Parks Task Force
Governance Subcommittee
Minutes of October 4, 2004 Meeting
I. Date, Time, Place, Attendees
A. Date, Time, Place of Meeting
Date of Meeting: October 4, 2004
Place: City Hall, Mayor's Office
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
B. Attendees
- Lanny Russell, Chair
- Rufus Pennington
- T.R. Hainline
- Gail McMorries
- Pam Paul
- Barbara Goodman
- Phil Bruce
- Elizabeth Kohler
- Lisa Rowe
- Derek Rowan
- Bob Baughman
- Mark Middlebrook
- Susie Wiles
II. The Meeting
A. The subcommittee discussed the concept of a governing board and agreed to recommend a board consisting of eleven members, with the Mayor appointing five and City Council members appointing six. The five appointed by the Mayor would be citizens of Jacksonville, as opposed to residents, because of the regional nature of the board's focus. The six appointed by City Council would be residents of each of the City's six planning districts.
B. The group then discussed titles of the Parks Department leaders and agreed that Executive Director (Chief Executive Officer) and Operating Director would be a better fit than the Superintendent titles, such as are used by the National Park Service.
C. The subcommittee then discussed the function of the proposed governing board in relation to funding and setting budgets. The board would approve budgets developed by the Director's Budget Staff and ensure the budgets fit with the goals, policies, matrices, or obligations of the Department. Additionally, the board would make policy decisions. The Children's Commission was presented as an example of an entity whose board sets the budget, which then goes to the Mayor's Budget Review Committee and City Council for approval as a whole. Council is able to move items 'below the line' but is not able to line-item veto. Lisa Rowe was asked to get a copy of the Children's Commission ordinance to the Task Force members for further study.
D. In discussion regarding organizational structure the subcommittee compared three charts: the one developed during the subcommittee meeting on August 24, 2004, a chart developed by Bob Baughman, and a chart outlining the functions of the Preservation Project Jacksonville. The subcommittee discussed again the concept of having the Special Events Division as part of the Parks Department. The group agreed it would be logical, but cautioned that the only if the staff and budget were moved as well. The committee also discussed what types of new positions would be required in order for the newly defined Department, including the new functions of Special Events and Preservation Project Jacksonville, to operate effectively. Positions included:
· Contract Administrator to manage the City's Wetland Mitigation Bank
· An additional position under Marketing (for coordination with Park Partner groups and agencies)
· An additional grants administrator
· Security specialist / liaison
· Forester
· Ecologist / biologist
· Engineer / project manager / parks construction coordinator
· GIS specialist (mapping)
· Rangers / naturalists (several)
E. The Chair called for the next subcommittee meeting to be held on October 18, 2004 at 5:15 p.m. At this meeting the group will discuss revisions to management structure, 'job descriptions' for suggested new positions, Children's Commission Board / budget structure, and the form of the subcommittee work product.