Parks and Rec

Parks and Rec!

Yesterday I spent with Tom Ellis, the Parks Director. He is much more friendly and conversational then Ron Swanson. 

We began the day with introductions to what Parks and Recreation does. These are essentially two different entities. The Facilities and Maintenance department and the Recreation and Programming department. The facilities are the folks out there aerating the grass, making sure its green and beautiful, sticking with the Town's strategic plan. They keep the sidewalks clear of debris and weeds out of the grassy fields.

The Programming department put on the classes and activities for all ages. They vary from youth to adult actives and some are in conjunction with the Libraries in the Town. The program guide for the summer has been published and has all the programs from Sports Camps to Zumba and Cooking Classes. There are even senior specific programs at the Senior Center. They were having a BINGO game when I was visiting. That center is so great! There is a dance room with mirrored walls and halls for pool and dominos. They were going to play Mexican Train later in the afternoon. These programs are really meant to act as a complement to the programs provided by the local schools. The end goal for most of these is to begin the program and then pass it along to a non-profit or other entity to continue to run. This seems like a great way to innovate and provide a variety of services for Marana residents.

Tom took me to each of the parks in the Town. We started at Ora Mae Harn Park, which has the municipal swimming pool. I used to swim in HS so it was really great to see where I could keep up that habit in the Town. This was one of the oldest parks and since Parks and Rec values shade the large trees were really helpful in that regard. Later on driving down Camino de Manana I was able to see the bike/walking path where the trees were just planted, with the end goal being a shaded walking area.

When developments are planned they are charged Impact Fees for utilities. The Town has provided the developers with the ability to have those "waived" if they put in a public park that would equal the value of the impact fees. Most of the developers have done this and that is where the Gladden Farms, Continental Ranch and San Lucas parks come from. Each of these has grass and baseball fields, even a concession stand, that can be used by the public. There is a process for reserving fields and ramadas but the cost is minimal. These were great places to have family reunions or kids birthday parties. I spoke with Tom specifically about the landscaping and how to preserve water and open space when building a park. He said that the department tries to balance the green areas for kids to play, since the homes have smaller yards, and only put grass where it has to be, a soccer field for example. He was also very interested in making the areas mixed use. Instead of just having one grassy area for baseball and another for soccer, they parks have started to be designed in such a way that a removable fence can distinguish between the two sports fields.

Crossroads park at Silverbell is an AMAZING park! It shares the area with a library, which has beautiful glass windows that look out onto the Santa Cruz. These are tons of fields and benches, a dog park and some really cool climbing equipment. Tom raced me to the top of this cable cord structure, and I think he let me win. This park also has the remains of an old farm community, which has been fenced off and will have placards in the future describing what is within the fence. I thought it was super cool that not only were these areas preserved, but they are going to be used to educate the community about the area.

What I also thought was really neat was the extensive trail system that is maintained (and improved upon) by the parks department. We went and visited the site of a new trail head up by the Ritz-Carlton that is open to the public. These trails go through Cochie and Wild Burro Canyons, with the longest trail being 6.3 miles. They go all over the Tortolita Mountains and will give great vista views to anyone who wants to go up there. Tom just took a group on a moonlight hike. I can't wait to have some time to check out one of the trails, probably once it gets cooler.

There was so many great parks and activities that I had no idea were taken care of by the parks department. If you have a kid that is interested in a sport have them check out the week long camp that the parks put on. If I was 6-15 years old I would totally want to do the stuff the parks employees are providing!