- UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE OF PARK MAINTENANCE
- UNDERSTAND THE ART OF PARK MANAGEMENT
- KNOW THE AUDIENCE
- UNDERSTAND FINANCES
- KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT
- KNOW YOUR SYSTEM
- CREATE A TEAM
- ASSET MANAGEMENT
- CONDITION INDEX
- MITIGATING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
Parks are a great community unifier and a great equity creator. Thus the first factor to keep in mind is to know your audience, which varies from city to city. Doing the back study on this concept will help lay out a better plan for the next steps.
Park maintenance is a science—knowing and understanding turf, and the way it behaves in your climate zone. Ensuring staff is certified on turf maintenance and applying that newly learned expertise to better the conditions will help sway a community member to your side when making changes related to budget cuts, weather, and common sense items pertaining to drought and ultimately adapting to the condition.
Developing a good understanding and working knowledge of finances serves as an equalizer when faced with difficult decisions. It also helps to have a solid inventory of all the amenities as well as the rolling stock to give yourself the ability to make a much needed decision.
