The Parks Guru

For the past 24 years, Phil Johnson has been the heart of Eau Claire’s parks. With a passion and flare for landscape architecture and public spaces, the parks superintendent’s credits include such projects as shaping Phoenix Park, renovating Randall Park, and improving several athletic fields, and he has been an integral part of raising the bar of the standard of parks overall. In mid-November, Phil left his municipal post, but will continue in the private sector through Ayres Associates. So we thought we’d chat with him about how the parks in this city have changed, where he thinks they should be, and how the city can continue developing them in the future.

How would you describe the superintendent role to a layman?
The superintendent is a facilitator. When policy decisions are made or a project is approved, the superintendent would work out the details of how to make things happen. In my opinion, this is the best job in the city. The job allowed me to meet the needs of the community without being overly involved in the politics.

What was the first park you helped implement/design?
When I started, Randall Park was a rough-looking place that stood out as needing help. And within two years many of the rough edges were smoothed out and the park became the centerpiece to the neighborhood.

It seems to me that Eau Claire has a lot of pride in its parks and green spaces. Why do you think that is?
The community has embraced the parks in so many ways. Our parks have a unique way of engaging people, and being engaged in the care of the parks – not just the use – creates that ownership and pride. Over the past two years, volunteering in the parks has nearly tripled. With the spring clean up, flower planting, and partnerships in capital projects. The whole community has stepped up, showing how important parks are to the way we view our city.

It is said that Ralph Owen handed over land to make us a city of parks. How well/poorly are we sticking to that goal?
Over 100 years later, Eau Claire really has become a city of parks. Ralph Owen’s legacy creates a stewardship responsibility for everyone in my position, both before and after me. It’s a responsibility that comes with the position as a public servant: to build on the heritage that was given to us.

Given the funding issues, have we seen the end of the heyday of parks development and expansion?
Given the various partnerships with the community, the parks are in a unique position to continue to build or enhance facilities. There are many new and exciting things in the works that will continue to push the Eau Claire parks into the future.

As the city gets bigger, is there a rule or guideline they look to for allocating green space?
The comprehensive plan is developed with citizen input and is the marker we use when planning new parks. If I would point to a trend in this community it’s that the expansion of the neighborhood parks system is not sustainable and how the park and recreational needs of the neighborhoods are addressed will be a major talking point in the future.