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Where Am I: A New City Department is Created, and a New Forestry Division is Added

Jul 15, 2024

The decision to eliminate the division of Recreation and Park Maintenance and Properties and the Office of Special Events and Marketing from the Department of Public Works was approved by Council.

In it's place is the re-creation of a Department of Parks & Recreation. This new Department of Parks & Recreation will include the Division of Park Maintenance, the Division of Recreation. It will also oversee special events, Public Auditorium (Public Hall, the Music Hall, the Little Theater), Malls B and C, the Westside Market, Highland Park Golf Course, cemeteries, the city greenhouse and Cleveland Browns Stadium. 

Council members had been supportive of this move which brings the city departments back to how it was before the merger in 2010 thought to be a cost savings and more efficient under Public Works. The actual restructuring will begin in the fall.   

However, Council members Jenny Spencer (15) and Charles Slife (17) sponsored an amendment to establish a Division of Urban Forestry that would be housed under the new Department of Parks & Recreation. 

The Council members noted that having a division will enable the city to be more transparent and intentional about enhancing the tree canopy, as well as dealing with other issues including tree maintenance, tree planting and sidewalk repair because of roots from tree lawn trees. Currently, Urban Forestry is under Park Maintenance & Properties in the Department of Public Works. Adding the new division should be essentially budget neutral. 

The establishment of the new division comes at an opportune time with the city announcing a $3.4 million award from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program through the federal Inflation Reduction Act. This new award is in addition to the nearly $600,000 already awarded to non-profit partners in the area from state Inflation Reduction Act forestry grants. Ord. No. 521-2024

Also, a Community Forestry Corps Program for youth in Cleveland was recently launched that is a collaboration in urban forestry workforce development and offers meaningful climate action work for youth. In addition to Cleveland, the forestry corps program will also be launched in Boise, Boulder and Chicago this summer.