GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF PARKS 455 



the approval of the mayor or the municipal council. The purpose of including 

 ex officio members in park commissions is to tie up the department more 

 closely with the superior governing authority of the given divisions (city or 

 council) or to facilitate cooperation between the park commission and other 

 public agencies that by reason of properties or functions are important 

 factors in the community recreation program. While it is desirable and 

 fundamental to have a high degree of cooperation between the park com- 

 mission and other public agencies contributing to the service, it is not 

 absolutely necessary, in order to secure such cooperation, to have repre- 

 sentatives of these agencies on the park commission. As a general rule the 

 members of these cooperating boards are non-salaried and have their spare 

 time fully occupied with the duties of their own boards and cannot give 

 the close attention to another public department which is needed. In 

 actual practice, it has been found that non-ex officio members have to do 

 most of the detail work. The plan of having a governing authority of a 

 political division act as the governing authority of a park district is unde- 

 sirable for the reason that the interest of the members is divided by many 

 diverse duties and the entire machinery of park government is often subjected 

 to the undesirable political practices which sometimes exist. 



/Important as the method of selecting members of park commissioners 

 is, the efficiency of such commissions in the long run depends more upon 

 the method of fixing the tenure of office, the powers granted the commis- 

 sioners and the methods of financing subjects dealt with later in this 

 chapter and subsequent ones. 



3. Qualifications of members of park commissions. Legal qualifications 

 in general require that a member shall be a citizen of the United States and 

 resident of the municipality, district or county as the case may be, and 

 that he take an oath for the faithful performance of duty and give bond in 

 some given amount-^Sriew examples Of Slich ISgaHfequixeiitaRtS -feliojaE:^: 



7* There shall be a board of park commissioners com- upon him as a member of said board, which bond will be 



posed of five members, who shall have been bona fide approved by the mayor and filed with the recorder."- 



residents and citizens of the city or town controlled by An Act of the General Assembly of the State of Tennes- 



said acts, at least five years prior to their appointment see creating the Board of Park Commissioners of the 



. . . Each member appointed or selected to serve upon City of Nashville, Chapter 117, Acts of 1901, amended 



said board, before proceeding upon the duties of his 1903, 1905 and 1909, excerpts from Section 2. 

 office, shall qualify by making oath or affirmation before "No person shall be eligible for the office of park 



the recorder of such city as follows: 'I do solemnly trustee unless he shall have been for three years prior 



swear that I will support the Constitution of the United to the date of his appointment a bona fide resident and 



States and the constitution of the State of Tennessee citizen of Seattle. Each trustee appointed or selected 



and will faithfully and impartially perform and dis- to serve upon said board before proceeding upon the 



charge the duties of this office,' and in addition thereto, duties of his office, shall qualify by making oath or 



shall execute a bond payable to the mayor and the city affirmation before the city clerk." Charter of the City y 



council in the sum of ten thousand dollars conditioned of Seattle, Article XIII, excerpts from Section 2. 

 that he will faithfully perform all duties incumbent 



