New Castle County has over 250 parks. Some are expansive with winding trails, lakes and historic structures. Others are small, consisting of little more than benches and a small playground, and may be entirely contained within neighborhoods. And, some are mainly fields used for youth and adult recreational activities such as baseball, softball, or football.
Like the state, the county is constantly evaluating funding priorities to keep its parks attractive to visitors.
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Unlike the state, New Castle County charges no admission fee for its parks. The county budgets $6 million per year for parks, which is paid for through county taxes as well as fees paid by sports leagues and large groups requiring permits for their park activities.
“The goal is to have a diverse recreational form for people,” New Castle County Executive Paul Clark said. Clark highlighted the different sorts of parks: linear, such as the greenway system; Middle Run, a natural area with a variety of wildlife as well as trails, and Delcastle with its abundance of tennis and basketball courts, ball fields and trails for walking, running or rollerblading.
According to Clark, the county constantly makes evaluations about the level of maintenance in each of its parks – should some areas continue to be mowed, or be allowed to revert to more of a natural or forested habitat?
Additionally, often larger questions must be weighed about whether the county should continue certain functions, or even keep running or operating a particular park or attraction.
Carousel Park near Pike Creek is home to riding stables and a number of horses. Recently the county contracted out riding programs and lessons to the nonprofit Therapeutic Riding at Carousel (TRAC). The organization’s three-year lease preserves the equestrian center at the park and the program that offers the horseback riding experience to children with disabilities and disabled veterans. TRAC also continues to offer horseback lessons to the general public.
Clark says the move saves New Castle County $350,000 a year.
The county is also in discussions with the state on a possible takeover of Rockwood Park, north of Wilmington, which contains a historic mansion.
“It’s always going to be a park. Nothing’s going to happen to it,” Clark said. “It’s just, who best can be the caretaker of it.”
New Castle County 8th district Councilman John Cartier said Rockwood’s annual operating budget was about $1.5-million when he first took office in 2004, but is now down to $400,000. The county reduced some expenses by leasing the Carriage House to a caterer. Other savings came about through staffing reductions.
“County government has faced a very flat revenue picture for a number of years now,” Cartier said. “We’re studying a number of options to maintain Rockwood for public use and to make sure that it is maintained and kept beautiful for the public that we serve.”
In addition to being a member of council, Cartier is also a member of the Friends of Rockwood organization and is aware of the many challenges of maintaining a natural area with historic properties. Some have indicated the mansion is in need of a new roof.
“We will need to look at the capital needs of the property,” he said.
Like New Castle County, central Delaware’s Kent County charges no admission for usage of its eight park areas, which include greenway trails and water access. However, Parks Director Jeremy Sheppard said as of may be ten years ago, the county was only running two parks.
One of them is 86-acre Brecknock Park south of Dover. It includes a historic farm and historically significant buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Hikers and bikers can also wind their way along the Saint Jones River Greenway.
The annual budget for Kent County parks is about $800,000, which Sheppard said may be about 25-percent smaller than three years ago.
Sussex County does not own or operate parks. Residents and visitors take advantage of several state parks, including Trap Pond State Park, Delaware Seashore State Park, Cape Henlopen State Park and Redden State Forest.
Parks in New Castle County
New Castle County Executive Paul Clark and 8th District NCCo Councilman John Cartier discusses the state of parks in New Castle County.
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