The Parks and Recreation Board got an earful of public testimony earlier this month regarding the city’s national search to replace former parks director Kimberly McNeeley.
McNeeley recently left the Parks and Recreation Department after accepting the position of CEO of the Trail Conservancy, one of the department’s nonprofit partners.
Several speakers, including some department employees, aired their grievances about McNeeley’s tenure as examples of what they don’t want to see in the next leader.
Because staff from the city’s ATXN public access channel were unavailable to record the June 17 special meeting, the sound quality from the meeting room was touch-and-go, adding a layer of difficulty to accurately identifying each speaker and their comments.
However, much of the testimony – from both parks department employees and residents – was critical of the department’s deepening relationship with its nonprofit partners, which receive city funding for projects without guardrails in place to ensure transparency. In May, Rewild ATX, a group of volunteers focused on biodiversity in city parks and climate mitigation and which actively opposed the Zilker Park Vision Plan, asked the city to perform an audit of the nonprofits.
A Rewild ATX representative told the board that the department “needs significant structural and cultural change in order to become a leader and a model of excellence.” She said the successful candidate “should have transformative ideas on how to get us there.”
Scott Cobb, a longtime lifeguard at Barton Springs Pool and a frequent speaker at parks board meetings, said the ideal candidate should be responsive to the community and employees. He said he’d also like to see bilingual lifeguards receive bilingual pay – a benefit extended to certain other public-facing city employees.
“I’ve rescued people at Barton Springs who I cannot communicate with, and I had to call over somebody who could. That person should be getting bilingual pay,” Cobb said.
A resident of East Austin said that little has been done to fulfill promises from staff about improving parks on the east side.
“We had concerns about the nonprofit organizations because they come in, offer to fix our parks and all that, and then they take control. That’s not what the community wants in our parks,” she said. She also asked the board to be more understanding of community members who provide input. “We’re concerned about our community. … Y’all need to be more sensitive when there are people coming out to speak on behalf of (others).”
Since the board was not scheduled to take action, members agreed to place an item on the July agenda to decide on including public input on the hiring of a new parks director. Typically, the hiring of department heads has been at the sole discretion of the city manager, although exceptions are sometimes made, such as with the hiring of a police chief or the director of the Austin Animal Center.
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department: The city department responsible for the city's park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Parks and Recreation Board: The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
