I have always preached the power of “saying YES” when approached by the community. In government we seem to think we know or can do more than the community in making great things happen. The greatest example I can give of just getting out of the way and letting motivated community leadership happen was in 2015 when Emarie Van Galio and Moyra Barsotti walked into my conference room to ask about replacing the wooden play structure in City Park. The effort became one of the best efforts I have ever experienced and was call “Project Playground.”
My Backstory:
It was July, 2001 and Kathy and I had driven to the little town of Winters, California to “look around” and we are sitting at a picnic table as our kids Sam and Emily ran through an amazing, “old school” wooden playground structure in the heart of the park. The playground had places to climb, slide and hide. Definitely not the plastic, open and unappealing structures we were putting in parks at that time.
At the side of the playground was a plaque dedicating the structure. It said that this playground was built by the community over a 5 day period in 1989. It described a “community build” where neighbors and friends all came together to create something special. With grand skepticism, my first thought was “really, people came together and built this?”
The next morning I sat in the middle of the “Winters Opera House” in front of the City Council and interviewed for the job of City Manager of Winters. A really nice group of people who seemed very sincere and kind. The interview seemed to go well and I left to meet up with Kathy and the kids for the drive to my mothers vacation home in the Sierra town of Arnold.
About 20 minutes out of Stockton, my cell phone rings and it is the recruiter saying they loved me and want me to come back to for a second interview immediately. The truth is that I was the only one who showed up for the interview!!!
Two days later, I am sitting in the back office of the City Attorney John Wallace with John, Councilmember Jiley Romney and John’s assistant Mary Jo who was president of the school board. They filled me with platitudes of how great Winters was, good schools and as a place to “raise your family” which was important to us.
In the meeting, I asked about the plaque in the park and the playground. “Is that really true about the community build???” I asked with some skepticism. The conversation just stopped and the three stared at me with intent. Jiley looked at me with conviction and said “its absolutely true and the type of community Winters is!” It was a revelation because I had never experienced anything like that in my life. I really wanted to be a part of a community which had that type of motivation and can-do spirit. Three weeks later, the City Council adopted an employment agreement making me the City Manager.
2015 to 2017- OMG- They are actually going to do it
The great 1989 wooden play structure had become weathered and worn over the years simply from the elements and massive use. What originally had a shelf life of 20 years was now 25 years old and in need of either repair or removal. The City did not have the money to hire a contractor for an extensive renovation and I will share that there was no way I was going to be the City Manager who tore down the playground the “community built.”
In truth, the meeting with Emarie and Moyra was a godsend. Acknowledgement of the issues with the playground gave me coverage if we need to tear it down but I immediately sensed the determination they had to make a second design and build a reality. They spoke with confidence and had an amazing presence about them. With my typical skepticism, I just told them to “go for it.” Emarie later confessed to me that they couldn’t believe I said “Yes.” Project Playground thus was formed!
Project Playground as an organization was an effective a community group as I had ever known. They set a calendar, a fundraising strategy and a logistics plan, second to none. They began working with a “community build company” who helped on these types of projects. At one point, that builder began missing milestones and threatened the project. The determination of Project Playground had them terminate that builders contract and they hired a second to keep things on schedule. Changing contractors was a risky yet brilliant move to keep things on track.
The book “Good to Great” tells you to have the “right people in the right seats on the bus.” Project Playground was just that with exceptional leadership in Emarie, Moyra and others, energetic fundraising, the best local contractors on their Board, volunteer coordinators and an amazing community spirit. They coordinated with our team at the City and over a 21 month period, they made it all happen.
For 5 days in 2017, Project Playground brought hundreds of volunteers together as construction workers with a common goal. I would laugh at all these “moms” with routers moving stacks of lumber around the work site. The mountains of bark for the surface being moved by an army of parents and kids with their wheelbarrows. The pride of wearing a blue shirt with their logo saying “Build Week Volunteer.”
My words cannot do justice to their accomplishment except to say they made it happen in spectacular fashion. Getting to “build week” was a monumental task which came to fruition because of an incredible community organization in Project Playground. On the City side, our Public Works Team led by Eric Lucero was just the best.
Here is the link to the Home Page for Project Playground. Watch the video and see the magic which transpired. Project Playground Winters
I cannot express how thrilled I was to be a part of this project. One of the highlights of my life and career!