16,000 square foot Merrifield Park civic plaza, in June 2009. Operations The authority officially classifies parks in its system as local parks, district parks, countywide parks or resource-based parks. Additionally, the authority uses the classification of regional parks for those parks and facilities administered by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. In addition to numerous local parks, which are generally less than , the Park Authority also manages nine recreation centers (Cub Run, George Washington, Lee District, Mount Vernon, Oak Marr, Providence, South Run, Spring Hill, and Audrey Moore/Wakefield) in several of its district parks. The authority also owns seven golf courses (Oak Marr, Pinecrest, Jefferson, Burke Lake, Greendale, Laurel Hill, and Twin Lakes), as well as over of trails. Fairfax County has adopted a program to both link the various existing trails and to acquire new land for trails with the goal of creating a county-wide network of pedestrian trails. Governance In terms of political structure and oversight, the Fairfax County Park Authority reports an independent board including twelve members appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, although appointment of the Director of the Park Authority is subject to approval by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (the highest governing body of Fairfax County). The twelve members of the Board comprise nine members respectively representing the nine magisterial districts of Fairfax County, as well as three at-large members. Public meetings of the Board are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 in the Herrity Building of the Fairfax County Government Center. See also Huntley Meadows Park, the largest park overseen by the Authority Eakin Community Park, part of the land that became Fairfax County's very first park Thompson-Kidwell Cemetery, a cemetery maintained by the Authority. References External links Fairfax County Park Authority homepage County parks departments in the United States Government in Fairfax County, Virginia Local government in Virginia Government agencies established in 1950 1950 establishments in Virginia