Rossi Playground Work Grinds to a Halt After Dispute with City

By Carol Dimmick

Plans to renovate Rossi Playground are on hold for the third consecutive month because of a dispute between the SF Recreation and Park Department and Peterson Architects, the landscape architect on the project.

Tom Panelli, project manager for Peterson Architects, confirmed that his firm has stopped working on the project after spending months doing research and holding meetings with neighbors.

According to Panelli, the City refuses to release his firm from liability even though Peterson is doing a substantial amount of the work, as much as 50 percent, at no cost. Panelli says that if the City wants firms to donate their services it should shoulder the legal burden.

"This is the typical city run-around because of a bureaucratic mindset. Nobody wants to take responsibility," he said.

Elizabeth Goldstein, general manager of the Recreation and Park Department, confirmed the City will not release Peterson from legal responsibility for its work on project, but she said the City will make money available for the company to buy additional liability insurance.

"The City won't do it. We have private consultants stand behind their work product," she said.

Dispute Threatens Relationship With NPC
The dispute is threatening to sour a long-standing relationship between the Recreation and Park Department and one of its staunch supporters, the National Parks Council (NPC).

Peterson Architects was tapped for the project by NPC under an agreement it has with the Recreation and Park Department to build playgrounds at a fraction of the cost by persuading private companies to donate its services.

Linda Hunter, director of the Playground Campaign for the NPC, says the City should be willing to assume liability for companies that donate their services. According to Hunter, because a playground typically needs to be renovated every 10 to 15 years, at an average cost of $600,000 to $800,000, volunteers are a crucial part of any project.

"If people are kind enough to donate their time we want the City to take the responsibility," she said.

Hunter said that Goldstein's offer of money to buy additional coverage for Peterson will not solve the problem because insurance companies do not sell coverage on a project-by-project basis. Hunter pointed to the new Crocker Amazon Playground as an example of the work NPC is doing with volunteers to hold down the cost of rebuilding parks and playgrounds.

"That project saved the City $375,000 because of donated services," she said.

Hunter hinted that NPC's partnership with the department could be in jeopardy over the issue.

"We are seriously considering not partnering with the Recreation and Park Department on playgrounds - they can't deliver," Hunter said.

But Amber Rosenberg, director of communication for the NPC, said the two sides will be meeting soon in an attempt to work out their differences.

The dispute is a source of frustration for Richmond District residents who use the playground, located at Anza Street and Arguello Boulevard.

Jeff Hagan, a member of Friends of Rossi Playground, a neighborhood group active in fundraising for the new playground, wants to see the dispute resolved soon.

"What should be a speed bump has become an obstacle and that's sad. I just hope the City isn't being unreasonable on how it approaches this," he said.