New District Administrator for CRPD Announced

James Rodems was announced the new district administrator of Cordova Recreation and Park District (CRPD) at Wednesday's board meeting.

“My ultimate vision for the district is to grow,” Rodems said. “I think Cordova probably has the most room to grow in the county. We just need to manage ourselves well and promote program growth to serve the community.”

Rodems was formerly the director of Lodi's Parks and Recreation Department. His first official day as district administrator will be Feb. 16.

“I was working out in Lodi, but I am actually a Sacramento resident so I'm excited to work within Cordova,” he said. “The next 30 to 60 days I'm going to be working closely with the resource manager to understand what's what and what's where.”

Rodems' term will last for a year with the option of a one-year extension.

Board Member Inez Reyes said she hopes Rodems can bring CRPD back on its feet.

“We're at a really rough time in the county right now. The last 10 months or so we've been sliding back and I hope he can bring us up again. He better,” she laughed.

Rodems said his 15 years of experience within the University of California (UC) system has supplied him with the skills necessary to help the district.

“With the UC system we were constantly organizing and reorganizing,” he said. “Every two years we had to evolve. I was always building something out of nothing.”

First and foremost, Rodems hopes to establish financial stability within the district.

“The financial situation in the district is not unique to this district. It happened where I came from, even before the recession,” Rodems said. “The most important thing is building up good reserves and solid program budgets. We need to dial things back and grow again.”

Doug Critchfield, senior landscape architect, was the while negotiations were in progress and to remain in the position full-time.

“I couldn't remain in the position because of my family,” Critchfield said. “We live in Valley Springs and it's just too much work for me to keep up with.”

Critchfield is confident that Rodems will bring a high level of expertise into the district administrator position.

Board Member Rick Sloan is also optimistic for the new year with the new district administrator.

“We really needed someone with vision and he has those qualifications,” Sloan said. “We just acquired a good portion of land on which we will be building 30 new parks. We didn't just need someone who can maintain, we needed someone who can build.”

In the meeting the board also elected officers for the 2012 year. Rick Sloan was named chairperson, Brian Danzl vice-chairperson and Inez Reyes secretary. 

Rick Sloan also volunteered to serve a two-year, unpaid term on the Sacramento LAFCo Special District Advisory Committee in an effort to involve the board in other parts of the community.