Who will lead? Louisville's search for an executive parks director comes up empty

Louisville is known by a few nicknames: River City. Derby City. The Gateway to the South.

And there's one name that those in Metro government love to include: City of Parks.

After all, Louisville has more than 120 of them.

But by the end of 2023, the Louisville Metro Parks Department will have gone a full year without an experienced executive parks director, following an unsuccessful search that began more than 10 months ago.

The parks department is run by interim director Ozzy Gibson, a former Louisville Metro police officer. Gibson is known among Metro Government as a "fixer." He has led multiple departments during transitions.

Gibson was named the interim parks director when Mayor Craig Greenberg took office in January, just a month after Metro Council approved a search for a new executive parks director.

Last week, the city announced Gibson as the interim director of TARC, the city's public transit authority. He will simultaneously serve in both roles.

In the last eight years, five different directors have overseen the parks department, including now back-to-back interim directors.

'There will be change, please embrace it'

In November, the department made three significant changes.

Longtime assistant parks director Jason Canuel, an engineer, was named the parks director.

The department also launched another search for an executive parks director, the second attempt this year.

That search led to a new organizational chart for the department, with the parks director reporting to the executive parks director, then to the deputy mayor and then to Greenberg.

This differed from an organizational chart approved by Metro Council in December 2022.

"These are all HR classifications," Deputy Mayor Nicole George said of the two director roles. "So, in terms of the executive director, they oversee the entire parks department. The executive director takes the lead on planning efforts, like executing our Parks Alliance 'Parks for All' plan.

"Jason is more focused on the capital budget. So, the purpose of this is being able to oversee the engineering and execution of capital projects and deferred maintenance. For all intents and purposes, these are the functions he’s been performing (as assistant director)."

George said the department is in Phase 1 of restructuring under the Parks for All plan, which aims to fix inequities in the city's parks and reorganize the parks department.

In an email to Parks staff last week, Gibson wrote: "During December, I will be working with the leaders at Parks to begin some of the recommendations of the realignment of the organizational chart from the Parks for All study.

"There will be change, please embrace it."

The lack of consistency and leadership has left the department with low morale and little direction, said Layla George, the CEO of Olmsted Parks and no relation to Nicole George.

The city hangs its hat largely on Cherokee and Seneca parks, which are part of Olmsted Parks, a 17-park system within Metro Parks created by famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City's Central Park.

Meanwhile, a mounting deferred maintenance bill, which was approaching $200 million based on five-year-old data last year, continues to grow.

There was a plan to fix it, but where that plan stands in its implementation may be the biggest question for Metro Council heading into 2024.

'Disappointed in the results'

The city began its pursuit for a new parks director on Feb. 2, by first looking for a consulting firm to conduct a national executive search. It received 29 bids for the job.

The search is part of a resolution passed by Metro Council a year ago, following the release of the Parks For All plan, which recommended the search.

Metro Council voted to spend $24,000 to find a new executive director who would be "instrumental in implementation" of the plan.

"It will be critically important to have the right leader to implement industry best practices and the extensive recommendations from the plan to ensure the department is positioned for significant growth," said Brooke Pardue, CEO of the Parks Alliance of Louisville, who worked on the Parks for All plan.

By mid-April, the city chose Louisville's Randi Frank Consulting for $25,000, according to city documents.

The consulting firm did not respond to a request for comment.

"We used a minority-owned, woman-owned business," Nicole George said. "She was able to deliver a strong profile that helped us in that initial piece."

But the search for an executive director came up empty.

Layla George, from Olmsted Parks, said, "There were some of us who work in the parks here in Louisville who were disappointed in the results. I think it’s fair that the administration was disappointed. The search continues."

The search for an executive director continues

Despite Canuel and Gibson's role changes or the initial failed search, the city considers the executive director search as "ongoing."

In mid-November, the Parks Department posted an announcement on its website for a new executive director, this time without using a consulting firm.

The minimum requirements included 10 years of administration experience in a "diverse parks and recreation department." The job post included added that "professional urban parks experience is a plus."

"It is my hope that they find someone qualified to step into that role who is also a great team builder to oversee the staff that serves at the parks today," Nicole George, the deputy mayor, said. "As you can imagine, that (change in leadership) has had an effect on morale within the parks department."

She said the administration recognizes "there’s been instability in parks for years."

"I have a great sense of urgency, but we have to get it right."

Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville searched unsuccessfully for months to find parks director