The City of Buffalo and the Olmsted Parks Conservancy have agreed to further their partnership. Thursday morning, at Delaware Park's Hoyt Lake, Mayor Byron Brown and members of the conservancy signed a new agreement through 2030.
Part of the agreement recognizes the conservancy’s oversight of the 850 acres of park land. Brown says city residents are fortunate to have a world-class parks system.
“We are the envy of communities all across the nation and across the world, having this system,” Brown said. “This system has been recognized both nationally and internationally, and it is one of the things that makes Buffalo such a special place.”
Brown says the city is committing $1.4 million for maintenance and labor funding. In addition, $100,000 to $200,000 will be offered via matching funds raised by the conservancy. What is new to the agreement is the conservancy will be able to keep and use those funds for their operations use.
Parks and Recreation Deputy Commissioner Andrew Rabb calls it a “matching component.”
“We’ve always had a matching agreement with the Olmsted Parks Conservancy,” he said. “This just changed what was a base payment from the city, which was the $1.4 million.”
Rabb says the match will go up to $200,000 in two years if the conservancy raises $400,000. The money would stay the same until the Parks Commission does a financial review after five years.
