In This Issue...
Best Practices Forum Welcome New Members A Word from our Sponsors Member News Research and Resources In the News Training Job Announcements
About NACPRO
The National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials is a non-profit professional organization that advances official policies that promote county and regional park and recreation issues while providing members with opportunities to network, exchange ideas and best practices, and enhance professional development.
Learn more about us at: www.nacpro.org
DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of NACPRO News will be delivered on May 10, 2022.
If you have news or an article to share, please send it to the editor by May 9.
EDITOR Brenda Adams-Weyant (814) 927-8212 [email protected]
NACPRO's Sponsors
Job Announcements
NEW - Senior Design & Development Supervisor Whatcom County Parks & Recreation Bellingham, Washington $6,447 - $8,683 monthly Closing date: May 31, 2022
Market Research and Analytics Manager (Statistical and Data Specialist III) Fairfax County Park Authority, Virginia $72,753 - $121,255 Annually Closing date: Apr 29, 2022
Culture, Parks, and Recreation Director City of Greeley, Colorado $127,000 - $190,000 Annually Closing date: May 4, 2022
Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation County of Santa Clara Los Gatos, California $165,494 - $212,288 Annually Closing date: May 20, 2022
Aquatics Manager Cherokee Recreation and Parks Canton, Georgia $50,000 - $55,000 Annually Closing date: May 21, 2022
Park Ranger City of San Jose Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, California $69,722 - $84,989 Annually Closing Date: May 21, 2022
Senior Natural Resource Specialist Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space, Nevada $55,515 - $83,262 Annually Closing Date: May 30, 2022
Site Superintendent Champaign County Forest Preserve District Homer, Illinois $62,500 Annually Closing Date: Jun 30, 2022
Deputy Director Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Topeka, Kansas $31.08 - $34.32 Hourly Open until filled
Forester (Arborist) Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Topeka, Kansas Salary: $17.37 - $19.16 Hourly Closing date: Open until filled
Senior Restoration Ecologist Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency Morgan Hill, California $120,000 - $140,000 Annually Closing date: Open until filled
Got a vacancy to fill? NACPRO will post your vacancy on our website and email a copy to our mailing list of over 1100 parks and recreation professionals for a fee of $100 for NACPRO members and $200 for non-members. NACPRO membership is $90/person.
For more information: https://nacpro.mcjobboard.net/jobs
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Proposal to amend NACPRO Bylaws
The Board of Directors has a draft amendment to the NACPRO bylaws. This amendment adds a new membership type “Associate” for parks and recreation professionals not associated with county, regional or special park districts. We welcome your feedback on this proposal.
Article II, Section 1 of the NACPRO Bylaws specifies that “Membership in the Association shall be open to any official or management staff associated with county and regional government.” NACPRO does not want to limit who can join the association. The new membership type opens memberships for other entities, but does not grant full privileges to Associate Members. NACPRO has received memberships from related professionals and we felt it was important to clarify the benefits and formalize this practice.
Proposed Amendment
Article II - Section 4: Associate Membership
Any individual, official or management staff associated with a municipal park district, municipal park or recreation department, not-for-profit entity, or other entity desiring to join the Association and subscribing to its purposes. Associate members will be extended benefits as established by the Board of Directors including access to membership electronic, digital and print media, but will not have the privilege of voting, serving on the Board of Directors, or submitting award nominations.
Download a full version of the draft bylaws: https://nacpro.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/2021-02-22-NACPRO-Bylaws.pdf
Please email your comments and feedback to [email protected] by May 11, 2022.
Best Practices Forum
Got an issue you need advice on? Or a best practice you want to share? Send us the details and we will publish it in the next NACPRO News.
Welcome New Members
Ms. Kelly Burkholder Office Coordinator Ingham County Parks, Michigan
Ms. Nicole Wallace, CTA Trails and Parks Millage Coordinator Ingham County Parks, Michigan
Mr. Tim Buckley Park Manager Ingham County Parks, Michigan
Mr. Coe Emens Park Manager Ingham County Parks, Michigan
A Word from our Sponsors
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Member News
Making Water Safety More Inclusive in Prince George’s County, Maryland Courtesy of NRPA
By Cort Jones
MARYLAND - In celebration of May being National Water Safety Month, the podcast explores best practices for safety in and around the water, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion.
On today’s show, I am joined by the author of the article, Tara Eggleston Stewart, CPRE, division chief for aquatics and athletic facilities for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Tune in to the full episode to learn more about Tara, how she got into the field of parks and recreation, and why making water safety programs more equitable and inclusive is so important.
Listen here: https://www.nrpa.org/blog/making-water-safety-more-inclusive-in-prince-georges-county-maryland-may-bonus-episode/
Research and Resources
CPSTF Recommends Park, Trail, and Greenway Infrastructure Interventions to Increase Physical Activity Courtesy of NRPA
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends park, trail, and greenway infrastructure interventions combined with additional interventions, such as structured programs or community awareness, to increase physical activity.
The CPSTF finding is based on a systematic review of 21 studies from 20 publications. Results showed a 18.3% median increase in the number of people who used the parks, trails, or greenways and a 17% median increase in the number of people who used them to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. CPSTF finds insufficient evidence for park, trail, and greenway infrastructure interventions when implemented alone.
Creating or enhancing access to places for physical activity, such as parks, trails, and greenways, is a key strategy featured in Active People, Healthy NationSM External Web Site Icon – a national initiative led by CDC to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.
Read more: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/content/cpstf-recommends-park-trail-and-greenway-infrastructure-interventions-increase-physical-activity
Off-Road Safety Week Courtesy of NOHVCC
Tread Lightly!, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, and the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council are working together to support Train for the Trail – the theme of this year’s Off-Road Safety Week, May 14-23.
Summer riding season is fast approaching, and Off-Road Safety Week provides a great opportunity to highlight safe and responsible motorized recreation. We encourage you to not only participate by getting out and riding or driving during the week, but also help promote the week by issuing the press release below from your agency or club.
Off-Road Safety Week is also a great reason to host an event. Please feel free to put one together promoting safe and responsible use of ORVs and let us know about it ([email protected]). If you have events already planned during May 14-23, please consider highlighting Off-Road Safety Week to participants before and during the event.
Read more: https://nohvcc.org/help-support-off-road-safety-week-get-your-agency-or-club-involved-in-promoting-safe-and-responsible-use-of-orvs/
Grant Opportunity: Parks as Community Wellness Hubs 2022 Courtesy of NRPA
With the support of the Walmart Foundation, NRPA is pleased to announce the availability of grant funds to increase equitable access to healthy foods and reduce food insecurity through the development of Community Wellness Hubs in parks and recreation. Through the grant, 15 organizations will be awarded $90,000 over the 18-month grant period and will receive extensive training and technical assistance to develop community-driven, equity-centered hubs supporting increased food access. Requests for proposals are due May 13.
For more information: https://www.nrpa.org/our-work/grant-fundraising-resources/
GP RED Think Tank 2022 Courtesy of GP RED
November 16 – 18, 2022
The Chapel Event Center at Dorthea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina
Since 2008, GP RED’s Think Tanks have provided an opportunity to engage with Thought Leaders in the fields of Parks, Recreation, Conservation, Land Management, Public Health, Tourism, Alternative Transportation, Academia, Allied Disciplines and the related associations and educators that support and serve them. The purpose of the Think Tank is to improve multi-sector communication and information sharing.
The Think Tank is an invitational interactive event to identify, address, dissect, dive deep to explore creative solutions to challenges and issues that face the disciplines mentioned above and the communities they serve. Topics are progressive therefore, attendance at the entire Think Tank and full participation is expected of all Thought Leaders.
Invitations and more details will be available as we get closer to the event.
Contact Donna Kuethe at [email protected] for more information.
Lifeguard Bootcamp Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business
By Terri Fisher and Jennifer Schmitt
For the past 14 years, prior to opening for Memorial Day weekend, Lifeguard Bootcamp has been operating from Monday through Friday with opening day on Saturday. Because the majority of staff members are students who have been busy with studies and extracurricular activities, that time was determined to be the best to get everyone’s head back in the game. It’s also a great opportunity to encourage the lifeguards, both new and returning, to train as a team, get to know each other, and learn to trust each other. Because there are three pools to operate—each one different—time is arranged to train at each facility. By Friday, which is also Administration Day, everyone is tired but operating like a well-oiled machine. Twenty hours of training ends with a big potluck dinner. Morale is at its peak, and when the pool opens the following day, everyone will receive their pay for all of the hard work. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Read more: https://www.parksandrecbusiness.com/articles/lifeguard-bootcamp
In the News
Uncovering the hidden gems of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American parks Courtesy of Fast Company
By Nate Berg
He’s probably best known as the codesigner of New York’s Central Park, but pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted left a legacy that touches nearly every corner of the United States.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth, the Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has released a new digital guide to more than 300 landscapes across North America that bear his signature. The What’s Out There Olmsted guide maps and profiles each of these projects and their lasting legacy.
Read more: https://www.fastcompany.com/90745287/uncovering-the-hidden-gems-of-frederick-law-olmsted-the-father-of-american-parks
President Biden’s Budget Invests $2.8 Billion to Support Economies, Outdoor Recreation and Access to Public Lands Courtesy of the US Department of Agriculture
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2022 — Today, the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior announced their proposed Fiscal Year 2023 allocations of $2.8 billion in projects, grants and programs authorized in the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to support local economies, outdoor recreation, access to public lands and voluntary national conservation efforts in every U.S. state.
GAOA established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), authorizing up to $1.9 billion per year from Fiscal Year 2021 through Fiscal Year 2025 to reduce deferred maintenance on public lands and at Indian schools. GAOA also provides permanent, full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually to secure public access and improve recreation opportunities on public lands; protect watersheds and wildlife; and preserve ecosystem benefits for local communities.
Interior proposes to allocate another $387 million to support conservation and recreation state and local grants, which includes state LWCF formula grants and Competitive Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program grants. Interior estimates another $125.2 million will be available for state LWCF formula grants through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.
Read more: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/04/08/president-bidens-budget-invests-28-billion-support-economies
America’s parks are essential to healing our planet and ourselves Courtesy of The Hill
By Catherine Nagel
As the pandemic wears on and climate change intensifies, we can find a glimmer of hope close to home in our neighborhood parks. The health and environmental benefits of parks are well documented but too often underappreciated. Yet from small community gems to sprawling green spaces, parks hold the power to help us and our planet heal.
To truly reap these benefits, we need to make sure everyone, everywhere, can visit a park nearby. Today, over 100 million people in the U.S., including 28 million children, do not have a quality park or green space within a half-mile from their home. And, across the United States, parks serving primarily people of color are half the size of parks that serve white people and are five times more crowded.
Read more: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3271693-americas-parks-are-essential-to-healing-our-planet-and-ourselves/
The oldest park ranger, who told the stories of Black women in WWII, retires at 100 Courtesy of NPR
By Bill Chappell
There's no better way to learn history than from the people who lived it. And for years, Betty Reid Soskin — a.k.a. Ranger Betty — brought her invaluable perspective to work at the National Park Service, sharing experiences that otherwise would have been gone unacknowledged.
"What gets remembered is a function of who's in the room doing the remembering," Soskin, who turned 100 last fall, has said.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/01/1090301724/betty-reid-soskin-park-ranger-retires-age-100
What can a standalone parks and recreation department do for Cleveland? Mayor Justin Bibb wants to find out Courtesy of Cleveland.com
By Courtney Astolfi
OHIO - Among Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s early priorities is creating a city department focused solely on parks and recreation – an idea Bibb hopes will set the stage for better, more equitable greenspaces and all the social, civic and health benefits they can offer.
One of Bibb’s goals for his first few months in office is introducing legislation to City Council that would carve out a standalone Department of Parks and Recreation from the city’s massive, 3,000-person Public Works Department.
The effect of the current structure, according to advocates, is neighborhood parks that lack the amenities and conditions that would make residents want to use them. And that means city-owned parks aren’t necessarily bestowing the benefits that quality greenspaces could bring, like civic engagement, social cohesion with neighbors, better health outcomes, crime reduction, stormwater management, other green infrastructure -- and just offering a safe, fun space for people to enjoy themselves.
Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/04/what-can-a-standalone-parks-and-recreation-department-do-for-cleveland-mayor-justin-bibb-wants-to-find-out.html
‘Idaho Stop’ Now Legal in Colorado Courtesy of Planetizen
By James Brasuell
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the “Colorado Safety Stop” into law on April 13, 2022, making it legal for people on bikes to treat stop signs as yield signs and treat stop lights as stop signs, according to an article by Bicycle Colorado.
The article cites data that shows the Safety Stop—known in bicycle and planning circles as the Idaho Stop—reduces collisions involving people on bikes and automobile. Delaware, which adopted a similar law in 2017, has seen a 23 percent drop in collisions involving bicycles at stop sign controlled intersections. Researchers from DePaul University published a study in 2016 that also supported Idaho Stops for the safety of people on bikes.
Read more: https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/04/116848-idaho-stop-now-legal-colorado
Training
Explore the full schedule for the 2022 NACo Annual Conference
July 21-24 | Adams County, Colorado
The full schedule is now available for the National Association of Counties (NACo) 2022 Annual Conference & Exposition. Visit the full conference schedule and explore the opportunities to exchange cutting-edge practices, elect the association's leadership and shape NACo’s federal policy agenda for the year ahead.
For more information: https://www.naco.org/events/schedule/240623
Webinar: Residential Real Estate and Rail-Trails - An On-the-Ground Reality Courtesy of American Trails
DATE: Thursday, April 28, 2022 TIME: 10:00am-11:30am Pacific (1:00pm-2:30pm Eastern) COST: Free (includes learning credits)
In this session you’ll learn about the on the ground reality of getting places, neighborhoods, and communities to “YES” on the idea of a trail. And you’ll learn the conversations and experiences of house sales near to rail trails.
For more information: https://www.americantrails.org/training/residential-real-estate-and-rail-trails
Bike Parking Standards & Installation Series Courtesy of PlayCore
Pre-recorded webinars
Part I: Lunch Brake: What to Know About Short-Term Bike Parking Opens: Monday, May 2, 8 a.m. EST Closes: Friday, May 6, 11:59 p.m. EST
Part II: Don't Fear Commitment Successful Long-Term Bike Parking Opens: Monday, May 16, 8 a.m. EST Closes: Friday, May 20, 11:59 p.m. EST
In celebration of Bicycle Safety Month, we are pleased to present the Bike Parking Standards and Installation series. These on-demand webinars contain new information about short-term and long-term bike parking through a fundamental approach to comprehensive bike parking standards, from selecting the right equipment to adequately preparing the space, and the expertise to improve bike storage to meet the needs of both the developer and the end-user.
Registration Code: COMMUNITY
For more information: https://education.playcore.com/p/bike-parking-series
Webinar: An Insider Look at EPA Resources for Parks Courtesy of NRPA
May 5 at 2 p.m. EDT
Join this second part in a series of education sessions on federal resources available for NRPA member agencies. Staff from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NRPA will discuss some of the resources available for local park and recreation agencies to implement green infrastructure projects, as well as how your agency can take advantage of funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
For more information: https://learning.nrpa.org/talks
Webinar: Water Challenges and Future Irrigation Practices Courtesy of NRPA
May 12 at 2 p.m. EDT
With the increasing scarcity of water resources, water conservation is key to maintaining our natural resources and fiscally sustaining our organizations. Join Jim Laiche of The Toro Company as he explores important elements of water conservation through irrigation operations and design.
For more information: https://learning.nrpa.org/talks
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