Our view: What now? That's the question facing city's parks

The question, so far as Amarillo’s city parks are concerned, has shifted from what next to what now. The failure of Proposition A to resonate with and mobilize support for municipal parks leaves the city evaluating its options.

Had the proposition been approved, it would have generated revenue primarily aimed at updating, renovating and restoring the city’s parks, which have seen a steady decline in budgetary commitment since the 1970s. The impacts are many from facilities showing considerable wear and tear to possible revenue opportunities lost to other locales.

For their part, city officials believed they had community support for placing the measure on the ballot. Numerous citizens said as much during a public forum. In fact, Michael Kashuba, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said recently that at least 70% of 7,000 surveyed approved increased city spending on the parks.

But a funny thing happened between that affirmation and the reality of the Nov. 2 election as 55% voted against the measure while only 10% of registered voters turned out to cast ballots. The deal-breaker for those who voted was the property tax increase, a 22% hike of only the city’s portion of the tax rate. Opposition mobilized quickly and effectively in defeating the proposition.

Be that as it may, the original challenge still remains, meaning the city now must figure out a way to move forward as far as the parks are concerned within the confines of its existing budget. The Amarillo City Council is only just beginning this conversation.

In other words, tough choices may lie ahead. This is unfortunate as outdoor leisure spaces were enjoying something of a renaissance due to the pandemic, offering individuals and families low- or no-cost venues they could frequently visit and enjoy while still adhering to social-distancing requirements.

Now, the city will continue to prioritize what it can do in terms of maintenance for its parks and recreational facilities. This work was already under way, but now the challenge is how to increase the elasticity of already well-stretched dollars. According to our story, city officials say parks require roughly $3.3 million to $3.8 million each year for parks assets. Officials also say some $50 million worth (among a total of roughly $100 million) of assets is failing.

“If you don’t put preventative maintenance back into those things, they start to decay much quicker,” Kashuba said in our recent story. “What we’ve run into is a lot of our assets really can’t be repaired; they need to be replaced.”

That will be difficult decision No. 1, choosing which parks and which assets within those parks receive care and attention. Parks have suffered from a double-whammy of sorts. Maintenance costs have steadily increased while revenue from the parks has not while budgetary allocations have remained flat. “The budget has not been adequate to keep up with expenditures,” City Manager Jared Miller said in our story.

Doing less with more has been the parks’ primary operational principle and one that now will take on a greater degree of urgency.

Council’s early focus is appropriately on opportunities to generate revenue. If adding lights to certain facilities translates into greater use and raises funds, it seems reasonable to assume those projects should move to the front of the line. Likewise with matters of safety, as Councilmember Freda Powell pointed out.

“Anything that is revenue-generating is a dollar well-spent,” Mayor Ginger Nelson said. “We cannot hold tournaments after dark. Lighting for our sports fields will generate revenue through tournaments, and we are not currently generating money from that.”

There also would be peripheral benefits from such tournaments as they would bring in visitors who would patronize local restaurants, retailers and hoteliers, having a direct impact on the local economy. The more events Amarillo can host, the better, and the city should be the regional destination for the multitude of youth-sports-related events that populate the calendar year-round.

Council took a step in that direction, making a decision that would redevelop five sports complexes within existing parks at a previously budgeted cost of approximately $100,000.

The future of the city’s parks may largely depend on how well they can pay for themselves going forward. Maximizing those opportunities may best answer the current question of what now.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: What now? That's the question facing Amarillo's parks