When Scott Henderson saw a job opening posted with the Provo Parks and Recreation Department in 2002, he and his wife took a trip from Montana to check it out.

They came during the annual America’s Freedom Festival at Provo, and he thought the city was always about parades, celebrations and fireworks.

On Tuesday, he was officially named the new director of the department. The Provo Municipal Council unanimously approved a resolution to hire Henderson in his new role.

Now, Henderson says, “We are going to continue the fun with our own parties and celebrations.”

Those celebrations will be to clearly mark the years of success and growth that have happened in the department and throughout the city.

Henderson is no stranger to the department. He has worked in parks and recreation for 14 years. He was instrumental in helping build the 2002 Olympic Ice Sheet — now the Peaks Ice Arena, the Covey Center for the Arts and the Provo Recreation Center.

“We’re all very excited for Scott. He is a remarkable man,” Mayor John Curtis said. “He brings enthusiasm and a wealth of experience to this position.

“I’m confident Scott and his team will bring an already highly successful parks and recreation department to new levels.”

That is exactly what Henderson is hoping to do.

“There is going to be a renaissance of the park system with the RAP tax,” Henderson said. “We will be at a level of excellence not experienced anywhere. Others try to achieve where we are right now.”

For 2016, Henderson said one of the most important things to make happen is enhancement to the trail system and the asphalt.

“It will be a comprehensive involvement,” Henderson said. “Every neighborhood will be getting involved.”

Henderson said the RAP tax encompasses every part of his jurisdiction — recreation, arts and parks. He expects to see at least $150,000 a year going to the Covey Center for facilities and programs.

“We’ll all be impressed,” he said. “There is a wealth of local talent and we need a place to display that talent.”

Part of the success of the parks and recreation department comes from its people. To better streamline the work and to save some money, Henderson has restructured the chain of command and assignments.

Doug Robins used to oversee parks, with Henderson in charge of recreation. Both answered to former director Roger Thomas. Now, Robins will be the assistant director over all areas and work directly with Henderson.

“A lot of success will come from putting together a visionary team,” Henderson said. “We can apply that same vision to the RAP tax. We will give citizens everything they wanted and things they dream of. There is a lot of success left to be had.”

One example of the great success Henderson and crew have had is bringing the rec center to the point where it no longer needs to be subsidized by the city.

“The projections were it would take $500,000 in subsidies,” Henderson said. “The Covey Center is at half of the expected subsidies, and the Peaks arena has eliminated two-thirds of its subsidies.”

Henderson said the parks operations area is using the same number of employees it did in the 1970s.

“We are keeping our eye on the ball,” Henderson said. “We have 2,000 members at the rec center that are over 60 years old. We have the most successful senior program around.”