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August 11: WE'RE IN THE HOLE BUT GETTING OUT:
Fundraising goal of almost $7,000
From the August 2004 newsletter
posted August 11, 2004
On August 4, we had a budget shock - we found out that we've spent too much on staffing the park this summer. James Dann, the manager for Parks and Recreation in the west part of the city, told us the unhappy budget numbers, and the news travelled through the park and the neighbourhood and the farmers' market e-mail list: the park is broke. The more this park turns into a community-centre-without walls, the more ingenious we have to be to make it work without a community-centre budget. This year the ingenuity wasn't enough. What remedy?
First, we have to pass the hat. This is people's chance to give the park a donation. In the week since we found out the bad news, we've been getting a steady stream of checks and bills and so we've already been able to pay off some arrears. We still need to collect almost $7000 (the good news is, at first we thought we needed $17,000). That means there will be a few special events in the park to help raise the money, and all donations are appreciated. $25 is nice and so is $50. A few kind souls are giving even more. All donations can be handed to the park staff. Cheques should be made out the "Friends of Dufferin Grove Park." To mail: c/o 242 Havelock St. Toronto M6H 3B9.
Second, don't shoot the messenger. Parks and Recreation manager James Dann tells us he's had some irate phone calls asking him why he wants to ruin this really nice park. The fact is, James doesn't ruin the park, he helps out as much as he can. But he has no money to add into the budget - those decisions have to be made at another level.
Third, we have to make sure this passing the hat is a one-time event ONLY. That means, doing some politics before the next budget is set. We have to see if the Parks Department can recognize our park as a genuine community centre, cheaper to run than an indoor centre, but with just as many people using it, in all seasons except the mud months of March and November. As a comparison between our park and other places: the budget for staffing and operating the two nearest community recreation centres, Wallace-Emerson and McCormick, is around $1.2 million a year. Kew Gardens, in the Beaches, a showplace park twice the size of ours, which is also very heavily used and also has an outdoor rink, has a budget of somewhere around $450,000. We don't need that much. But we need more than the $80,000 assigned to us ($120,000 is plenty). Otherwise this experiment in making a community centre without walls will fade away again.
This fall is your chance, folks, to make the city aware of your views. If you want there to be community centres without walls like this park, call City Councillor Adam Giambrone at 416 392-7012 (e-mail: Councillor_Giambrone@toronto.ca). Or call the Mayor's office, or the city councillor in your area, if you live at a distance. At the same time, call acting Parks and Recreation general manager Brenda Librecz at 416 392-8182 (e-mail blibrecz@toronto.ca). You can also call our park's area manager, James Dann (who has often been helpful and supportive of what goes on here), at 416 392-1122 (e-mail jdann@toronto.ca). To find out more about the nuts and bolts of how Dufferin Grove Park runs (and how we got in this trouble, and how people are helping), you can go to our park web site at www.dufferinpark.ca, or call the park at 416 392-0913.