Send a Message to City Council about the Park and Rec. 2011 Budget

The Park and Rec Commission is sharing this message from the Philadelphia Parks Alliance

Your Action Is Needed!

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the funding campaign in support of the Department of Parks and Recreation. We've made an enormous splash. It has been noticed. But, there's critical work left to be done.

Now it's time for our 2nd round of letters and calls to City Council. Let's thank them for supporting the Mayor's original proposed budget for FY 2011 and call on them to go back to the table and find the revenue to make that budget a reality!

On top of decades of underfunding, parks and recreation have both been cut by almost 28% since January, 2009 - plus a $1 million reduction for tree maintenance and planting. Click here for more information.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO:
Please take a moment now to click here and send a letter to Council members, even if you've already written to them.
Direct your colleagues, friends, neighbors and families to www.philaparks.org where they can link in and send a letter.
If you have a bit more time, leave phone messages for members of City Council. Click here to find out who your Council representative is and find their phone number.
If you can get to City Hall, stop by Council offices and leave the same message. Click here for Council contact info.
Send personalized letters to City Council members the old fashioned way. They will read them.

Greenworks First Annual Progress Report on May 26

Join Mayor Nutter and the Office of Sustainability to celebrate the release of the first annual Greenworks Progress Report. We'll be gathering for food and festivities at 9th and Norris Streets on Wednesday, May 26, at 10:30 a.m.

GREEN 2015

The City of Philadelphia is hosting a series of community meetings to hear your thoughts about the future of green space in your neighborhood.  These meetings will help shape the City's action plan to add 500 acres of public space to meet Mayor Nutter's sustainability goals

Tuesday, May 25, 6:30 pm -       Sheet Metal Workers Union, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd., 19147
Wednesday, May 26, 6:30 pm - Associacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha, 2319 N. 7th St., 19140
Monday, June 14, 6:30 pm -      Germantown Friends School, 31 W. Coulter St., 19144
Wednesday, June 16, 6:30 pm - Bartram’s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd., 19143
Monday, June 21, 6:30 pm -       Perzel Community Center, 2990 Saint Vincent St., 19149
Tuesday, June 22, 6:30pm -        Phila. Free Library - Skyline Room, 1901 Vine Street, 19103

Download this flyer

Park and Rec Commission Meeting: Wednesday, May 19

The next public meeting of the Commission on Parks & Recreation will be held this Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Logan Square Branch, Room 108 at 1901 Vine Street (between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway). The library is accessible by Septa bus routes #32, 33, 38.  Review the May 19 agenda .

Commission Appoints Committees to Focus on Specific Issues Facing Parks and Recreation Department

The Commission on Parks and Recreation has established three working committees, headed by commission members and including other experienced and skilled City residents who are active in their local park and/or recreation facility. The committees are:

· Land Use

· Branding and Communications

· Revenue Enhancement

The committees will report on their progress to the full commission at regularly scheduled meetings.

Commission Seeks Input from Residents and Interested Citizens

The Commission on Parks and Recreation wants to hear from you! If you have questions, concerns and comments, submit your remarks via email: parksandreccommission@phila.gov

The Commission holds six public meetings a year, on the third Wednesday of every other month. The next public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday May 19, 2010 at The Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Branch, 6:00 PM and citizens are invited and encouraged to provide comments and information to the Commission.

Commission on Parks and Recreation Guides Consolidated Department

Your Commission on Parks and Recreation (PaRC) is eager to work with you to provide the very best ideas and recommendations to our elected and appointed officials concerning the protection, preservation and promotion of Philadelphia’s historical, cultural, environmental and recreational resources and programs.

The Parks and Recreation Commission was constituted in July 2009, following the passage of an amendment to the Home Rule Charter which transferred the powers and duties of the Fairmount Park Commission to a new Department of Parks and Recreation and reconstituted the Fairmount Park Commission as the Commission on Parks and Recreation (PaRC).

PaRC consists of 15 members, nine of whom are appointed by the Mayor from nominations made by City Council and six of whom serve ex officio, including the President of City Council and the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission or their designees, the Water Commissioner, the Street Commissioner, the Public Property Commissioner and the Parks and Recreation Commissioner. Each highly qualified member, appointed at the beginning of each Mayoral term, has demonstrated skills and knowledge about park and recreation matters.

PaRC’s charge is to develop and adopt written, enforceable standards related to the use of the city’s park and recreational land and facilities, make recommendations to enhance revenue opportunities, and assist in promoting parks and recreational facilities and programs. Its goal is to increase the visibility and enormous opportunities that Philadelphia has to recapture its position as the nation’s leader in the park and recreation field and sustain the legacy of William Penn’s “greene countrie town.”