Other cuts to Metro Parks made earlier this month include Riverfront development manager

Besides the $463,000 cuts proposed this week by Director Roy Wilson, the Parks Board already cut $386,000 in service earlier this month. According to Board Member Karen Y. Johnson, those cuts include:

• Eliminate the riverfront development manager
• Eliminate the program coordinator from East Community Center
• Eliminate the sports supervisor
• Close Shelby and Warner golf courses during the winter
• Close the Cleveland pool, summer 2010

The latest round of cuts is tentatively planned to hit Fort Negley & Centennial Park:

• Eliminate museum specialists at Fort Negley
• Transfer museum manager from the Parthenon to Fort Negley
• Remaining Parthenon staff take up slack in manager's absence
• Hours at both Fort Negley and the Parthenon cut back
• Eliminate Centennial Arts Center instructor; CAC manager would coordinate guest instructors and completely fee-based programs (there had been free programming for youth & seniors)

Again, I don't see this can be seen as anything but bleak for those Nashvillians who use parks.

The most pressing question arising from these cuts is: will the Mayor's office use the elimination of the riverfront development manager as a pretext once again to shift the focus of that project away from the East Bank and toward Downtown? And what happens to the adventure play park plans that were so central to the public vision for riverfront development?