Denver Parks and Recreation has scrambled to stay on top of upkeep in the city’s green spaces after prompted by the migrant crisis delayed spring hiring, department officials say. The result has been longer grass, along with plentiful dandelions and other weeds, spotted by visitors to Mestizo-Curtis Park in Five Points, Mamie D. Eisenhower Park in University Hills and other parks in recent weeks.
The lagging upkeep is a lingering side effect as the city has eased up on the budget cutbacks ordered by Mayor Mike Johnston earlier this year. Relief is on the way at parks, city officials say. It just may not be on full display until the summer barbecue season, after the Fourth of July.
The department is short 25 staffers in its pool of roughly 200 full-time employees who focus on parks upkeep, department officials said Wednesday. But the cupboard for seasonal park workers is even more bare. The city typically hires 130 on-call workers each year to handle mowing, edging, weed control and other beautification work, according to Scott Gilmore, the department’s deputy director for parks.
As of Wednesday, the number of seasonal workers who were actually on call was around 20. By next week, parks officials hope to get another 40 workers on board and ready to mow, Gilmore said. From there, they have their sights set on being fully staffed, or close to it, by the end of June.
“I would ask people to just give our staff some grace and understand that we have been incredibly short-staf.