Archive: Around Town

When Lansing's Parks and Recreation Department doors opened Tuesday morning there wasn't any obvious difference.  The office looked the same.  But in actuality there was a huge difference -- Patrick Tyrrell had taken the helm as the Town's Park Superintendent and Recreation Director.  Tyrrell brings 18 years of experience in the department to the job, and he hit the ground running during one of the department's busiest seasons.

"I don't think you're going to see any big differences," Tyrrell says. "Nothing is going to shut down or change.  All the programs are going to keep running and things will keep happening the way they have been."

Steve Colt was still working beyond the last minute when the Town Hall closed for the day at 4pm on Monday, after 30 years of leading Parks & Rec.  A few minutes after that he officially retired.  That meant that Tuesday Tyrrell was in charge of a department that was suddenly down a man.  While the department makes use of several seasonal employees, it has run for many years with only three full time employees including Tyrrell, Colt and Parks & Recreation Clerk Maureen Muggeo.

"It's going to be a struggle," he says. "The next few weeks are very busy with soccer camp and fall soccer.  We're going to run lean for a little while and then I think it will all get caught back up.  There is definitely a plan in place.  I think the status quo will remain for the Parks & Rec Department for a while.

Tyrrell worked under Colt as Recreation Assistant, and then Recreation Supervisor for close to 18 years.  He says Colt was a mentor at first, but their relationship morphed into colleagues as Colt allowed Tyrrell flexibility in how he managed park and ball field maintenance and other aspects of his job.

"It started out that he was a mentor, and then we became more colleague," he says. "He let me run the outside stuff the way I saw fit.  It's been great.  It's let me grow into taking over."

he has received praise from Supervisor Ed LaVigne repeatedly for chipping in with tasks outside the bailiwick of the Recreation Department.  he obtained a Class B Driver's License so he could help the Highway Department with snow plowing when extra hands are needed.  He has also assumed a leading role in making sure the Town's technology is up to date and running smoothly.

Tyrrell grew up in East Genoa, aspiring to be a dentist when he was young.  By the time he attended TC3 he aimed to be a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officer.  Before enrolling at the academy he discovered he might be assigned anywhere in the state, and would likely be posted near New York City for at least six months.

"I didn't really like that idea," he says. "I've always done golf course work.  I worked at Highland Country Club in Auburn, and then came here."

He and his wife Liz bought his grandparents' farm in King Ferry, where they are raising three children.  She teaches at Southern Cayuga, and Tyrrell splits what little free time he has between coaching there, and playing golf.  But his family crosses the county border into Lansing.

"My family has always been involved in Lansing," he says. "My grandmother is the head of the North Lansing Auxiliary, so she's been very influential.  Every part of my family has been involved in some sort of group in Lansing."

In keeping with his interest in DEC work, Tyrrell says the parks component was what first interested him in the Lansing job.  But eventually he spread into every aspect of the department, including some of the phone work that consumed a lot of Colt's time. 

The biggest change for Tyrrell will be that the new position will require more work inside the office, and less outside.

"I handle the crews outside and supervise the outside guys.  It's going to be the same, but a little more office work.  I have several employees that have been on staff for quite a while that can handle it.  The big difference for me is more office time, more than I'm used to.  That's just part of it -- there are meetings and the phone is a big responsibility.  I like the outside part the most. It's going to be a change coming back inside. But it's something different every day. The park is one of the best spots around on the lake."

LaVigne has said several times that the next head of Parks & Rec will have to present a grand vision for the next chapter in the department's story.  Tyrrell says that right now he is concentrating on smaller projects like completing the dugouts in the town ball fields, and some projects in the parks.  He says that at first he won't diverge much from Colt's path, but he does have ideas, some of which are close to fruition.

"I have some of my own visions and projects I want to implement," he says. "Online registrations has been a big thing that people want.  We just need to get all the technology in our department caught up to speed.  Social media, online registration and reservations is where we're hoping to get to in January.  We've talked about it for a while now, and we can finally move forward and implement some of these things.  That's one big project I will undertake right away."

Tyrrell is well aware that while a lot of his new job is about facilities and scheduling, it is really all about people.  He says that he has worked very well in cooperation with the Town Board, the Highway Superintendent and Department.

"The board has been great to work with," he says. "They've provided us with everything to do whatever we need to do to get the work done.  The Friends of Salt Point have been great to work with, as far as cleaning up and work parties and that sort of thing.  We do a little bit of maintenance, but they handle the rest.  And we wouldn't have a Rec program if it weren't for the volunteers.  It's grown into a great program, but it's definitely the volunteers that make it."

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