Putting parks in order is long overdue
People in Santa Fe might not agree on much, but they do agree city parks, medians and other public spaces need to be in better shape. Complaints about parks became an election issue in recent city races but long have been subject of conversations on social media and across the kitchen table.
Residents want cleaner parks. They want equipment fixed more rapidly. They want trash cans emptied. They don’t want needles in the grass. They believe medians should be free of weeds.
They want, it seems, what other cities have and Santa Fe doesn’t — clean, attractive and weed-free public spaces.
The city Parks Department is responding by putting together a comprehensive document to catalog maintenance needs at all city parks.
That this doesn’t exist in any depth likely is one reason the city appears bedraggled, but let’s give credit for the people in charge recognizing what’s wrong now.
As that happens, we encourage the city to take a hard look at how many employees it needs to care for parks properly.
Start by looking at the number of parks — around 100 citywide — and work out from there. How many full-time employees are needed to care for parks? Can the city afford to pay as many as it takes? Can it even find enough employees? If not, what else is possible?
That might mean reducing the number of parks while supplementing staff work with contractors or temporary hires during months when weeds are flourishing and parks are used heavily. A current provision requires developers to set aside land for parks, but that does little good without the dollars for maintenance.
Be ready to shake things up.
By that, here’s what we mean: It’s no good to have more parks than can be cared for properly, especially in a city where land is at a premium.
In some areas, pocket parks might have a better use as housing sites, perhaps set aside for teachers or city employees. Other parks might be more useful in a natural state, planted to attract pollinators rather than covered with non-native grasses and flowers.
Cutting down the number of parks in some council districts could shift resources to District 3, which deserves more parks.
Use the assessment process to dig deep into existing problems. The big slide at Ragle Park that was not fixed early and likely needs replacing is one example. Yet it has been a mess for months. At what point did the city know and do nothing?
Conduct an autopsy on the slide problem, looking through records to see how its sorry state fell through the cracks. The same process could take place at a park like Franklin Miles, where needles, trash left behind by campers and other messes tend to build up before action is taken.
As acting Parks Director Melissa McDonald follows through, the city will end up with a comprehensive list of maintenance needs and a timeline for fixing them. That’s only the first step.
We’re encouraged to see the formation of a group called Friends of Santa Fe Parks. The Facebook group wants to gather people with a “positive-oriented frame of mind” to improve public parks across Santa Fe. Members will be meeting via Zoom, and you can find out more on the group’s Facebook page.
It’s a sign residents want to work with city government to make things better rather than simply pointing out all that is wrong. It’s also a clear signal to city officials that its customers are demanding their parks and public spaces be in better shape. With a budget in fiscal year 2022 of $7,879,650 for parks, residents of Santa Fe deserve better. Now, it’s time to deliver.