Councilman Schilling Provides Comments on Park Plan

Vol. III, No. 201 - The Sixth Ward Councilman Provides In-depth Thoughts on New Plan

This past Monday, Troy City Council ended it’s current council session with a fairly short agenda that was highligted by the comments of Sixth Ward Councilman Jeff Schilling. Councilman Schilling can be objectively referred to as an advocate for parks and recreation services, especially for trail development to link the west part of town (the ward he represents) to the rest of the community.

Councilman’s Schillings comments are helpful and instructive as they put foward some of the first detailed thoughts of any elected official on the plan that has been offered. It provides some insights into the thoughts of at least one member of council.

Overall, I thought the first draft of the Parks Master Plan was well done. Structure Point spent time and resources contacting the residents of Troy and the stakeholders interested in the future of Troy City’s Parks to seek out ideas on what the future holds for the city’s parks.

One area of concern, was the proposal that future, neighborhood park development, specifically new subdivisions governed by Home Owner’s Associations be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of their neighborhood parks and that these parks would be open to the general public instead of limiting access to the residents of the subdivision.

I live in Stonebridge subdivision. My subdivision is governed by an HOA. As a new homeowner, 20 years ago, I paid my share of the cost to develop the area around our storm water drainage pond, which now includes an asphalt walking path over a quarter mile in length, benches, pumps to keep the water aerated, and fish in the pond. The storm water drainage pond, designed by the developer under the guidance of the City of Troy Engineer’s office and the planning commission, does not permit swimming or watercraft because of the steep, rock covered sides of the pond and the rather quick fall off into deep water. Our HOA carries liability insurance that protects the subdivision against any accidents that might occur around the area of the pond. The area is limited to the residents and guests.

This year the HOA spent almost $40,000 on maintenance, insurance and capital improvements on the area around the pond. These funds came from the annual dues paid by 149 homeowners of the Stonebridge subdivision. The City of Troy did not pay a dime. Our HOA park is considered by many Stonebridge residents as part of our backyard. Residents walk and bike the path. They enjoy fishing the pond. They sit on the benches enjoying the peace and quiet or sharing conversation with a friend. It is fun to watch the neighborhood kids walk by the house heading for the park on some type of skates or boards or fishing gear in hand.

The Parks Master Plan analyzed the City of Troy’s yearly expenditures for our Parks and Recreation Departments compared to other cities of comparable size of parks and recreational facilities over a period of time. There was no surprise that the City of Troy annual expenditures were below many of the other cities on the list. This long term trend is one of the reasons we are now considering over $ 20 million in needed improvements to our city parks.

This crazy idea of shifting park expenditures onto the limited budgets of HOA’s is another attempt by the City to shift costs and reduce city expenses. Opening the HOA parks to the general public would increase wear and tear on the facilities. Trash pick-up and other maintenance costs would increase. Liability insurance would skyrocket. Homeowners with property near the HOA parks would face increased security risks, added traffic and street parking.

There was no mention of grandfathering existing HOA parks, keeping the existing HOA parks for the residents use only. Even if grandfathering were enacted, over time pressure would increase to make all HOA parks open to everyone as the general public became disinterested in maintaining the distinction.​

Shifting the added costs of public access to HOA parks is nothing more than a tax increase that HOA residents would be forced to pay, while the rest of the Troy public benefits and pays nothing for the privilege. A fair proposal would be for all backyards be open to the public. Do you have a pool, hot tub, umbrella table, grill, outdoor kitchen, swing set or garden in your backyard? Open to the public. I don’t think anyone would support this.

I cannot support this idea of HOA parks open to the public in any form, now or in the future.

Now, it should be noted that Councilman Schilling’s comments may be premature. Even the city’s Director of Public Service and Safety commented that he was suprised by the recommendation of open use of HOA park facilities and reiterated that this was not city policy. Future policies and prioritization will still need to come from the hard work to be done by the city’s Park Board of Commissioners, the Recreation Board and the City Council itself.

However, Councilman Schilling’s comments are helpful. There have been times in the past where the discussion is often lead by the City Adminstration and City Council finds itself painted into corners to support intitatives that haven’t had a full throated disucssion (the South Crawford Street Multi-Use Trail Comes to mind). By laying down a clear marker on what he won’t accept this early in the process, Councilman Schilling has made it clear to the Administration and the rest of Council on one point of the plan he will not support.

This type of communication is helpful and informative to the public. His comments should be appreicated by his constitutents and the community at large.

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