Patrick Sullivan departed as executive director of Parks, Buildings and Recreational Management after nearly four decades with the city a few weeks ago.
But during the last city council meeting, the 62-year-old appeared to be confirmed for his next assignment. Selected by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Sullivan was tapped to become a trustee for what’s known as the Barney Estate Board.
"Mr. Sullivan - you missed us so much, you're back already!" Springfield City Council President Michael Fenton joked during the council's April 8 meeting, a week after Sullivan's last day on the job.
Sullivan tells WAMC his new role involves overseeing the upkeep and investments of Everett Barney, a businessman and philanthropist who, in the late 1800’s, donated much of his estate to help form the city’s expansive, 735-acre Forest Park.
That included a carriage house – a structure Sullivan and others helped save back in the 1980s when it, along with the park’s Monkey House and Walker Grandstand appeared to be on the chopping block.
Decades later, Sullivan is now part of the team that continues to maintain it. He gave WAMC a tour of the house built nearly 130 years ago, including some of Barney’s more interesting additions, such as what’s essentially a turntable for horse carriages.
“The story with this floor - basically, he had it built so he could drive his horse and carriage in here, and his servants - there was two poles - they could turn it and then the carriage was facing the right way so when he went out to work the next day, he was facing the right direction,” he explained.
Maintaining and expanding access to buildings is nothing new for Sullivan after 18 years as executive director and a number of years as park superintendent and other roles before that.
Growing up with a love for landscaping, Sullivan is a graduate of the city’s Classical High School, and studied arboriculture and park management at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. He also studied plant and soil science while at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
He joined the city’s parks department in 1987 and worked his way up from there.
By the time of his retirement, Sullivan enhanced over 50 neighborhood parks in the city, in addition to securing more than $400,000,000 in park grants and in-kind projects, according to the mayor's office.
His role included more than managing parks, as well – the city credits Sullivan with overseeing over $1 billion in “new schools built and school renovation projects including roofs, windows, boilers and environmental management systems.”
“I just want Springfield to be the best it can be,” he said. “It has so much potential, and I think I share that same enthusiasm that Mayor Sarno has for the city. When you work for someone that has that enthusiasm, it just brings it out more in you, as an employee.
Speaking with WAMC in Barney’s former offices at the carriage house, he also credits the team he worked with over the years at his former department, referring to them as some of “the most talented people” you can find in the country.
As he continues overseeing some of the acres he helped manage while with the parks department, Sullivan says there’s still plenty to do, including a project that has been some 20 years in the making.
He says he hopes to see construction for the Forest Park Horticulture and Learning Center get off the ground in the next two or three years.
The renovated facility would be at the monkey house and brick barn, the latter of which would be converted into classrooms to give students a chance to learn more about horticulture and agriculture.
With an earmark in the state budget, Sullivan says he is upbeat about the project moving forward. Some of the work needed has already been underway, including the city’s Forestry Division moving out of the space and into a new facility.
“I've been lucky that all mayors have had a good affection for parks, but no one better other than, I think, Congressman Neal and Mayor Sarno seem to have the most passion for parks," he noted. "And so, I’m just very fortunate to have had a great career. It's been fun!”
