Patterson Park is an important asset to the high-density neighborhoods surrounding the park.  That importance was demonstrated during the drafting of Patterson Park’s 2016 Master Plan.  During that process, the community engaged with Baltimore City agencies, non-profits and urban planning and design consultants to make recommendations to improve Patterson Park in a significant way.

One of the most substantial parts of the Master Plan process involved a recognition that Patterson Park’s building, pathways, courts, entrances and fencing suffered significant maintenance needs with some of these issues failing to be addressed for more than a decade.  In an effort to correct these deficiencies, the Master Plan suggested structural changes to Patterson Park’s operations and maintenance systems.  For instance, the Master Plan recommended that long-term financial, management and maintenance plans be implemented – something that is not currently done.  In addition, the Master Plan recommended the addition of a dedicated park manager at Patterson Park to oversee park maintenance and operations along with the implementation of long-term strategies.  The committee that made many of these recommendations believed that such additions would help alleviate some of the operational problems that exist at Patterson Park and would lead to an efficient and responsive management system.

In 2016, four years after the process began, Patterson Park’s Master Plan was finally approved by the City and published.  While the Recreation and Parks Department and the Friends of Patterson Park have taken some steps to implement Master Plan recommendations, the maintenance and operational recommendations remain a work in progress.

The problem with Patterson Park’s Master Plan is simple – money.  The Master Plan made great recommendations to change the way the park is maintained and managed.  Some of the larger recommendations included creating a budget specific to Patterson Park, hiring a park manager, expanding the park ranger program to allow for effective rules enforcement and creating an actual maintenance program.  As Patterson Park is one of the most well used parks in the city, proper maintenance and management are necessary to protect this important city asset.

Despite the well-thought out recommendations, the Plan contains no plans to pay for implementation.  Very loose estimates in the Master Plan indicate that over $2.8 million in maintenance and management recommendations are needed.  That figure doesn’t even include some of the longer-term funding projections.

It’s great to recommend change, but without adequate funds, nothing gets accomplished.  By way of example, Patterson Park’s 1998 Master Plan recommended creating a park manager position.  The 2016 Master Plan makes the same recommendation.  Despite that fact, we sit here some twenty years later and this still has not happened.  I suspect the issue is money.

Some of our upcoming blog posts will look at the Recreation and Parks Department budget to determine if funding may be available in current budgets.  Other blog posts will explore other funding methods such as private philanthropy and permit fees.    Finally, a series of blog posts will set forth a proposal to create a special benefits district at Patterson Park to finance maintenance and operations.  Review of these different funding methods should be an eye-opening experience.