Nutter chooses members for new Phila. department

Marking another milestone in the creation of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Mayor Nutter introduced the 15 members of the Commission on Parks and Recreation yesterday.

The commission members - nine of whom were appointed by Nutter and six from relevant city agencies - include public officials, conservation activists, and community leaders. Nancy Goldenberg, vice president of planning for the Center City District, will lead the group as chairwoman.

The commission will advise the department on guidelines for land use, sustainability programs, and the management of park and recreation space. Goldenberg said members also may work with other cities to find better ways to manage city parks.

The commission will offer recommendations directly to the mayor and City Council on parks-related policy.

"Philadelphia's parks and recreational areas are the city's treasures," Nutter said, standing with most of the new members at Mander Playground in Strawberry Mansion. The commission, he said, "will serve as the guardians of these treasures."

The nine appointees were selected by the mayor from a list of 25 individuals submitted by City Council. The mayor first called for applications in January and received more than 200.

The group has yet to set a date for its first meeting, but Goldenberg said it should take place before the end of the summer.

The Department of Parks and Recreation was created last fall after voters approved an amendment to change the city's Home Rule Charter. The amendment dissolved the Fairmount Park Commission and combined its operations with the city Recreation Department.

The new department must be fully operational by July 2010. Until then, the commission will assist with the ongoing merger of the two departments, said Michael DiBerardinis, the soon-to-be commissioner of the new department.

"You can't just slap two agencies together and cross your fingers and hope it works," he said.

The nine appointees will work with six ex-officio members from city agencies: DiBerardinis; the commissioners of the Water, Streets, and Public Property Departments; a designee of City Council President Anna Verna; and Alan Greenberger, executive director of the City Planning Commission.

DiBerardinis said none of the members will receive a salary for the service.

The mayor's appointees include Pete Hoskins, who was not present and served as the former director of Fairmount Park; Leslie Anne Miller, also not present, a private-practice lawyer who cochaired Nutter's campaign finance committee; and Carol Rice, who came out of retirement to serve after 35 years with the Recreation Department.

Other mayoral appointees are Debra Wolf Goldstein, president of legal and consulting firm Conservation Matters, L.L.C.; Jeffrey Hackett, a pest-control technician with the School District of Philadelphia and executive board member of the Melrose Park Gardens Civic Association; Anthony Langford, an employee of Philadelphia Gas Works and president of the Friends of East Fairmount Park; Carlos Rodriguez, assistant vice president and branch manager at Beneficial Bank in Philadelphia and president of the youth basketball program Puerto Rico Stars; and Sarah Clark Stuart, co-coordinator of the Schuylkill River Park Alliance and a consultant to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Ex-officio members also include Water Commissioner Bernie Brunwasser; Barbara Capozzi, Verna's designee; Public Property Commissioner Joan Schlotterbeck; and Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson.