Project Advisory Team Roles

Purpose
The Project Advisory Team (PAT) will provide community-based participation and recommendations to Parks' staff and design consultants. Recommendations of the PAT will be documented and shared with key decision-makers. Recommendations of the PAT will be given substantial weight by the Parks Department.

Roles & Responsibilities
PAT members will:

1. Attend each PAT meeting, as best they can.
   
2. Identify issues vital to the interests represented on the committee.
   
3. Provide advice and recommendations to Parks relating to planning, design development, and evaluation.
   
4. Support the implementation goals and schedule adopted for the program.
   
5. Report on program activities to constituent groups and organizations.
   
6. Share the outcomes of their discussions at public events and other public outreach forums.
   
7. Represent the group(s) they belong to and help build consensus at key milestones in the project.
   
8. Balance the specific interests of their constituency with a broad understanding of all citizens' needs within the community when making recommendations.

The Parks Department will:

1. Support the PAT by producing agendas, preparing meeting summaries, and supplying background information.
   
2. Provide a meeting facilitator to work with Parks' staff, design consultants and PAT members to set agendas and conduct meetings in a constructive atmosphere.
   
3. Provide timely and adequate communication, report on progress, identify issues, and recommend actions to the PAT and to the Project Steering Committee.
   
4. Give recommendations of the PAT substantial weight.

Discussion and Decision Making
The PAT is intended to facilitate open discussion of issues and options. Project staff will provide background information related to key issues that the PAT may like to consider and provide recommendations on. The PAT will strive to provide consensus-based recommendations to the Parks Department at key milestones during the design process. (Consensus is a preponderance of opinion. It does not mean "unanimity".) The Department will give considerable weight to recommendations of the PAT.

If PAT members find that consensus is impossible, the PAT will send the complete range of PAT input to Parks' Project Steering Committee (a committee of upper level staff) for consideration. Issues that cannot be resolved by Project Steering will be forwarded to the Superintendent for resolution.

Membership
The PAT will reflect the diversity of the neighborhood and gym service area. It will have up to 12 members. Membership will include community members who represent a wide range of backgrounds, interests and perspectives, and may involve neighbors, community center user groups, community center advisory council members, schools, businesses, churches, libraries and other civic facilities or organizations. Membership will also include one Parks' staff member.

A separate Parks' staff member selected by Parks' Planning and Development Division Director and South Division Director will facilitate PAT meetings. Other Parks' and City staff and design consultants may attend and participate in PAT meetings as appropriate but will not be official PAT members.

Selection Process
The Project Manager and Parks Southeast Sector Manager identified potential members based on the membership guidelines above. They collected and reviewed information from nominees and made recommendations for PAT membership. These recommendations were reviewed and approved by the Director of the Planning and Development Division, the South Division Director and by the Superintendent, who appointed members of the PAT.

Schedule
The PAT will provide input at key project milestones beginning in the early design phase of the project (schematic design) and finishing at the end of the design phase (construction documents). The PAT will be invited on one or more "hard hat" tours during construction and will be invited to participate in the dedication ceremony.