Parks and Rec director reflects on eight years

On Tuesday afternoon, Brad Raney was packing up his office. On Tuesday night, he was receiving a plaque of recognition from the City Council. On Friday, he'll officially finish his eight years of service to the city of Green River as the Parks and Recreation director.

"He has brought the city a lot of success," City Administrator Reed Clevenger said during the Council meeting.

The most obvious recognition of that success hangs on a banner behind the city council every week, proclaiming Green River a "National Gold Medal Award Winner."

"The pennant in back says it all," Mayor Pete Rust said. "Under Brad's leadership we were named the number one parks and recreation department in the United States for cities under 30,000 people."

Green River's Parks and Recreation department was selected for the 2020 National Gold Medal Award by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association. This award recognizes communities for their planning, resource management, and innovation in parks and recreation services.

"That's an amazing, amazing accomplishment," Mayor Rust added.

Several Council members also praised Raney for his hard work for the city and his leadership, integrity and passion.

"He's going to be tough to replace, not only for what he does for his department, but what he does for the city, but also for his involvement in the community," Clevenger said.

Earlier in the day, Raney took time to reflect on the past eight years as the director with its rewards and challenges. He also recognized the Gold Medal Award as a highlight and an exciting achievement.

"We were the first ones in Wyoming, the first and only, to ever achieve that award," he explained. "We were really able to highlight how we're able to operate efficiently and all that we're able to offer our citizens."

And when it comes to how much is offered compared to population size, everything Green River has is "almost unheard of," according to Raney.

"We compare closer to a city of 60, 70,000 people with the amenities that are offered to the citizens here," he said. "And that's great. And it's also incredibly challenging."

One of the biggest challenges Raney faced during his time as director was figuring out how to keep everything going while dealing with budget cuts and lack of resources.

"It's been a financially challenging time for the city over the last eight years," Raney explained. "I don't think most people realize how hard it has been just to keep the things they're used to available to them. So that's been a big theme of my time here."

This theme started within weeks of Raney starting the job in 2015, when the price of oil plummeted, causing revenue shortages for the city. In the years since then, whenever Raney looked at the budget he was given he had to figure out how to just keep everything open, let alone work on making improvements.

Despite having to do more with less, Raney believes he and the department have been able to rise to the challenge.

"Not only have we kept it open, I feel like we've improved upon it with just minimal resources," he said. "We've done the best with what we've been given."

One way the Parks and Recreation department has done this is by focusing on completing projects to increase efficiency and save money. One such project involved changing the lighting at ballfields to save thousands of dollars so groups like little league and soccer can keep using them without having a price increase.

Another area of focus has been in getting grants, many of which Raney wrote and worked on personally so he could bring more money into the city.

"If you took the taxpayer's investment in me, they got a return on their investment, literally, if you look at the money, so I'm proud of that," he said.

One of the other ways the department has been able to keep bringing new projects to Green River is by partnering with the community. One of Raney's favorite projects during his time as director was a partnership with a local Girl Scout troop to put ADA accessible swings at Collier Park. He said the project was spearheaded and paid for by the Girl Scouts, and he just had the privilege of serving as an advisor and partner.

"We've had a lot of good projects where we've had people in the community step up and partner with us, which has been a necessity," Raney said.

Another project that came from a community partnership is the new dog park, which will be opening in the near future. That project has been in the works for years, with the Parks and Recreation department working together with the Green River High School National Honor Society.

The dog park is also only one of several projects coming in the future for Green River.

"There's a lot in the works," Raney explained. "That's exciting for the next person that'll take my spot to be able to work on."

Other future projects for Green River include updates to Riverside Park, which Raney has been working on for years. He said there is already almost $1 million of grant money set aside for Riverside Park, and they're almost ready to get started.

Projects like this take a long time, and things move slowly at the city level compared to things in the private sector, according to Raney, but taking the extra time is important.

"It's very methodical and it's for a good reason," Raney said. "We have to be very careful with taxpayer money and making sure we do public engagement and are representing the general will of the people."

But behind all the projects and processes, there's a team of hardworking people.

"What I would like to see is for people to understand what wonderful people work in the department and do the unseen work," Raney said.

He explained that beyond the obvious things like the green spaces and the recreation center, there are lots of things the Parks and Recreation department does that people may not be aware of, from snow removal to cemetery upkeep to maintenance on all city buildings. Raney also pointed out that the department maintains over 800 acres with about 130 employees, only about 20 of which are full-time.

"I think the best thing is we just have wonderful people that work for the department and for the city as a whole," Raney said. "And that's what makes Green River great, that's what makes the Parks and Rec department award-winning, is just the people that work in it. And the people that work in it have a passion to make life better for the citizens of Green River. From top to bottom, it's like that."

As Raney prepares to take the next step in his life and become the Parks and Recreation director for the city of Edmond, Oklahoma, he is both excited for the chance to learn new things and excited for the city of Green River to keep moving forward.

"Sometimes change is good," he said. "There will be opportunities for people in the city and outside the city here to step in and build upon what I've done, hopefully."