After 15 years of removing ash trees from the public right-of-way, St. Paul’s forestry department felled the last of some 30,000 of the trees from boulevards this year, all but capping the city’s efforts to get ahead of the dreaded emerald ash borer. That said, you’d be forgiven for not noticing. That news was overshadowed by a flood that inundated Harriet Island, the ongoing spate of copper wire thefts that has shrouded key parks corridors in darkness, a heavy storm that impacted upwards of 2,000 trees citywide and the new Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, which brought 60,000 fans to a multi-day, big act concert series at Harriet Island this summer. Three new parks have opened at Highland Bridge, with a fourth on the way. Then there’s the “Common Cent” 1% sales tax that city voters approved at the polls last November. A third of the sales tax money will support Parks and Rec projects, from parks and playgrounds like downtown Pedro Park to new rec center roofs and HVAC systems, of which 100 projects are scheduled or underway. “We as a city department probably submitted the most amount of budget requests to the mayor this year — in the realm of about 19 different budget proposals,” said St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez, addressing the St. Paul City Council during a recent budget hearing. Director of St. Paul Parks and Recreation Andy Rodriguez . (John Autey / Pioneer Press) Parks and Rec — which oversees what the Trust for Public Land has repeatedly dubbed one of the top three municipal park systems in the nation — had its hands especially full this year, though some of its most important work has been behind the scenes. The Como Zoo, for instance, hired its first full-time veterinarian after decades of contracting part-time and on-call help from the University of Minnesota. The city budget St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter released his budget proposal in August, including an 8% property tax levy increase that could yet be trimmed by the St. Paul City Council before they finalize the budget in December. To do that, council members will have to make tough choices. Given its wide variety of spending items, the Parks and Rec budget offers elected council members ample opportunity to promote their political wards with new services, activities and playing fields, or to make cuts. Parks and Rec plans to add the equivalent of 18 new full-time employees, about two-thirds of them related to the new $30 million North End Community Center, while shifting funding for other staffers from federal grants to the taxpayer-supported general fund. With “Common Cent” sales tax funding trickling in, the department is playing catch-up on a heavy backlog of projects. Webster Park on Summit-University’s Laurel Avenue has new basketball and pickleball fields. Highwood Hills has new soccer fields. A full listing of 100 active “Common Cent” projects is online at StPaul.gov/ParksCommonCent. Golf ‘very healthy,’ new facilities at North End Community Center In addition, a partnership with Kaboom! has helped fund volunteer-driven playground construction at the Dunning Park, Hayden Heights and Linwood rec centers. There’s been a 50% uptick in park shelter permits issued for picnics, birthday parties and other everyday “passive recreation.” And there’s been a record number of golf rounds played at Highland National, bringing in added funding but also creating demand for more upkeep for things like paths and drainage. “Golf continues to flourish post-pandemic,” said Rodriguez, noting golf spending has been able to pay for itself. “Those accounts are very healthy.” A new North End Community Center on Rice Street is days away from debuting a new multi-purpose turf field, playground, oversized windows and other amenities. It will offer nearly double the operating hours and three times as much space as the old Rice Street Rec Center, which is owned by the St. Paul Public School district. “It looks amazing already,” Rodriguez said. The North End, which some have called overdue for a modern Rice Street facility, would receive $1 million toward new operating expenses for the facility under the parks budget proposal. That includes salaries for the equivalent of 11 full-time positions, among other operating expenses. Tree, stump removal After a recent storm damaged some 2,000 trees in the public right-of-way citywide, the forestry department removed dozens of trees from houses — including about 56 in a single day. There’s more work ahead. With the structured removal of ash trees that began in 2009 finally over, the city is putting more effort into removing stumps, replanting trees and diversifying the tree species in its urban canopy. The goal is to create a more resilient and sustainable canopy. Parks and Rec is requesting an added $500,000 toward that $7.8 million effort next year, for a projected total of $5.14 million from the general fund, $330,000 from the city’s Capital Improvement Budget, $2 million from the St. Paul Port Authority and $326,000 from a federal grant. “Based on current funding, most residents will wait five years for a new tree … and in some cases, up to 15 years,” said Rodriguez, noting a partnership with the Port Authority runs out next year. “We’re at some decision points with trees and what we as a city are content with. We’re been largely focused on Emerald Ash Borer removals for the past decade-plus.” ARPA spending faces deadline Another key funding source — federal pandemic relief from the American Rescue Plan — is running up against a federal deadline. Recipients like St. Paul and Ramsey County must determine how they’ll spend their funds by the end of December, and then spend them accordingly by Dec. 31, 2026. A full listing of St. Paul’s budgeted ARPA projects is online at stpaul.gov/american-rescue-plan. Using federal ARPA money, Parks and Rec has hired staff and extended free sports programs to 4,100 youth ages 10 and up, eliminating a key barrier to enrollment, and participation in most rec center sports has almost doubled. To keep youth sports free, Parks and Rec is requesting an added $560,000 from the city’s taxpayer-supported general fund next year, which would also support the equivalent of 2.75 new full-time positions for staffing and coordination. Other requested spending in the Parks and Rec budget: • Utility expenses are projected to go up $417,000. • Health insurance expenses are projected to go down $365,000, better reflecting actual spending in recent years. • The “Awakenings” program for at-risk youth would receive a one-time cash infusion of $208,000. • Parks and Rec plans to put an extra $145,000 into tree trimming and vegetation maintenance downtown. • An effort to further promote and enhance public spaces downtown would cost another $165,000. • Public art downtown would cost another $100,000. • A visitor center attendant at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory has, until now, been funded by the site’s special fund, which is highly dependent on donations to the free zoo. For a steadier funding source, Parks and Rec is requesting that some $60,000 come from the city general fund, instead. Park Safety Steward, free swim lessons Despite a $122,000 investment, the “Park Safety Steward” program has been less than successful, said Rodriguez, who is looking for ways to revamp the program, which sought to create a ladder into police work for security for downtown parks and other hotspots. “We’ll get people in. They’ll resign within a couple weeks,” Rodriguez said. “People often leave for a more competitive wage or other law enforcement opportunities.” On a brighter budget note, Parks and Rec initiated the Sunnies — it’s first-ever municipal swim team — as a pilot program last spring, and plans to relaunch the team of pre-teen swimmers at the Jimmy Lee Rec/Oxford Community Center this fall. Scheduling has required careful planning around senior swim times and other pool activities. “We’re consistently at capacity for all pool space,” Rodriguez said. The city issued 1,800 free swim lessons this year, prioritizing youth who have never had formal swim instruction, and launched “free swim Sundays” at Jimmy Lee’s Great River Water Park. The Parks and Rec budget proposal would continue to fund free swim lessons but not the free open swims, unless a grant comes in. Parks and Rec plays a large role in administering the city’s Right Track youth internship program, which places St. Paul teens and young adults in summer positions in both the public and private sector. That program has been growing steadily, thanks to partnerships with Ramsey County, nonprofits and private industry, culminating in 900 youth placements this past summer. “That’s the biggest number in the program’s history,” said Rodriguez, in remarks to the St. Paul City Council. “We’re at 800 last year, 900 this year. We’re going to try and get 1,000 next year.” In January 2023, a Parks and Rec employee shot a 16-year-old boy in the head after a scuffle outside the Jimmy Lee Rec Center on Lexington Parkway, closing the rec center for weeks. Since then, Parks and Rec has taken a hard look at its staffing models and training, Rodriguez said, beefing up staffing at Jimmy Lee and other key sites with help from the city’s Office of Neighborhood Safety, the St. Paul Public Schools and other partners. “Those additions have really exceeded our expectations,” Rodriguez said. Other key parks projects on the horizon include major improvements planned for Victoria Park, Pedro Park and the future Wakan Tipi Center. 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