09-1: Community PARKnership Presentation — original pdf

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Community PARKnerships FY25 Update Austin Parks and Recreation | 4.27.2026 Collage photo credits left to right: The Trail Conservancy (TTC), Pease Park Conservancy, TTC, Austin Parks Foundation (APF), City of Austin, Downtown Austin Alliance, Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy, APF Policy direction | Parks and Recreation Community PARKnerships Program  Council Adopted Austin Parks and Recreation Long Range Plan | 2020  Partners included in 20+ sub-strategies across all 5 citywide strategies  Sub-strategy E.5: Develop a clear organizational framework for APR partnerships that is equitable, supportive of APR's mission and goals, and is regularly evaluated to track and monitor impacts and outcomes.  City Council Resolution No. 20200312-041 | 2020  Work with parks nonprofit partners to create opportunities for partnership agreements that benefit the community and to outline roles and responsibilities between those groups and APR  City Council Resolution No. 20241121-072 | 2024  Explore additional funding strategies for APR, including Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs) and expanding the Community PARKnerships Program  City Manager FY26 Priority Goal | 2026  Explore revenue generating funding alternatives in order to secure long-term funding strategies that reduce sole reliance on the general fund to close existing funding gaps in operating and capital functions. Photo credits left to right: Fruitful Commons, The Trail Conservancy, City of Austin (of 4ATX Foundation activity) 2 Community PARKnerships approach  Support partners and community in navigating City processes  Streamline partner intake, communication, and ensure consistency in approach  Ensure compliance with City requirements, procedures, and oversight  Align partnerships with City plans, priorities, and Council direction  Facilitate cross-department and partner collaboration  Track, measure, and communicate impact  Recognize and amplify community efforts  Promote a culture of collaboration, transparency, and shared stewardship of public spaces 3 Austin PARKners framework  PARKner Resource Library  Monthly PARKner News newsletter  Required safety and City policy trainings  Optional Lunch & Learn’s Photo credits left to right: City of Austin, Erika Rich for TreeFolks, Austin Parks Foundation, 4ATX Foundation 4 Types of PARKnership agreements  MOU: Memorandum of Understanding  Ex: Ecology Action  Partnership B agreement  Ex: Fruitful Commons (in draft – current PIMA)  PIA: Parkland Improvement Agreement  Ex: Mile Zero Trailhead with Hill Country Conservancy  POMA: Park Operations and Maintenance Agreements  Ex: The Trail Conservancy  Not PARKnerships agreements  Event contracts  Service contracts  Ex: TreeFolks contracts with Austin Energy and Austin Development Services for NeighborWoods tree distribution program Photo credit: The Trail Conservancy 5 New Community PARKnerships transparency measures in FY25  Revamped website  Additional data in Community PARKnerships FY25 Impact Report  Additional information on Austin PARKners program history, eligibility criteria, and agreement development  New POMA webpage  Links to most-requested documents  Timeline of approvals by boards and commissions and City Council 6 Austin PARKners FY25 Impact  Partnership A | Partnerships for Public Purpose  Operations & maintenance: $3.6 million estimated value  Capital improvement projects: $1 million estimated value in hard costs  Ecological restoration: $589 thousand estimated value  Green workforce development programs Photo credits clockwise from top left: Downtown Austin Alliance, Pease Park Conservancy, UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum, The Trail Conservancy 7 Partnership A | Improvements & programming  Kingsbury Commons  The Butler Trail and Town Lake Metro Park  New buried 50-amp electrical line, two new dog waste  Fannie Davis Gazebo restoration, Holly fishing pier, stations, Treehouse repairs  Peace in Pease mosaic benches  Markets supporting small local businesses  367 free public events with 10,246 participants Lamar overlook erosion control  TEMPO (AIPP Program) on the Trail public art installation series, WaterWork  159 free public events with 11,430 participants Photo credits left to right: Pease Park Conservancy and The Trail Conservancy 8 Partnership A | Stewardship & ecological restoration  1,433 volunteers donating 2,150 hours  3,416 volunteers donating 8,416 hours  228 pounds of litter collected  17,417.9 pounds of litter collected  76 plants and 84 trees & saplings installed  7,328 plants and 2,856 trees & saplings installed  SITES Gold Certification of Kingsbury Commons  Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI)—vegetated  Windsor Hillside restoration—invasive species removal, native sapling and plant installation and care during establishment buffer strips, 5 rain gardens  Stewardship of 120 acres of natural area, 21 acres of managed wildlife habitat Photo credits left to right: Pease Park Conservancy and The Trail Conservancy 9 Austin PARKners - Partnership B, C & D  Partnership B | Project & Program Partnerships  15 partners  Volunteerism  Ecological restoration  Programming  Improvements  Partnership C | Community Stewardship  100+ community groups  Partnership D | Emerging, National Scope, or One-Time Partnerships  5 partners  Example: Leave No Trace Photo credits clockwise from top left: Austin Parks Foundation, Fruitful Commons, Shoal Creek Conservancy, Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club 10 Austin Parks Foundation partnership | Key areas of support  Stewardship & maintenance (It’s My Park  Co-managed with APF  Out of 176 eligible sites, 76 adopted  8 parks newly adopted in FY25: - Garrison District Park - Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park - Heritage Oaks Neighborhood Park - Metz Neighborhood Park - Mueller Greenways - Ponciana Neighborhood Park - Rosewood Neighborhood Park Day, ecological restoration, trail maintenance)  Grant funding for community-initiated park improvements  Gap funding for unfunded APR priorities  Citywide free community programming and activations  Agreement in development with target of FY2027  Projects reviewed through standard city processes Adopt-A-Park Program Photo credits: Austin Parks Foundation 11 Community PARKnership Programs Community Activated Park Project (CAPP) Program  CAPP paused in March 2025 due to capacity challenges  In FY25, 25 CAPP proposals and 3 interim CAPP proposals; FY24, 70 CAPP Proposals  Reopen Intake May 2026 12 Community Stewardship of Parkland  Partner-powered  Year-round environmental stewardship efforts  Citywide—It’s My Park Day & Keep Austin Beautiful Day  Parkland Stewardship Plans  Walnut Creek Metro Park Unified Stewardship Plan  Barton Creek Greenbelt trail restoration Photo credits clockwise from top left: The Trail Conservancy, Austin Parks Foundation, Hill Country Conservancy 13 Cities Connecting Children to Nature  Leveraged $631,746 in combined funding across strategies, a 56.4% increase from last year  Partners provided environmental education programming at 73 Austin ISD schools, 64% Title 1  Emerging Green Leaders: nine meetings with ten organizations and 223 participants, 62% youth  Early Childhood: 100% increase in partners  Nature Smart Libraries  410 nature-based programs reached 16,284 community members  Following tree inventory at all libraries, Tree Tours program launched across system 14 School Parks AISD Agreement & Nature Play  School Parks  21 Jointly Managed School Parks = 139 Acres  Monthly Joint Meetings with AISD  FY25 Leave No Trace - Pet Waste & Off-Leash Campaign combined targeted digital advertisements, social media posts, and radio advertisements with signage and banners at 17 school parks  Nature Play Program  Austin Parks and Recreation installed nature play areas at six parks, with 13 additional sites in design  Materials yard at Treviño received hundreds of trees and boulders from development and clean-ups  Seven monthly Open Houses provided 99 boulders, 169 tree logs and stumps, and 1,415 tree cookies for 19 APR and partner projects and events 15 Community PARKnerships Special Projects in FY25  PARKnerships Pop-Ups  Brownie Neighborhood Park (4 events, 263 participants)  Seaholm Intake Facility (estimated 400 participants)  Greater & Greener Conference preparation  Seed & plant collection events  Trust for Public Land | Stewardship Cohort  “Support Austin Parks” website  Volunteer Coordinator Appreciation Event 16 Program Priorities and Goals for FY26  Strengthen partner resources – Tools and Lunch & Learns for emerging partnership, Austin PARKner Trail Summit  Deliver Greater & Greener – Showcase Austin’s network of greenspace stewards  Advance internal department practices – Improve how we collaborate with community in caring for parks  Formalize partnerships – Expand number of MOUs and partnership agreements  Advance transparency & accountability – Share impact through dashboards and reporting Photo credit: Pease Park Conservancy 17 Thank you! Photo credits clockwise from top left: Keep Austin Beautiful, Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club, Fruitful Commons (Friends of Grand Meadow), Raven Birk for Downtown Austin Alliance, Erika Rich for TreeFolks, Shoal Creek Conservancy, Pease Park Conservancy, The Trail Conservancy, Hill Country Conservancy