Exterior maintenance is no easy feat, often including a combination of function and flair as managers make repairs, attend to the grounds, and maintain equipment – all while keeping curb appeal top of mind. But outdoor maintenance takes on a whole new meaning when it includes over 45 active parks and 800 acres of parkland!

For the Town of Newmarket, outdoor maintenance is a four-season endeavour. Planning begins at the start of the year, with spring and summer maintenance generally up and running in April for trails, walkways, parking lots, garbage bins, tree pruning, inspections, and more. The flower program is also on the schedule, going well beyond the “norm,” with 292 hanging baskets, 342 planter boxes, 20,124 square meters of shrub beds (equal to 400 shrub beds), and 15,800 plant plugs planted each spring. Fall and winter work happens from November to April and includes maintenance of sidewalks, parking lots, trails, walkways, and staircases.

How does the Town of Newmarket handle the demand and volume it takes to keep the neighbourhood green and growing? With a team of 35 full-time and contract staff, plus an additional 38 summer staff, they are committed to keeping parks and green spaces beautiful and functional. “The hard work and dedication of our staff, along with the support we receive from Council help make our parks and trails well beyond the ordinary,” says Kristi Carlen, Director, Parks and Facility Services.

A plan for success

With such a vast scope of work, careful planning and effective execution are critical. The Town’s comprehensive outdoor maintenance strategy relies on a multi-pronged proactive approach, including:

 Setting goals: The Parks and Facilities department creates annual goal-setting plans for performance-based objectives, including identifying areas for professional development, in-house and job training, local workshops, and industry conferences to continue to develop staff skill sets.

Staffing: Credentials and hands-on experience are celebrated and valued, with many team members trained to specialize in horticulture, arboriculture, turf management, and various trades such as heavy equipment operation, irrigation, carpentry, and landscape design.

Engagement: Gathering data from the community is a vital component in the success of parks and trails. The town uses resident surveys and public meetings to gather feedback, along with collecting information through the customer service department to act on, track, and archive data to improve department operations and maintenance efficiency.

Legislation: Unlike many maintenance teams, the Town of Newmarket operates within several regulatory requirements. For example, The Town provides additional inspections as a best practice to ensure spaces and amenities used by the public are safe to use, maintained, repaired, and replaced as required.

Making it work

Taking care of so much green space is not without its challenges. The high volume of use, combined with shifting weather patterns means many of the green spaces and fields are deteriorating faster than the grass can regrow. As a result, the parks team is required to be even more diligent in monitoring the space to ensure it continues to be safe and enjoyable for all.

The Town needs to balance the demand and usage of parks. As Newmarket continues to grow, there needs to be enough green space available for all users, and this means planning for playgrounds with a wide range of age ranges and abilities, widening trails and paths, and building more amenities like trails, spray pads, playgrounds, and sport courts.

Vandalism is another challenge that the Parks and Facilities team faces. Unforeseen costs to repair or replace damaged infrastructure and assets can interrupt the use of space, resources, and labour.

Even with such a compact urban municipal boundary and very little new land available for parkland and green space in Newmarket, the maintenance teams’ responsibilities continue to grow! In 2018, Newmarket Council voted unanimously to purchase the Mulock Property, a 16-acre green oasis set under a tree canopy in the heart of urban Newmarket. Once complete, the park will feature trees, forest and open green space, a refrigerated skating trail that converts to paved paths, a water play feature for warmer months, an artist studio, and a conservatory greenhouse. The plan also includes a dedicated maintenance building to better service the park, making maintenance more accessible as the portfolio grows.

A changing climate

Climate change has presented many challenges to outdoor maintenance, with shifting weather patterns bringing more rain, interrupting regular maintenance schedules, and requiring more time and resources to repair public areas for use. Rising average temperatures, more days of high heat and extreme weather events have also impacted park assets. With longer outdoor recreation seasons and increased usage, the shortened asset life spans require extra maintenance and attention from the teams.

To mitigate the effects of climate change on their practices and continue to deliver consistent results, the Town has:

• Developed a climate change strategy
• Added inspections for extended seasons
• Ensured an environmental lens gets used in the design of new park assets
• Procured ‘green’ vehicles, equipment, and materials
• Implemented public education and awareness initiatives for environmental stewardship

Looking ahead to a greener future

Sustainability continues to play a part in so many maintenance practices, from using green products to saving energy to lessening environmental impact. For the Town of Newmarket, sustainability is a Council priority, as they work to preserve environmental assets and address climate change for future generations. As part of their efforts to go even greener, the Town is:

• Implementing a fleet management strategy, converting vehicles and equipment to electric while carefully assessing performance, longevity, and reliability.
• Phasing in LED lighting and solar panels on trails and sports fields to reduce power consumption and operating costs.
• Eliminating pesticides (pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides) from being used.
• Including low-impact development in design where possible for rain gardens, bioswales, permeable paving, urban trees, and green roofs.
• Enhancing and restoring natural areas to make them more sustainable ecosystems.
• Improving biodiversity by increasing the abundance, types and sizes of ground plants, shrubs, and trees to provide a greater variety of habitats for wildlife such as birds and pollinators to thrive.
• Increasing the bee population with nine pollinator gardens, with more scheduled for this year.
• Streamlining the horticulture program for more diverse flower beds.
• Instituting an urban forestry management plan for long-term care and maintenance of all trees in Newmarket over the next 20 years. Along with planting, the teams focus on tree maintenance and pruning during optimal seasons to maintain a healthy and strong tree population.
• Introducing new projects, like Mulock Park, which prioritizes sustainability wherever possible, paying careful attention to energy use through an in-ground geothermal heating and cooling system and solar panels integrated into the design of parking areas. As well, a tree stewardship strategy was established to keep the property natural while increasing the total tree cover for generations to come.

Community is the heart of Newmarket’s outdoor maintenance strategy, as the teams work to increase the Town’s accessibility through their maintenance efforts. Newmarket offers over 44km of trails and walking paths that the Parks and Facilities team work hard to maintain, making the most of the tools available to improve their efforts. “We believe we can improve efficiency in operations and management by investing in technology like trail counters and data analytics to gain insight into things like parking lot usage, trail use, sport field utilization, and more,” says Carlen.

The Town utilizes all available resources to provide residents with positive experiences, managing all maintenance from ensuring trails are clear of snow and ice, free from litter and debris, and safe (while managing invasive species and noxious weeds). Accessibility, community, and education also factor into the day-to-day responsibilities of the maintenance teams:

• Accessibility: 2005’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) created accessibility standards for (public, private, and non-profit sectors) organizations that must be followed. Accessibility continues to be considered in all planning stages and implementation for amenities like playgrounds, trails, and park benches in the town.
• Community partnerships: Partnerships and agreements (with school boards, conservation authorities, community groups, etc.) allow teams to share operation, maintenance, and replacement costs to provide recreation opportunities for residents.
• Public education: Educating the public can help lengthen the lifespan of environmental resources and better manage maintenance. For example, educating the user groups to use low-traffic areas of a sports field to ensure a better experience for competition days.

Up and coming

Beyond beautifying the Town and keeping public spaces functional for the residents, the Parks and Facilities team are part of the dedicated staff who create exceptional experiences for the community.

Winter’s Ice Lounge on Main Event took place along Newmarket’s Main Street over four days, featuring food and beverage, lounge areas, fire pits, igloos, art installations, live entertainment, and a partnership with local businesses. Events like these mean it’s all hands on deck, connecting many departments like Parks and Property Services, Recreation and Culture, and Roads to work together for a successful event. Given all the work involved, it’s not surprising that Newmarket won the Municipality of the Year Award from Festival and Events Ontario two years in a row!

When planning a large-scale event like that one, the Parks team is involved in conducting site meetings, planning emergency routes, ensuring there are enough waste and recycling bins, executing road closures, setting up and tearing down, cleaning and preparing the site, managing parking lots, sidewalks and flower beds, and ensuring staff are on hand at all times for a safe and enjoyable event.

Maintenance for the Town involves so much more than planting trees and mowing lawns; the teams are a fundamental part of beautifying the community and providing services for residents. From fulfilling their daily responsibilities to analyzing data, planning for the future, collaborating on events (and much more) the Town of Newmarket maintenance teams go above and beyond to put the community at the forefront, providing and preserving much-loved areas for residents to enjoy.

This article was originally published in the Spring/Summer issue of FCM Magazine.