The skate park at Morrell Park in Henderson Friday, May 5, 2023. Amy Rasely, her pet Charlie and friend Elizabeth Forster, 10, at Cornerstone Park in Henderson Friday, May 5, 2023. Cornerstone Park in Henderson Friday, May 5, 2023.
Henderson is known for its high-quality parks, with both awards and parkgoers organizations recognizing the city for this truth.

It's a recognition the city takes seriously, as evidenced by its park maintenance.

The city spent $20.9 million on park maintenance this year to preserve its 70 parks, with $125,000 reserved for new parks coming in the future, according to J.J. Moyes, company manager for the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

That money funds expenses varying from employees' salaries and retirement, water for parks, devices and cars, and money for specialized contract work, like trimming especially high trees.

Henderson's park upkeep budget has actually progressively increased over the last 3 years, growing from $18.5 million in 2021 to $19.3 million in 2022.

The city's costs on park upkeep exceeds Clark County's total parks and entertainment spending plan for the 2022-2023 of $15.1 million. The county uses that cash to service 116 public parks and 16 metropolitan centers, according to county spokesperson Rich Mueller.

Henderson's park maintenance budget is still not as much as the city of Las Vegas, which spends $27.2 million on park upkeep for its more than 130 parks and community centers, according to city spokesperson Jace Radke.

A park within ten minutes

Henderson presently has 131 staff members for park maintenance, with 121 full-time staff and 10 part-time.

Henderson Parks and Recreation Director Shari Ferguson said a top priority of the Parks and Recreation Department is to ensure the city's parks are accessible to its citizens. She said over 70 percent of Henderson homeowners live "within a ten-minute walk" of a public park.

The department has gotten accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies 5 times considering that 2001, with the most recent can be found in 2021. The department was likewise granted the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation from the National Recreation and Park Association in 1999 and 2014.

Ferguson credited the park upkeep staff for keeping a regularly high level of quality throughout all of the city's parks.

"We desire all every single park, no matter where it is, what area of the city, to all look the very same. They all are high quality," she said.

Locals who frequent the parks praised the city for keeping them tidy. Jeremiah Milton frequently exercises at several Henderson parks and acknowledged that he's never ever seen a "dirty" park in the city.

Despite being well-kept, Milton included that Henderson parks are all a little bit "standard," most especially lacking attractions.

"(Parks) truly just require to up the tourist attractions, to kind of simply bring a bit more in for the kids, a bit more for individuals," Milton stated.

In reaction to Milton's review, Henderson spokeswoman Madeleine Skains said parkgoers can share their comments with the Parks and Recreation Department by sending a comment or calling through the city's website.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Kirk Niemand credited his department for reacting to feedback from the neighborhood, saying that responsiveness was a consider the parks' high quality.

"I believe the greatest thing we do is react to what our neighborhoods are requesting," he stated.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Instagram @writermark2.