The general would be ashamed of his park

Franklin E. Miles Park would sadden its namesake, a spit-and-polish military man who died in 2016 at age 93. Miles as an avocation spent 34 years coaching thousands of young baseball players. He wouldn’t recognize what city bureaucrats call diamonds.

But at least there seemed to be a convenient way to notify someone in authority of public property in peril. The city government’s website lists a phone number for a park ranger on call.

My attempt to reach the ranger brought only a recorded message: “The number you dialed has been changed, disconnected or is no longer in service.”

Why would the city publish a phone number that doesn’t connect to a park ranger or anyone else?

City Councilor Amanda Chavez, whose district includes Franklin Miles Park, did not know the answer. She said she would notify the appropriate managers about the nonworking number.

Chavez told me she has confidence in the two administrators primarily responsible for city parks, Regina Wheeler and Melissa McDonald. “A lack of human resources is something they’re dealing with,” Chavez said.

The city lists a second telephone number for help regarding city parks. Calls to that line went straight to voicemail. I left messages for Wheeler and McDonald, but didn’t hear from either.

I would have told them what they already should know: Franklin Miles stands out only because it’s a large park in the heart of the city. Shabbiness makes it typical. Many of Santa Fe’s parks, medians and public spaces are in terrible condition.

Chavez said she had not received any complaints about the weeds, litter or general neglect of Franklin Miles Park. But Councilor Michael Garcia, who represents a different district, said he has fielded oral complaints about the park’s deficiencies.

At one point, city councilors operating in separate groups drafted different legislation aimed at improving upkeep of parks. Now four councilors, two from each group, will try to fold their resolutions into one measure. Garcia, who’s involved in the effort, said he hopes a proposal will be ready for introduction by the end of July.

Why should legislation be necessary for the city administration to carry out a basic service such as upkeep of parks?

“We’ve made requests in the past, and those requests were unmet,” Garcia said. “That’s the unfortunate thing. That’s why I’m working on a resolution.”

Chavez said she sees merit in Garcia’s approach. Administrations change, she said. Having requirements on the books would assure continuity in getting work done.

If city councilors have to codify maintenance of parks, they have relinquished their authority to people who were never elected. The circumstance is a mess as big as the parks themselves.

A day after I spoke to the councilors, the city’s dead-end telephone listing for the park ranger on call was still on its website. Trash, weeds and the pilfered shopping cart continued to mar Franklin Miles Park.

The city in 1987 bought the land where the park sits from the state for $1.77 million. Since then, barbecue grills, 6 acres of grass, a skate park, basketball courts and fields for baseball and softball have been added.

In a fairy tale of a description, the city staff wrote this on its website: “The park is excellent for having a picnic or watching a ball game.”

Facts are unimportant to those concocting the city’s promotional material. Anyone who cares to look can see the park is an embarrassment.

Just as on-call park rangers don’t exist, neither do ball games on fields thick with weeds and grass tall enough to camouflage a catcher’s mitt.

I’d like to believe four city councilors can get better results by closing ranks on a resolution for upkeep of parks. But the hard truth is different: Bureaucrats who can stomach trash, weeds and grass in desperate need of a mower won’t be moved by a few sentences in the city code.