the ordinance that created the Department of Parks and Recreation, and working with you has been a pleasure. That's an understatement. I just want to say to the members, this is the second day of this process, and we had a sense of the level of applicants when we reviewed the initial 250 or whatever it was with respect to your applications, but as we continue this process and into day two, it is clear that we have some very, very extremely qualified applicants who are committed, who clearly love not only the parks but the City. That is going to make it extremely difficult to figure out 46 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 a way to nominate people out of this 250. And as I said yesterday, frankly speaking, I have no idea how we're going to do this, but we'll figure out a way. But, unfortunately, a lot of individuals obviously will not be nominated, but, one, I in no way want you to think that -- and that's not to suggest that you guys were called up. I'm not talking about you. I don't want you to get nervous, Why did he bring that up now? That in no way that you were essentially rejected. It's just simply a matter of numbers. In retrospect, Councilwoman Brown and I were thinking about when we did the legislation, we probably should have provided more opportunities, because there are basically, as it relates to the public at large, only going to be nine people, and even if we expanded it to 20, it still would not have been enough slots. So the reality is that we will 47 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 be introducing an initiative probably in the next couple of weeks -- I think we're going to wait until we're finished this process -- of a way and some sort of a format or an entity that will allow people, particularly you that have shown an interest in this very important initiative, to be involved outside of the Commission once it's selected, because what we don't want to do is waste this talent not having a vehicle for you all to be involved. And it will be a meaningful position. As I said yesterday, there were some concerns early on that this newly formed commission was going to be, quote/unquote, an advisory who really had no ability to influence policy. Frankly speaking, that's going to be anything but the truth. You will be deeply engaged, and, frankly speaking, you're going to be getting calls from members of Council about what do you think about disposition and acquisition. So we expect that whoever is selected, 48 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and even those that aren't, to be involved in a meaningful way about park policy, about recreation policy and about policy in general as it relates to our jewels in the City of Philadelphia. And one last thing, I must say that we're going to be suggesting in a very meaningful way that you become very proactive, because this process in itself has shown a very transparent process. It is proactive, having people come down. What we will hope, that that body -- and you will be independent of us. I don't want you to think we're going to be in charge of that body, but a suggestion that that body follow suit and have discussions in the public, in the neighborhoods similar to what's taking place here. So I just wanted to put that out there, because I want everybody to continue to be involved regardless as to whether or not you end up being a nominee. 49 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 So thank you, Madam Chair.

You're very welcome, Councilman Clarke. With that, let's proceed to our third panel. Please state your name for the record and offer your testimony.

Madam Chairwoman and members of City Council, it is an honor to be before you today. My name is Debra Wolf Goldstein. As requested, I have with me three letters of recommendation that I'd like to offer as a supplement to my application to be a member of the newly formed Commission on Parks and Recreation. For the last years, I have 18 dedicated both my professional life and 19 my volunteer activities to building, 20 maintaining and improving parks and recreational facilities in our community. As a volunteer, most recently I have had the pleasure to serve as Mayor Michael Nutter's representative to the Fairmount Park Commission. Prior to that 50 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 appointment, I was an elected member of the Fairmount Park Commission and served as its Vice-President for five years. During my tenure on the Commission, I am most proud of two things. First, taking the lead in advancing the idea and facilitating and negotiating the lease of Memorial Hall to the Please Touch Museum. For me, nothing was more representative of the great possibilities for the Park and the City than when I stood in the wonderfully remodeled Memorial Hall when the Please Touch Museum opened its doors this past fall. Second, working with fellow commissioners, members of City Council, Park advocacy groups and the past and current Administration in analyzing strategic initiatives and governance structures for the Park and its sister organizations. In that effort, I helped author the Mayor's Transition Plan for the Park Department and helped with 51 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 selecting the current head of the Recreation Department. I have also served on the Boards of the Friends of the Wissahickon, the Green Space Alliance and the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association. My professional career is dedicated to parks, recreation and open space. I currently run a legal and consulting firm that works on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, local municipalities, non-profits, land trusts and private property owners to preserve open space for recreational use. Previously, I served as the general counsel to a regional land trust and prior to that I was appointed by then-Governor Casey to oversee the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' program to fund and develop municipal parks and recreational facilities in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I've also written many articles and public guides on conservation easements, 52 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the use of bond issues to fund open space preservation and limitations on liability for the use of land for recreational purposes. Using my experience, I would like to continue working to make our great City's Park and Recreation system the best in the country. Thank you for your time this afternoon.

Thank you for your testimony. Please, sir, proceed.

My name is John Francis Gough, G-O-U-G-H. Madam Chairperson and members of the Committee, I think I have some good news for you, and perhaps today is a day on which you would welcome some good news. I have over 15 years experience in a leadership position in precisely the work of this Commission, which is developing, preserving and enhancing the City's Park and Recreation facilities. 53 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 My application, of course, is in writing and on file. In the interest of time, I would make three points today. First, I am sure you are all aware of the wonderful section of Fairmount Park along the lower Schuylkill River known as Schuylkill Banks, altogether consisting of some eight or more miles of river and riverbanks running eventually all the way to Fort Mifflin and the Delaware River. It features a lighted and landscaped bike and jogging trail, riverboat tours, crew races, kayaking, evening entertainment and much more. I was the Chair of the task force that developed the 200-page Master Plan for that project. I was one of the original Board members and, in fact, the first Chair of the non-profit organization known as Schuylkill River Development Council, which began that project. I have served continuously for many years as an officer, a Board member 54 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and an executive committee member of the successor entity, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, which is continuing that project today. In those leadership roles with SRDC, I have interacted on a regular basis with federal, state and city agencies, including the Fairmount Park Commission as well as other City departments. This experience will be, in my view, invaluable to the work of the Commission. Second, for many years, I have been an active member of the Center City Residents Association as a resident of that part of the City. CCRA is the City's oldest and largest community organization. I have served for many years, not continuously, on its Board, but my experience with CCRA will be important to the Commission to help forge public-private partnerships to help preserve and enhance the City's Park and Recreation facilities. Third, I am a graduate of Yale 55 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Law School and a practicing Philadelphia lawyer. My practice emphasizes business, finance, real estate. It includes considerable familiarity with governmental RFPs, bidding and the contracting process, all of which are the work of the Commission. I have handed in copies of these remarks and, along with them, letters of recommendation from three sources: Jerry Sweeney, the Chair of SRDC; T.J. Reilly, the past President of CCRA; and Louise Turan, the Executive Director of Bartram's Garden in Fairmount Park. As I said, my application is in writing and it's on file. After these remarks, I would close simply with this: A seat on the Commission is either a position or a job. If it is a position, merely a position, shuffling papers, attending some meetings, add something to your resume, I really have very little interest in it. But if it's a job -- and 56 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I think it is -- then I think that I am prepared, experienced and I know that I'm eager to accept that job with enthusiasm. Thank you for considering my application. I would really like to have this job.

Thank you for your testimony.

Good afternoon. I am honored to be here before this Commission to present my application to the City of Philadelphia's Park and Recreation Commission. My name is Jon Gray and I'm a social worker and a freelance writer for Mount Airy in Philadelphia. Today I prepared the testimony to give to you and I gave you a copy of it, but right now I feel it's more important that I speak from my heart and the hearts of millions of children that live in the City of Philadelphia, millions of people who work in the City of Philadelphia and discuss the reason 57 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 why I should be on this Commission. I feel as though that given the current financial obligation of the City, that we must not forget our social obligation to our children, to our adults, those who cannot afford to use recreation at a private facility, those that need recreation fully funded so that they can have after-school programs, so they could have weekend programs and SAT preparation, so that they can be in the gym working on their game to get that Division I scholarship that can uplift their family and uplift their community. I have ideas in this. I've been all around this country. I am an avid high school basketball fan, and I've seen where other countries have used that same -- other counties have used that same incessant love for sport to not only enhance the opportunities for their children, but to provide record new making opportunities. In New York, the City of 58 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Binghamton has a tournament every year called Stop DWI. It's raised over a million dollars for drunk driving programs funded through -- and it was formed by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In Baltimore, our sister city to the south, they have also had tournaments called the Mayor's Cup where they have provided opportunities for their kids to receive basketball exposure while raising money for their own recreation departments. Partnering with their school district, they've been able to raise money not only just for the Recreation Department, but for the School District at large. I'm bringing fresh ideas. I'm 30 years old. I don't want to read to you a resume of what I've done. I'm just going to tell you what needs to be done. We need to sell this city. Ten years from now there's a possibility that Philadelphia could be on the upswing. Look at Chicago. They've 59 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 submitted an Olympic bid, the possibility for them to get money. There's a new thing that the International Olympic Committee has formed and there's only been one of these held. It's called the Youth Olympics. What better springboard for a potential Philadelphia bid for an Olympics than to host the Youth Olympics. That would also raise the fundraising and the minds of the children. Give them the opportunity to take an interest in the parks and recreation of their city because we took an interest in it and we wanted to showcase that to the rest of the world. Those are the ideas we need. Finally, in speaking on parks, I think it's very important that I make this point: We must partner with the School District of Philadelphia, the colleges and universities of this town. They're as much Philadelphian as anybody else. In some ways, the University of Pennsylvania, LaSalle, they supplement 60 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Recreation Department. They supplement the Parks Department when they open things up for the community. And in this time of economic peril, it is important that we encourage them to continue to do so and to step up. If it's a clinic by Jay Wright in 25th and Diamond on the weekend for kids that 10 want to play basketball, isn't that a 11 great thing? If it's a pool day in 12 Winfield for people who live near St. 13 Joseph's University, isn't that a great 14 thing to have? Those are the ideas I 15 present to you. 16 I hope that you can see that 17 it's not just about where I've been, who 18 I've worked for. My recommendations are 19 coming. 20

Fifteen 21 seconds, sir. 22

But it's also about 23 where I want to be, where I want my city 24 to be and where I think we need to be, 25 and that's in the minds and hearts of our 61 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 children. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very, very, much, Mr. Gray. We want to thank all of you for your testimony and for your enthusiasm, which is clear. Thank you very much. Councilman Jones.

Yes. Real quick. Thank you for that enthusiastic testimony, and it is probably the first one I've heard that emphasized the recreation aspect of it so strongly, and I think that's an important point to make, because it is Fairmount Park and Recreation Department, and that plays a critical part of what the new system will encompass. Thank you.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Michael 62 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Grasso, Jeffrey Hackett, Victoria Halliday, please. Behind them sitting in the black chairs, Yvonne Haskins, Christopher Hayes, Darlene Heep. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please provide us your testimony prior to you putting it on the record. Okay. You can certainly join them at the witness table. I'll call up Gregory Heller, Thomas Henry, William Hickey, if you could join us in the black chairs. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Welcome. Thank you. Please proceed with your testimony.

Good afternoon.

Pull the mike closer to you so you can be comfortable.

Good afternoon. 63 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Thank you to Mayor Nutter and to Council for instating this new Commission on Parks and Recreation for Philadelphia. A city with one of the best urban park systems in the world deserves a good commission to help run it. My name is Victoria Halliday and I live in Pipersville, Bucks County. In these challenging times, some of the City's goals have met obstacles and priorities have had to shift, so the reform in the way the City has planned, maintained and operated by reinstating the influence of commissions is historic. The Park system is the green infrastructure, a means of clean air and water and a dominant design element of the urban fabric of the City. It is the stage for social, cultural and economic equality, because it is available and accessible to everyone. It is a guiding force for the necessary direction back to and forward to sustainability and a balance with nature. 64 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I am grateful and honored for the opportunity to be considered and part of being this exciting time in Philadelphia as the great potential of this massive network of parks has the opportunity to be developed and utilized. The people of Philadelphia and surrounding area and its visitors deserve the best uncompromised park system possible. Its founding visionary, William Penn, designed a city where one would not have to walk more than five minutes before coming across a green area or a park. This garden city represents a wonderful place to live, work and visit, and I can see that this new Commission of Parks and Recreation can help continue that vision. The Commission represents a stabilizing force in the foundation of the City's continual renewal and revitalization. A critical connection and means of communication between the public and the government is now more 65 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 possible. Residents of Philadelphia have a good idea of what is important to them and what they need to be happy. A Commission of Parks and Recreation can translate those needs and desires into plans and programs. I will now explain what I feel the Commission could do and how my background, experience and professional training could help contribute and inspire the process. As a registered CLARB-certified landscape architect, I have studied and I am familiar with the design, history and magnitude of the network of parks in Philadelphia. A master plan for renewal and revitalization of the City, particularly in its decaying areas in vital need of recovery, is essential. Parks need to be an intricate part of this plan, both for the benefit of recovering areas but also to make them consistent with the character of the City. 66 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 My background in planning and landscape architecture can help with this. I also own and restored three historic buildings and adopted new uses for them, my capabilities to understand what is required and visualize a plan which will contribute to the Park and corresponding urban environmental development. I have an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in the Architecture, Art and Planning School and a Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. I also have an art background. I was a fine art major and I studied painting in the Museum of Fine Art School in Boston. I have lived and practiced landscape architecture in London, England; Baltimore, Maryland; New Haven, Connecticut; Doylestown, Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia as an intern at the Delta Group. I have worked on urban planning projects, garden design, master plans and 67 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 park design for both active and passive recreation. The healthy environment of a thriving park system provides affordable and approachable recreation programs. The Commission can continue to develop and expand these programs. My experience as a member of my Bucks County Township's Park and Recreation Commission can assist with these aspects.

I am a mother of six-year-old twins and I am aware of how important it is to provide healthy alternatives to watching TV and playing computer games for children.

Fifteen seconds.

Recently I took my daughter to the newly located Please Touch Museum and was impressed with the direction the City is taking to provide new uses to underutilized or abandoned elements. I'm a frequent park goer of Philadelphia's remarkable green areas. I 68 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 have played polo and ridden cross country in Fairmount Park. My parents lived in Philadelphia and I visited them, better to observe the deficiencies of parks which did not provide acceptable ADA access. My father was in a wheelchair. My personal experience of seeing the missing pieces of walkways and bare patches of lawn can make me better qualified to make improvements. Philadelphia's and its Park system's future, including its current struggle in this recession, depend on maintaining its population and attracting people both to move here and visit. As a Bucks County resident who takes advantage of the City's offerings, I have a perspective which can encourage more people to visit and come and stay. All this is not possible without funding. The Commission needs to concentrate on how to get the funds to make these improvements and develop recreation programs. My experience as 69 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Chairman of the Annual Wine and Polo World Legacy Cup, a polo charity match held in my polo club in Tinicum Park, provides a background for fundraising and organizing events. Forming this Commission is a step in the right direction in building a solid communication line between the public and City government. As a member of the Commission, I will make it a priority that the public and all parts of the pubic are heard and listened to. I will make it my duty to help organize those wants and needs into realities by creative thinking and applying my background and experience as a landscape architect, planner, sports competitor, sports fan and mother of two children, who I would like to make the world a better place for. Thank you for the opportunity to serve the people of Philadelphia and surrounding area as a member of the Commission of Parks and Recreation. 70 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Thank you for your testimony. That was three and a half minutes. So we're going to ask you to honor the clock. Thank you, sir. Next.

Good afternoon. My name is Jeff Hackett. I addressed the letter to Councilwoman Anna C. Verna and distinguished Board members. Please accept my greetings. I am here to present my desire to sit on the new Fairmount Park and Recreation Commission. I wrote a short letter because I would like basically -- I believe like the other gentleman, Mr. Gray, what comes from the heart touches the heart. So I'd like to close out with how I really feel. It's kind of hard to put on paper what you actually do. I am currently sitting as President of the Helen G. Sturgis Playground Advisory Board, Melrose Park Gardens Civic Association, the Eagle Eye Task Force and the Police Department 71 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Advisory Council. My heart is with our children. At Sturgis we have been blessed to have incorporated programs that are able to address the needs of an entire community. We sat back and watched the things that were important to different ethnic groups and tried to come up with a plan that would include everyone. It was a challenge and trying at times, but through trial and error, we were able to find the right mixture. Our playground has developed into a social gathering place for all. Breaking taboos is not the easiest thing to do, but with love and respect, we have Asian, Hispanics, African Americans and Europeans existing in the same space without hostile behavior. We take pride in co-ed, multi-cultural and generational diverse activities, thus not only promoting exercise but closing the gap on indifference. 72 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 We have park clean-ups, which include grass and flower planting, as well as trimming our own grass when needed. Recycling is a new project that we have incorporated in our daily habits. In doing so, we are teaching people to respect their environment and their community. By helping the individual, you help the group, and by helping the group, you help the family, and by helping the family, you help your neighborhood. I remember talking to an elder in my old neighborhood about a group of children playing on an old mattress in the park and saying, Someone should help them find something to better do before they hurt themselves. She replied to me, If you don't see a leader, it might be your turn. That conversation so many years ago is the same motivation that helps me find the energy and hope to push, knowing that one day, all may feel what I feel 73 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 today. I'd like to thank you for this time and consideration on this monumental position. Now, if I may expand a little bit on what we do at Sturgis. I'm old-school. I was taught great grandmother, grandmother things. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. There's three types of people in the world: Those who watch things happen, those who make things happen and those who wonder what the heck just happened. Well, we're doers. About six years ago, they were going to close Sturgis Playground down. We decided, no, you're not. I sat the people down, grown folks older than me, in the middle of our volleyball court. If you want to play up here, you're going to stop the name-calling, you're going to stop the ethnic intimidation, you're going to stop the gender bullying. I took the basketball courts down. I put it up when we were there and able to monitor what 74 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 was going on. " The cursing has pretty much stopped. Grandmothers are back up there reading. We have every different ethnic group playing together, not just in the park, actually playing together. We took children that were so-called the thugs of the neighborhood. Well, I made them coaches. Now they're being responsible right now. You know, we took kids that are doing well. We taught them how to teach tennis, how to do things, how to make money, how to become entrepreneurs. We incorporated ourselves. We're going out to the high schools right now and we're inviting in people from the high schools of the arts to come perform.

Now, we took it upon ourselves to buy equipment.

Fifteen seconds.

To buy equipment. 75 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 So what we're doing, we're doing free concerts, and the children are working the vending stands and they're making money for their children. I'm not going to go over my time, because you're not going to get me. Thank you much.

Your enthusiasm is contagious. It's very important when we're trying to make a difference in the lives of young people. Thank you for your testimony. Please.

Bravo. Madam Chairman, members of City Council, I just think the huge outpouring of interest of over, you said, 250 people in a volunteer job is just remarkable. I think it's amazing. It speaks to the spark, the genuine interest in reforming our Parks and Recreation system, and I just want to applaud this Council and our Mayor for this initiative. I appreciate the opportunity to 76 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 speak briefly about my passion for Fairmount Park and for Recreation in general and why I would like to be nominated to the team to deliver on its purpose. Fairmount Park is the greatest possible field of dreams we can imagine. Studies about the Park indicate its potential for our quality, our quality of life, its potential for generating revenue, and yet I believe this Council and our Mayor expect a lot more than that. I think that the Fairmount Park and Recreation can be the great equalizer among our citizens. I think it can be potentially a magnet for people from around the world. A friend recently told me about some parks in London called the "String of Pearls." These are small parks in various neighborhoods, linked creatively to encourage tourists in a way that may be a useful model for us to look at. In this brief time allotted, 77 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'd like to offer a vision that I believe is bold and inclusive, a vision that can engage even the "average Joe" in any community, a vision that can engage the young people of our community. My vision recalls the fun of the old Woodside Amusement Park before 1955, where my family enjoyed so many outings together. Now, it's not in Fairmount Park, but it's just at the edge and we used to ride a trolley car to get to it, so we thought we were in the Park. It's so exciting to see that the old Woodside Park carousel we enjoyed in those days has been restored in the Please Touch Museum. My vision also considers my current enjoyment of Carpenter's Woods, which is a block from my home, and the Wissahickon Trail, where I hike frequently. Most importantly, I think, my vision takes into account the vacant, abandoned sites all over north, west and other parts of Philadelphia. Many of these communities will never be rebuilt, 78 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 given our population decline. Can you picture small parks with ball fields, urban gardens and conservation projects in these spaces, all managed and well kept by the surrounding communities? What about Major League Baseball supporting little league teams throughout our Park and Recreation system? Visualize the rust belts on the commuter train lines and you'll see many opportunities to create a "string of pearls" in Philadelphia. Such rejuvenation out in our communities contributes directly to the rejuvenation of our Park and Recreation system. Further, the challenge of educating our youth to understand conservation is paramount. Fairmount Park can have a major role in educating youth in our neighborhoods. Our future depends on kids understanding why we need to conserve our water and why we need to take care of our soil. Teams of students throughout the City could be engaged in 79 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 hands-on projects that are useful to open space conservation and water quality. Introducing careers in state forestry and water management could excite and energize students about owning their parkland. The leadership you choose to develop our Park and Recreation system must engage people and communities in every nook and cranny of Philadelphia. Such engagement, together with transparency, in planning our Park's --

Fifteen seconds.

-- future is what excites me. Thank you very much. I have included two recommendations, one from Bernard Watson and one from Ken Weinstein, and they are included in the package. Thank you very much for your attention.

You're 80 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very, very welcome. Thank you all for your interest and clear evidence, as I said early on, that the idea is so reassuring when you look at where we are and where we want to go to. Thank you all. Christopher Hayes, Darlene Heep, Gregory Heller, Thomas Henry, William Hickey. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please forgive the cover. I was in education for 35 years.

Teachers and educators do that, don't we? I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Welcome, gentlemen. Please state your name and proceed with your testimony. We'll start with the gentleman on my extreme left.

My name is Gregory Heller. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today. Through your vision, this new 81 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Commission on Parks and Recreation has the opportunity to set a new direction. The question is, what direction will that be? As someone deeply involved in the planning of our communities, parks and public realm, I would be honored to have the responsibility in answering this question. Philadelphia's park system is world class. To develop the regional support and financial resources the system needs, we need to focus on building connections, connections with communities, institutions, transportation and with the region. As Planning Director for the Parkside Historic Preservation Corporation and now at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, I have been intimately involved in the planning of the Centennial District. This strategy of connecting institutions in the Park is something we can and 82 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 should apply to other areas. It will give us the opportunity to attract a critical mass of visitors and open doors for new funding sources. In Parkside, I often heard residents say that they felt disconnected from the Park, yet the expanse of the West Park sat just beyond their front porches. We need much more proactive neighborhood planning, physically and psychologically connect communities with their Park resources. A big part of attracting visitors relies on transportation. We need to ensure excellent access to all parts of our Park system and publicize those transportation connections, working closely with the Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities. Through my work at DVRPC, I am well familiar with the avenues for making this connection possible. Parks and trails cross municipal lines and have a regional draw. 83 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 We need to think and plan like a region. There should be a multi-municipal task force to capitalize on the region's recreation funding. In my application, I mapped out specific initiatives and funding sources. However, more important is this overall direction for the Park system. I bring a diverse range of qualifications to help guide this direction and build these connections. I bring experience in community development, historic preservation and regional planning. Through my work on the governing bodies of the Design Advocacy Group, Travelers Aid, the Ed Bacon Foundation and the Washington Square West Civic Association, I have demonstrated a track record as a civic leader and an experienced fundraiser, with the reputation for tackling challenging initiatives. As author of the celebrated 84 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 publication "Promoting Civic Design Excellence in Philadelphia," I have been widely recognized as a leading advocate for the public realm. My policy work is well published and respected locally and nationally. I have spoken at national venues about public realm planning. I have spent years serving in various capacities on the planning of the Centennial District and the future of our parks. We need commissioners who understand national models, with experience in community and regional public realm planning and policy. I would be honored if you will afford me the opportunity to bring my passion, experience and ideas to help build these connections for a stronger Park system and for a stronger future. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your testimony. 85 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Good afternoon.

My name is Bill 4 Hickey. Just another Bill. And my strength lies in raising the expectations and getting the money together to make the expectations worth raising. When I was in first grade at St. Columbus at 24th and Lehigh, I was the kid that sold the most pretzels. When I moved on to high school, I was the kid that worked with the Augustinians at Bonner and raised $20,000 in one week at the Bonner Fair. When I became a guidance counselor at Hatboro-Horsham Student Council Advisory, we threw a state conference which raised the bar. My students and I raised a quarter million dollars, and spent it in 48 hours. And in addition to that, raised 135,000 for Habitat for Humanity and bought eight houses. So where I'm coming from with Fairmount Park, which has got to be one of the neatest places on this particular 86 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 planet, I mean, it's the largest park system metropolitan on the planet. We can do a lot more. We got two rivers. I never see any wave runners on those rivers. I never see any paddle boats. I never see any boating competitions other than the scullers, and that's great, but they're not there all the time. I see mansions that sit and deteriorate, where we have the Williamson School of Free Trades right out there in Delaware County, and they love to build things. We've got Eastern Center for Arts and Technology sitting there in Montgomery County, where I'm from. Although I have to tell you, when I travel around the world, people say, Well, where are you from? I don't say I'm from Dresher, Pennsylvania. I'm from Philadelphia, which has the greatest skyline that I've seen anywhere. The City of Dusseldorf -- this is my big thing you'll see in there -- every year they throw a carnival. Four 87 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 million people attend, and they walk away with 500,000 euros. Now, that's serious money. That would double the Park budget. We could fix those 30 mansions. We could -- each one of them, is there a reason why they can't be a revenue stream? We can make it better, and the better you make it, the better the attendance is going to be. They used to joke at the high school with my Student Council kids when it came to fundraising. Cheerleaders would have a car wash and they'd have 50 cheerleaders out there for six hours in the sun, and I would say, Well, how much did you make? Oh, we made $200. The athletic director would say, Hickey wouldn't get his kids out of bed for less than a grand. So there's ways to do it, and I am a bridge builder. I am a different kind of thinker. I love the outdoors. I was going to wear my Eagles jacket, but 88 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 you know, it shrunk. I just can't believe that would happen to me. And I think the neatest thing I ever did growing up in Philadelphia, 27th and Lehigh, was when my dad took me to Connie Mack, I saw grass for the first time. I used to go up to 27th and Clearfield to the "swimmies," where I learned a lot more than swimming. This place has all of the ingredients of being one of the most outstanding recreational areas in the area, and I'd like to be part of it. Make it work, bring in some bucks. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

My name is Tom Henry. I don't have a written testimony, and I hope that you won't see that as a disrespect to you at all.

Not at all. Let me just say for the record, what mattered most was getting the 89 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 application in on time. This is the second stage of that process. Written testimony is not required, but it's certainly helpful as we deliberate once we have had a chance to hear from the 250. So if you do not have it today and you wish for us to have something, you're welcome to send in your testimony or deliver your testimony soon after today.

Okay. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you. I have been involved in the park area and recreation for many, many years in the City of Philadelphia, and as I sit here, I think that when we talk about the parks, that the Park is going to be fine. I think when you talk about green areas and that movement by the President and resources in that area, that the Park will be fine. What I'm 90 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 more concerned about is recreation and recreation facilities and planning and programming in those kind of facilities. I am the President of Kingsessing Advisory Council. I have volunteered at that facility in one capacity or another for over 30 years. And I don't like to talk about what I've been able to accomplish, but rather what people have been able to accomplish working together. I don't think that we use the recreation centers today to reach our fullest potential, to reach our children. We sit in the middle of a biomedical area, yet we don't use our recreation centers to teach as much as we possibly could teach and to help them understand that there are other avenues out there for them and other jobs that they could be doing that they're not aware of at all. And so I think that if we use recreation centers -- and I've been 91 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 involved at them across the City. I ran a softball league in the City that was 43 teams at its peak, and I was involved in recreation centers, advocated for the conditions of those centers throughout the City, and we put rules and bylaws in place that made you clean those fields, and you were fined if you did not clean those fields. Bought equipment to keep those fields up. So because we didn't have grass cut or those things, that was no excuse for them not to look well. We had to take some responsibility ourselves. So we were taught that, and I think we need to be teaching the same thing to our young children. We need to have a strong emphasis on developing youth advisory councils throughout this city. One of the things -- and I really don't want to disrespect anyone, but one of the problems that I have, when I see young people standing on a corner soliciting funds, when we should be teaching them 92 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 how to do development. And we can do those kinds of things in recreation centers, and through that process -- I've been there over 30-some years. Not going to be around a lot longer, but we need some young people in place to keep that banter going. So that's all I have to say, and I hope my work speaks for me. Thank you.

Thank you all for your testimony. Any questions from members of the Committee? Councilman Jones.

Thank you all for your testimony. By way of the Centennial District, one of the things that I like about it is becoming a gathering place, a multi-cultural gathering place, from everything from cricket to people who are playing touch football, and it almost is serving as a town square, if you would. 93 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 And if we could replicate that kind of intergenerational, interracial, gender-neutral kind of activities, I think that that's a vision worth having for our Park system, where everyone feels comfortable in the Park. So I just underscore that, put a period at the end of that sentence. Thank you.

Thank you, gentlemen. Patricia Hill, Brad Hoffman, John Hogan. Following those witnesses will be David Hollenberg, Alexander Hoskins, Nicole Hostettler. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Good afternoon, everyone. (Good afternoon.)

Thank you. Please allow us to have your testimony before you get started. That's helpful. Ms. Hill, proceed. 94 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

My name is Patricia Hill. I am a longtime resident of the Brewerytown area of Philadelphia, and until retirement, I had a long career with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, rising from a part-time summer employee to one of the highest field positions in the Department of Recreation, Leader 3. At one point I worked as well for Fairmount Park's Recreation Department. I'd like to think my experience in planning and implementing programming of all kinds, cultural, social, athletic, in playgrounds and recreation facilities of all sizes, serving a wide range of communities across this great city, could be very valuable on the new Parks and Recreation Department's Commission. I see this union as exciting, but challenging. I would love to do everything possible to make it successful. It's been debated for a very long time, and here it is. As is often 95 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 noted in these trying times, in challenge there is opportunity. At the risk of going on too long, I would like to add that since retiring and even before, I have worked hard to bring people together in my neighborhood and to improve the quality of life there. After years of downward spiral and people leaving in droves, it feels now more like part of William Penn's "green country town," which will never be burnt and always be wholesome.

Thank you. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is John Hogan. Madam Chair Lady, members of the Committee, first of all, thank you for creating this combined Commission. It's been a long time coming and it's certainly been needed. And thank you for this opportunity to support my application to become a Commissioner on Parks and Recreation. I am not a person easily given 96 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to self-promotion, but the newly created Commission on Parks and Recreation is so very important to the vitality and long-term health of Philadelphia that I must give it my fullest support. I will keep my remarks short, but I have submitted supporting documents to the Chair. Thank you. If I am appointed to the Commission, I would contribute over 12 years of business and marketing 13 expertise. Over those 20 years, I have 14 learned to accept difficult financial 15 times as opportunities to reexamine our 16 operations, asking questions such as, 17 where can we operate more efficiently, 18 where is there duplication, how can we 19 offer the same level of service but with 20 less cost. That attitude of seizing the opportunity will serve the Commission and Philadelphia well during the next few years. And over the last 20 years, I have gained an equal amount of experience 97 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 in volunteering with neighborhood athletic associations, civic groups, political, cultural and environmental groups throughout the City. I pledge to never waver in my duty to the Commission and the citizens of Philadelphia. I do not look on this position as a stepping stone to other office or a chance to financially benefit myself or my business. I would be proud and honored to be part of all of our efforts to make this wonderful city the right place to live, learn and have fun. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for your testimony. Please, sir.

Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson and Council. My name is Brad Hoffman.

Did you share with us testimony?

No, I did not. I apologize for not bringing copies. 98 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Okay. Please.

My name is Brad Hoffman. I'm a graduate of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University, having received my undergraduate degree in finance and international business, as well as an MBA there in finance more recently. I'm currently an active member of the Board of Directors of Franklin's Paine Skate Park Fund founded and based in Philadelphia. Upon graduating from Drexel, I wanted to work to bring places to skateboard to Philadelphia and raise the activities of awareness among youth, elected officials and my community. I feel that skateboarding creates an outlet for youth and can provide a pure-based activity that steers at-risk youth from otherwise unproductive and dangerous activities. As a Board member, we have worked to revitalize neighborhoods, 99 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 including Kensington and South Philadelphia, as well as Whitehall Skate Park in North Philadelphia, while also developing an after-school program to introduce skateboarding in some of Philadelphia's toughest neighborhoods. Also as a Board member, we have been developing Paine's Park and the banks of the Schuylkill River. Paine's Park will be a two-and-a-half-acre facility for skateboarding; however, also designed and open to the general public. This process has introduced me to community outreach, watershed and landscape management and, most importantly, the need for a unified Commission to plan and develop Philadelphia's resources. During my tenure with Franklin's Paine, we've raised millions of dollars for these activities. My present-day job includes the management and financing of commercial real estate nationwide, and my previous 100 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 positions have included arranging capital for some of the largest real estate transactions in Philadelphia. I've lived here since 1997 and have lived in almost every neighborhood in the City. So I thank you for your time, and have a great afternoon.

Thank you all for your testimony. To make life a little easier for you, if you leave your testimony, we can make copies today. That way you don't have to circle back downtown.

Terrific. Thank you.

Thank you all. David Hollenberg, Pete Hoskins and Nicole Hostettler to move to the witness table. They shall be followed by Richard Huffman, Eric Iffrig and Brendan Isard. (Witnesses approached witness 101 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 table.)

Good afternoon, everyone. (Good everyone.)

Please proceed. We have testimony. Okay.

Hi. I'm Nicole Hostettler. A neighbor of mine recently said to me, The Park means a lot to me, and I think that's pretty much it amongst all of us here. I love this city. I moved here from Detroit. This is my adopted hometown. The enthusiasm is contagious. The Nutter Administration, the Obama Administration has infused this excitement with all of my neighbors and all of my friends and colleagues in this city. What can I offer as a Park Commissioner? I'm a licensed and certified national and state planner. My 102 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 past work includes volunteering with AmeriCorps in Chicago public housing. Now, starting a recycling program in public housing is not easy, and that was, by far, one of my biggest challenges. I currently work as a municipal planner in a suburban community. I write code, ordinance. I work with land use issues constantly and zoning. I have an extensive, though not wanted, storm water management knowledge due to our poor soils and need to mitigate against this. I've worked with that Planning Board for almost six years overseeing and administering and writing staff reports for. I clearly understand the importance of plan and standards such as our created Philadelphia GreenPlan and the Fairmount Master Plan, which is a sound basis of land use and environmental park and recreation planning. In my South Philadelphia community, I currently serve as the President of the Friends of Gold Star 103 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Park. We're a very small pocket park that's overrun by all sorts of users, leading to all sorts of conflict. So we've recently teamed with PHS and Community Design Collaborative to do a master plan for this park. I work with the PHS Philadelphia Green Parks Revitalization Project, which is a great project, and I encourage anyone that's interested in parks today here to join that committee. It served as an invaluable resource. Currently, we're trying to form the South Philadelphia Parks Alliance and share resources and time and volunteers. I also serve on a PHS dogs task force committee. We're trying to find policy and guidelines for the City that equate to Boston's, Baltimore, San Francisco, as we currently do not have a dogs policy in the parks. I've held many fundraisers for Passyunk Square Civic Association, including initiating a fundraiser which 104 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 has become an annual event. I also drafted a grant application resulting in a $50,000 commercial corridor grant award for the Lower Italian Market Association, and I'm proud to say that this year we won the 2009 National Planning Award. If you don't take me, at least take my ideas, and my ideas are considering private sponsorship; expanding the "low mow" movement where appropriate in large parks; increasing enforcement and fines for dumping, which is a chronic problem in all parts across the City; improving the website to provide an area for online donations; continual partnering with tourist agencies and providing a comprehensive map and guide for the entire Park system, because it's not there right now and it's needed; determining the feasibility of interim use for vacant lots as open space. There are many vacant lots in my neighborhood that could be used for community gardening and other things in 105 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the interim. Applying green principles and sustainable programs to school playgrounds, as recently exhibited at the National Building Museum; advocate for zoning codes to create more public spaces in dense areas, such as downtown; and developer contribution for off-site green space; provide also a central resource for individual fundraising to help places like the Mann and the Mummers Museum become self-sustainable; and apply adaptive reuse techniques to historic City structures, such as the Please Touch Museum, which was mentioned several times. I know many folks that are applying for this position, and they're all remarkable.

So good luck with your choice, and I truly appreciate this opportunity. This is something that I think previous Administrations you would have never seen. Thank you. 106 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Well, thank you for your goodwill. We do have an awesome opportunity. We must look at the glass as half full always. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That was great. Hi. My name is David Hollenberg. Thank you for the privilege of testifying on behalf of my application to serve as a member of the new Commission on Parks and Recreation, a very welcomed new commission. My application is inspired by my deep love of Philadelphia and the value I see in strengthening what is already a robust Parks and Recreation system. I cannot imagine this city as a place, much less as an idea, without its astonishing network of public open space and without the clear meaning of that open space to all of us as its citizens. It is so much more than an 107 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 extraordinary physical asset. Parks and recreation reach into all of our lives, enabling the City to reach goals of sustaining natural beauty and land, educating citizens, providing economic development to our neighborhoods and, most importantly, perhaps weaving together a social fabric that sustains our connections to each other as people. I relish the opportunity to bring more than 33 years of architecture experience as well as my passion for Philadelphia to this new and very welcomed Commission. Currently, I am the university architect at the University of Pennsylvania. I am entranced by the fact that open space connecting to the City is at the core of the University's eastward expansion, and that such visible optimism about open space is playing such a role in expanding the idea of the University and its meaning to the City. This is a powerful perspective I think to bring to the new Commission. 108 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Similarly, throughout years at the National Park Service, I actively participated in or led typically interdisciplinary responses to challenges very similar to what the City's new Commission will face - inadequately funded preventive maintenance, barely funded deferred maintenance, competing budget priorities, the constant need to understand and enlarge our constituencies, juggling multiple and often conflicting uses ranging from contemplation to recreation. I am deeply tied to the City and I have been throughout a career that's had several interwoven themes - stewardship of important places, respect for public policy and process and passion about the intersection of the modern city and its rich past. These themes summarized in my resume span years as a private-sector architect specializing in historic preservation, 14 years as an architect with the National Park Service 109 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 here in Philadelphia where I served as Associate Regional Director in charge of design and construction for the northeast region of the United States, and now for almost three years as a university architect at Penn. I must say I also served for eight years during Mayor Goode's Administration on the Philadelphia Historical Commission as both Commissioner and Chair of its Architecture Review Committee. I relished the opportunity to give back to the City in that way. I would love to do so again. I've been a member of the faculty of Penn's Graduate Department of Historic Preservation for years and I 20 have taught a course called Preservation through Public Policy for the last ten. I'd love to have this as a case study of public policy. The application process has reminded me of the deep professional 110 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 satisfaction of my service on the Historical Commission. Its intersection of stewardship, design, policy and management is for me a professional sweet spot. I believe that the issues that the new Commission will confront and the extraordinary resources that it must care for and about will necessitate comfort at a similar but perhaps even more challenging intersection. Last, I would like to state that I came to Philadelphia in 1971 to attend graduate school at Penn, where I received my Master's in 1975. I fell in love with this city, have never left and never will.

I see this as a chance to serve the city that has become my home and its people who have become my friends, my neighbors and my fellow citizens. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon. 111 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Good afternoon. Well, I just want to say, you guys really did it. I feel so good being here today and what you have done to bring together this many great people. I might be one of the losers in this process, but I think we are all winners really for what you have done. As you said, Councilman, however we go beyond today, I really hope that we can continue to harness the power of the many people that I've heard today, as well as the other hundreds that will appear before you. My own experience actually as it's outlined in the application tends to focus on things like Park Director and such, but I'd really like to harken a little more back to my earlier days working for the Water Tower Recreation Center and more recently Mount Airy baseball, where I'm quite active as a coach and working helping fix the fields and things like that. So all of my 112 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 experience isn't just with a suit on. I want you to know that. There are few people in Philadelphia today who are fortunate to have the unique parks and recreation-related experiences that I have had over the past 35 years. Philadelphia is blessed with many who have served as volunteers in parks friends organizations, rec advisory councils or who have served directly as coaches and league officials. We have many individuals who have extensive knowledge and skills as historians, horticulturists, landscape architects, city planners, engineers, maintenance professionals, recreational leaders and many other diverse professional needs of a parks and recreation department. There are also many Philadelphians who have served on many Boards at the community, city and regional level who have served us exceptionally well. I am especially fortunate to have close experience 113 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 working with or overseeing the work of each of those kinds of citizens and many more. Beyond just being associated with many professionals and many outstanding Philadelphians, I have worked to bring people together toward many creative solutions. Among those solutions were Fairmount Park's first Development Department to raise millions of dollars back in the '80s, a Friends of Philadelphia Parks that ultimately became the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, Fairmount Park Historic House Council, the Park Ranger program, the Streets Department Sanitation Enforcement program, and agreements with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to recreate the Azalea Garden and the 26th Street Airport Gateway, Golf Course Lease program, the Pennsylvania Zoological Council to gain support for Pennsylvania zoos, and now the emerging Centennial District, which I actually authored the 114 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 first idea about the Centennial District and I'm so glad to see that happening. In each of these cases and more, I have been successful in bringing together political, civic, business, institution and community leaders in innovative solutions for Philadelphia assets. In some cases, the solutions have prospered even beyond their original goals. In others, there have been some disappointments and the need for reworking. I clearly know from experience that we must learn from the successes and the disappointments and continue to even better ideas for the future. My optimism for the future has been recharged by the recent City Charter changes for Parks and Recreation and the new dedication among the Mayor and City Council leaders. The new economics are truly daunting, and the opportunity for using our parks as investment assets to leverage Philadelphia to greatness is as strong as 115 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 ever. I believe the new leadership and the necessary commitment I would equally -- excuse me; I would be equally committed to seeing them succeed in that endeavor. Being a good Commissioner of Parks and Recreation will take more than attending the necessary committee and board meetings and voting correctly.

It will mean staying current on the nation's best practices and helping to develop and author recommendations for how to apply those practices in the best manner for Philadelphia. It will mean speaking to community groups and to listen to their needs and to help shape the best solutions for our new Parks and Recreation Department. And it will mean giving my best advice even when there may be outspoken disagreement from within the Administration or from some stakeholders. Beyond being critical advisors to the Mayor, I believe that commissioners must be active ambassadors 116 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 in supporting the value of Parks and Recreation assets in Philadelphia. This includes, of course, being advocates for Parks and Recreation budgets as city investments and the quality of life for Philadelphia residents and for attracting visitors. I would use my role as Commissioner to speak publicly in support of City capital and operating budget investments in Parks and Recreation assets that provide significant returns, while also seeking ways to leverage those taxpayer investments with foundation, corporate and individual philanthropic support, as well as more creative ways to gain revenues to the City through user fees. In all cases, such funding increases should be used to support universal access to Parks and Recreation programs regardless of ability to pay. I look forward to serving. Thank you.

So let me 117 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 thank each one of you for your very unique perspective and your testimony, and to Dr. Hollenberg, with the consent of the co-sponsor of this legislation and now law, after we get through this process, we would feel great if you would make this a case study for your class.

You got a deal, but you just gave me a doctorate that I do not have and I thank you for that. I did not know that that was going to be a benefit of this application process.

So with his consent as a former educator, I get it, and it would be our pleasure. Thank you all very much. Richard Huffman, Eric I-F-F-R-I-G. I'm always not feeling well when I mispronounce a name. Brendan Isard. And to follow, please come to the black chairs Voffee Jabateh, J-A-B-A-T-E-H, Lavone Jackson, Omar Jefferson. 118 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 (Witnesses approached witness table.)

My name is Richard Huffman. My wife and I live in Center City, where we've resided for 38 years. Our children have participated on athletic events on the Parkway and the fields of Fairmount Park, and our family has enjoyed City Parks and Recreation facilities, including our membership at the Mann Center of Performing Arts. I am very interested in the Commission on Parks and Recreation for three reasons: My experience in urban parks and redevelopment planning throughout the country and abroad; my availability after retiring from my firm, Wallace, Roberts & Todd; and my interest in giving back to the City which my wife and I love. My experience includes serving as partner in charge of the original Master Plan for Fairmount Park, the urban design and planning for Liberty Place, 119 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the successful HOPE VI application for the Mill Creek Public Housing in West Philadelphia. WRT has a national reputation which has allowed me to learn how other cities plan for open space and recreation, including the national award-winning Richmond Virginia Canal Walk, the Kansas City FOCUS Plan and other urban redevelopment assignments throughout the country. WRT has recently worked with Penn Praxis in preparing the Delaware Riverfront Master Plan and is now working on the Trinity River redevelopment in Central Dallas, which combines public open space with adjacent private development and helps pay for the capital improvements associated with the park. I began my career after graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in architecture and city planning in 1967, and during five years with the City Planning Commission of Philadelphia, I was appointed the first 120 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Director of Area Planning, which assists community groups in planning and development issues. At WRT, I have continued my interest in community involvement, including assignments with PHA for communities in West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia and the Northeast. In recent years, I have become active in the Urban Land Institute. I'm presently the program Chairman for the 1,100-member Philadelphia District Council. I'm a fellow in the American Institute of Architects. I'm also a member of the Delaware Valley "Smart Growth" jury and have just left the CPDC Board, where I served for years. 18 My availability for work on the 19 Commission has increased with my 20 retirement as a principal at WRT. My most recent assignments include directing the Community Charette for the redesign of the South Street Bridge, teaching a workshop in community planning at the Graduate School of Design, and completing 121 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Master Plan for the Capital of Illinois in Springfield. The workshop requires contact with community watershed planning for Upper Darby, waterfront redevelopment in Tacony, community revitalization in Strawberry Mansion. And the Illinois assignment is my last project at WRT, where I have been a partner since 1981. Now, my interest in redevelopment of Philadelphia parks and recreation includes ULI programs, which link open space and development. So issues like the Fox Chase expansion on parkland and the community opposition suggest that there is a need to blend public and private investment such as the successful cooperation between Johns Hopkins in Baltimore where WRT prepared campus plans in cooperation with the city and adjacent neighborhoods. Philadelphia has a beautiful park system and recreation centers, which need investment in maintenance and 122 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 security. In times like today's budget crisis, a creative approach which involves community groups and private development should be one of the tasks of the new Commission on Parks and Recreation, and I would like to serve on this Commission.

Thank you for your testimony.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

My name is Brendan Isard. I'm a Center City resident and I am the principal owner of Waverly Green, LLC. It's a LEED construction and sustainability firm. The Parks and Recreation Commission is facing a unique opportunity as our society becomes increasingly environmentally conscious. The Commission will be required to establish policies that will promote the preservation and conservation of our 123 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 existing natural resources and educate the public on environmentally responsible stewardship practices. Given the City of Philadelphia's current financial restraints, it will require the appropriate experience, leadership and commitment to accomplish this goal. As a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, I would take measures to ensure that the City would offer the most cost-effective programs and services to its community. My background in finance, management and organizational development make me an ideal candidate for this position. My professional experience in financial planning has taught me the importance of budgeting and fund allocation. My communication and negotiation credentials give me the ability required to make this Commission both effective and efficient. Further, my professional accreditation as a LEED-AP would be an invaluable asset to the organization, as it provides me with 124 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 a wealth of understanding in environmentally responsible building policies and procedures. However, my greatest asset to the organization is my commitment to developing the Parks and Recreation Commission into a viable program that will serve as a paradigm for other public programs for our city. The improvement and progress of the City of Philadelphia hinders upon its ability to provide services and programs that encourage growth, enrichment and health. These elements are necessary if the City is to strive and expand. Having an efficiently run Parks and Recreation program that provides such activities is essential at this time. During this time of economic crisis, cities need to restructure their priorities and commitments, while keeping focus on their most valued assets, its residents. We cannot afford to diminish our investment in our people as such programs offer invaluable alternatives and resources to 125 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 our communities. The City of Philadelphia has historically been recognized as having one of the country's largest and best park systems, and our recreation programs are a proven deterrent from destructive behavior. The continuity of these programs will require leadership from those who understand the balance of social, educational, environmental and financial boundaries. I possess the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve the goals set forth by the Commission, and my inclusion will be one piece of the equation for future success. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. You gentlemen are free to leave, unless my colleagues have any questions or comments.

My only comment is that I'm impressed. I continue to be impressed with the quality 126 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 of applicants that we have. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's going to put us in a very, very precarious situation with this kind of talent. We're the kind of folk and body that don't like talent to leave. So we may devise something to keep it around. (Thank you.)

Thank you, gentlemen. You may approach the witness table, Eric I-F-F-I-G, Voffee Jabateh, Lavone Jackson, Omar Jefferson. They shall be followed by Dean Jerrehian, Lurline Jones, Bernard Kanefsky. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

I do have written copies for you. Good afternoon. My name is Omar Jefferson-Nelson, a resident of the 127 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Francisville section of the City. And, first of all, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity today and just commend you on supporting this initiative. It's just awesome. Thank you. Through my personal experience, education and professional experience, I believe myself to have acquired the skill sets needed to meet the qualifications in attaining a position on the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation. First of all, as an individual who was born in North Philadelphia, I've had the privilege of firsthand use of the Parks and Recreation system. From remembering the hot summer days when my older brother allowed me to accompany him to the public pools through competing in high school cross country races in Fairmount Park, I have developed a passion for the benefits and impact that an efficient Parks and Recreation system may have on a young, impressionable mind. My experiences as an NCAA 128 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Division I track and field athlete while completing my studies at Louisiana State University, as well as being a personal trainer, has allowed me to have a unique perspective that I feel qualifies me as a person whom, like many Philadelphia youth, has had the opportunity to aspire to certain goals while also pursuing athletics and developing my talents to greater levels. Also, the education that I received in chemical engineering and chemistry has helped me to prepare myself in understanding the potential environmental impact of an efficient Parks and Recreation system. My experiences and my level of commitment to community and volunteerism is another reason which further qualifies me to serve on the Commission. Since moving back to Philadelphia after college, I have continued to become more involved in my community, from races for specific causes to my participation with the Fairmount Community Development 129 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Corporation and neighborhood clean-up days. I am also an active Board member and currently the Public Relations Chairperson for the Aldersgate Youth Services Bureau, a non-profit which operates out of Montgomery County and serves Philadelphia in placement of foster care children. These are several items for which I have developed a passion and recognize how a well-developed Parks and Recreation system could both receive and generate benefit. Finally, my professional experience in working for a company like Johnson & Johnson, which recognizes and supports employees' efforts to be active members of their respective communities, has allowed me the opportunity to fill a level of support which increases my personal confidence in my ability to be dedicated if I were fortunate enough to be appointed to the Commission. Other benefits which add more 130 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 value to my qualifications are due to the daily task in which I currently participate professionally in the consumer healthcare industry. My career has helped to develop my skills through managing people, budgets, projects, contractors and timelines. I currently analyze and plan for a business which has produced worldwide sales of over $500 million annually. This requires me to work very closely with a team of diverse, talented individuals to ensure the continuity of our business. The skill sets which I have been fortunate enough to develop from these experiences and those previously mentioned have made me qualified for a position on the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation. Your consideration for such a position is greatly appreciated. And if I may add -- first of all, I'd like to thank you again, because this has truly been a great opportunity 131 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES.

090057 and just this experience has been just awesome, as I said already, but I'd like to also just commend everyone else who has spoken today, has inspired me as an individual, and I just had to say that to everyone who was here. Your testimonies have been awesome, and as a person who maybe could be considered an optimist, but with a strong belief in community, I feel like just knowing that we have this type of talent in the City of Philadelphia, it just lends itself to speaking of how great this city really is.

Ditto. Ditto. Please, sir.

Good afternoon. My name is Voffee Jabateh. I'm originally from West Africa. I am the Executive Director for the African Cultural Alliance in Southwest Philadelphia. I'm engaged in community development. I am also part of the 132 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Mayor's Commission on African and Caribbean Affairs. We engage in children programming and arts and culture education. We have developed several festivals in the City of Philadelphia. One of those festivals is the Echoes of Africa, which is currently being headed by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Along with Councilwoman Blackwell, we have also developed other festivals on Chester Avenue, the Chester Avenue corridor. My organization serves several African and Caribbean immigrants, and here today I bring diversity to be included on this Commission to represent the several thousands of African and Caribbean immigrant who currently consider this city their home. Professionally, I'm a social worker. I have a Master's degree from Temple University, and I have coordinated several artistic events here in the City of Philadelphia. We are currently the owner and the producer of the African 133 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Festival at Penn's Landing. We brought last year world-renowned Caribbean artist Maxi Priest. We will repeat that this year. Our inclusion on this Commission will be focused on -- will stimulate focus on artistic programming and recreation development within the system. Because this is -- this invitation was meant to bring commissioners together to serve as Commissioner for Park and Recreation, I must admonish that you know very well, Councilwoman Blondell Brown and Curtis Jones and Darrell Clarke, that a great city without great parks and a recreation program is not bound to succeed. Here today, as I testified before you or as I present my credentials for inclusion on this Commission, I hope that you will consider the several thousand African and Caribbean immigrant who are now becoming part of your global strategy, the global Philadelphia 134 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 strategy to include immigrant in its operation. In conclusion, I want to emphasize that as we begin to develop Chester Avenue, we strongly believe that the Chester Avenue and Southwest Philadelphia area where we reside, the part of the City where we reside, require development. As we have moved from one desperate situation to a more promising situation in Southwest Philadelphia, we want to be included in your attempt to develop a great city. Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to be included in this process, and I'm honored to once be a refugee running from desperate situation and sitting before you vying for a valuable, valuable place on Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Board. Thank you very much for your opportunity.

You're 135 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 very welcome, and thank you for your perspective. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon at-large Councilwoman and Chairperson Ms. , and 5th District Council Mr. Darrell Clarke. My name is Lavone Andre Jackson. I'm not going to get into my professional life unless I have time at the end. I'd like to get into my testimony so you would know the knowledge and what I'm bringing to the table. I believe in myself, and I always worked as a team player. This is the type of attitude this Commission will need to submit ideals and suggestions for the Mayor and Council to review. I have worked with several members of Council reelection committee. I have worked as a committeeman and appointed by the late Mr. Samuel Evans as an Admission Council Representative working with children, 136 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 helping them to achieve a higher goal, assist residents in filing their concerns in various areas of Philadelphia. My intention is to submit ideals and suggestions on the following: How to bring revenue to Fairmount Park; how we can use the Mann Center year round instead of just summer use; how we can establish employment under the Police Athletic League and submit projects to the five professional organizations which we have here in Philadelphia - the Eagles, the Flyers, the Phillies, arena football, Sixers and the Wings. These organizations are looking for a way to help in the communities in which their fans come from, and PALs is the way to obtain funding for the non-profit organization, which is tax deductible. So by putting PALs in every recreation facility, we can establish a citywide fan club. This is what the professional world calls "one hand helping the other," and obtaining a tax credit in doing it. 137 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Skills and labor: Here in Philadelphia we have a lot of ex-offenders that are plumbers, carpenters, electricians, landscapers and painters. It is time for the leaders of this city to take all of the residents back instead of letting the talent they have go to waste, when we already have the resources in which we can use in order to use their skills without affecting the positions in which our Commission have. This is how second chances are given to those that want them. We all know there will be applicants that don't have that problem. Have a representative from the Park Commission's staff, Council and the Mayor Office to meet with Disney World in Florida or Dorney Park to survey our Park and consider putting a mini park within Fairmount Park, which will bring jobs, revenue from the entire world. Also, if this suggestion is reviewed, we will want this corporation also to be a part of 138 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 PAL's league so that we can keep our people working. I would like to submit to the Commission a suggestion for the Mayor and Council, the first Mayor-Council Almanac of the present Administration and the past Mayor, Council, commissioner, police, firemen, democratic committee, secretaries, et cetera. This is a book that will sell, but let it come under PALs for tax purposes for those individuals who will like to sponsor the suggestion. My closing statement: Plans should have a blueprint of dignity, belief and a principle to achieve with opportunities to be the best at whatever you are, and a commitment to beauty, love and justice for everybody. Never lose your respect for justice involved with leading and never giving up on the people you represent, because they look for your leadership to build, learn and organize the realization of brotherly loved toward 139 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 each other. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, keep moving within this room.

There's generations of love, respect and leadership that many residents, students and children are not aware of, and with today's leadership, it's an obligation for the knowledge to be placed in a first Mayor-Council Historic Almanac of Philadelphia so the residents and the future leaders of the City government can see it was a struggle before this recession for all politicians to obtain a position of the City of Philadelphia. And I made that statement because our children need more than just to go to Fairmount Park for relaxation and recreation. Education is a big part of becoming a Councilperson or secretary or anything in life, and our recreation facilities all over the City, City Council need people on that Commission that will submit ideas that could be approved citywide, not just for one 140 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 section -- for a section that you are volunteering your time in. It should be for all sections, because all people in the City of Philadelphia have concerns. Their concerns are the same. And Police Athletic League, PALs, is one way of helping the City get more confidence within the Police Department, because the children will stay inside, open up their concerns to them, and also helping them to find criminals within our cities. If we don't start educating our kids at our recreation facilities with a safe environment, they will never achieve the goals that they want to be. Kids is more than just athletes. Kids is more than just someone that want to go to the park, to have barbecue, to sit down at the tables. And also in closing, we cannot forget about the senior citizens. We must have a place in Fairmount Park for the senior citizens to be able to play horseshoes, cricket, et cetera. 141 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 And as far as my professional background, I ran for United States Congress in 1978. I'm presently an active member of the Mayor Volunteer Coordinators --

Fifteen seconds, sir.

-- Council Advisor. That concludes my testimony. Thank you.

Councilman Jones.

Mr. Nelson, your experience in track and field, did it come through a Recreation Department experience?

It actually came through high school. Ultimately I got to college through high school, but I participated in summer track and field recreational programs. Marcus Foster Stadium is the first place I --

What team 142 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 did you run for?

I actually ran for Olney and I also ran for a team over in Camden, New Jersey also.

Which one?

Camden City, and Rising Star. So that was my entry into track and field, and then through high school, I eventually went to college.

I'll try real hard not to prejudice myself since I was a Mallory track coach at one point, but go ahead.

Okay. Well, I appreciate that.

But Marcus Foster, I spent a lot of time in there with the Recreation Department, and that's why I asked.

That was the first place --

I'm glad to hear that it resulted in a positive 143 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 experience for you, both in college and beyond.

Yes.

One other question. Is the African and Caribbean group also responsible for the Caribana Festival out near Parkside Avenue? Are you involved with that?

I work along with Donna and Dan on that festival, but I'm specifically involved with the Millennium of Music, which is hosted on Chester Avenue, and Echoes of Africa, which I'm a founding member of, and currently we also have the slot which used to be -- I think it was managed by Ms. Cox, Barbara Cox.

Barbara Daniels Cox.

Yeah, Barbara Daniels. And that slot was given to us to specifically manage as the African Festival. Last year was a very huge success. And we just doing a whole lot of other issues that has to do with arts 144 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and culture and children program in the City.

I just think diversity is to our city as seasoning is to food. Without it, it would be bland. So I'm thankful that you have these concerts, and particularly the one on Parkside Avenue I look forward to every year. It's so rich in color, so rich in music, and everybody seems to be having a good time out there, and it just adds another dimension to our city. Finally, I'd be interested at another time, because the Chairman's time is precious, your ideas about using the Mann Music Center year round. So I took note of that. So if you could talk to my staff person, Ms. Cephas over there, I'd appreciate your ideas on that as a Board member of the Mann Music Center. Thank you.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you all very, very much for your testimony. 145 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Dean Jerrehian, Lurline Jones, Bernard Kanefsky. And the next set of witnesses shall be Gerald Kaufman, John Kelly, III, Renee Kirby. William Kennedy, if you're here, you're welcome to join us, please. Sir, you are welcome to take the witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

So I'll repeat the next panel just so you're ready and in place. Gerald Kaufman, John Kelly, III, William Kennedy and Renee Kirby.

I'm Gerald Kaufman.

Very well. If you have testimony, we'd love to have it on the front end before you proceed. Good afternoon, everyone. Please state your name for the record and you're welcome to start on my extreme left. State your name for the record. 146 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

My name is Gerald Kaufman. I am the Executive Director of Awbury Arboretum in Germantown. And one of the things that has occurred to me is that Awbury is a microcosm of the entire Parks and Recreation system. We're a 55-acre in the middle Germantown. I don't think there's a place like it in the country. We're divided by Washington Lane. We have 33 acres that's a designed English landscape. By the way, it's the Cope family, just a little aside. Thomas Pim Cope, who was the father of the founder of Awbury, used to sit where you're sitting and he was Chair of the Water Committee and he got Council to buy Lemon Hill, which started Fairmount Park, and his son, who is the founder of Awbury, and his brothers bought Sedgley, the next one up. It was all about preserving the rivers as fresh water. He was fearful of upstream industrialization that was going to pollute City water. It's still the mission of Fairmount Park 147 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and it still connects very much to what we do at Awbury.

Thank you for that history.

But, more important than my work -- well, maybe not more important, but as important as my work at Awbury, I was an organization development consultant before I got to Awbury, and most of my clients were non-profit organizations, some City government work, and the skill and the learning that I have is how to sort of help people deal with conflict and divisions, and it seems to me that this Commission, with bringing two organizations together with some different cultures, is going to need that skill, and I just want to put out that I bring that skill. Our vision at Awbury -- well, our mission is to connect an urban community to nature and history. A third of our Board has to live within two miles 148 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 of Awbury. We're very, very focused on our Germantown and West Oak Lane community. The vision is all around sustainability. Everything we do -- almost everything we do focuses on sustainability, and it seems to me that this new merger, that the vision of that should also be sustainability in every aspect. We talk about sustainability of the earth, to the extent we can impact it, and sustainability of the people using our services are the people we interact with. So I said we're 55 acres divided by Washington Lane, across 18 Washington Lane from our main campus, if 19 you call it a campus, has really become 20 urban farm land. Weavers Way, we rented 21 an acre and a half. We have a children's 22 garden. We have an apprentice garden -- we have an apprentice program for 18- to 24-year-olds teaching landscape in horticulture, and now teaching ecological 149 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 landscape, such as rain gardens, and we're also very much involved with storm water management with the Water Department. We have an inlet on Washington Lane that the Water Department put in, and then the water -- the rainwater comes into our ground and we clean it and send it back to our ponds and wetlands. And the Water Department is about to put a new one in, and we are going to be -- we have a new inlet coming on Washington Lane. So we're going to take water off Washington Lane, clean it, keep in our wetlands and ponds and storm water management. We're very involved with the Water Department in this. As a matter of fact, there is -- the Water Department, under their auspices, we have Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership. That's a mouthful. And the purpose through that whole watershed is to make people aware of storm water management, to clean up the creeks and the streams. And it meets at Awbury. 150 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'm President of that Board. I might be Chairman of that Board. I never know which my title is. So, as I say, we're very intricate to that. We're also very connected -- in terms of the Recreation Department, we don't do work with them, but we have a mini recreation center at Awbury. We have about 5,000 kids a year who come there, and they really do enormous and fun things, but incredible education that they go through. And we're very connected to Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation. So we're doing a lot of street tree planting -- time? Okay. Thank you.

Fifteen seconds.

Let me see what else I want to do. We've done a lot of street tree planting in Center City with the Center City residents. Urban farming is now a big thing. I talked about that. I'm 151 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 just reading some notes. And there I am.

Thank you very much, and thank you again for the history lesson. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon to the Honorable Councilpersons. I feel that I really understand the statement when you say you have the patience of Jobe. I'm a real doer. I like to get my hands dirty. But I'm Lurline Jones. However, I would like to introduce myself as being Philly born, Philly bred and when I die, I'll be Philly dead. I'd also like to call myself a stakeholder in this wonderful city. I was educated in the Philadelphia school system. After receiving a Board of Education scholarship to attend college, I returned home to teach. Last year, I retired from the School District of Philadelphia after 42 years of service as a teacher, coach, athletic director and department 152 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 chairperson. During the summers, I worked as a day camp director and as an employment and career teacher for the Department of Recreation. I also co-founded a non-profit organization for female athletes, Developmental Basketball League, Incorporated, better known as DBL, where Mantua and the James A. Wright Recreation Center was a base of operation for over years. The girls were able to be 13 recruited for college due to the clinics, 14 the camps, shootouts and leagues that 15 were conducted there and at various other 16 recreation centers. And as you know, 17 that when girls get involved in 18 athletics, we know that they have a 19 benefit, a social benefit as well as a 20 health benefit. 21 Since retirement, I've been 22 involved with the American Red Cross in 23 doing CPR, and I maybe do CPR for 24 churches and non-profit organizations and 25 organizations that serve children whose 153 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 parents are incarcerated. If given the opportunity to serve on the Commission, I feel that I can bring a creative and a positive outlook. I have experience and expertise in implementing innovative programs that would be beneficial to the citizens of Philadelphia. Having been a successful coach and organizing fundraising events and being frugal in initiating programs and events, that is a part of me. I am a committed citizen with the capability and capacity to serve on the Commission and get the job done. As separate departments, Recreation and Fairmount Parks have served Philadelphia well. Now that they are combined, they will be a top-notch entity and a model for the rest of the country. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony and your vote of optimism. That's what this goal is about. 154 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Please.

Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson, Committee members. My name is Bernard Kanefsky, but I'm known to everyone as Bud. I was born and raised in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia. I earned a BS in accounting at Temple University, and since 1987, I have a real estate brokers license. My wife and I and our two daughters moved to Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County in 1970, where I became involved in the community politics. I was elected to six four-year terms, or years, as a Commissioner in 18 the township. During that time, I served 19 four years as President of the Board and 20 oversaw the building of a new $13 million 21 library. For a ten-year period, I was 22 Chairman of the Parks and Recreation 23 Department. During that time, we built 24 three new baseball fields and six new soccer fields, set up a batting cage and 155 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 set up a lunchroom run by volunteers. I also served on the Land and Development and Public Works Committees. For eight years, I was a trustee on the Pennypack Watershed Association Board, where I was involved in saving over 150 acres of farmland to be preserved for open space. In the year 2000, I was elected President of the Montgomery County Association of Township Commissioners, which is comprised of townships. 14 In 1985, I was elected President of the Philadelphia Council of B'nai B'rith with a membership of 5,000 members. In 1995, as B'nai B'rith District 3 President, I was responsible for four states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia, with over 20,000 members. I also served for ten years on the B'nai B'rith Summer Camp Pearlman Board, which serves hundreds of teenagers every summer and where I 156 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 personally raised $50,000 for three new buildings. In 2003 when I retired from the Board, my wife and I moved to a condominium on State Road in the Torresdale section of Philadelphia, where I am now a member of the Condo Association Board. With my education and leadership background, especially in parks and recreation, I believe I would be an asset to the advisory Commission on Parks and Recreation. I sincerely hope my application will be accepted.

Thank you all very, very much. Councilman Jones, any questions, comments, observations?

Particularly the Arboretum, every time I go in there, my blood pressure equalizes and goes down, but particularly I'm interested in the rainwater runoff pools that you train people to do and I wanted to know if in fact you had worked with the Water 157 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Department at all, because there is a massive plan to --

We're working closely with them on all aspects, as I said, with the TTF partnership, Tookany/Tacony. The head of Office of Watershed is Vice-President of the Board. I'm President of the Board. They're going to be putting in a -- they're going to be spending about 300,000 at Awbury to put in a new rain garden to take the rainwater off Washington Lane. We're partners in lots of different ways. And they're very interested in our training program, the 18- to 24-year-olds, and someone from the Water Department came out and gave a presentation recently about how to -- on their whole green streets. You know about their green streets program?

Yes. I'm Chair of Transportation and Public Utilities, so we're reviewing that.

So you know. 158 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

I guess a couple of quick questions. How expensive are they to do and --

How expensive are what? I'm sorry.

Are they to install, on average.

Well, I can't tell you on average. I know we spent on the first one, we got a grant from DEP at about $45,000.

Second quick question, because I don't want to --

But the new one is about $300,000 to $400,000.

And the other thing is, by way of insects, do they attract mosquitos or anything? I mean, as we start to look at multiplying the numbers, are we in fact creating a --

Well, so far not. The City comes out, the vector -- I call him Mr. Vector -- comes out a couple times a summer and checks our ponds to 159 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 see, and so far he's found none.

I'm all for the ecology, except for mosquitos.

Well, so long as the water is moving, I understand. We have a bird pond in another part and we have it electrified and the water always is moving as a way of keeping mosquitos away.

Thank you.

Thank you all very, very much. John Kelly, III, Renee Kirby, Christine Knapp, Adam Krom, Kimberly Labno. Please feel free to approach the witness table and/or the back. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please begin the testimony. State your name.

My name is John Kelly. I'm a resident of the Chestnut Hill neighborhood. Good afternoon, Councilwoman, Councilmen. 160 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Good afternoon.

Thank you for your time. I just want to start off with a little personal background on my experiences with the Park. The Park has been a vital and important part of my life, from my father teaching me to row, to my teaching my son and my daughter to row, to running races in Belmont Plateau and to swimming at Devils Pool on the Wissahickon Creek. So it's been a great time. And I see my current service as a Board member of the Fairmount Park Conservancy as a way of paying back, and if you shall choose to appoint me to this Commission, likewise be a way of paying back for the great benefits that the Park has provided me in my life. As far as my credentials, I would like to point to my experience as a Board member and President of Vesper Boat Club over the past 25 years in various 161 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 roles over the time. Vesper Boat Club is a tenant or occupant of the Park, part of Boathouse Row, part of a wonderful community in the Park, the rowing community, and we all believe very much in the vitality of the Park and protecting our home there. Also, my professional work as a municipal bond professional gives me experience with city budgets, city finance, as well as public-private partnerships, which is, I think, one of the goals to help utilize the asset of the Park without compromising its public access, but finding ways to utilize the Park assets to generate some revenue. And I've seen in my career public-private partnerships that work and some that don't. So hopefully that experience would be helpful in structuring good programs. Also on the environmental mission, Fairmount Park is a vital environmental asset to the Park, and I 162 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 believe my experience -- one of my volunteer activities as President of the Prince Albert, II, of Monaco Foundation, which is an international environmental foundation, and hopefully that experience will be helpful in that role as well. Thank you for your time. And if you shall choose me, it'd be a great honor to serve on this Commission if you should choose me. Thank you.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of City Council. My name is William Kennedy. I am a lifelong resident of Philadelphia. I have lived in Swampoodle, Brewerytown, Hunting Park, Northwood and I currently side in East Torresdale. I retired from the Philadelphia Fire Department in January of 2008 after 34 years of service. Believe me, I am enjoying my retirement because it gives me a chance to do something like this. I never thought I would be sitting in front of Council. 163 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

It's all good.

Thank you for the opportunity. I have been a member of Glen Foerd on the Delaware for years and an 8 active volunteer for a number of years, 9 and since my retirement, I have been even 10 more active. Besides volunteering my 11 time and services for almost every event 12 held there -- and they do hold a lot -- I 13 am also on the Fundraising and Garden 14 Committees. In some areas I have begun 15 to show leadership and develop novel 16 approaches to individual problems. 17 I am a member of the East 18 Torresdale Civic Association. I have increased my activity in this association since retirement. In January of this year, I was elected as Second Vice-President. Before being a firefighter, I taught in high school for two years. I received a BA from Temple University in 164 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 1969 and went to graduate school there for credits. Between 1987 and '89, I 4 took seminar classes at Wharton night 5 school in health benefits. I served as 6 an elected trustee of Local 22 7 International Association of Firefighters 8 during those years. I sat on or chaired 9 numerous committees for the Local, almost 10 all having to do with finances. I have 11 been on Local 22's Medical Advisory Board 12 since 1999. The three of us on the Board 13 are entrusted with the fiscal well-being 14 of the health plan's prescription program 15 servicing 4,000 active and retired 16 firefighters and their families. 17 I became interested in this new 18 Commission when I saw the flyer announcing it. Truthfully, I was very angry that the citizens of Philadelphia adopted the Charter change last November. At that time, I thought that this change was ill-advised. I still think so. However, we have to live with what we have. 165 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 The Fairmount Park Commission was a substantial buffer between the Mayor and the many acres and properties that the Commission controlled, and Mayor Nutter has said several times that some properties may have to be sold. I am firmly opposed to any sale. As I state in my application, a lease of some property may be possible, or a conversion such as Memorial Hall can be desirable. It's actually a great conversion. I went there the other week with some grandchildren and I loved it. I have been going into that building -- having been a firefighter in West Philadelphia, I have been going in that building many times, and it was delipidated then. They've done a wonderful job with it. The point is, I'm not against all change. My experience that I would bring to the Commission is at ground level. In 1982, the local East 166 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Torresdale residents saved the Glen Foerd Mansion from demolition. The Lutheran Church was going to sell the mansion and its acres to a private developer, who 6 intended to erect 440 condominiums. Not 7 only would the mansion be destroyed, but 8 a wonderful neighborhood would have been 9 negatively altered. The untrained and 10 inexperienced residents mounted a 11 successful court challenge against the 12 sale. The court eventually awarded 13 stewardship of Glen Foerd to the local 14 residents and the Fairmount Park 15 Commission. The official name of this 16 controlling group of citizens was the 17 Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation. The Fairmount Park Commission rarely did much to help maintain the mansion and grounds. The Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation kept the estate alive through fundraisers that are modest by today's standards. They learned the hard way with dedication with recruitment of like-minded citizens with uncountable hours of toil and they 167 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 eventually increased revenues through corporate contracts, federal, state and private grants. Glen Foerd is the last public mansion on the Delaware in Philadelphia. We used to have many in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they are gone. Therein lies a lesson. We have many acres in the Fairmount Park system.

I don't want some future volunteer to say that they are gone, that we never learned that lesson. By the way, this book is Lights Along the Delaware. It illustrates all of the mansions that were along the Delaware, and if you would like to have a tour of Glen Foerd, it could be arranged through Anthony Radwanski, who is the President of Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation, and while you're there, we will open the gift shop and for $12 we will sell you this book. Thank you very much for your time and your consideration.

Thank you. 168 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the Parks and Recreation Committee. My name is Renee Kirby. Thank you for the opportunity to submit my application for consideration to serve as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. When I started my recreation career in the early 1980's, I knew I wanted to work with children and adults with disabilities. Starting out, I was very excited about the possibilities of engaging special populations in lifelong recreation and leisure activities. I was guided by the beliefs of my profession that access and participation in recreation has the same physical and psychological benefits for all people. While working with special populations has always been rewarding to me, it was the challenges to obtain equitable resources and physical access 169 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 to recreation services for this group that became the driving force behind many of the innovative programs highlighted on my resume. Today, it is exciting to imagine the possibilities again of having a well-integrated Recreation and Parks system, committed to promoting diversity and inclusion as part of its core values. For people with disabilities, these values usher in a new era of opportunity for them to become fully engaged in their communities through the participation of lifelong recreation activities. I would like nothing more than to use my knowledge and experience in recreation to help support the Mayor's overall vision for the City and its citizens by joining the Recreation and Parks Commission. Some of my credentials include establishing and developing the first intercollegiate wheelchair basketball team at Temple University and 170 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 establishing wheelchair sports within the Department of Recreation, working 4 years at the Philadelphia Carousel House. 5 I thank you very much for this 6 opportunity to present my testimony. 7

We thank 8 you all very much. And, again, just the 9 three of you represent the beautiful 10 diversity and the mix of testifiers who 11 have come before us, and I think most 12 encouraging for me is to know that we had a disbeliever who has become a believer in the possibility. So thank you for coming to testify.

We have to make it work.

Yes, indeed. Thank you all. Please. Christine Knapp, Adam Krom, Kimberly Labno. And the next panel, Patrick Lamb, Robert Lambert, Anthony Langford. You're welcome to sit in the black chairs. 171 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.

My name is Christine Knapp. As my professional career, I'm the Director of Outreach for Penn Future. For the past eight years, my specialty has been working within the field of environmental education, policy and advocacy. I have a deep understanding of the environmental issues in Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia in particular due to my role as the coordinator for the Next Great City initiative. Next Great City has united 110 City-based organizations together to support a ten-point environmental agenda for Philadelphia. One recommendation within that agenda was to strengthen parks through increased funding and reforming park leadership. Because of our recommendation, I became a 172 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 supporter of the merger of Parks and Recreation and for the creation of this particular Commission. In my capacity as a Director of Outreach, I'm also aware of best practices in terms of use of parks and open space from around the world, and I also work daily on the -- with the threat of global warming and impact that it will have on cities such as Philadelphia and the unique role that open space can play in combatting the effects of global warming. As the Director of Outreach, I often serve as the public face for my organization and, therefore, I have experience in presenting information to various public audiences, whether it be media, legislator or voters. Creating a compelling message to do this is critical. So I have the ability to craft messages that speak to people about the issues they care about in language they use, and I'm also able to think 173 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 creatively about new ways of getting messages out to new audiences. I think this skill will become helpful in getting information about this Commission out to the public and getting more people engaged in the Parks and Recreation system. I also serve as a member of the Mayor's Sustainability Advisory Board and feel that I could serve as a liaison between the larger sustainability community and issues that they are concerned with and this particular Commission. Besides my day job, I also serve as a block captain and as the Vice-President of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, which is in South Philadelphia. I work with my community on making it cleaner, safer and a more exciting place to live. We work with zoning, town watch, trash and recycling committee, education committee, beautification committee and several 174 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 others that work together to make our neighborhood a desirable place to live and work. And Philadelphia Magazine recently listed our neighborhood as a great place, partly due to the efforts of the civic association. Our neighborhood is blessed with three parks and recreation systems: Gold Star Park, Capitolo and Columbus. Each of these sites has undergone tremendous changes over the last several years and each has served as a uniting force for neighbors, both young and old. My work with them has helped me to realize how important open space is to the quality of life and how important it is as a community building tool. If I were to be fortunate enough to be on this Commission, there are several areas I would like to focus my attention, and one is on funding, which we always know has been a problem for the Park system. Since the City budget is strained -- and we know today 175 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 with the additional announcement from the Mayor how strained it is -- I think we need to consider some alternative sources of funding for the Park system. Someone previously mentioned public-private partnerships, which I wholeheartedly agree with. It should be taken advantage of in an appropriate manner. And I think we can also take advantage of the wealth of information, people and resources that exist in Philadelphia.

We should bring these new stakeholders to the table and help them -- or bring them into helping us to create new policies and regulations to make it easier for non-profit groups to collaborate and to find additional resources for maintenance and other issues. Related to that, I know, Councilman Jones, you're particularly interested in the vast growing green jobs movement, and I think that since maintenance is a major issue for the parks and being that there are existing 176 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 green job training programs out there that work on training people on how to do horticultural maintenance, that this would be a natural alliance of those two issues and that we might consider ways of tapping into some green job training money to help maintain our parks. In summary, I think I have several strengths that would make me a good candidate for this Commission, again, the knowledge of environmental issues in Philadelphia, from water and air quality to storm water and waste management. I also have a proven track record of being able to quickly engage community members on various issue campaigns. I'm in regular contact with those 110 organizations that are part of Next Great City, and I have access to thousands of residents through e-mail, newspapers, public speaking engagements and other events. In my dual role as block captain and Vice-President of Passyunk 177 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Square, I think I provide the understanding of the role that parks and recreation centers and open spaces play in community building and can represent the concerns of that neighborhood, which represents a pretty diverse population of over 8,000 people. I want to thank you again for this opportunity, and I'd like to leave with a parting sort of open-ended question, which I've just been really impressed with the amount of people that have applied and the talent that has been here, so my question would be is to think about ways that maybe we can engage this larger group if it's not on this Commission in some other capacity for those other 191 people who don't make it into the Commission, how we might put them to work for the Parks and Recreation system.

Thank you very, very much. You may have presented it as a rhetorical question, but you 178 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 should know that Councilman Clarke actually did share with us what his intentions are. So we're going to ask him to, if you would, simply repeat for those of us who -- what our goals and intentions are.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the question. As the Chair said earlier, as we participated in this process for the second day, it quickly became quite clear that there was no way that we could allow such talent and interest to leave this process and feel like they were either rejected or not wanted, because the reality is, we only have nine slots at the end of the day. So we're talking about -- and I actually just got off the phone with one of the City's lawyers to talk about forming some process/entity that will allow people, not only the people that have participated in these forums but 179 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 anyone who is interested to participate in a meaningful way, to make sure that we don't lose that level of interest and that talent that has come before us over the last couple of days. And I anticipate the next two hearings will have a similar type of response. So we're going to -- and you may be successful. If you're not, trust me, you will not be able to get rid of us. We're going to be calling you. We're going to be asking you to be engaged in a meaningful way, not only in your community but in the City of Philadelphia. So absolutely.

Glad to hear it. Thank you again.

Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And also, if there's not enough room for Parks and Recreation, there's plenty of room for the intellectual 180 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 property to help solve our budget process and our budget problem. So if you want to chip in and volunteer for that as well, there's no line at that door.

Thank you.

All right, sir. Good afternoon. Please state your name for the record.

Good afternoon. My name is Adam Krom, and it's an honor to be with you today and it's an honor to be among such worthy applicants. And I know that that's been said a lot, but I really wish that the entire city or a larger crowd could be here to see the energy and the potential of the Park. And for anyone that didn't have the benefit of applying for the Fairmount Park Commission, I applied in 2007, went through that process, got pretty far along, and I can't tell you how different this is and how much energy this sort of reveals within the populus of the City of Philadelphia. It's really quite 181 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 inspiring. So ask me about that sometime. In terms of why I was applying for the Parks and Recreation Commission, I was encouraged to by others, because I believe that as a planner, I have some attributes and some contributions to offer the City. I work for the company Wallace, Roberts & Todd, which has already been described here today, and I've worked there for many years, or, well, not compared to Richard, who I guess goes back about 45 years. Only for me about six or eight years. In that time, I've worked around the City for various CDCs, such as the Fairmount Neighborhood CDC, and after we wrote the neighborhood plan there, which was my first project at WRT, we signed up for the tax program where we contributed $100,000 to the CDC for its operations through our business taxes. I've also been involved with the New Kensington Waterfront Plan and 182 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Central Delaware Civic Vision that was recently completed by Penn Praxis, as well as GreenPlan, worked for the Philadelphia Water Department on green streets, Cobbs Creek, Parkway, et cetera. So in that work as a planner, I think that I've not only experience across the City of Philadelphia and all of its great assets, but I also bring the experience of having worked around the country and having traveled quite extensively. So my personal goals for the Parks and Recreation system are to return the facilities to a state of good repair; to improve the ecological functioning of the Park; to encourage greater pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to the Park, because Philadelphia as a walkable city is also a city that has a large portion of the population that does not drive; and also to assist in the creation of world-class recreation facilities. 183 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Last summer in our office, we had an intern from the Charter High School for Architecture and Design, Jamal, who I think was from Point Breeze, and he's currently a student at Syracuse University studying architecture. And while he was at WRT, I would talk with him about his perception of the Parks and Recreation system in the City, and he expressed, frankly, quite a lot of frustration on the state of the basketball courts, the public pools, the park and just in general with the facilities, because he knew from visiting friends and family in other places that there were better facilities out there and that there was a greater potential. And he was pretty certain that things could get better. Enrique Penalosa was inspiring to me. He spoke at Penn a few years ago. He's the former Mayor of Bogota, and he's fond of saying that children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a 184 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people. And he was one of the -- while he was Mayor of the City, he pushed for the expansion of the park system, the construction of libraries and something called ciclovias, which was where we closed the major streets to automobiles on the weekends and turn them into recreation spaces for bicycling, skating and calisthenics, exercise, et cetera, not only from a recreational standpoint but really a social integration to create social cohesion within the City.

So in talking with Jamal, who was 17, he really convinced me that we have to do a much better job of serving the youth of our city, because we really want to retain our talented youth and we want to have them choose to live in the City of Philadelphia and contribute in the future. So by investing in parks and rec, we really are securing our future as a city. 185 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Now, as you know, the Trust for Public Land recently estimated that Philadelphia's park system provides billions of dollars in direct value to City government and residents. We often talk about how much parks and rec costs. We're not as often talking about what it pays. 1 billion in cost savings for citizens," which is about 100 times the amount that the City spends on parks each year. So in the midst of the current financial turmoil, I hope we can retain the perspective to realize that this is a temporary situation, and as we look forward, I hope we continue to improve the Parks and Recreation system to not 186 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 only make our city more livable, but because it will essentially be paying us dividends in the future. I loved the quote earlier from the gentleman that said that if you look around you and you don't see a leader, then maybe it's your turn. I read a number of years ago the quote from Mahatma Gandhi that said that you have to be the change that you want to see in the world, and I try to remember that every day. So I think that -- I'm really glad that you put the call out to the City to serve on the Commission and I'm really impressed with the results. So I wish you good luck, and I hope that we all can assist the Parks and Recreation system in the future. Thank you.

Thank you very, very much for your testimony. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, everyone, ladies and gentlemen. My name 187 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 is Kim Labno and I am here today to express my sincere wish to serve as a member of the Commission on Parks and Recreation. I don't have written testimony to submit today, but I'll be happy to do that this week, and I have submitted letters of recommendation from representatives of White Dog Community Enterprises, the City's Department of Recreation and Penn State Outreach Center in Philadelphia. My professional experience qualifies me for the position. I have a lot of experience with land assessment, land regulatory and property right issues, watershed management and environmental stewardship/sustainability activities, like storm water management, urban agriculture. I have relationships with people within these groups, and that is borne out in my application materials and my letters of recommendation. So with my remaining minute or 188 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 so, what I wanted to do was to focus on my personal passion and commitment towards the City's environmental movement. I have dedicated hundreds of hours in volunteer work in a variety of capacities, but I want to touch on two projects that I'm most proud of. The first is as a volunteer member with the Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness Alliance. This is a work -- this is a youth-driven advocacy work group that's funded by the Kellogg Foundation to identify and solve problems associated with children's health and wellness. The youth went out into the City and surveyed over 650 households, provided a very good database for us to address, and what they found was that accessible, affordable food and safe opportunities for play were the biggest obstacles and the most important things for children's health and wellness and their family's health and wellness. 189 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'm very proud to have worked with White Dog Pennsylvania Health Management Corp., the City's Public Health Department and others in the first phase of the project, and I'm proud to be part of the second phase of the project, which will be the Action Plan submitted to Kellogg Foundation that can bring millions of dollars into the City to support our urban sustainable ag movement and also our recreation activities. The second thing I'm very proud of is, in the last six months, I have been the leader in connecting a number of groups in South Philadelphia where I live to form the first community garden in the Lower Italian Market. I brought together leaders from Passyunk Square Civic Association, Capitolo Advisory Committee, the Department of Parks and Recreation and community neighbors to create this garden, which will be about 3,000 square feet in the first phase and hopefully 5,000 square feet in the second phase. 190 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 The monies that we generate from our dues will go for infrastructure improvements that the Park can't afford because of the City's budget constraints, and in addition to the softball league fees, we hope to have the opportunity to subsidize our after-school childcare program, which is really important for working parents to have a safe place to have their kids after school. These are just two of the activities that I've been involved with on a volunteer basis, and I would certainly work very hard as a member of the Commission to benefit the City at large and its recreational opportunities. I want to thank the Council very much for their time and wish good luck to everyone.

Thank you very much, and thank you for appreciating this process, that clearly Councilman Clarke and I had a vision, and your comments really bode well for what we 191 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 thought was possible. Thank you very much. Patrick Lamb, Robert Lambert, Anthony Langford. Mark LaVelle, Robert Lipschutz, Andrew Lofton, Von Love. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

You're certainly welcome to join the witness table. You're welcome to have a seat, sir. Please, if you could move the mike over, we'll start with the gentleman on my extreme left. State your name for the record.

Anthony Langford.

Do you have testimony for us?

No. 22

Okay. Not a problem. I just want to make sure I don't miss it up here.

I apologize. 192 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 That's forthcoming.

That's quite all right.

First of all, I'm going to take this opportunity to thank you, Madam Chairperson and Councilmembers, for giving me an opportunity to give testimony as to why I feel I should be considered for a seat on this new Commission. A little personal background about myself. I was born in New Jersey and raised partially in New Jersey. During my life in Philadelphia, I lived in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia, 33rd and Oxford Street. So I lived right around the corner from the park, which was my big backyard, so to speak. I have a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Political Science and I've taken some graduate classes in public administration in hopes of one time obtaining my Master's in public 193 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 administration. But one of the reasons why I want to go over my qualifications, that over the years of my volunteer experience, I've gained a great deal of knowledge, skills and experience being involved with the Fairmount Park system. Much of this experience was hands-on. This, plus some of the other additional qualifications I bring to the table, make me well suited to be a member of the Commission on Parks and Recreation. By serving in the capacity as a Friends of East Park member and rising to President of that organization, which is now a 501(c)(3), it has given me an opportunity to forge relationships with the Fairmount Park staff and to become involved with the inner workings of the Fairmount Park system. As a member of the Friends of East Park and being greatly influenced by my mentor, Ms. Floyd Dotson, she urged us to get involved and get active. We went on to 194 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 have the Friends of East Park lease the 33rd and Diamond Street -- or I should say 33rd and Oxford Street driving range, golf driving range, from the Fairmount Park and the City of Philadelphia. So we had a lease agreement that ran for approximately six or seven years until they decided to put the lease -- their driving range up for new contracting and RFP. So we no longer have that lease. But in the interim, I have been involved with the Fairmount -- or I should say the Mander Advisory Council, the 33rd and Diamond Street Rec Center, which oversaw the recreation and sports programming for the Mander Recreation Center, and our council's long persistence eventually was rewarded with a swimming pool being placed there at that Mander -- at the Mander Recreation Center during the Rendell Administration. And it was like a ten-year endeavor, but we were successful and persistent. So that pool was one of the first pools that 195 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 had been placed, a new pool, in that part of the City in many years. I was also a past Treasurer of the John Coltrane Society, which is now abolished. If anyone is familiar with the jazz music, John Coltrane House was on 33rd and Oxford Street, and cousin Mary, which was his cousin, was very active in keeping that legacy ongoing.

Thirty seconds, sir.

To continue, I'm also an active committee person at 33rd and Oxford Street and have been for over years. I'm working with the 17 Philadelphia Horticultural Society with 18 the land care, the vacant land care 19 initiative, and we have been charged with 20 cleaning and maintaining 100 lots for 2009. I'm also a Board member of the Astoria Mansion Community Development Council, and we're actively involved with currently having development of 25 housing units in the very near future. 196 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 And these are just some of the qualifications that I bring to the table, and hope I am strongly considered to be a candidate for this Commission. And I want to thank you for your time.

You're very welcome. Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Patrick Lamb. First, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today, Madam Chairman and Councilman Clarke. I applied for the position on the Commission on Parks and Recreation because I believe that my 34 years of experience in building and maintaining recreational facilities, as well as directing special events for the City would contribute to the Commission's goals. In addition, as a member of Philadelphia Parks Alliance and the Friends of Gorgas Park, I continue my 197 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 strong commitment to our parks and recreation centers as critical factors in promoting community economic development. When the maintenance departments of Fairmount Park and Recreation are combined, personnel and equipment will have to be reassigned, and some maintenance facilities may have to be abandoned. Neither department has the number of maintenance personnel it needs. Therefore, it is extremely important that the decisions made concerning maintenance operations meet strategic goals. Of course, these decisions will be made by the Parks and Recreation Commissioner, but I believe the Commission can play an important role in advising him on these matters. My service in the Recreation Department also included years 22 supervising the Department's Special 23 Events Unit. Both Fairmount Park and the 24 Recreation Department are involved in supporting special events. When both 198 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 departments are combined, a special events policy for the combined department will have to be developed. The current policy requiring that the City's costs for special events be borne by the event's sponsor is workable for small events. However, for large events, such as the Mummers Parade, the Bike Race and the Broad Street Run, City funding has been decreased and an alternate sponsorship must be identified. If appointed to the Commission, I can contribute my years of experience in working with the leaders of these events, as well as community groups to build consensus, to recommend strategic initiatives to sustain, support and expand special events. Thank you for your attention to my testimony today. I am happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very, very much. Good afternoon, sir. 199 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Good afternoon. It looks like you and I are sticking it out.

Stick-to-itiveness it's called.

My name is Robert Lipschutz and I'm addressing this testimony to Chairwoman Reynolds Brown and to the absent members who are not here. Oh, there's Darrell Clarke in the back. I'm offering myself as a candidate for the Commission on Parks and Recreation to represent, quote, "the over 70," end of quote, voters and taxpayers and because I am now semi-retired with the time, energy and qualifications to do the job. I have been a general contractor for more than 50 years. I was responsible for the architectural design, development and construction of the Philadelphia Aquarama, the Embassy Suites and the L.S.G. Sky Chefs Building at 200 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Philadelphia International Airport. I have also been involved closely with land acquisition and construction of five Federation Senior Citizen Housing buildings. Other projects are listed on the attached brochure. I submitted one brochure to you. Of late, I have been a consultant to the construction industry. I could bring to the Parks and Recreation Commission extensive overnight camping experience. For example, I have been involved for 60 years at Camp Reeta and Arthur as a camper, counselor, specialist in pioneering and nature studies and ultimately President of the Camp Board of Directors, a volunteer position. The above has given me experience in watershed management -- I have battled the flooding Perkiomen many times -- preservation of green space and natural habitats. I am an ardent supporter of pragmatic sustainability in all areas of our city. My years in general contracting 201 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and consulting have allowed me to develop a knowledge of assessment and valuation of properties, as well as the machinations in acquiring them. I have no personal holdings in any lands or properties that might influence or affect my judgment. Since I was a boy, I have enjoyed the many pleasures of Fairmount Park, as a scout, cyclist and supporter of the Dell, the Mann Music Center and the Playhouse in the Park. I would like my grandchildren to be able to experience the Park and other green spaces as I have. My years of working as President of a major synagogue, of the camps and of Federation Housing have honed my fundraising skills. I would happily put them to use in the services of this Commission. In fact, I offer you all of my skills and experiences, plus the knowledge that I owe no one any favor. 202 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Thank you.

Thank you very much, gentlemen. You have distinguished yourself. Yesterday our youngest candidate was 21. So now we can factually say that we have candidates everywhere from to 70. 10

You didn't ask 11 me how old I was. 12

Did you 13 say 70 years old? 14

No. I 15 represent -- 16

Seventy 17 years of experience. 18

Over 70 years. 19

Well, then 20 I need to correct that. 21

Yes. Well, I'm over a bit more.

Okay, then. Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Thank you. 203 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Mark LaVelle, Andrew Lofton, Von Love, Reed Lyons, Elizabeth Milroy, Jennifer Nagle, Michael Walker and Anthony Waskie. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

You're welcome to take the witness seats, and the rest of you may sit in the black chairs behind the witness table. If you have testimony, we'd love to have that. Okay. We'll start to my extreme left. Please. MR. LaVELLE: Thank you, ma'am. I just wanted to start off by saying it's an honor and privilege to sit in front of you and be able to lend my experience to you. My name is Mark LaVelle and I'm 35 years old and I live in the River Ward area. And don't hold this next sentence against me, but I'm employed by the Philadelphia Parking Authority. So hopefully the people don't get tickets outside here. 204 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 I'm applying for this opportunity for this volunteer program, and I stress the volunteer program because in the River Ward area, we have the Penn Praxis, which is going to be developing along the riverfront. And I have the full backing of between Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond, as far up as Bridesburg of volunteers. I have over 300 signatures of committed volunteers, which will further if I get elected to this position, and even if I don't, are willing to join in this program. I know I'll be an outstanding member of the Committee because of my deep passion for the Parks and Recreation in the City of Philadelphia, which I frequently use as Director of many sports leagues and tournaments. I'm also a volunteer football, soccer, basketball and baseball coach in the River Wards area, which I work with many youth in the area, encourage them through sports to 205 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 achieve their best and respect themselves and others. I have many ideas in fundraising which can help our great city overcome our financial hardships; in particular, with the Recreation Department. I organize a sports tournament every year at three recreation centers in the River Ward; in particular, the Margaret "Peg" McCook Scholarship Fund and Sports Tournament, which over the last ten years helped me raise scholarships in excess of $275,000 for kids entering high school in our area. These kids do not have to participate in the sports program to be eligible. We look on hardships with the area. And not to taking away anything from the children, when we organize these tournaments, they raise close, just on the three-day weekend, they raise close to 37,000 between the three every year. It brings 300 teams not just from the City of Philadelphia. As far 206 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 away as Brooklyn, as far away as Boston, Massachusetts come down every year to play in this tournament, which in turn brings into our great city and vice-versa. The winners of my tournaments I send up there at no cost to them to represent our City of Philadelphia. I'm currently working with all the unions to provide anywhere from lighting from our International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, to fencing from our ironworkers and grounds keeping and the asphalts for us to further our playing conditions. I have many more ideas which are long in detail, and if I am considered for this position, I believe they will succeed in the advancement of our Parks and Recreation and all the goals that we set forward from this day forward. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. 207 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057

Thank you very, very much. And let the record show we do not discriminate because of where people work. You don't ever have to apologize for that. Thank you.

Madam Chair, members of Council, my name is Elizabeth Milroy. Thank you for this opportunity to explain my interest in serving on the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation. Thanks to your efforts and Philadelphia's voters, this is a new day for Philadelphia's parks and playgrounds. I appreciate the challenge City Councils now face in crafting a vigorous new department from two departments with very different histories, cultures and mandates. I am the internationally recognized authority on the history of Philadelphia's green spaces. I am a Professor of Art History and American 208 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Studies at Wesleyan University. I am also a homeowner, voter and taxpayer in Belmont Hills, Lower Merion Township. I earned a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, and I have maintained close ties to Philadelphia for over 30 years. I want to serve on the Commission so that I can share my unique, holistic understanding of how Philadelphia works. I teach and write about the past so Philadelphians will enjoy a better and stronger present and future. Friends and colleagues encouraged me to apply to join the Commission. As my reference letters attest, I inspire people to work together even in challenging situations. I share stories and ideas in a way that helps others to see solutions clearly. And I have the abiding devotion of a longtime Park user. I have worked in collaborative facilities planning, personnel management and grants administration. I am a team 209 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 player and consensus builder. I believe that effective advisors are those who know their audience and listen carefully, who understand the context of a particular challenge or opportunity and, most important, who respect the constituents with whom they work to find equitable solutions. I carry no 10 political agenda beyond a concern for the nurturing of Philadelphia's Parks and Recreation facilities. I believe that everyone in the Greater Philadelphia region should be able to enjoy these resources equitably. The new Department of Parks and Recreation will have to manage one of the largest collections of historic sites in the nation. But it is through these places that we come to know ourselves as citizens and neighbors. It is crucial, therefore, that at least one member be familiar with the challenges of historic preservation so she can assist the City in identifying viable new approaches to 210 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 adaptive reuse that respect history while enriching the community. Knowing our history makes our future that much stronger. The resume attached to my application lists my professional and community activities and my qualifications. For your interest, I have enclosed a published essay on parks history with my testimony. Thank you again.

Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson, members of the Committee. My name is Reed Lyons and I'm delighted to be here today in support of my application to serve on the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation. By combining the Fairmount Park Commission and the Department of Parks 211 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 and Recreation into a single Commission on Parks and Recreation, City government will benefit from a coherent approach to regulating our recreational resources. This Commission requires a sense of vision and leadership to develop resourceful strategies to protect our recreational areas, promote sustainability and make Philadelphia an attractive destination for our citizens, as well as for tourism and private investment. I have spent my professional career forging relationships between the public, private and non-profit spheres in order to incentivize economic and urban development. When these sectors work in tandem, there is boundless possibility. My candidacy for service on the Commission is supported by a unique blend of educational, government, legal and civic experience. As a practicing land use attorney at Blank Rome LLP in the City of Philadelphia, I have extensive 212 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 knowledge in matters pertaining to land development in many Philadelphia neighborhoods. My skills allow me to provide advice on a broad array of subjects impacting the Commission, including real estate acquisition, urban planning, sustainable development and legislative analysis. I have worked on land use and planning issues for a myriad of clients, most recently providing valuable service in connection with City Council's consideration and approval of the proposed American Commerce Center at 1800 Arch Street. In addition to my legal career in the private sector, I provide a committed service in the government and non-profit spheres, affording me the opportunity to examine issues pertinent to the Commission from a multi-faceted vantage point. In 2002, I was awarded a competitive government fellowship with the New York City Urban Fellows program, which combined full-time employment at 213 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 the Neighborhood Development Division of the Department of Small Business Services with a year-long seminar series exploring the complex mechanics of municipal government. Throughout my tenure, I worked to foster economic and community development through partnerships between the public and private sectors. Specifically, I conducted an efficiency analysis to transform New York City's dispersement of federal Community Development Block Grant funds to local development corporations into a merit-based process mandated with standards of accountability. I believe I can bring my ideas from my experience in government to this Commission. By engaging the private sector, the Commission will not only bring significant financial resources into the fold, but will engender a sense of citizen participation, where ideas are vetted in an open and transparent forum. 214 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 My active involvement in non-profit organizations such as Operation Understanding demonstrates a commitment to building bridges between various constituencies in the Philadelphia community. As an alumnus and Co-Chair of the Operation Understanding Young Friends' fundraiser, I have experienced addressing the challenges of raising money in uncertain economic times. Operation Understanding is a non-profit organization committed to promoting diversity and cross-cultural dialogue between the African American and Jewish communities in the City of Philadelphia and subsists entirely through fundraising. It will be incumbent on the Commission to seek alternative means of securing financial assistance for our Parks and Recreation system. I am eager to use my experiences to assist the Commission in meeting this difficult challenge. Notwithstanding my academic and 215 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES.

090057 professional qualification, I am fervently committed to the City of Philadelphia. I am a lifelong resident of the City of Philadelphia, the son of two Philadelphia School District teachers and a graduate of George Washington High School and the University of Pennsylvania. This city is blessed with a vast and rich portfolio of recreational space that can be marketed and used to position the City for great success in the 21st century. I believe that I will bring a sense of energy and innovation to the Commission. My passion and commitment to the City of Philadelphia will translate into being a passionate and committed advocate on behalf of the Commission. I bring to the table a fresh voice, embodying a new generation of Philadelphians eager to serve in municipal government. I would like to thank you for the opportunity and for your 216 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 consideration of my application. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.

Councilman.

I'm fine.

Thank you all very, very, very much. Thank you very much. Jennifer Nagle -- please be seated. Michael Walker, Anthony Waskie. And if there's anyone else who would care to testify, you're certainly welcome to come to the witness table. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

Last, but not least.

For today.

For today, exactly.

Okay. If you could state your name for the record. Please, sir, we'll be sure to take that. So if you could please state 217 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 your name for the record and we'd be happy to get started.

Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson, members of the Committee. My name is Andrew Zellers-Frederick, and I first must admit that I am in awe of the vast talent --

Please let me just hear your full name again.

Andrew Zellers-Frederick. It's the very last one. They were fitting me in today.

Not a problem. I just want to make sure I have you on my sheet.

And I'll have my testimony. I'll be able to bring it over tomorrow.

Okay. Terrific. Just for my record here, please spell your last name for me.

Z-E-L-L-E-R-S, hyphen, F-R-E-D-E-R-I-C-K.

Terrific. 218 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Okay. Proceed.

I just wanted to admit that I am really in awe of the vast talent, passion and expertise that was in this room today. I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this process. I am currently the Executive Director of the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, the national historic landmark directly across the street from City Hall. I bring my expertise in the cultural field, including years with the National Park Service, and wholeheartedly offer it today to the City of Philadelphia. I sometimes think that sites that are within Fairmount Park are overlooked when our other treasures in the City, like Independence Hall, are highlighted to the world. I believe these sites and our related natural and recreational resources need to be strongly promoted to our schools, and 219 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 they also will serve as a major magnet to attract visitors and new residents to Philadelphia to help our current economic status. As a lifelong resident of the area and as an individual who has worked within the boundaries of Fairmount Park, for years I was the Executive Director 10 of Historic Rittenhouse Town in the 11 northwest where I helped transform a 12 previously neglected site into an asset 13 for the City. I am, therefore, very 14 familiar and experienced with the 15 logistical operations of Fairmount Park 16 and its historic and natural value to the 17 citizens of Philadelphia and to the region. Fairmount Park is one of the crown jewels of Philadelphia and deserves to be treated as such by all that utilize and benefit from it. As a possible Commissioner, I strongly believe I can bring the necessary expertise on all levels to this volunteer position, 220 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 utilizing every resource currently at Fairmount Park's disposal and many more that can be developed. I believe I have the professional contacts that would be a great benefit to Fairmount Park, as well as the experience with the agencies' professional staff, which, again, I worked with for years. 10 I advocate the necessity of 11 beginning a major campaign to make all 12 the region's citizens aware of the 13 quality of life that Fairmount Park 14 brings to enrich this region and the City 15 of Philadelphia, and the tremendous loss 16 we would suffer if we did not have it. 17 We truly have a prize which the majority of communities throughout the world can only dream of, and it deserves to be treated as such. As a possible Commissioner, I know I can bring this appreciation and the needed expertise to further foster this feeling. From working for more than a 221 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 quarter century in the region's cultural community, I know the ways to successfully function with strained and limited funding and other resources which would benefit this position. Over my tenure, I have accomplished more with less, and I know I can do the same if selected. I have really not much to add, with everybody else that was here today, but to thank you for this time, and I really commend you for the difficult decisions that you're going to have to make in the near future. So thank you very much.

You're very welcome. We'll take that. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Thank you for remaining to the bitter end. Anthony Waskie. I'm a resident of Philadelphia, a Professor of History and Languages at Temple University, and I believe I possess a range of skills and 222 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 background, experiences and qualifications that could benefit, I feel, the Commission and the utilization of the park -- better utilization of the park and recreational facilities. Forty-year educator on all levels of education, from kindergarten to graduate study. I have experience in foreign languages, language teaching, cultures and peoples. I was a participant in athletics, both as an athlete myself and -- in years past -- and coaching, both in scholastic level and also on the community level in several different sports. Advisor to student and community groups, organizations, event planning, community service projects and especially fundraising projects. So I'm a member of many Boards of Directors of several non-profit, historical, educational, military and preservation groups and societies with fundraising experience. I'm a historian with specialization in Philadelphia history, 223 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 particularly Civil War history, out of which sprang Fairmount Park, and the history of city organizations. I've authored books, other works, articles and presentations on these subjects. And I have extensive experience in tourism and tourism management, founded a tour company, historic tour company, here in Philadelphia, History and Mystery Tours of Philadelphia. Tour guiding, creating tours, research and development of historical tours in the past. I have also done many, many, many tours of historic Fairmount Park and other historic sites in the City, bringing in groups from all over, particularly with the Civil War bent, and they were marveled at the various opportunities available coming to Philadelphia and particularly the parks and recreational centers. I just wanted to briefly cite some of the organizations that I've been associated with over the years. The 224 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Board of Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, where I am also a historian and author of a guide in history of Laurel Hill; the General Meade Society of Philadelphia, Founder and President; the Meade Educational and Scholarship Foundation which we've generated that raises funds for scholarships. We've adopted the General Meade School here in Philadelphia, 18th and Oxford, providing them with funding, with books, with programs and so on. The Civil War and Emancipation Studies program at Temple; the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association; the Grand Army of the Republican Civil War Museum and Library in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, where I serve as Vice-President and Museum Historian; the Octavius V. Catto Society, and we use one of the recreational facilities at 6th and Lombard called Star Garden for a ceremony and presentation each year to honor that famous Civil War and civil rights hero of 225 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 Philadelphia, Octavius Catto; Friends of Penn Treaty Park and many others. My theme would be to bring and promote the history of Fairmount Park and the recreational facilities and make that better known. " And I see that researching and capturing and making available the rich history of the sites within the Park, the monumentation, the buildings and the training sites and so on, the centennial sites, would promote visitation. I would like to publicize it and work on publicizing it -- I've been doing this with many of these organizations for many years -- what is available, create history walking tours with signage, brochures, audio and visual access to show people what is available and what can be had, what can be done. Organize educational tours on a regular basis, historical events to draw visitation to 226 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES.

090057 sites and educate the public, and also create fundraising activities, of which I'm quite familiar, by the way, having been involved in some of these Boards over the years, to fund the events, educational and recreational activities for all. So my whole emphasis is going to be on emphasizing, bringing forth, promoting the history of these sites that are little known, little appreciated and certainly a need to be better known and made known. Thank you very much.

Thank you, and thank you for your perspective in terms of what you bring. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Councilwoman Reynolds Brown and Councilman Clarke and to my audience. Thanks for sticking around. It's been a wonderful afternoon to hear everyone's credentials and what 227 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 they would love to bring to the Park. I'm very excited to be here. This is an amazing experience for me, and what a wonderful place to be in, where laws are made and policies and decisions are discussed for residents like me, residents of Philadelphia. I'm one of 250 candidates --

I need to hear your name, though.

Jennifer Nagle.

Okay. We need that for the record.

Sorry about that. I got a little ahead of myself. I'm one of only 250 applicants, and what a wonderful testament that is to the change that will only benefit our Parks and Recreation system. I've worked with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau for six years. My primary focus is marketing Philadelphia as a sports destination. This means filling hotel 228 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 rooms and driving visitor spending. I'm very proud to have the opportunity to work in this area, so much that it creates an economic impact for our region and it creates jobs and maintains jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. Many of the events I work on place Philadelphia in a national and international spotlight. As for today, our men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Army-Navy game, the 2008 Olympic Trials. These are all wonderful events that really place Philadelphia in a very, very special spotlight. I'm privileged to work with our region's leaders on these events. I've worked with the Administration of the Fairmount Park Commission and the Administration of the Department of Recreation, all contributing to help to determine the feasibility of these events for our region. This could be a weekend soccer 229 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 tournament where five playing fields are needed. It could be a professional beach volleyball tour stop gracing Fairmount Park, or it's our 2016 Teen Olympic bid effort, which Philadelphia was one of five candidate cities vying for the 2016 Teen Summer Olympics, which I still have faith in and I believe will happen for our region. Bring on 2026. I will be here. The joy and fulfillment I have for my career is a direct reflection of my 29 years as a resident in South Philadelphia in the Grays Ferry community. I grew up in Philadelphia's Park and Recreation system, from Markward Playground and Schuylkill River Park to Linear Playground, Singer Square and Vare Recreation Center. These are still the closest parks to me today, as I've recently purchased a new home at 29th and Tasker, reinvesting in a neighborhood I grew up in. I believe my investment is an example for young adults. I believe 230 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 similar investments will help make our neighborhoods better every day. This is continuing to grow the vibrancy we need to continue our legacy as a city of great neighborhoods. I think we've had at least ten neighborhoods represented today, and that's been extremely wonderful. There are incredible synergies between the events I have worked on and the impact to our communities. For instance, visiting Athletic Rec at 26th and Masters with USA boxing Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, donating gymnastics equipment after the Olympic Trials to Vare Recreation Center, participating in fundraising and planning efforts to support 2,500 students from the School District to attend the Army-Navy game for the past five years. These experiences are life-altering for an inner city child, and the excitement on their faces when you see them and they're part of these opportunities, it's overwhelming. 231 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 We need to continue to provide meaningful, educational and memorable influences for everyone. I'm here today as a candidate. It's been especially a wonderful, wonderful experience, again, listening to 49 folks throughout the afternoon, all with wonderfully great credentials. But I am here as a candidate. I'm here to advocate for youth. And I'm a young adult who works, lives, plays and is ready to serve in Philadelphia. I want to contribute to the many opportunities for growth that there are within our Parks and Recreation system. I believe I am called to further expand my role by entering into public service, and I want to do this by being a member of the new Commission on Parks and Recreation. And if I'm selected to serve, I would be honored to implement the goals and aspirations of our Park and Recreation system.

Thank you very much and thanks 232 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 for sticking around, again.

Well, thank you very, very much. Councilman Clarke.

Any questions?

No. I just want to thank -- is this the last group? I just want to thank everyone, although you are not within earshot of all wonderful applicants that we've had today, and we look forward to day three. Thank you so much for coming in.

Let me close by saying that I agree with you 2,000 percent. We did have an extraordinary reach of wonderful candidates, and of the 54 that were scheduled to appear, 44 did appear and offer their testimony. So we thank you for your interest in this important mission. The City Council Committee on Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs is recessed until March the 24th at 2:00 233 3/19/09 - PARKS - RES. 090057 p.m. Thank you very much. (Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs recessed at 4:55 p.m.) - - - 234 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 19, 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.)