Parks Group Calls for New Board and a Czar

By Stephan Salisbury, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mar. 28–The Philadelphia Parks Alliance yesterday called for the abolition of the Fairmount Park Commission and creation of a new Fairmount Park Board of Directors composed largely of members from the “private and nonprofit sector.”

But the alliance, the largest friends group of the park, said a resolution now being considered by City Council that would merge the park with the Recreation Department was inappropriate.

“It doesn’t go far enough,” alliance board member Graham Finney said.

The alliance’s recommendation is contained in a 12-page report — “Better Parks for a Better City” — that grew from a series of forums and working groups involving more than 100 people, said alliance executive director Lauren Bornfriend.

The park would be kept separate from the Recreation Department in the friends group’s proposal. The park board would be responsible for articulating “a broad vision for the park’s role in Philadelphia’s future,” the report says. Board members would be subject to mayoral approval and ratification by City Council.

Currently, as mandated by a 140-year-old state law, most Fairmount Park commissioners are selected by a board of state and county judges. The system is widely viewed as opaque, according to the alliance.

The alliance also is calling for creation of a new position of park commissioner, appointed by the mayor and in charge of park operations. The park czar would also serve on the Board of Directors.

In addition to changes in the the governing structure of the park, the alliance called for stronger partnership and fund-raising efforts.

Bornfriend acknowledged that the reconstitution of the park bureaucracy would probably require changes in the City Charter as well as state law.

Contact cultural writer Stephan Salisbury at 215-854-5594 or ssalisbury@phillynews.com.

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