State of the City - Rec Centers
From:
Mary Turck
Date:
Mar 28 01:11 UTC
Short link
The Twin Cities Daily Planet covered this issue earlier and in depth at
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/10068
Privatizing St. Paul Rec Centers
By Deb Pleasants , TC Daily Planet
March 16, 2008
At first glance, Orchard Recreation Center looks like any other rec center in
Saint Paul. However, when you approach the front doors you quickly notice the
difference. Taped to the door, is a letter from the City of Saint Paul Division
of Parks and Recreation that reads:
Dear Resident: As of January 1, 2008, Orchard Recreation Center will be
leased to the St. Paul Blackhawks Soccer…Some recreation programs will be
running through Orchard but most programming has been move[d] to recreation
centers close by such as North Dale. If you have any further questions, please
call 651-266-6400. Thank you, Recreation Staff.
Any person greeted by this letter would no doubt wonder…why. Why has Saint Paul
decided to turnover one of its rec centers to a separate agency?
In actuality, Saint Paul is transferring management of eight of its recreation
centers to community organizations. In an effort to keep the lights on at all
of its recreation centers, Saint Paul devised a creative solution—partnerships.
For the rest of the article, go to the TC Daily Planet.
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