Re: ,” Oct. 21 guest commentary.
If Thomas Anthony’s goal is to keep the Johnson Recreation Center open for residents, then we are of the same mind.
Anthony states that the Johnson recreation center may be closed. It is precisely because we do not want to close these centers that we have decided to pursue operating partners for three of them, including Johnson. He further states that we could eliminate one staff position from each of our 49 centers in lieu of closing Johnson. In fact, Denver operates 29 centers and eliminating positions is not an effective way to reduce budgets, nor does it address the needs of each community.
Denver Parks and Recreation has been working with the Elyria community for many years regarding its recreation centers. Back in 2007, during the 2008 budget process, DPR recommended cutting hours at several recreation centers, including Johnson, because of the low usage of these smaller, neighborhood recreation centers. At that time, Mr. Anthony and his neighbors asked that we not do that, but rather re-allocate the hours of the center to better meet the needs of the community. We agreed to try this approach, and at the neighborhood meeting held at Johnson, about 19 members of the community showed up.
However, during the first quarter of 2009, the center averaged only 29 people per day. In the second quarter, that number dropped to 22 people per day. At an annual operating cost of approximately $251,000, it just doesn’t make sense to operate multiple facilities in such a small radius (there are five other centers near Johnson within a 2-mile radius.)
Also as a result of those meetings with the community in 2007, DPR implemented the Recreation Center Task Force. Its eight-month study, which included 21 community meetings, recommended that DPR develop a systematic approach to developing a continuum of formal partnerships, ranging from individual contractors utilizing space in a center to partners taking on the full management of a location. While we aren’t able to follow the recommended process of creating community advisory committees prior to the three centers being identified in the 2010 budget, we are committed to having a community voice as we move forward in the selection of partnerships at these centers, as well as monitoring the selected partners in meeting the needs of the community.
We believe that by allowing a like-minded business or nonprofit the opportunity to run the Johnson Recreation Center, there is an enormous opportunity to offer services to the Elyria community, while allowing DPR to focus its limited resources on meeting additional needs through the nearby centers.
Dody Erickson is deputy manager of recreation and facilities services for Denver Parks and Recreation.
