If you haven’t been in Hemming Park in the past 365 days, you haven’t been to Hemming Park.
Today marks the one-year anniversary the park has been under the management of Friends of Hemming Park, a nonprofit contracted by the city to operate and program the 1.5 acres at City Hall’s front door.
Whether the organization will log a second anniversary isn’t certain.
That will likely be determined by how successful the group is in the area of increasing private funding and depending far less on financial support from the city.
The organization’s 18-month, $1 million management contract expires at the end of February.
According to the financial report sent Aug. 31 to the city, the Friends to date have raised $318,000 from grants and donations. It is scheduled to receive its final payment for that contract Dec. 1.
Friends officials have said the group would need taxpayer dollars, perhaps up to $500,000 a year, after the contract ends to continue managing the park.
Several City Council members made it clear that wasn’t likely to happen.
Friends Executive Director Vince Cavin said one of the goals for the second year is to increase the effort to raise money from private sources.
He said he will soon take on a greater role in the community, becoming “the public face” of Hemming Park. He’ll be working with city officials and speaking at civic club meetings.
He’s also planning to hire a development director who can raise funds for the continued operation of the park.
“Our goal is to raise at least $600,000 in our second year,” Cavin said.
The nonprofit spent $839,593 from September 2014 through August of this year.
Other goals for the second year include identifying a permanent food vendor and building a small restaurant in the park and establishing a holiday season market.
The plaza that a little more than a year ago was a site of loitering and nuisance crime — that many people admitted they avoided — has become a destination for those who work, live and play Downtown.
According to the report submitted to the city, since the nonprofit took over operations and programming, nearly 537,000 people have visited Hemming Park and 54 events have drawn 500 or more people to the park.
The events that grew the largest crowds included Gastrofest, which the group said brought in 30,000 people, and the same-sex marriage ceremony, which drew 1,200.
Cavin said figuring out what would draw crowds to the park and what could keep them there were the two main focuses of the first year.
“The first step was to get food in the park,” he said.
Weekday diners have had a variety of cuisine served from food trucks, including one set up Monday-Friday along Laura Street near “Charlie’s Café,” tables and chairs with umbrellas next to a small stage where musicians perform during lunch.
“I think they’ve made great progress,” said City Council President Greg Anderson. “It’s a much better experience and certainly more reflective of our community.”
But, he said, funding remains an issue.
“The big issue is to what degree the organization can sustain itself. It was always intended to be a partnership that ultimately would result in the nonprofit being able to carry the financial obligation,” said Anderson. “We need to make sure they have a stable financial model.”
Council member Bill Gulliford, who served on committees that studied options for the park that led to the decision to turn it over to private management, agreed.
“It really comes down to the question of finance and can they operate without a lot of money from the city,” Gulliford said.
Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa said there is $250,000 in a contingency fund that’s earmarked for extending the Friends’ contract with the city from March 1 through Sept. 30, when the city’s 2016-17 budget will be adopted.
It won’t be an automatic disbursement, however.
The nonprofit will have to apply for the additional funds. Mousa said the Friends will be required to appear before the council to plead their case for more funding.
“They’ll have to explain how they’ll use those dollars and how those dollars will help them succeed,” he said.
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