The Parks Guru

Eau Claire’s Phil Johnson opts for the private sector

Trevor Kupfer, photos by Andrea Paulseth

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.


What would say to people who think park/green space is an economic waste?
If you look at Phoenix Park and see 1,500 people at a Volume One concert or 5,000 people coming to the farmers market on a Saturday morning, you see the value the parks have to the community. I love to see every field at the soccer park filled with kids running around, and the trail having 3,500 walkers and runners coming through Owen Park in a warm Wednesday in May. Parks build a healthy community and it would be hard to imagine not having what we have, so there is no such thing as wasted money when it is invested in parks.

Is there a future in public squares or pedestrian malls in Eau Claire?
Public spaces help form the fabric of an area. Randall Park defines that neighborhood; the mall at UWEC forms the gathering space for the campus. Public spaces define areas in a community, and each of those areas is better because of them.

What project are you most proud of?
There are too many to name, but the opportunity to be involved with the development of Phoenix Park was a high point in my career. Looking at it from another perspective, putting artificial turf on the football field relieved a huge headache.

What mistakes have been made, or do you wish would have gone differently?
There was a five-year period that we struggled with the football field. Expectations were high every time we renovated, but the low point was watching the North/Memorial game after we installed rubber. A torrential downpour started before the game and lasted most of the night creating horrible conditions and to watch the crowd do belly slides on the field definitely was a disappointment in that we failed to make it work. It really hit home when the university had to play the next day after we had spent most of the night shoveling the mud off and then had to roll the field with a street department roller just to level it out. That was a bad weekend!

Was there a specific reason you decided to move away from the municipal sector and into the private?
Building public spaces has always been a passion for me. With Ayres Associates I see the opportunity to have a similar impact in other communities. … My work in the public sector has given me a deep appreciation of how important public spaces are in defining a community or a neighborhood and now my new job will hopefully let me work on a new variety of projects.

In the future, what guidelines do you hope the city lives by in terms of parks?
What I appreciated most in my tenure was working with two outstanding bosses (Ken Van Es and Phil Fieber), that each had a clear vision of how the parks fit in the community. My role was to help put a finish on their vision. Throughout the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department there is a common mindset focused on helping groups, organizations, or individuals succeed. If you call anyone in the department, they will find a way to help you. Now guidelines are needed with that common resolve.

Anything else to add?
Today’s parks are the best built and best maintained that they have ever been. The credit for that goes primarily to the outstanding staff. … Phoenix Park is a testimony to how important maintenance is and how it makes a great park even better. I personally feel the future of our parks is bright because there is a great staff with great community support.