 The City of South Portland has a brand new Parks and Recreation Director. Wesley McVayne talked with Rick Toll about his new job and what he has planned for the summer season. Well, Rick, you've been the Director of the South Portland Parks and Rec for all of two weeks. Yes, ma'am. And you're going into probably the busiest time for the Rec Department. Tell us what's happening in South Portland. Well, I guess the greater question is what's not happening. I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to work in Parks and Recreation for many years now. And the City of South Portland has a long-standing tradition of wonderful events, as well as a staff that is extraordinary. And thanks to Dana, who just retired, and a long-time director who is an icon really in New England, those are some pretty big shoes to fill. And he kept them moving. So I'm hoping to carry that tradition on and forward and put my fingerprint on the program as we go. But we have many things, the Fourth of July is coming up, and by the time I believe this is aired, that'll have come and gone. I might get a breath and catch up, but not much because we've got some good things coming up in August. So you have a lot of physical things happening for kids and adults? Absolutely. Right now, we're in full bore with summer camps. People can sign up for those. They can look at the city website and find out of that information at southportland.org. They can also contact Lisa Thompson, who works for us, who's a phenomenal programmer, great with families and children. We've got also lots of different basketball camps and things that are going on. So if your child has a tennis camp, a variety of interests, not just sports. We have arts and crafts and many things they can do as well. Recreation, a lot of people think of just ball kicking and whistle blowing. But it really is digital photography. It's bicycling. It's trail walking. It's a mosaic of the diversity of a community. I think it sounds wonderful. And I know that South Portland is just doing wonderful things. You've come from Maryland, where you did a whole county or something. Yeah, in Maryland, and one of the reasons I moved there eight years ago, was that my degree was actually in public policy from the University of Southern Maine. The Muskie Institute is there now. However, at that time, there was no Muskie Institute. I was fortunate to graduate from there and I wanted to learn about county government. New England has town, municipal, and city government. But if you say York County, all you think of is the jail or land record keeping. However, in other parts of the country, in fact, probably 80% of the country, county governments, you said you spent some time in the Carolinas. Wataga County. Yeah, and you know county government is the main process for municipal government. There's usually the state. And then the municipality is rare to have a town incorporated chartered government. So I wanted to learn about it. And I did. I was the director there of an entire county system. So it would be very similar to Franklin County or York County or Cumberland County, just a little different population. And in South Portland, you talk about being a wide range of things that you're involved in. And one of them is the art fair. The art and the park. The art and the park is a phenomenal festival that goes on in Mill Creek Park, which this year is going to be quite the challenge. We're renovating. We're very proud of the renovation that's taking place. I just heard about that. It will be a much more environmentally sustainable facility. And it will also serve the public better. We have some new community gardens and there's a master plan. We hired a landscape architect and she's doing a wonderful job, Regina. And I think you'll find that when it's done, it is painful like at your house. If you want to see something tragic happen, take out a bathroom or a kitchen. It's like that. I'm in the middle of that right now. Funny you should say that. So we've taken out the bathroom in the kitchen and we're trying to survive for the next six weeks and then reopen it with art and the park. But before that, even we'll be doing some concerts. The concerts that take place every Wednesday in the park. So a few people and we invite you to come down and participate in those. They will continue. It will be just fine. The contractor every day is there working steadily. And if Mother Nature helps us, that'll be great. And I know we don't have too much time left. I know the Greenway there. Yeah, get out. July is Parks and Recreation Month nationally. Yes. And I'm encouraging people, if you're in this viewing area, to come to our Greenway and start at Buglight Park and go all the way to Wainwright. What's one of our sports complexes, a phenomenal 146-acre facility. And I'm encouraging people to go along that corridor and check it out if you haven't. You can walk it. You can pet it. I rode my bike from Munjoy Hill all the way over and along there. Absolutely. Absolutely. And what's nice about it is even on the hot days, it's got a breeze to it. You know, it's just the way it is. And you know, come out and do that. Visit the community parks in your area. Stay fit and active. And if they want more information, you're welcome. They can reach us at southportland.org or they can try to reach out to me at rtoll at southportland.org. Well, it sounds great. And I'd be happy to help them. And I want to have you back on and talk about some more things that we didn't have time for this time. That's wonderful. I'd appreciate your time. Thank you, Rick. Thank you, ma'am.