Legacy program will fund new parks job
by Peter Bodley
Managing Editor
The Anoka County Board has agreed to hire a new staff member for its parks and recreation department.
But the new position won’t be paid for from county tax dollars.
Rather the money for the volunteer and resource development coordinator position will come from the county’s allocation through the state parks and trails legacy program.
The dollars for the legacy program resulted from an increase in the state sales tax approved by Minnesota voters in the 2008 election as a constitutional amendment.
The $80,000 grant, which is administered by Metropolitan Council, covers the entire salary and related benefits of the position for a year, according to John VonDeLinde, parks and recreation director.
The coordinator will be responsible for cultivating new volunteer activities and initiatives as well as finding new revenue streams from sponsorships, donations and grant funding, VonDeLinde said.
“The goal of this position is to generate more combined revenue and volunteer contributions than the cost associated with the position,” he said.
Indeed, the county board’s action does not make the position permanent right now.
It will be a 24-month limited term position, but if it meets the financial objective of being self-sustaining in terms of revenue generation, the intent would be to continue the position through future legacy program requests, VonDeLinde said.
Both the county board’s parks and recreation and management committees recommended approval of the new position.
According to VonDeLinde, the plan is to have the position filled and new hire on board by the end of this year.
There was some discussion by the board before it approved the new position unanimously.
According to County Commissioner Jim Kordiak, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, the new coordinator “will open new doors” in terms of recruiting volunteers and fund-raising.
But Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart wanted to know if specific targets had been set in terms of fund-raising and volunteers.
No specific numbers had been put in place, Kordiak said, but the committee would be closely monitoring the new hire to ensure that objectives are met.
“Outcomes are important,” he said. “We are looking for a person to engage the community.”
Besides authorizing the new coordinator position, the county board approved grant agreements with the Metropolitan Council for projects and programs that will be funded by the $1,376,000 that the county has received through the state regional park and trail legacy programs for the 2012-2013 biennium.
They are:
• Boat launch and parking lot in the Mississippi River in Mississippi West Regional Park in Ramsey, for which the county received $400,000 and which is now under construction.
• Displays, maps and information technology in the new visitor’s center at Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve, $58,000. This will be done in 2012.
• Redevelopment of the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve campground hook-up sites, utilities, lighting, roadways and site amenities, $500,000, planned for 2012 construction.
• Redevelopment of the Heritage Lab site and YMCA summer camp at Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve to include environmental permitting, archeological review, preliminary design and roadway improvements, $200,000, in 2012 with second-phase funding of $300,000 in fiscal year 2013.
In addition, the county has been awarded $108,000 from the clean water land and legacy program to continue the Conservation Corps Minnesota program for the last half of 2011 and the first half of 2012.
According to its website, the Conservation Corps provides hands-on environmental stewardship and service-learning opportunities to youth and young adults while accomplishing conservation, natural resource management and emergency response work.
“They are a unique addition to the county work force, doing a variety of important projects,” Kordiak said.
This is the third year that the county has received funding from the park and trails legacy grant program.
Peter Bodley is at peter.bodley@ecm-inc.com
