What do you believe the role of private partners should be in maintaining and improving public parks? What actions would you take to strengthen and improve public-private partnerships?

Rich DePalma

City Council, District 8

Private partners play a major role through either direct or indirect
investment of funding or volunteers. A great example is of course C3, but
also other companies such as Cirrus Logic play an important role within
specific green spaces such as Shoal Creek.
Our public private partnerships are only limited by the internal resources
the department has available and the limitations of implementing the
partnership such as permitting, legal, and interdepartmental coordination.
An action I would like to see is hiring a consulting team that would include
Texas A&M’s Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Department as a
teaming partner, to assess the city’s current approach and compare it to
best practices seen in Chicago, Houston New York City, or other cities if
warranted.