AUBURN- With so many parks and playgrounds, Auburn has been blessed with a rich history of recreational opportunities.
Mike Talbot has overseen these parks and programs for more than five years as the city's recreation director.
Talbot, an Auburn native, said he grew up on the playgrounds playing summer sports in Auburn.
“I was really involved in youth sports,” Talbot said. “I was into fishing and all the lake life stuff and riding my bike and playing baseball and basketball and softball when I got older.”
After graduating from Alfred State, he moved to Atlanta but was drawn back to Auburn after he got married.
“When we found out we were going to have kids, we knew we wanted them to go to school in New York so we decided to move back here,” Talbot said.
Taking a position with the city, Talbot is currently the sanitation supervisor with the solid-waste department. Through this position, Talbot was introduced to the the recreation department.
“Really, I just saw an exam notice while I was in City Hall one day,” Talbot said. “So I worked on it and I was appointed. It seemed like it would be a pretty interesting position and I like being involved in the community and helping people with their problems and trying to improve the quality of life in Auburn.”
Talbot said Auburn is lucky to have so many places and programs contributing greatly to the area's quality of life.
“It is a unique region,” Talbot said. “There are a lot of youth sports and there are a lot of opportunities for adults. There is skating, basketball, softball, swimming; there is really something for everyone year around.”
That's why Talbot focuses year-round on everything from playground maintenance and staffing to the needs of basketball and softball leagues and upkeep on the fields and facilities to Falcon Park.
“It is very labor intensive,” Talbot said. “There is constantly something going on. For softball, we have to keep up on six fields and schedule games and rainouts. In the summer we have the swimming pool to keep up and lessons and lifeguards and we have the parks to make sure are up to requirements. In the fall we have to start getting the ice rink ready for the winter and that is open seven days a week with youth hockey and the high school team and open skating and then there is a good month of cleaning and fixing up the rink and then we are right back to summer.”
Talbot said things were in good shape when he took over the position, but there have been changes over the years.
With increasing specialization and year-round focus on youth sports, the need for playgrounds and youth activities has waned.
“Our playgrounds have been cut in half,” Talbot said. “We used to fund 12 playgrounds, now we only do six. We had to choose the most frequently used and make sure we could staff and maintain. We used to run a lot of youth camps for sports, but now there are so many of them offered and there are so many other options for kids, we couldn't really compete.”
Talbot said while youth programs have been shifting, the city has made every effort possible to adapt to the needs of the community.
“It is difficult,” Talbot said. “You can't force people to do all the things you offer. But we always try and we always listen to what people want. If someone calls, we listen, and if we get enough calls we will try to get something going. If 20 people enjoy something then as far as we are concerned that is something that is working.”
Despite the cutbacks, there are areas Talbot said have only grown in recent years.
Particularly popular have been long-established organizations like city league basketball and softball, with 28 tams in basketball.
“That is the best it has been in years,” Talbot said. “And this summer we had more than 100 teams playing softball. Those programs are still very successful. I think it is all about quality of life for people. It is a chance for them to get together with friends and blow off some steam, and we want to offer all of that for people that we possibly can.”
Growing more popular since its introduction four years ago has been the city New Year's Eve party.
“We started it at Hoopes Park,” Talbot said. “But it outgrew Hoopes, so we brought it down here (Casey Park). Last year we had over 1,500 people here.”
This event is a joint effort with the Cayuga County Arts Council and the city. Talbot said it has been a successful partnership.
“We've gotten the school involved,” Talbot said. “We have bands and food and we are going to have fireworks this year and all of it is free to the public and I think it is a lot of fun and people really seem to enjoy it.”
Looking toward the future Talbot has no intentions of slowing down and looks forward to the chance to keep improving recreation opportunities for the community.
“This is something I take very seriously,” Talbot said. “My salary is paid with tax dollars so I feel that I have answer to 26,000 people. It is a good community and there are a lot of good people and places here and for me it is a lot of fun to work for them. I like being a civil servant. It has been a good time and a good experience and I look forward to keep doing this and keep trying to make things better.”
Talbot, an Auburn native, said he grew up on the playgrounds playing summer sports in Auburn.
“I was really involved in youth sports,” Talbot said. “I was into fishing and all the lake life stuff and riding my bike and playing baseball and basketball and softball when I got older.”
After graduating from Alfred State, he moved to Atlanta but was drawn back to Auburn after he got married.
“When we found out we were going to have kids, we knew we wanted them to go to school in New York so we decided to move back here,” Talbot said.
Taking a position with the city, Talbot is currently the sanitation supervisor with the solid-waste department. Through this position, Talbot was introduced to the the recreation department.
“Really, I just saw an exam notice while I was in City Hall one day,” Talbot said. “So I worked on it and I was appointed. It seemed like it would be a pretty interesting position and I like being involved in the community and helping people with their problems and trying to improve the quality of life in Auburn.”
Talbot said Auburn is lucky to have so many places and programs contributing greatly to the area's quality of life.
“It is a unique region,” Talbot said. “There are a lot of youth sports and there are a lot of opportunities for adults. There is skating, basketball, softball, swimming; there is really something for everyone year around.”
That's why Talbot focuses year-round on everything from playground maintenance and staffing to the needs of basketball and softball leagues and upkeep on the fields and facilities to Falcon Park.
“It is very labor intensive,” Talbot said. “There is constantly something going on. For softball, we have to keep up on six fields and schedule games and rainouts. In the summer we have the swimming pool to keep up and lessons and lifeguards and we have the parks to make sure are up to requirements. In the fall we have to start getting the ice rink ready for the winter and that is open seven days a week with youth hockey and the high school team and open skating and then there is a good month of cleaning and fixing up the rink and then we are right back to summer.”
Talbot said things were in good shape when he took over the position, but there have been changes over the years.
With increasing specialization and year-round focus on youth sports, the need for playgrounds and youth activities has waned.
“Our playgrounds have been cut in half,” Talbot said. “We used to fund 12 playgrounds, now we only do six. We had to choose the most frequently used and make sure we could staff and maintain. We used to run a lot of youth camps for sports, but now there are so many of them offered and there are so many other options for kids, we couldn't really compete.”
Talbot said while youth programs have been shifting, the city has made every effort possible to adapt to the needs of the community.
“It is difficult,” Talbot said. “You can't force people to do all the things you offer. But we always try and we always listen to what people want. If someone calls, we listen, and if we get enough calls we will try to get something going. If 20 people enjoy something then as far as we are concerned that is something that is working.”
Despite the cutbacks, there are areas Talbot said have only grown in recent years.
Particularly popular have been long-established organizations like city league basketball and softball, with 28 tams in basketball.
“That is the best it has been in years,” Talbot said. “And this summer we had more than 100 teams playing softball. Those programs are still very successful. I think it is all about quality of life for people. It is a chance for them to get together with friends and blow off some steam, and we want to offer all of that for people that we possibly can.”
Growing more popular since its introduction four years ago has been the city New Year's Eve party.
“We started it at Hoopes Park,” Talbot said. “But it outgrew Hoopes, so we brought it down here (Casey Park). Last year we had over 1,500 people here.”
This event is a joint effort with the Cayuga County Arts Council and the city. Talbot said it has been a successful partnership.
“We've gotten the school involved,” Talbot said. “We have bands and food and we are going to have fireworks this year and all of it is free to the public and I think it is a lot of fun and people really seem to enjoy it.”
Looking toward the future Talbot has no intentions of slowing down and looks forward to the chance to keep improving recreation opportunities for the community.
“This is something I take very seriously,” Talbot said. “My salary is paid with tax dollars so I feel that I have answer to 26,000 people. It is a good community and there are a lot of good people and places here and for me it is a lot of fun to work for them. I like being a civil servant. It has been a good time and a good experience and I look forward to keep doing this and keep trying to make things better.”
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