City moves ahead with park district plans

Officials continue to express interest in a proposal to create a new citywide taxing district for parks and recreation services, but it will still be a while before you see any changes on your tax bill.

At a Dec. 5 City Commission meeting, the board unanimously directed staff to begin gathering information on how a park district might function. The commission identified a method for establishing the district — not via a referendum asking residents to approve the new taxing mechanism, but through a vote of the five city commissioners.

Beyond that, there are more questions than answers regarding what, exactly, a city of Sarasota park district would entail. At the suggestion of Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown, the commission told staff to work with the city’s Parks, Recreation and Environmental Protection Board to begin sorting out the details.

Staff presented a breakdown of the millage rate necessary to sustain the current level of service for parks and recreation services, but officials said it’s unclear whether that would meet the demands of residents who have asked for improved parks offerings.

“We would like the commission to allow us to work with (the PREP board) in terms of actually formulating what that district would look like and feel like — how that would operate, what an appropriate millage would be,” Brown said.

Despite directing staff to continue investigating the park district concept, there was some concern among the commission regarding the lack of information. Vice Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie asked Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Fogle to develop a list of short-term, mid-term and long-range goals that staff would be interested in pursuing if a district were approved.

“Then, the community can see what the goals are, and they can let us know whether they agree,” Eddie said.

Fogle plans to ask commissioners to fund a parks master planning process during the summer budget process, which he said will help identify projects a parks and recreation district can tackle.

“That would lay the roadmap for us to be able to do some of those items,” Fogle said. “With needs assessments for different neighborhoods, we can get residents’ input on different projects.”

In the meantime, he’s counting on the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations to stay actively engaged in the process of vetting the park district proposal.

“They’re very aware of the district, and they’re informing the neighborhood associations and residents about the process,” Fogle said.

CCNA has endorsed the park district concept, and members of the organization identified parks as one of the three most important issues for neighborhoods in the city. CCNA President Kathy Kelley Ohlrich said the group intends to make park issues a regular discussion topic during its meetings in 2017.

“We’ve heard that, right now, funding for parks comes out of the general fund,” Ohlrich said. “It seems like parks and recreation is one of the first areas to be cut when there’s an economic downturn.”

“People are longing for recreational activities.” — Kathy Kelley Ohlrich

Many residents are angling for relatively low-key upgrades — adding a couple of benches or improving the landscaping in their neighborhood park, Ohlrich said. Still, she’s also heard significant demand for more programming options.

If more funding becomes available for, say, yoga classes in those smaller parks, she said residents will be willing to embrace the district concept.

“People are longing for recreational activities,” Ohlrich said.

Momentum seems to be trending in favor of the park district, but it’s far from a done deal. Fogle doesn’t want to presume everybody is already supportive of the proposal — he knows it’s a big ask to impose a new tax on residents. As staff, the PREP board and other residents dissect the details of a park district, Fogle invited people with all perspectives to stay engaged with the process.

“We definitely don’t want to put any type of undue burden on our taxpayers and residents,” Fogle said. “If there are other options residents may think of, we’re always open to other ideas.”