Dena Levitz, The Examiner
2007-06-29 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Montgomery County -

The backlog of Montgomery County parks facilities in dire need of either maintenance or replacement is just under $2 million and will take years to get through, officials told Planning Board members Thursday.

This list does not delve into the dollar amounts needed for daily maintenance of the 3,000 acres the Parks Department maintains or preventative maintenance measures, which Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson called an “insidious problem.”

“The more you defer it, the more costs you have to absorb later,” he said.

Specifically, the cost to tackle all deferred maintenance projects is $815,000, while it will cost $1.09 million to catch up with replacement work. Some of the buildings in the worst shape are Norwood Local Park and Randolph Hills Local Park.

The findings come from a two-year inspection process completed by an independent contractor. It was discovered in 2005 that the Parks Department had nothing close to a complete assessment of its parks and recreational facilities.

In response, the county has paid Facility Engineering Associates $450,000 for such an analysis.

The next course of action will be to prioritize work needed at more than 30 facilities.

From there, officials will take the lists to the public and develop a strategy for making upgrades over the next three years.

Also during a span of Thursday’s meeting covering parks matters, board members voted to support a 5.8 percent rental rate increase for the 60 houses located on parks properties.

According to Park Property Manager Carrye Palleschi, these residences are occupied mainly by parks workers, who have an agreement to help with upkeep of the land, and other county workers, who receive a reduced rate.

In fiscal 2007, the average rental rate for park houses was $940 per month.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com