Why

Ocean County Parks oversees over 31,000 acres of park land, trails, greenways, beaches, and conservation lands. With a $7.2 million budget for daily operations and equipment needs and $3.2 million for capital improvement costs, personnel costs account for 86% of the total operational and capital budget. This figure is approximately 41% higher than the national average (45%). Ocean County Parks experienced difficulty in investing in maintenance and operations and felt overextended to take care of the system properly. Therefore, they sought the development of a Maintenance Management Plan to better understand their financial and operational situation and outline a path forward.

HOW

Zec Eight Insights partnered with PROS Consulting to develop the Maintenance Management Plan. Zec Eight Insights conducted a system-wide park assessment that examined existing maintenance practices, operational procedures, and the type of recreational inventory contained within the system (as the type of amenities and facilities directly relate to how maintenance and operations should be planned). Additionally, a detailed work order analysis was performed to produce unit costs for maintaining acres, amenity types, locations, and more. The calculations also involved a time-task analysis that worked with staff to track time across various required maintenance and operations functions and park site locations.

What

The Maintenance Management Plan outlines a fundamental shift in maintenance and operations philosophy. It was determined that a tiered approach to maintenance was necessary in order to maximize the existing budget. Additionally, maintenance standards were developed along with financial implications/considerations so Ocean County Parks can enact changes to help their bottom line now and into the future.

Reference
Michael Mangum, Director
Ocean County Department of Parks & Recreation
(732) 506-9090
mmangum@co.ocean.nj.us
1198 Brandon Road
Toms River, NJ 08753