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Metro Parks Director Mike Heitz (center) talks with park users in the Portland neighborhood's Boone Square, one of the city's 18 Olmsted-designed parks. |
The mission of Louisville Metro Parks is to create a City of Parks where people can play, learn, grow and be healthy. The mission is accomplished by taking care of all parks properties and creating new ones, by providing safe and diverse recreational programs, and by protecting our public lands and resources for future generations.
The agency is administered by Director Mike Heitz, through the following divisions:
Operations – maintains park land, athletic fields and golf courses
Park Resources – manages natural resources, forestry, capital improvement projects, and skilled trades
Community Centers & Athletics – provides a wide variety of neighborhood-based recreation services, in support of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement
Recreation Programs – offers community-wide programs such as aquatics, arts and culture, therapeutic recreation and activities for senior citizens
Planning & Design – develops plans to improve the parks and their facilities, with an emphasis on the Mayor’s City of Parks initiative
Historic Properties – operates historic homes and ensures the continued integrity of our Olmsted parks and parkways
Community Relations – manages marketing, public information, development and volunteer programs
Finance & Administration – ensures that bills are paid and policies are followed, and operates the agency's personnel office
Metro Parks was established in 1968, combining the Louisville City Parks Department (founded in 1888) and the Jefferson County Parks Department (founded in the mid-1940s). The agency became a department of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government when the City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments merged on January 6, 2003.
Louisville’s Mayor appoints the director of Metro Parks, as well as members of a Parks Advisory Commission.
Metro Parks is a member of the Kentucky Recreation and Park Society and the National Recreation and Park Association. The department was honored to earn national accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies on September 25, 2007.