His Job Goal: A Walk In The Park Post Falls Has Strong Advocate For More Playgrounds
When David Fair drives past the subdivisions sprouting on the prairie, he sees what isn’t there.
“Every neighborhood needs a park,” he says. “Every child should have a playground close by.”
Finding a way to provide those playgrounds is among many challenges faced by Fair and other city parks and recreation directors in Idaho. But financial roadblocks don’t seem to dent the enthusiasm of this one, who discovered his calling in a college catalog.
Fair, 35, grew up in Western Washington. He went to summer camp most every year, but when he attended Washington State University it didn’t occur to him that a person could earn a degree aimed at helping people play.
“After taking a year of pre-med to make the family happy, I went into business (studies),” he said. “I was thumbing through a school catalog, and came upon parks and recreation. I went to find out what it was.”
He found work in Mountlake Terrace and then Des Moines, Wash. Both cities had something he didn’t find when he brought his family to Post Falls a year and a half ago: a community center.
“To me it makes a difference,” Fair said. “It’s a focal point for the community.”
He was surprised to learn that Idaho doesn’t allow cities to use revenue bonds to get such facilities. That’s a bank loan paid off by people who swim, take dance classes, shoot hoops.
For now, Parks and Recreation relies heavily on the local schools for program space. The community has no pool yet, but Fair said the department is working on a partnership with Allen Goodall, physical therapist who is building a pool.
“We’re trying to ensure that there will be some swim time for the public,” Fair said.
Post Falls has a lot of park acreage for a town of 14,000 people. But much of that is steep, rocky natural areas along the river - lovely, but unsuitable for such popular activities as soccer and baseball.
“We’re definitely short on sports fields,” he said. “We also need miniparks.”
The Post Falls Parks and Recreation Commission has talked in the past about establishing a parkland dedication fund.
Then commissioners switched to the notion of charging impact fees, so developers would be helping provide parks as the subdivisions went in. But developers recently contested impact fees charged by the city of Coeur d’Alene, and won confirmation that such fees are illegal in Idaho outside of Ada County.
“With the court ruling on impact fees, we’re revisiting the idea of a park dedication fund,” said Post Falls Parks and Recreation Commission chairman Ron Jacobson.
Any funding scheme will have its critics, but Fair thinks recreation professionals can do a better job of persuading developers and the public that parks provide benefits to a community ranging from people’s health to property values.
With new parks increasingly expensive and suitable land ever harder to find, Post Falls is focusing on improving existing parks.
Top priorities include:
Pave the parking area and some of the hiking trails, and improve trail signs, at Q’emiln Park.
Putting in traffic barriers, paved parking and picnic shelters at Corbin Park.
There’s a lot of public interest in Black Bay, an undeveloped riverside park. After residents loudly protested the idea of a commercial aquarium there, there’s been talk of jogging trails, tennis and basketball courts, and picnic shelters.
But Fair categorizes Black Bay as a place where something will happen “eventually.”
The parks commission goal is to provide affordable recreation to everyone who wants it, Jacobson said.
He gives Fair high points for organizing those services.
“I’ve never seen Dave jump to any conclusions,” said Jacobson. “He’s a very good communicator.”
Fair wants to spread the word that a community’s playgrounds provide a lot of benefits, ranging from the health benefits of exercise to increased property values.
“We’ve done a very poor job of selling the benefits of parks and recreation,” he said.
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