Parks Protection and Maintenance
By Pete Swaim, Republican Candidate for City Council at large
As the city election nears and voters are finally focusing on the issues, it is distressing to see the campaigns bog down in petty politics. Why all the emphasis on Float-Gate, Connie-Gate and Meeting-Gate, when voters really want to hear about who has the best ideas for making Evansville a more secure and successful city?
As a candidate for City Council at Large, I’d like to climb out of the bog and offer up my multi-part plan for securing and maintaining Evansville’s parks. Part One is how to refocus and make the parks a priority once again. Part Two is how to pay for more policing and ongoing maintenance in the parks, and perhaps a big investment for Robert’s Stadium.
Step One is to create a liaison from the Mayor’s Office to the city’s neighborhood associations. This Parks Liaison would be an existing city employee who would have daily contact with our neighborhood associations. These vital groups are a first line of defense in keeping Evansville a beautiful and successful city.
Step Two is to examine how the city handles concessions at city facilities, with an eye toward making the city some money. Let’s engage the public for some substantial ideas at the Parks Board meetings.
Step Three is to increase the flexibility of the city work crews and send them to priority locations, depending on seasonal needs.
Step Four–let’s encourage and recruit university clubs, Greek organizations and even sporting teams to adopt a park. This will build community pride while cleaning and improving the parks. Doing this will help these folks develop closer ties with the community and give them a stake in making it better. And, who knows, it might make more of our 17,000+ college students think about making Evansville their home.
Part Two begins with a close look at what the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau can address with the money from the Innkeeper’s Tax. I think a reasonable and simple argument can be made for tweaking the statute, if necessary, to let this revenue be used to “maintain and protect the city’s recreation areas.†By this I mean the major parks, pools, community centers and other facilities operated or maintained by the city. This additional funding source, plus any available grants, could open the door for the additional police protection needed to secure our investments in these facilities. Off-duty officers could be compensated to patrol the parks during peak problem hours.
Part Two also invites citizen input at the Parks Board about the possibility of selling naming rights to some of the parks. This money could then go directly to the Parks Foundation budget with a major portion dedicated to grants to the neighborhood associations for needed improvements. These projects would be overseen by the Parks Foundation Board.
Besides the obvious impact this would have on maintaining and protecting our neighborhoods, it could ease the burden on taxpayers, and perhaps even lower the tax rate. A reasonable tax rate is one of the first thing developers and other job creators look at.
I hope these ideas can be part of a city-wide town hall discussion. This meeting also should include brainstorming about the many potential uses for Robert’s Stadium. Many ideas have been bandied about in the last several months, but as far as I am aware, none have been seriously explored. Perhaps some additional naming rights could generate the funds needed to cover the utility costs.
It’s high time we all get together in a concerted effort to make Evansville the best Indiana has to offer. What are we waiting for?
Pete Swaim is a retired Vanderburgh County Deputy Sheriff, the former United States Marshal, and former Executive Director of Transportation and Services for the City of Evansville.
Mr Swaim,
The first move that needs to be accomplished is to replace several (if not all) members of the Park Board. These people have been on that board for many years and lack the creativity to change the way things have always been done. They have good intentions but do not see beyond what exists now. They also in many cases are used to “taking suggestions” from the Powers That Be which is most evident in the current move to build a one acre tennis pole barn in Wesselman Park.
This is being pushed by Curt John to pay back the relatives of a big supporter of his who has passed on. These relatives are wealthy tennis instructors who used to teach at the indoor tennis courts in the old Executive Inn parking garage which is now in rubble. The huge tennis building, if built, will take multi-use land away from the people of Evansville and turn it into single-use for a very few.
What is your take here? What are your suggestions?
Climb down off that dead pony, 292. The tennis facility will not be built at Wesselman, they have found another site on private land. Now you can move on and find another old hat to stomp on.
Do tell. What private land are you referring too? The tennis association is still scheduled for the BZA Nov 17 date as far as I know. Give us the facts and please don’t be insulting. This is a fair question.
Personally, I find nothing more insulting that repeatedly laying off rumors (of which you give no proof) on someone’s family member(s) who have passed away. Insulting and tasteless.
As to the new location proposed for the tennis facility, on private commercial property, all I’m going to say at this time is that the nearby businesses and residents welcome the recreational and economic benefits that will come to the Northside rather than Wesselman.
Thank you for responding. What I have written is not a rumor. I try very hard to only write what I know to be true.
I am glad that there is a new location for this large tennis building and that it is welcomed at this location. Wesselman was the wrong place for it. And I thank those who took the initiative to find a different spot.
I hope the ECTA is still not planning to build more courts in Wesselman. Outdoor courts by this new building would certainly serve their desire for a tournament location well.
Again, I do not mean to offend. But please do not assume that things that offend you are not correct. Thank you for your clarification re the tennis building.
I just don’t like it when people drag a politician’s family into the fray, especially when the family member is a child or someone who has passed away and cannot defend their reputation. It’s just something that bugs me really bad.
292, Thanks for the interest. I actually attended one of the presentations for the Wesselman Park tennis proposal. Unfortunately their timing and location could not have been worse, coming on the heels of the now defunct baseball complex idea. I think a tennis complex would have some great potential for generating tourism dollars, just not near Wesselman Woods. A couple locations that pop into my head would be on some commercially available property adjacent to the Goebel Soccer Complex or the former softball complex south of Whirlpool.
WHAT?? An at-large candidate who REALLY has a plan & presented it in black & white! How refreshing! Mr. Swaim’s ideas would certainly improve the appearance of the city, enhance parks/playgrounds for families, especially the children. It also would curtail street drug use. I’ve followed all candidates & he is the only one with solid background; we would be weakminded not to vote for him.
Yes, meth is a hugh, not big, but hugh concern for Evansville. Another candidate says he’s going to fight meth & reflects it in his newspaper ads. He not only HAS NOT presented a plan in writing nor has he by oration. I don’t know how, being an attorney, who is defending meth dealers is actually fighting the issue. It’s problematic when all ya get is lip service!
292, I think IF the right individuals are elected you’ll see positive changes. By word of mouth, (yes, I know, don’t believe everything you hear & only half of what you read), I understand Mr. Swaim will not rubber-stamp proposals; likes to be creative; & doesn’t hesitate to say NO.
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