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INTRODUCTION.
On April 9, 2001, I embarked on an eight-week-long
series of tours of the zoo, parks, reservations, and
golf courses of the Essex County Park System, the
nation's oldest county park system. The tours were
conducted on seventeen different dates, primarily
on weekday evenings, but also on a few Saturday mornings
and afternoons. By the time the last tour was completed
on May 30, 2001, I had visited a total of nineteen
(19) parks, three (3) golf courses, three (3) reservations,
and Turtle Back Zoo.
The
tours were attended by my Freeholder colleagues, by
representatives of the Administration, the Department
of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs, the Office
of the Essex County Sheriff, the Essex County Police,
the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund
Advisory Board, and by elected officials from the
host communities who took time from their busy schedules
to join me. It was truly a united effort of the Freeholder
Board, County Executive James Treffinger, and Sheriff
Armando Fontoura to bring Essex County government
into the parks, and to make the elected officials
of that government accessible to the county residents
who utilize, and care so much about their county parks
and recreational facilities.
I
want to thank County Executive Treffinger and Sheriff
Fontoura for their enthusiastic cooperation throughout
the entire two-month period, and also acknowledge
that the tours would not have been so successful,
or even possible, without their help. A special "thank
you" is due to Acting County Administrator Ronald
Manzella, and to Department Director Daniel Salvante,
Deputy Director Sarah Hanson, Division Director Dolores
Critchley, and Jodi Bini, Chief of Administrative
Services, all of the Department of Parks, Recreation
& Cultural Affairs. The same is true of Undersheriff
Leonard McGhee, Bureau of Narcotics Director Robert
Scarillo, Chief John Dough, and Sgt. John Good of
the Sheriff's Office, as well as Director Anthony
Carrino and Lieutenant Kevin Pascoal of the Essex
County Police. I also want to extend my appreciation
to Lori Tanner, Chairperson of the Essex County Recreation
and Open Space Trust Fund.
More
than anyone else, however, I want to thank the many,
many residents of Essex County, more than 500 in total,
who turned-out to meet us at each of our stops. Whether
they were members of volunteer park organizations
who have toiled to keep our parks alive during the
last 15 tough years, or they were regular park visitors
unaffiliated with any specific group, they all enthusiastically
shared their ideas, suggestions, and visions for the
future of their favorite park(s). Their commitment,
their concern, and their willingness to take the time
to attend our tours was refreshing and energizing.
Their participation also reinforced my belief that
the revitalization of our park system is critical
to the quality of life in Essex County and that it
must, once again, become a priority of Essex County
government.
During
the tours, detailed notes were taken of all the concerns
and suggestions offered by attendees. Not long after
each tour, we passed along those concerns and suggestions
to the Administration in the form of memoranda, one
for each park, and asked that they be reviewed to
determine which issues might be addressed immediately,
and which would require longer-term solutions. The
memoranda were also distributed to all park tour attendees.
From the long list of excellent ideas and suggestions
offered by concerned residents, and from my own observations,
I have compiled a list of recommendations for the
improvement of our county parks, reservations, golf
courses, and zoo that is provided herein. For the
purposes of this report and the imminent review and
adoption of the 2001 County Budget, I have limited
my recommendations to those that may be implemented
in the short-term, yet will yield very real immediate
and long-term benefits to the park system and to the
people who utilize it. Longer-term recommendations
related to infrastructure improvements and the commitment
of capital funds have been left to the Administration
to be considered for incorporation into their capital
budget proposals, and for the consideration of the
Trust Fund Advisory Board.
I
am happy to offer these recommendations to my colleagues
on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and,
on their behalf, to County Executive James Treffinger,
his Administration, and the Essex County Recreation
& Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board.
THE
TOURS: A CONCEPT BORNE OF RENEWED OPTIMISM.
The
tour concept was spurred by my belief that the County
of Essex is finally about to "turn the corner"
in its ability to improve and maintain its park system.
Regrettably,
since 1986, our park system has endured a slow and
steady decline that accelerated during the County's
acute financial crisis in the period from 1995 through
1999: a decline that saw the overall Parks Department
budget remain stagnant, thereby resulting in the unavoidable
reduction in the number of maintenance workers from
a high of well over 200 in 1986 to a low of less than
50 by 1999. Due to the general downturn in the national
economy during the initial period, and the on-going
two-pronged problem of increasing costs accompanied
by a declining tax base experienced by urban counties
everywhere, the County of Essex found itself faced
with a massive budget deficit in the mid-1990's. Tax
dollars were in short supply. Hamstrung by the paucity
of funds needed to support the requisite staffing
levels, our parks fell into disrepair.
Last
year, however, we began to see light at the end of
the tunnel. Thanks to the focused, responsible, and
cooperative efforts of the Board of Chosen Freeholders
and the Administration, the County's financial situation
stabilized. That progress was also made possible by
the addition of important ratables to the property
tax rolls. There is no denying that the opening of
the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Riverfront
Stadium, the home of the Newark Bears, has made Newark
and Essex County a popular destination for businesses
looking to relocate. And that activity has encouraged
a boom in housing construction as well.
My
optimism was further fueled by two additional developments:
the creation of the Essex County Recreation &
Open Space Trust Fund, and the hiring of a part-time
grantswriter:
-The
Essex County Recreation & Open Space Trust Fund.
In
1999, the Board of Freeholders approved ordinances
to create the Trust Fund and a broadly-representative
Advisory Board, but only after Essex County voters
overwhelmingly endorsed the concept in a November
1998 Ballot Question. The Trust Fund, infused by property
tax dollars, will provide funds dedicated specifically
to develop and maintain existing, as well as to purchase
new parkland, open space, and historic sites.
When
the Advisory Board became operational in 2000, it
hired a consulting firm, T&M Associates, to undertake
an inventory of the County's assets and prepare a
Master Plan that will serve as a roadmap for the use
of the Trust Fund's proceeds. A draft of the Master
Plan, anticipated this summer, will be offered to
the public for comment and revision during a series
of hearings to be held soon thereafter. Once the final
Master Plan is completed (probably by Spring 2002),
the Advisory Board will entertain recommendations
and begin awarding funds for projects and acquisitions.
Another
decision made by the Advisory Board last year has
already paid dividends: the decision to fund the hiring
of 55 additional park maintenance workers. With the
infusion of the additional people, the Parks Department
has been able to man nine work crews (effective this
year), each assigned to specific parks. This new configuration
is far superior to the previous mode of operation
that saw an undermanned staff roaming the entire county,
struggling to respond to emergent problems. With work
crews now assigned to specific parks, maintenance
has already improved noticeably, and no park will
go more than a day or two without the attention it
requires.
·
The Pursuit of Grants.
The
hiring of a part-time grantswriter has enabled the
County to apply for substantial funds available through
the Green Acres, Garden State Preservation Trust,
Urban Parks, and other programs. Every dollar provided
through grants is one less dollar that must be raised
through property taxes, and the County has, after
a long dormancy, renewed its pursue of this potential
treasure trove of funding.
This
year, the County's part-time grantswriter and T&M
Associates submitted two grant applications: one for
$1.9 million for ballfield renovations in Branch Brook
Park's Middle Division, and another in the amount
of $16.75 million for a Multi Parks grant to make
a wide range of improvements in six urban parks (Branch
Brook, Irvington, Ivy Hill, Orange, Vailsburg, and
Watsessing). Although these applications resulted
in the award of only $500,000 this year (due to the
blatantly unfair funding formulas of the Garden State
Preservation Trust Act), it is encouraging, nonetheless,
that the County is now positioned to apply for grants
every year from this point forward.
The
convergence of these many positive factors convinced
me that the County is finally on its way to returning
the luster to its crown jewel: its county park system.
Coupled with the fact that the Trust Fund's Master
Plan will soon be completed and the Administration's
2001 County Budget proposal will soon be presented
to the Board, this seemed an opportune time to take
stock of our parks, reservations, golf courses, and
zoo. This seemed the perfect time to reach out to
the county residents who use our facilities and to
the members of the many volunteer park organizations
who have given so generously of their time. After
all, who else is better prepared to tell us what really
needs to be done in our parks to make them better,
cleaner, and safer places for all to enjoy, than the
people who use them every day?
The
public response to our tours was far more positive
than I ever thought possible. So many people came
forward, in such a positive way, and with such conviction,
to offer so many great ideas. Our tours were a huge
success, and I am indebted to the residents of our
county who contributed so much to the recommendations
I make today.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. Create More Park-Specific Work Crews.
Throughout
the tours, participants displayed a remarkable understanding
of the County's financial limitations, and a willingness
to wait for the more expensive infrastructure improvements
already long overdue. But what they would not accept,
and justifiably so, was the County's seeming inability
to carry out the most basic maintenance tasks.
Visit
after visit, attendees were rife with stories of uncut
grass, overflowing garbage cans, broken lights, litter-strewn
fields and sidewalks, inoperable water fountains,
empty flower beds, ponds and lakes and streams cluttered
with debris, buildings marred by graffiti, sandboxes
devoid of sand, playgrounds with dwindling supplies
of safety wood fiber, and piles of broken branches
and tree stumps that remained uncollected for months
on end: conditions that could only continue to exist
if maintenance workers were not in the park for long
periods of time to see them. That, unfortunately,
was exactly the case, when a decimated maintenance
staff was limited to only being able to respond to
the most dire conditions across the length and breadth
of the County's nearly 6,000 acres of parks.
With
the addition of the 55 workers funded through the
Recreation & Open Space Trust Fund, the Parks
Department was able, commencing this year, to establish
nine (9) work crews, each assigned to one or more
specific parks. Already, after being operational for
only a month or so, residents have noticed marked
improvements in their parks. I am very pleased with
this development, and believe the effort should be
expanded to create a total of sixteen (16) work crews
in order to address acute conditions in certain parks,
as follows:
Current Proposed
1.
So. Mtn. Res./Riker Hill 1. So. Mtn. Res./Riker Hill
2. Weequahic/West Side 2. Weequahic
3. West Side
3. Verona/G. Cleveland/Eagle Rock Res. 4. Verona/Eagle
Rock Res.
5. Grover Cleveland
4. Brookdale/Anderson/Hospital Ctr. 6. Brookdale/Anderson
7. Hospital Center
5. Branch Brook/Belleville/Yanticaw 8. Branch Brook
9. Belleville/Yanticaw
6. Ivy Hill/Orange 10. Ivy Hill
11. Orange
7. Irvington/Vailsburg 12. Irvington
13. Vailsburg
8. Watsessing/Glenfield 14. Watsessing/Glenfield
9. Independence/Riverbank 15. Independence
16. Riverbank
Every
effort should be made to provide proper training for
the new workers, including their enrollment in seminars
offered by both the National and New Jersey Recreational
Park Associations.
I
also highly recommend that every effort be made to
hire new workers who reside in the neighborhoods surrounding
our parks. Doing so will encourage a sense of "ownership"
among the workers, and provide needed employment opportunities
that will have a positive ripple effect in those communities.
I also suggest that the composition of all the work
crews be configured in such a way as to place all
workers, both new and old, as close as possible to
parks near which they reside, for the same reason.
The Bottom Line: hire 20 additional maintenance workers.
Suggested Funding Source: Recreation & Open Space
Trust Fund.
2. Create More Tree Crews & Hire Outside Tree
Contractors.
The
sorry state of the tree inventory in our parks and
reservations is one of the most visible signs of our
park system's long decline. Dead trees, felled trees,
dead branches, broken branches, and wild and long-unpruned
trees abound no matter where you go. Further, they
present serious safety hazards to unsuspecting passersby,
and the very real potential for expensive lawsuits
that will flow from injuries.
The
County of Essex currently has only one, 3-person tree
crew, which is woefully inadequate to address the
rampant tree problems in 6,000 acres of parkland.
I
recommend that two additional 3-man tree crews be
created. To concentrate their efforts in order to
make measurable and immediate progress, I further
recommend that the three crews be limited to addressing
the problems in the larger parks only: Branch Brook,
Brookdale, Riker Hill, Weequahic, and Belleville parks;
and South Mountain, Eagle Rock, and Mills reservations.
I
also recommend that tree maintenance in our smaller
facilities be accomplished by outsourcing the tasks
to private tree maintenance firms, one per facility,
for annual contracts, as follows: Irvington, Ivy Hill,
Orange, West Side, Verona, Grover Cleveland, Yanticaw,
Anderson, Riverbank, Independence, Watsessing, Glenfield,
and Vailsburg parks; and Turtle Back Zoo.
Equipment
necessary to properly outfit the tree crews also must
be purchased, specifically three chipper/boom trucks.
Bottom
Line: hire 6 additional tree crew workers.
Suggested Funding Source: 2001 County Operating Budget
(Parks Dept.)
Bottom
Line: purchase 3 chipper/boom trucks.
Suggested Funding Source: 2001 County Capital Budget
(Parks Dept.)
Bottom
Line: let annual contracts to 14 individual tree maintenance
firms.
Suggested Funding Source: Recreation & Open Space
Trust Fund.
3. Improve Park Security & Enforcement of Rules.
In
every park I visited, attendees complained that park
rules are constantly violated and too infrequently
enforced. Whether it be unleashed dogs, activities
without proper permits, rampant soccer games, illegal
volleyball games, alcohol consumption, open flames
for cooking, littering, or illegal dumping, the absence
of a uniformed presence in the parks serves to embolden
violators.
To
curb the flaunting of park rules and increase the
enjoyment of lawful park users, I recommend that a
pilot program of uniformed park rangers be implemented
throughout the park system next year, during the heavy-usage
months of April through September. The park rangers
would be assigned to the Office of the Sheriff, and
an appropriate line item would be added to the Sheriff's
budget.
In
many of our urban parks, crime is an overriding problem
that causes all other problems to pale in comparison.
These activities include drug-dealing, prostitution,
shootings, and muggings. Not only do these activities
impinge on the law-abiding public's ability to enjoy
their parks, but they pose ominous threats to their
lives and limbs.
I
heartily endorse the suggestions of residents that
walking and mobile patrols tour the parks more frequently,
that direct radio contact be established between the
Sheriff's Office and local park security groups (i.e.
Irvington Park), that evening, overnight, and weekend
patrols be intensified, and that a concerted effort
be made to encourage the cooperation and coordination
of the Sheriff's Office (County Police) and local
police departments to both increase the overall police
presence and close coverage gaps. I urgently recommend
that a security "summit" of county and municipal
police forces be organized, under the leadership of
Sheriff Fontoura, to devise a comprehensive plan to
address this serious crime problem.
Bottom
Line: hire seasonal park rangers.
Suggested Funding Source: Sheriff's Office operating
budget (2002).
4. Enhance Lighting.
Lighting
in our parks must become a priority in order to curb
illicit activities and increase the sense of security
of the people who wish to use the parks.
I
anticipate that the maintenance of lighting on tennis
courts, basketball courts, and playing fields will
improve with the expansion of the park-specific maintenance
crews. But lighting in and around the perimeter of
our parks, which is the responsibility of PSE&G,
is, unfortunately, beyond our control. I strongly
recommend that regular meetings and on-site walking
tours of our parks be coordinated with the appropriate
PSE&G representatives to ensure that a more reliable
maintenance regimen is put in place. As a result of
witnessing too many broken or missing lights and light
stanchions during the tours myself, I arranged a meeting
with PSE&G in May for this very purpose, and that
effort has already borne fruit.
I
also suggest that PSE&G be implored to install
brighter and vandal-proof lights in the crime-prone
parks.
Bottom
Line: vigilant maintenance & coordination with
PSE&G.
Suggested Funding Source: no costs anticipated.
5. Hire a Director and More Animalkeepers at Turtle
Back Zoo.
During the darkest days of the County's financial
crisis in the mid-1990's, the Administration proposed
that Turtle Back Zoo be sold or closed. The Zoo, like
the rest of the park system, had been in steady decline
for years. Once one of the County's proudest landmarks
and a mecca for families, school groups, and animal
lovers throughout the region, the Zoo had fallen on
hard times: the animal inventory was seriously depleted;
the physical plant was in disrepair; the staff was
demoralized; visitors were staying away in droves;
and Zoo revenue was dwindling.
The
overwhelming response of the public and the intensity
of the outcry against the Zoo's sale or demise was
such that the proposal was withdrawn and the County
instead committed itself to an aggressive campaign
to restore the Zoo to its former glory. Since then,
millions of dollars have been pumped into the Zoo
to rehabilitate the physical plant, to construct new
exhibits, to replenish and increase the animal inventory,
to promote increased attendance, and to provide a
much-needed facelift to the Zoo's entrance.
With the generous support of the New Jersey Zoological
Society, a Zoo Master Plan was commissioned. And thanks
to the never-wavering commitment of volunteer docents
and the renewed morale of the paid staff, the Zoo
has not only survived, but thrived. Attendance and
revenues are up dramatically, the commitment of approximately
$2 million will soon see the construction of an animal
hospital, and we are moving along in our efforts to
gain accreditation from the American Zoo & Aquarium
Association. Without question, Turtle Back Zoo is
on the path to a very bright future.
To
protect our investment and ensure the Zoo's future,
the hiring of a full-time Zoo Director is imperative.
We must have a qualified professional on board to
oversee the intense restoration efforts, to drive
the construction of the animal hospital, to lead the
way to accreditation, and to send the message to Zoo
visitors and workers alike, that Turtle Back Zoo is
here to stay. It is also essential that at least six
more animalkeepers be hired immediately to tend to
our existing animal inventory and make it possible
to increase that population to fill the empty cages
found throughout the facility.
Bottom
Line: hire a full-time Zoo Director and 6 more animalkeepers.
Suggested Funding Source: 2001 County Operating Budget
(Parks Dept.).
6.
Hire a Full-Time Grantswriter.
Although
the County has stabilized its financial position,
the commitment of adequate funds to undertake the
restoration and/or reconstruction of buildings, the
resurfacing of basketball and tennis courts, the refurbishing
of playing fields, the dredging of waterways, the
building of retaining walls, and all sorts of other
expensive capital projects is unlikely to occur without
substantial tax increases which cannot be imposed
on our already overburdened taxpayers.
The
only other possible funding sources for such projects
are the Recreation & Open Space Trust Fund and
grants available through state and federal programs.
Since the Trust Fund has finite resources that must
also be shared by acquisition and historic preservation
projects, it is imperative that the County make every
effort to pursue all the grant funds possible.
With
the hiring of a part-time grantswriter, the County
has placed itself on the right path. But to effectively
apply for as many grants as possible, a full-time
grantswriter is needed, and I strongly recommend that
an experienced person be hired for that position as
soon as possible.
Bottom
Line: hire one full-time grantswriter.
Suggested Funding Source: 2001 County Operating Budget
(Parks Dept.)
7.
Purchase Additional Benches, Garbage Cans, & Workers'
Uniforms.
At
virtually every stop on the tour schedule, attendees
pointed out that there are far too few benches (broken
ones aside) and garbage cans. The benches are essential
to making parks pleasant places to visit, especially
for seniors and families, and the addition of garbage
cans will encourage park visitors to clean-up after
themselves, thereby relieving pressure on our maintenance
staff. I strongly recommend that funds be utilized
to purchase these items and that the equipment be
consistent from park to park.
I
also believe that by outfitting our maintenance workers
with recognizable uniforms, we will add to the professional
appearance of our staff. As an added bonus, I'm also
convinced that the presence of uniformed workers will
remind park users that their violation of rules and/or
illicit activities will not go unnoticed, thereby
enabling our maintenance workers to double as a passive
security/enforcement force.
Bottom
Line: purchase benches, garbage cans, and workers'
uniforms.
Suggested Funding Source: Recreation & Open Space
Trust Fund.
8. Dredge Waterways & Construct Retaining Walls.
Rivers,
streams, and brooks running through many of our parks
are clogged with debris
that inhibits the flow of water, causes the erosion
of their banks, and increases the risk of
flooding.
Dredging
projects to clear our waterways, and the construction
of retaining walls to protect the integrity of their
banks should be undertaken.
Bottom
Line: schedule dredging and retaining wall construction
projects.
Suggested Funding Source: Recreation & Open Space
Trust Fund and/or state and federal grants.
9. Consider the Banning of Vehicular Traffic on Sundays.
To
protect the environment, reduce the wear and tear
on the parks, provide a safer
environment for children, and promote a day of peace
and quiet, serious consideration
should be given to the banning of vehicular traffic
in the parks on Sundays only.
Bottom
Line: consider the banning of vehicular traffic.
Suggested Funding Source: there are no associated
costs.
10. Encourage the Formation of Additional Park Organizations.
Volunteer
park organizations, such as the Weequahic Park Association,
the Verona Park Conservancy, the Watsessing Heights
Neighborhood Association, The Friends of Brookdale
Park, Friends of Branch Brook Park, West Side Park
Conservancy, and others, have proven themselves to
be effective lobbying mechanisms for the promotion
of improvements in the parks. They serve as democratic
vehicles for the expression of the concerns, suggestions,
and even the frustration of residents who use our
parks, as well as the framework by which county government
and the people it serves may work together towards
a common goal.
With
the keen competition for the commitment of finite
County funds among the various parks, there's no question
that the loudest and most persistent voices get results.
An organized and vocal park organization can be instrumental
in assuring that the needs of a given park are addressed
and that the concerns of the park constituency are
heard.
I
recommend that the County reach out to communities
to promote the formation of park organizations and
encourage the establishment of working partnerships
with the County.
Bottom
Line: foster the creation of, and partnership with,
volunteer park organizations.
Suggested Funding Source: there are no associated
costs.
11. Encourage Partnerships with Local School Districts.
To
further encourage the input of County residents and
the development of a sense of park "ownership"
in our communities, every effort should be made to
reach out to the local school districts. The schools
offer a great starting point for the organization
of volunteer park clean-up efforts that can serve
as the foundation for community service programs in
the schools and, at the same time, provided a great
hands-on civics "classroom".
Park-school
partnerships are already up and running in the Newark
school district, and I have already met with the superintendents
of local districts throughout the county to encourage
partnerships everywhere.
I
recommend that the County aggressively pursue this
effort now, and throughout the summer, so that programs
may be put in place for the start of the new school
year in September.
Bottom
Line: promote partnerships with local school districts
to encourage organized clean-up campaigns.
Suggested Funding Source: there are no associated
costs.
12. Spearhead Amendment of the Garden State Preservation
Act's Funding
Formulas.
At
the start of her second term, Governor Whitman proposed
that open space be preserved throughout New Jersey
on a massive scale. We applauded her initiative and
supported the November 1998 Ballot Question to amend
the NJ State Constitution to provide the funds to
accomplish it. Unfortunately, when the enabling legislation
(the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund Act) was
later adopted by the Legislature, it included funding
formulas that overwhelmingly favored the rural areas
of the state at the expense of the suburban and urban
areas. According to those formulas, of the $98 million
to be allocated each year for open space preservation,
development, and acquisition, only $10 million can
be used for the development (maintenance) of existing
parks statewide. The rest of the money is reserved,
primarily, to preserve farmland in the form of development
easements for private farms that will keep private
land in the hands of private landowners, never to
be enjoyed by the general public.
I
support the preservation and acquisition of farmland
and all open space, but not to the degree provided
for by the funding formulas. The formulas are skewed
to such an extreme that virtually no money is left
for the critical development and maintenance of existing
open space (parks) in urban and suburban areas where
the bulk of our population resides. The formulas must
be changed to respect the importance of open space
in our densely-populated counties, where the largest
number of people can enjoy it, in order to provide
a saner, more equitable distribution of the available
funds so all the residents of our state may benefit
from the preservation effort.
This
year, the County of Essex submitted two grant applications
totaling $18.7 million for badly-needed infrastructure
improvements in six of our urban parks. Because of
the inequities in the funding formulas, we were limited
to an award of $500,000. That's unfair and wholly
insufficient to meet our needs.
The
receipt of grant money is critical to the future of
our park system, and the Garden State Preservation
Trust Fund is one of the major funding sources. We
cannot afford to be denied access to those funds to
the degree imposed by the Act's existing funding formulas.
I
strongly recommend that the Administration pursue
the lobbying effort I initiated last week that is
designed to force the amendment of the Garden State
Preservation Trust Act as soon as possible.
Bottom
Line: pursue an intense lobbying effort to amend the
funding formulas in the Garden State Preservation
Trust Act.
Suggested Funding Source: there are no associated
costs.
CONCLUSION.
The recommendations proposed in this report are intended
to provide the maximum immediate improvements in our
park system with short-term projects that will have
a relatively small fiscal impact.
All
told, the recommendations I propose funding through
our 2001 County Operating Budget amount to only $180,000.
This includes the hiring of a zoo director, six animalkeepers,
six tree crew workers, and a full-time grantswriter.
Anticipating that these individuals will not be hired
or in place until September, their total approximate
annual cost of $510,000 has been prorated to reflect
only four months of salaries.
The
recommendation I propose to fund through our 2001
Capital Budget, the purchasing of three chipper/boom
trucks for our tree crews, amounts to $225,000 ($75,000
per truck).
The
recommendations I propose we fund with proceeds from
the Recreation & Open Space Trust Fund in 2001
amount to approximately $700,000. This includes $200,000
to hire twenty (20) maintenance workers to man the
additional park-specific work crews (the total cost
of $500,000 is pro-rated in anticipation of hiring
them effective in September) plus approximately $500,000
to let the fourteen (14) individual contracts for
tree maintenance in our smaller parks and facilities.
The
commitment of funds necessary to breathe life into
these recommendations is truly minimal. But the resulting
positive effect they will have on the conditions in
our parks and the quality of life for our county's
residents will be substantial. I respectfully request
that my colleagues on the Essex County Board of Chosen
Freeholders embrace these recommendations and incorporate
funds for them in the 2001 County Budget we are about
to consider. I also respectfully ask that County Executive
Treffinger review the proposals and join the Board
in this laser-guided, pinpoint effort to make dramatic
yet inexpensive improvements to our recreational facilities.
I ask, too, that the Recreation & Open Space Advisory
Board consider the recommendations enclosed herein.
I
would also like to offer my sincere appreciation for
the hard work and dedication of our entire Department
of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs. They
have worked diligently and with remarkable commitment
to keep our parks, reservations, golf courses, and
the zoo functioning for the last 15 years under the
direst of circumstances. Director Daniel Salvante,
the directors who preceded him, and the entire staff,
from top to bottom, have truly been an inspiration
to us all. Like an army sent into a 21st Century war
armed with muskets, they have somehow managed to get
the job done. I want to be sure that no one misconstrues
the recommendations or comments included in this report
to be an assault on or criticism of our Parks Department.
They are not. They are sincerely offered in the spirit
of cooperation and in the hope that our overwhelmed
workers will finally have at least some of the tools
and funds they need to do their jobs.
In
closing, I want to reiterate that the Essex County
Park System is a treasure that must be protected.
It is the nation's oldest county park system, and
serves as a living legacy to the vision of Frederick
Law Olmsted, a pioneer in landscape architecture.
Our park system of nearly 6,000 acres provides a precious
respite for nearly 800,000 residents of this, New
Jersey's most densely-populated county. We must do
all we can to restore the system to its former glory.
We owe it to history and to the people we represent.
|
September
6th 2001.
