The Week that Was: September 7-13, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009My Second Month
This week marks the completion of my second month as General Manager. In the past two months I have visited 36 different RPD facilities and each day I have spent time getting to know my staff and community advocates. I've also run a marathon, separated a shoulder on a skateboard, visited Camp Mather and climbed 70 feet up a tree with our urban forestry tree removal crew. It's been an exciting start.
Tuesday September 8th, 2009
Today my senior staff spent three very non-glamorous hours discussing department goals and initiatives for the coming year. I hope to have our road map for the coming year finalized in the next 30 days. One of our goals for the year will be to develop a five-year road map based on the myriad of strategic plans, master plans, audits, reports, recommendations and task forces which this Department has relied upon through the five general managers we have had this decade alone.
Wednesday September 9th, 2009
Today, I convened my second monthly "Park Partners" meeting. Park Partners meetings are currently comprised of representatives from the Neighborhood Parks Council, The Trust for Public Land, the Parks Trust, and our Rec Directors and Gardeners unions. Each partner provides the others with a monthly update and then we discuss a substantive topic. At this month's meeting, we discussed upcoming grant and revenue opportunities for Rec and Park.
Thursday September 10, 2009
Today, I met with Larry Harper from the Good Tidings Foundation – another park partner. Good Tidings was founded 15 years ago by Larry, then a major-league baseball scout. The foundation is a children’s charity that supports the arts, athletics and education. Over the years, Good Tidings has helped Rec and Park build a number of new athletic courts and fields throughout the city, including facilities at Crocker Amazon Park, Excelsior Playground and the Panhandle. Larry and I are pursuing a philanthropic opportunity to build a new, well landscaped skateboard park in the City. Stay tuned.
As part of the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond, Cayuga will receive a major renovation in the next couple of years. The project scope will include the repair and/or renovation of the courts, play area, and clubhouse; restoration of existing roads and pathways; upgrades to the irrigation and lighting systems; modifications to the site to remove barriers and improve accessibility; and overall reconditioning of the park landscape.
Prior to that, however, Cayuga will be directly impacted and closed by a BART retrofit project. Cayuga doesn't close until January, however, and we have had some recent challenges with graffiti and other forms of bad behavior at the park. Ingleside District police captain David Lazar has pledged added patrol and enforcement in the coming months.
Friday night, I attended the Neighborhood Parks Council Gala honoring retiring founder and executive director Isabel Wade. It was a great party and a very lovely tribute to Isabel who has been a mentor and friend. My respect and warm feelings for Isabel certainly didn't get in the way of me ribbing her just a bit during my toast. Following a lovely and very creative poetic tribute by Friends of the Urban Forest Executive Director Kelly Quirke, I offered my own spontaneous rhyme (with a flora flourish) that appropriately honored Isabel's loud advocacy for greater RPD accountability. Roses are Red/Violets are Blue/Isabel, you can be such a pain in the butt/But Rec and Park still loves you.
Saturday-Sunday September 12th-13th
The horseshoe tournament wasn't the only exciting activity in Golden Gate Park this weekend. Also on Saturday, our department, along with Nature in the City, hosted a volunteer habitat enhancement day for the white-crowned sparrow at the bison paddock in Golden Gate Park. Nature in the City is an invaluable community organization that works to restore nature and biodiversity in San Francisco and to connect people with nature. On Saturday, Golden Gate Park was also the venue for a spirited pot-luck picnic at the Dahlia Dell. The annual rund-raising picnic was hosted by the Dahlia Society of California and featured kid-friendly activities as well as dahlia displays for both experts and newbies (me) alike.On Sunday, the San Francisco Opera held its annual Opera in the Park event, a preview to the upcoming opera season.
