Community
RTD on Nathan Burrell’s Impact on our Parks
A lot has changed in James River Park over the years one constant for 17 years was Nathan Burrell and his hard work.
Nathan Burrell spent 17 years working in our park system. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on a few projects. The impact he had on my particular project was immense. The impact he had on the James River Park System is even greater.
Colleen Curran at RTD has a great summary of the impact Nathan has had on our parks.
During his time as superintendent, Burrell raised the parks operational budget from approximately $535,000 to over $800,000. With the increase, he was able to expand the park staff from three to seven full-time positions.
He also secured capital improvement funding totaling over $800,000 for the park.
“I think he had the two main characteristics you need [in this position]: patience and perseverance. His patience didn’t mean he was going to accept it. Settling was not his thing. He was persistent, stubborn even, in pushing for what he believed was right,” Lugbill said.


