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Outstanding Special Award:
Pat O’Brien, East Bay Regional Park
District, Oakland, California.
 Pat
O'Brien manages the largest local park and recreation agency in the
United States with over100,000 acres, 65 regional parks, and 1,100 miles
of trails serving over 2.4 million residents of Alameda and Contra Costa
Counties, California. East Bay Regional Park District employs 622
permanent and 85 seasonal employees, plus approximately 300
concessionaire workers. The FY 2010 operating, capital and debt service
budgets total $197.1 million. For over 21 years, Pat's direction and
hands-on involvement has resulted in such major accomplishments as the
acquisition of over 36,000 acres of new parklands, expansion of the
Regional Park District from 66,000 acres in 1988 to over 100,000 acres
today, and the addition of more than 100 miles of new regional trails
for alternative non-motorized transportation's a t's fiscal developments
t rateg ies include establishing assessment districts bringing in over
$1 million per year to the Park District. Most recently, he initiated
the development of Measure WW, a $500 million capital bond measure to
provide acquisition and development funding for the Park District and
local park and recreation departments and special districts in the East
Bay area, the largest local pork bond measure approved by voters in the
United States. Previously, Mr. O'Brien initiated two ballot measures providing $12
million over a I5- year period to fund maintenance and infrastructure
rehabilitation work.
Since 1988, the District has also attracted $75 million
in matching funds and commitments from other public agencies and private
donors, which have significantly enhanced the District's ability to
acquire new parklands without financial impact to the public. Successful
partnerships and collaborations developed by Pat O'Brien with non-profit
organizations, universities, community college districts and other
public agencies have resulted in such large-scale capital projects as
the youth camp and environmental education center Camp Arroyo; the Delta
Science Center; and the Tidewater Aquatic Center He has also chaired
several statewide efforts on behalf of California Park and Recreation
Society (CPRS) including support for the 1999 $2.1 billion California
State Park Bond
Act Proposition 12; the 1984 and 1986 prior California
State Park Bond Act; and statewide efforts in 1984 that led to a Senior
Center Bond Act He also chaired the legislative efforts of CPRS from
198I-1988; acting as Treasurer and Board Member District II in 1981. In
1988, the CPRS annual legislative award was renamed as the Pat O'Brien
Award. He has also been a leader for the California Special District
Association (CSDA).
Following the disastrous 1991 Oakland/Berkeley Hills
firestorm, Pat led the effort to organize the Hills Emergency Forum,
comprised of six public agencies, to ensure coordinated emergency
planning and response in the East Bay hills area. |
