Landscape Architect & Specifier News

MAR 2018

LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.

Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/952062

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 101 of 165

102 Landscape Architect and Specifier News I n f o r m a t i o n R e q u e s t # 5 8 0 Traverse City, Michigan (pop. 14,674) is a community by the Grand Traverse Bay on the far northeastern shores of Lake Michigan, 316 miles north of Chicago. Traverse City owns 34 parks and recreational properties, ranging from a small downtown parcel to the Hickory Hills Ski Area, Grand Traverse Commons and Brown Bridge Quiet Area. Pictured is Bryant Park. IMAGES: PARKS AND REC DIVISION, TRAVERSE CITY PLAN, 2016-2021 Grand Traverse County Parks and Rec Considers Becoming a Self-Governing Recreational Authority Beth Milligan, writing for The Ticker, reports the Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation commissioners are considering options for the future of its parks, including the possibility of becoming a self-governing recreational authority. Parks and Rec is funded in part by the county's general fund, which ranges between $255,000 and $335,000 annually. However, the state does not mandate funding of municipal parks, which leaves Parks and Rec vulnerable to cuts in the county's budget, particularly with the county's growing pension debt. Note: For fiscal year 2015/2016, Travers City allocated $1,911,100 to parks and rec. Harry Burkholder, executive director at the Land Information Access Association, who is assisting the Parks and Rec ad hoc planning committee, notes that the state's most successful parks departments have a funding source independent of the municipal general fund and have their own budget. That autonomy is another consideration being discussed between county commissioners and parks and rec commissioners, particularly in light of the county board discussed selling off parks last year. Bozeman Eyes Raising Property Taxes for Park Maintenance Bozeman had a housing boom in the 1990s, and since 2010, the city has added 37 neighborhood parks. The city now says it has a $7 million shortfall in maintaining its parks. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that city commissioners voted 4-1 on Feb. 26 to create a special park and trail district as a conduit to further tax property owners. The typical property owner currently pays $76 into the city's general fund for parks. The deputy mayor couched the plan as the "first of many public discussions," but is hoping for a "public opt-in."

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Landscape Architect & Specifier News - MAR 2018