Days Of Parks & Reckoning
Density, Politics, Present Challenges For Parks & Rec Board
As new members of Denver’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board take their posts, the second-term chair encourages more public engagement.
“The board is a little-known resource,” said Leslie Twarogowski, of Council District 8. “We must represent our district. The advisory board provides an opportunity to connect with Parks & Recreation. Not many people know they have a voice to get in front of the (city) administration.”
Almost half of the 19 board members are new, following of the April city council elections.
Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman originally appointed Twaragowski to represent District 5. With the district maps redrawn, Twaragowski’s Park Hill home is no longer in Susman’s district. In a slightly unusual move, Councilman Chris Herndon appointed Twaragowski to represent his new District 8, which includes all of Park Hill. (See sidebar on page 5 for a list of new and returning appointees.)
“Our biggest challenge is working with the parks department to handle increased density,” said Twaragowski in an exclusive interview with Greater Park Hill News. “Rapidly increasing density puts tremendous demands on parks and the way people use them.”
According to Twarogowski, “everybody wants to go to City Park, Cheesman Park, or Washington Park.” The challenge, she says, is getting people to use other city parks to reduce stress on the high-use destinations.
“We understand that different people have different reasons for going to the parks,” said Twarogowski. “Some want the solitude that a park provides, while others want activities such as City Park Jazz. However, a big, raucous, and highly disruptive event such as one last year at City Park was just horrible. It was the wrong event at the wrong place.”
On the front line
Former longtime parks advisory board member Mary Ewing of District 10 says it’s extremely difficult to balance public interest with the political intentions of the appointing official.
“The Hentzell Park Natural Area fiasco demonstrates why it is important for Council members to give advisory board members wide latitude in acting as a check on abuses of power and terrible policy decisions by the mayor and the city administration,” said Ewing.
“[Advisory board] members are on the ‘front line’. They study reams of documents, receive hours of testimony from the public, and when they are permitted to do their job properly, they are truly the voice of the people and not mere rubber-stamps for the administration.”
The Hentzell matter to which Ewing refers involved Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s 2013 exchange of 11.5 acres of natural area in southeast Denver for an aged downtown school district building. After three years, attorney John Case is still appealing the decision through the courts.
The advisory board rejected the property transfer, but former parks director Lauri Dannemiller overturned its decision, allowing the swap to move forward. And, Hancock immediately replaced three of his appointees who voted to retain the natural area.
“The Hentzell vote was one of the worst days of my life,” said Twarogowski. “It was a case of which bad choice would you rather make and it was horrible. As someone who loves parks and the outdoors, it was awful to vote to give up natural area and prairie dog habitat.”
The power of public outcry
Twarogowski voted for the transfer, saying the support by then-District 4 Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann tipped the scale. The school district built an elementary facility on the former parkland, and the city spent millions to redevelop 1330 Fox Street as a service center for domestic violence victims.
The current composition of the advisory board grew out of public outcry. The board, originally structured in 1955, represented Denver’s strong mayoral form of government. Its make-up consisted of five mayoral appointees and one appointee from Denver Public Schools.
A 1983 bond issue provided money for the Museum of Nature and Science (formerly Natural History Museum) for a highly-controversial project “sold as a fix-up but which turned out to be a doubling of the size of the museum,” according to Tom Morris.
Angry over the museum project, Council strongly supported and voters approved a charter amendment, which led to formation of the new board in 1987. Morris was chair of the first “new” board.
The current parks advisory board includes 13 appointees from each city council district and at-large representatives, along with the five members still appointed by the mayor, and one from the school district. The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board meets on the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Webb Building downtown.
Since 1987, the board has dealt with controversies including a proposed fire station in City Park, proposed offices at the City Park Pavilion, and policies on consumption of alcoholic beverages. One of the most contentious changes allows private operators to close sections of parks for events requiring an admission charge.
Having an opinion, or not
Historian Phil Goodstein, a lifelong Denver resident, says the advisory board clearly reflects the strong authority of the mayor’s office, an approach put in place by Mayor Robert Speer in the early 20th century.
As an example of this power, Morris says the new central Denver recreation center near East High School at Colfax and Josephine represents a “quid pro quo” between former District 10 Councilwoman Jeanne Robb and the mayor. She wanted the center, but, as some observers contend, could not get Mayor Hancock’s support until she dismissed her parks advisory board member Mary Ewing after Ewing’s strong opposition to the Hentzell deal.
“If the mayor has five appointees, that’s a lot of power,” says Morris. “Parks have always been seen as development space, to be exploited as much as possible. In some cases, [parks advisory board] members are not even allowed to have their own opinion.”
“The administration may or may not listen, but at least citizens have an opportunity to articulate their opinion,” countered Twarogowski. “I cannot overstate the impact of public eloquence. It helps when you know the public cares about what you are doing.”
The advisory board chair acknowledges that people are passionate about parks and may get angry.
“One angry citizen can affect a lot of change,” she said. “However, keeping the discourse positive and respectful – even when you’re angry or you disagree – enables people to work together after the disagreement has passed.”
Dave Felice is a member of National Writers Union Local 1981, and recipient of an award this year from the Society of Professional Journalists for news column writing. He is Chair of Greater Park Hill Community Inc. He can be reached at chair@greaterparkhill.org.
Gilmore: Don’t Expect Big Changes
Interim Denver Parks & Recreation Chief Highlights Status of Parks Projects
By Dave Felice
Scott Gilmore says Denver’s new advisory board representatives are getting to know each other and becoming more familiar with the city’s extensive park system.
Gilmore, the Interim Executive Director of Denver Parks & Recreation, says he doesn’t expect any big changes in the way the board watches over projects, deals with important policy matters, and gives advice to the parks department. One of the primary goals, he says, is to evaluate and provide input on the department’s budget and spending.
“We’re moving forward on several important projects and the board will be watching those activities,” says Gilmore. “There are some very engaged new members on the board.”
Several of the continuing projects are along the South Platte River in the Overland area of southwest Denver. These projects include Johnson Habitat, Great Frontier, and Pasquino’s Landing. Nearer downtown, renovation continues at Confluence Park. In Ruby Hill, the Parks Department is building mountain bike and running trails.
In Park Hill, Gilmore says his department is continuing to explore acquiring the former electrical substation property on the block of Fairfax between 28th and 29th Avenues – and trying to determine what would be the best use for that property. During a recent community meeting, Gilmore expressed interest in potentially turning the property into a small dog park.
The process of formally designating additional parkland also continues. Lack of clarity about designation was a key argument in the Hampden Heights North (Hentzell) Park controversy of 2012-2013.
Gilmore was appointed interim director after Lauri Dannemiller was not reappointed to the post after Hancock’s election to a second term.
With a background in resource and recreational management, Gilmore became deputy director after serving as an advisory board representative when Michael Hancock was District 11 councilman. In an interview, he said it hasn’t been difficult running the department, citing the “amazing staff” that is in place.
Gilmore asserted he is not “campaigning” to stay in the top position. A national search is underway for a new director.
Denver’s New Parks & Rec Advisory Board
8 New and 5 Returning Appointees On The Roster
District 1: New Councilman Rafael Espinoza is reappointing long-time Board member Noel Copeland.
District 2: Newly elected Councilman Kevin Flynn has not yet appointed his own representative, so Bernie Sharp, the veteran appointee of former councilwoman Jeanne Faatz, remains temporarily in place.
District 3: Councilman Paul Lopez has reappointed Norma Brambila, a Spanish-speaking resident of Westwood.
District 4: Newly elected Councilwoman Kendra Black appointed publishing executive Frank Rowe to replace Anne Green.
District 5: Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman has appointed C.L. Harmer, a longtime Denver-based public relations, marketing and political affairs consultant.
District 6: Newly elected Councilman Paul Kashmann appointed Liz Drogan to the PRAB. Drogan is a professor of writing at University of Denver, a soccer player, and mother of three.
District 7: Former Advisory Board member and now Councilman Jolon Clark has named David Richter.
District 8: Councilman Chris Herndon, whose district now includes all of Park Hill, reappointed Leslie Twarogowski, after he was re-elected.
District 9: Councilman Albus Brooks appointed former South City Park neighborhood association president Eric Clayman.
District 10: In a move that many observers see as positive and supportive of the community at large, newly-elected Councilman Wayne New appointed Jay Rust, a respected long-time parks advocate. Rust is also President of Friends and Neighbors of Cheesman Park.
District 11: Newly elected Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore appointed former Green Valley Ranch neighborhood president Thad Jacobs. Gilmore’s husband, Scott, is Deputy and Acting Executive Director of Parks and Recreation.
At-Large: Councilwoman Robin Kniech reappointed veteran PRAB member Shane Wright. The other At-Large Councilwoman, Debbie Ortega, reappointed her office aide Jack Paterson to the PRAB role.
Mayor: Michael B. Hancock is retaining four representatives. They are Jason Robinson, Brian Elms, Florence Navarro, and Marcus Pachner. Dwane Matthews is the new mayoral appointee.
Denver Public Schools: Has retained James T. Allen. The city’s Ethics Board admonished Allen when, as director of DPS bond construction, he participated in discussions about the highly-controversial transfer of Hampden Heights North (Hentzell) Park to the school district.
Additional information about the work of Denver’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board can be found at the following city website: http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/747/documents/PRAB/PRAB_Roster_2015.pdf
— Dave Felice