Before you get where you want to go, you need to know where you’re at — even during a pandemic. That was the challenge facing PDRMA and its property appraisal company Duff & Phelps, LLC. WIth our last membership-wide appraisal done 15 years ago, we needed to ensure we had accurate valuation of members' property. The appraisal effort, begun by Duff & Phelps last year which is still on-going, became an exercise in caution, social distancing, best practices and cooperation in the face of 2020 obstacles.

“Outside of COVID, we always have challenges appraising facilities due to weather delays, accessing buildings and working around general public activities,” notes Michael Domin, Managing Director, FAMIS, Duff & Phelps.

This time, an extra helping of creative thinking was needed — and delivered. “PDRMA members welcomed our staff on-site, of course following state, local, and park district safety protocols. Any visit made during this period was completed observing social distancing and wearing the appropriate protection equipment to keep us and park district staff as safe as possible. Most districts had limited resources...

Winter weather creates special circumstances for park districts to address, but you can stay ahead of them by following a thorough inspection program like the one John Barrett, Facilities Maintenance Supervisor, Winnetka Park District, uses.

Early Prep Is Key

“Keeping patrons safe is our top priority,” Barrett explains. “Some of our most popular programs run during the winter, so we make sure all our snowplows, snow blowers and snow removal equipment is ready to go at a moment’s notice. We order plenty of sidewalk salt to get us through the season, and we have all our furnaces inspected prior to the cold weather to make sure they stay functioning all winter. But just in case they don’t, we also have extra electric heaters on hand. After a snowstorm, we clear and salt all parking lots and sidewalks leading to and from our buildings. Our parks maintenance staff rotates on a seven-day, on-call schedule to be ready for snowstorms.”

Barrett starts inspecting closed buildings in December, when the temperatures can drop below freezing. If the agency has a facility closed for a couple weeks over the holidays...

The Risk Management Review (RMR) is still on track, despite the pandemic, social distancing and lockdowns — thanks to flexibility....

Take advantage of PDRMA’s new and updated training options in early 2021 that will prepare you to deal with changing social and legal...