JUNE, 2012

Dear Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Colleagues:

I would first like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all of you for your hard work since day one as a merged department; people both within city government and local neighborhoods are taking notice of the positive developments that Parks & Recreation is creating throughout the City. Think of some of the big things we have accomplished together; new bike trails, new art programs, improved ballfields, new permit policies, TreePhilly, Love Your Park Week, new outdoor recreation opportunities, a new City Department! And just imagine the significant impact our current undertakings like greening recreation facilities & schoolyards, developing new youth development opportunities through innovative partnerships (i.e. Drexel, the Phillies) and building a deeper connection with our community supporters (Advisory Councils & Park Friends Groups) will have in local communities.

Our Phase I merger accomplishments are impressive and reflect the diversity of our daily responsibilities as well as the depth of your commitment. The range of what we have achieved, along with our current work, reintroduces questions such as “What is our organizational promise to the citizens of Philadelphia?”, “What is our cohesive look/our brand?”, “How do we and our community partners build a more meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship?” and finally, “How do we develop our organizational skills and capacity to do all that we are being asked to do?”. During Phase II, we will be seeking your input and assistance to answers these questions to ensure that we maintain an efficient and true course toward our strategic goals.

These next steps won’t always be easy but you all have proven that you are up to the task. And as we approach our busiest season, I want to wish everyone a safe Summer and once again, thank you for all you have contributed to Philadelphia.

Pool and Sprayground Season Is Here!

Pools begin to open on Monday, June 18. Summer 2012 operating hours are as follows:

Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, 12:00-5:00 p.m.

Download the tentative schedule of all pool openings.

For a glimpse of the work that goes into opening our pools, read Patty-Pat Kozlowski's story "These Boys of Summer are Takin’ Care of Business."

In 1973, Randy Bachman penned the working man’s anthem sufficiently titled, “Taking Care of Business.” And 39 years later, Bachman’s blue collar, “get the job done right” lyrics could be the theme song for a crew of four skilled tradesmen working in Parks & Recreation’s Northern Division.

Deep in the belly and innards of the 36 swimming pools that make up the Northern District, you’ll find Mike Finn, Donald Bear, Joe Rainis and Jeff Bass who we’re nicknaming “The Boys of Summer.” This foursome is working above and beyond the call of duty to get pools operational for the 2012 Summer Pool Season.

CONTINUE READING "These Boys of Summer are Takin’ Care of Business"

Fun Safe Philly Summer

On May 23 Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced the launch of the Fun Safe Philly Summer campaign, a summer-long effort to involve and engage Philadelphia youth in structured programming, drop-in activities and the Summer Meals Program.

By offering up to 8,000 summer programming slots at 140 Parks and Recreation sites along with numerous other opportunities in our Specialty Camps, PPR is taking a leading role in this collaborative project across City agencies, departments and external partners.

Sample PPR youth programs and events include:

• Camps (day camps, cultural camps, sports camps, environmental camps and more)

• Art in the Park (art teachers travel to different sites to teach arts and crafts classes)

• Philly Cup Skateboard Series (conducted in partnership with Franklin's Paine to provide structured events for skateboarders)

• Youth Triathlon & Duathlon (multisport events for children)

• Philadelphia Freedoms Ball Kids (tennis assistant positions for kids)

For more information, start dates and times.

CALL 311 | SEE FULL LIST OF YOUTH PROGRAMS

Budget and Civic Engagement Updates

On the evening of May 21, 150 representatives of Parks and Recreation staff and advisory council representatives participated in the first of several citizen engagement forums. The event was hosted by Deputy Mayor Michael DiBerardinis; Susan Slawson, First Deputy Commissioner of Recreation and Programs; Mark Focht, First Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Facilities and Mike McCrea, President of the Philadelphia Recreation Advisory Council. Based upon information previously gathered from staff and advisory councils, it was determined that both groups desired a better understanding of the budget process. A PowerPoint presentation was developed, explaining both capital and operating budgets. Additional engagement sessions focusing on team building, leadership development and community outreach will be scheduled.

DOWNLOAD THE CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT FORUM PRESENTATION

Employee and Volunteer Recognition

• On May 31 the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership hosted its first annual Watershed Milestones Award Ceremony & Reception. PPR employees Georgia Kolbas and Jackie Olson were honored as TTF Watershed Municipal Leaders.

“In addition to her dedicated work as a Parks & Recreation employee, Georgia happily volunteers her own time to participate in cleanups with the TTF Watershed and local community groups. Georgia has even designated certain parts of Tacony Creek Park as her personal areas to steward.”

“With over 20 years of experience in Tacony Creek Park, Jackie puts her heart and soul into her work: leading volunteers in the removal of invasive plants, planting of natives and preventing ATV damage on park hillsides and streambanks.”

• On June 5 the Philadelphia Sports Congress awarded the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Sports Volunteer of the Year Award to the Katie Kirlin Fund at their annual awards luncheon. Joe and Roseann Kirlin started this fund in 1996 in memory of their daughter Katie and since its inception, the Katie Kirlin Fund has provided over $500,000 in financial support to youth wheelchair sports in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

Free Public Access Computers and Training in 19 Recreation Centers!

In today’s world access to the Internet is essential: to find a job, to quickly contact loved ones, to research a paper, to apply for college. In 2011, the United Nations even declared Internet access a human right. Yet records show that few Philadelphians have access in North, South, and West Philly.

PPR is a key partner in the KEYSPOTS program, an ARRA-funded project putting public-access computing centers in those areas of the City. The KEYSPOTs have high-speed Internet connections, printers, headsets, webcams, and, most important, paid Computer Instructors on-staff.

There are formal classes (on everything from Internet Basics to Website Development), informal one-to-one trainings on whatever visitors request (how to Skype with relatives in Ghana, how to put together a family Remembrance Book), and open access times, where visitors can do whatever they want (write a paper, fill out their taxes on-line, or just Facebook chat with old friends). Since launching in May 2011, the PPR KEYSPOTS (19 sites out of a total 77 throughout the City, 173 computers out of a City total of 763) have had more than 58,000 visits.

Working with Philadelphia organizations including the Free Library of Philadelphia, People’s Emergency Center, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, the Media Mobilizing Project, and Philadelphia Fight, these KEYSPOTS offer a tremendous resource to Philadelphians to help them bridge the digital divide.

Just put in a zipcode to find the KEYSPOT nearest you, or a class you might like to take, or to find out where you could refer people. Or dial 311 for the same information. We hope to see you there!!!

Contact Ben Burenstein for questions.

Food Trucks

LOVE Park’s tradition of offering fresh food to downtown Philadelphia visitors and citizens has flourished since its introduction in the Fall of 2010. As a result of a recent concession solicitation conducted by PPR, the number of food trucks participating in LOVE Park’s program has grown to 15. This collection of entrepreneurs offers diverse cuisines including Native American, Venezuelan, Asian fusion, frozen yogurt, classic brick oven pizza and all of the Philly favorites.

The food trucks are parked alongside the Welcome Center in LOVE Park from 7:00-10:30 a.m. for breakfast and 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. for lunch.

READ THE FULL MEDIA RELEASE

Social Media Policy

The City has recently implemented a Social Media Use Policy that establishes general standards and responsibilities for the use, administration, management and monitoring of social media and social media content.

While some questions remain as to what extent this policy will impact our support groups (i.e. Park Friends, Advisory Councils), the responsibilities surrounding City employees' use of social media, social media sites and/or social media content in the name of or on behalf of the City or any city agency are explicit. Among other requirements, each agency must submit to the Mayor's Director of Communications and CIO a list of all existing social media accounts maintained by the agency. Attached for your use, if necessary, is the questionnaire to be completed and returned to Ed Fagan as soon as possible.

The Mayor's Director of Communications will be providing social media training sessions in the near future and we will share the dates and times of those trainings as soon as they are confirmed. In the meantime, thanks for your review of this policy and your compliance with its requirements.

Tree Maintenance Crew

PPR's Seasonal Tree Maintenance Crew is returning with a new name. The TreeKeepers are an essential arm of the City's tree campaign and will be trained for two days by PHS and PPR staff on proper tree care, arboriculture, tree stressors, species identification and the value of trees before beginning their work.

In addition to pruning trees, the TreeKeepers will mulch, weed and water all tree beds (where water access is available), and remove any invasive weeds/trees that are of a manageable size. TreeKeepers will also map and inventory each work site, collecting information on all of the locale's trees, including their size, species and condition, and note any follow-up work that needs to be addressed by the city's larger tree crews. TreeKeepers will also outline new planting opportunities for each center as well, ensuring that each of our park and rec spaces will have maximum tree canopy.

New Concessions

Wheel Fun

Through a competitive bidding process, Wheel Fun Rentals has been selected to provide bicycle rental services in Philadelphia. Wheel Fun is an established organization that currently provides rental services in 34 cities nationwide with over 100 rental outlets. The company will initially operate at two locations, LOVE Park and Lloyd Hall Recreation Center. A variety of bicycles will be available at both sites, and at LOVE Park Wheel Fun will also be conducting guided Segway tours through the Parkway’s Museum District.

The Concession Agreement will permit Wheel Fun to offer bicycle rental at other park locations and the Department of Parks and Recreation would eventually like to provide bicycle rental stations at each of the watershed park trail systems.

Wheel Fun Rentals has demonstrated a commitment to support local business by partnering with locally based Fuji Bicycles to be their primary supplier and securing marketing services from Cardenas Grant Communications, LLC, a local, certified minority-owned business. Furthermore Wheel Fun is a civic-minded organization that actively supports communities in which it operates and has developed a program for Big Brothers/Big Sisters chapters nationwide. The program, “Biking Buddies,” invites Big Brothers and Sisters to bring their Little Brothers and Sisters to any rental location where they will receive free rentals.

Grand opening: June 12, 10:00 a.m.

Burholme Golf

Burholme Golf and Family recently took over operation of Burholme Golf Center and has already made significant improvements to transform the Burholme Park Golf Center into a first class, family recreation facility. Each recreational component of the facility, including the driving range, miniature golf course and batting cages will be renovated or restored to enhance the customer experience. Burholme Golf and Family also plans to substantially upgrade the Center’s food services by creating a new snack bar space for birthday parties and serving better quality food along with installing a new, full service restaurant to further complement the core recreational activities at the Center.

Burholme Golf and Family Entertainment Center is also committed to providing youth programs at the Center and supporting the Burholme Park community. We encourage you to visit Burholme Golf and Family Center to see all of the improvements for yourself.

Grand opening: July 13, 10:30 a.m.

Love Your Park Week Recap

Love Your Park Week was an action-packed tornado that swept through Philadelphia from May 12th through May 19th and stirred up lots of fun, camaraderie, hard work, worries and loads of Love.

Philly’s Park Lovefest got underway on May 12th with eighty-nine parks around Philadelphia participating in the Love Your Park Service Day. After a full day of Spring cleaning and sprucing up, Park Friends Groups around the City welcomed neighbors and visitors throughout the week to watch a movie, experience Tai Chi, meet with City Council, do a little Art in the Park, Speed Date in Love Park, ride a pony in Marconi or just sit with friends and enjoy a community jewel. There were fifty-four events of all types and sizes planned for the week and while Mother Nature didn’t fully cooperate in the early part of the week, she sure put on her best for Love Your Park Week’s final event, the wedding of Cheryl Dunaway and Philadelphia Police Office Samuel Tribuiani which was officiated by Mayor Nutter in Port Richmond’s Campbell Square on Saturday, May 19th.

Many thanks and much praise are owed to Parks & Recreation staff as well as to our stalwart partners at the Fairmount Park Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Love Your Park Week’s successes are directly related to everyone’s unconditional willingness to lend a hand and make things happen. And now that some time has passed and memories of the daily challenges have faded a bit, it might be time to say “Wait and See What We Do Next Year!”

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Arts & Artists Outdoors

This spring, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Mural Arts Program launched the “Arts and Artists Outdoors” program. This program aligns PPR’s strategic objective to develop high-level “out of school time” activities with the Mural Arts Program’s mission of utilizing art as a vehicle for personal and community development.

The program combined art education programming and community engagement activities to foster an awareness and appreciation of the natural and environmental assets of Philadelphia. Artists led art classes two times a week for ten weeks along with conducting monthly family and community events that offered an exploration of the natural environment along with engaging, hands-on arts activities. Every Artist residency culminated in a temporary or permanent artwork at the recreation facility along with an exhibition of student work at the Welcome Center in LOVE Park between May 26th and June 15th. A reception for the A²O Artists and Students was held at the Welcome Center on Wednesday, June 6th.

The Arts and Artists Outdoors program will be offered again this coming Fall and Spring. A Request for Proposal will be issued to all recreation facilities in the near future.

Learn more about Arts and Artists Outdoors and SEE THE FINISHED ARTWORK

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Opportunity: Stepping into Nature Trip for Your Campers

PPR summer camps are invited to schedule a “Stepping into Nature” trip to one of our environmental education centers. Your campers will take a nature ramble along wooded trails, discover wildlife and plants in the park and learn why clean streams are so important for wildlife and people. Programs begin at 10:00 a.m. and last approximately 1 ½ hours. To make your experience at the environmental centers a full day (10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.), you can bring a brown-bag lunch to eat outdoors in the picnic area and enjoy play time in the field on your own in the afternoon. Spaces are limited, so call soon to make your reservation. Programs are FREE! Call Wissahickon Environmental Center at (215) 685-9285 or Pennypack Environmental Center at (215) 685-0470.

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Best Practices

Fun Fact: More than 1200 trees were distributed as part of the TreePhilly Spring Yard Tree Giveaway. Looking for a quick guide to caring for street and yard trees? Download the Tree Philly Tips on Caring for Your Tree.

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Stay Cool in the Heat*

In Philadelphia, summer is a great time to get outdoors. But the heat, humid air and long days can be unsafe, especially for older adults and people with health problems. Too much heat can cause heat sickness. Know what signs to look for and how to prevent it.

Signs of heat sickness may include:

• Extreme sweating

• Nausea (upset stomach)

• Feeling very weak

• Feeling tired

• Thirsty

• Light-headed or dizzy

If you have any of these signs, get to a cool spot and drink something. Using a fan and putting wet towels on your skin may also help. If you start feeling worse, get medical help.

*Source: http://www.phila.gov/health/DiseaseControl/hbsummer2011.html

Download a list of heat-related illnesses and recommended treatments

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“How Come?”

PPR Staff A:
“How come I don’t see any mention of our work in the newsletter?”

PPR Staff B:
“You’re right; I didn’t see anything about all that we had to do to make that happen and it was a really big deal. You know that wouldn’t or couldn’t have happened without us.”

PPR Staff A:
“Yeah, somebody ought to do something about that!"

Well, you are that somebody who can do something about that! As stated in our previous newsletter, the goal of our internal newsletter is to increase information sharing among all Department staff. We want people across the various units and work groups within our Department to know what their co-workers are doing, what activities are taking place, what success we have experienced and what challenges we face. In the PPR Staff Newsletter Content Guidelines, you can see what we are looking for and how you can get that information to us. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at parksandrecreation@phila.gov if you think we can be of assistance.

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