Mayor Miro Weinberger wants to fill the key city position of Parks and Recreation director with Jesse Bridges, a New North End resident who has worked at the University of Vermont for a decade in the athletics program, primarily as a fundraiser and director of ticket operations.
“Jesse is used to relating to the public and partners,” Weinberger explained during a Wednesday press conference held to introduce Bridges. “I see a leader with the skills to act” on a variety of projects, the mayor said. Several of Bridges’ UVM staff colleagues were on hand to offer support and applause.
Weinberger will request approval of the appointment at the Oct. 15 City Council meeting.
Bridges received a master’s degree in public administration from UVM in 2008. Six years earlier he became UVM’s interim ticket manager, then director of ticket operations and the Victory Club, a fundraising project. In 2010 he was promoted to assistant athletic director handling external relations.
This April Bridges transferred to the recently launched UVM Foundation, continuing his athletics-related fundraising work. He is married with two young children.
“I look forward to bringing a new perspective and energy to lead the department during a promising and innovative time,” Bridges said.
In June Weinberger decided to replace Parks and Recreation Director Mari Steinbach, saying that the decision was part of a plan to take the department “in a new direction.” Steinbach faced criticism during the debate over use of Penny for Parks money, and came under fire for not seeking sufficient public input on a merger of after-school and enrichment programs.
In 2011, local residents repeatedly turned out at City Council sessions for heated discussions of spending the one-cent tax earmarked for park improvements. The main argument was over $150,000 for a new concrete skate park on the waterfront. This year, a resolution on Penny for Parks funding produced no debate or objections.
In announcing his decision to replace Steinbach, Weinberger explained that “building capacity” means having the right personnel to complete projects, along with an overall plan that “will give the city a detailed roadmap for making future Parks investments.”
Bridges’ selection was the result of a national search, according to Councilor David Hartnett, who was part of a five-member search team led by Carina Driscoll, assistant to the mayor. Hartnett called it “the most thorough process I been involved with.”
Weinberger said Bridges will be a key voice in “an era of parks rejuvenation” that requires partnerships with businesses and collaborative work with other outside resources. “Parks and Recreation has enormous waterfront responsibilities,” he added.
On Oct. 1, the department’s staff responded to PlanBTV, a year-long process to update the downtown and waterfront sections of the city’s municipal development plan. Suggestions from Parks and Recreation included more attention to traffic and parking impacts of development, a full-service staging area for events, and a new operations building at the north end of Waterfront Park.
One Parks and Recreation commissioner warned in response to PlanBTV that Battery Street could be a future barrier for pedestrians and bicyclists who want to access waterfront facilities, unless steps are taken to making crossing the busy road easier.
Bridges did not discuss his views on the plan, which will be reviewed by the City Council during the next few months. But Weinberger expressed confidence that Bridges’ experience in budgeting, raising money and management, combined with a long-term commitment to the community, “will serve our city well.”
The current city budget provides more than $580,000 in Penny for Parks funding for dozens of projects. Big ticket items include $120,000 for renovations to the upper deck of the boathouse and $75,000 to overhaul the softball field at Leddy Park. Bike path improvements, completing the skate park overhaul, and a major project to “re-imagine” City Hall Park are also on the list.
