Orange County legislators and department heads at the June personnel committee meeting discussed creating a position to market the growing county park system to residents.
The idea was a byproduct of a tour legislators recently took of county parks to understand the late department request for adding eight skilled labor and maintenance jobs.
The county park system covers more than 3,000 acres and is set to grow exponentially over the next few years with major trail expansions and the addition of Sugar Loaf Mountain.
“What we discovered is that we have tremendous parks that not everyone is aware of, and that includes senior groups, school groups, and new people moving into the area,” Personnel Legislative Committee Chairman Robert Sassi told The Epoch Times on June 24.
Human Resources Commissioner Langdon Chapman said at the meeting that based on the birthday parties he attended, county employees appeared to rent county parks at a higher rate than others, likely because they have a better knowledge of the system through their jobs.
Parks Department Commissioner Travis Ewald said that he was surprised to find that many local families only came to know the Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Montgomery through a recent Boy Scout event there.
“[The position] would definitely be an asset that the county park system can really use to get the information out there on what’s available,” he said at the meeting, adding that quite a few facilities could support significantly more visitation without calling for improvements.
Currently, the county has two seasonal desk positions to take in reservations from residents. In 2022, the county logged close to 800 rentals at its 20 or so facilities and 24 visits at its several museums, according to data published in this year’s budget book.
The new position at the parks department, dubbed “director of community engagement,” will work with the tourism department and actively promote county parks to community organizations, local families, and private vendors, with the goal of boosting public enjoyment of facilities, Mr. Ewald said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
Other duties of the job entail developing an effective volunteer program, maintaining an online portal, and coordinating special events at county parks.
“We have made big investments in our parks, we have added more personnel, and now I think it is time to take it one step further and create this position to actively engage as many Orange County residents as possible and get them to enjoy our parks,” Mr. Sassi said.
He said he expects the move to bring in new rental revenue to the county, which will help cover the salary and benefit costs associated with the position.
Kevindaryán Luján, a legislator representing Newburgh, said at the meeting that he hoped the marketing of historic sites would also be part of the discussions.
“We have the Algonquin Park—that is a [county] park, and then we also have historical sites around it,” he said. “There is a way to interconnect those and weave them together.”
The 40-acre park in Newburgh, a listee on the National Register of Historic Places, features several powder mill structures from the Civil War era.
Legislators Leigh Benton and Kathy Stegenga suggested that the proposed position should fall under the county tourism department instead.
Mr. Sassi said that although the proposed role would work with the tourism department, the position should be focused on marketing county parks to residents within the county.
Mr. Ewald told The Epoch Times in a statement that a formal request for the new position had been submitted to be considered at the next personnel committee meeting.
