An Assessment of Omaha's Parks and Recreation System

PR 100 An Assessment of Omaha's Parks and Recreation System

Report No. 212 October 1981 Omaha City Planning Department. Acknowledgments Preparation of this report was financed through a grant administered by the Depart­ Parks and recreation planning has played a significant role in Omaha since Preface ment of Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, under the Urban the City's founding in 1854. While the original City plat allowed for several open Parks and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978. squares, Omaha park development received its greatest push from the creation of the Board of Park Commissioners in 1889. Under their guidance the City developed Prepared by the Omaha City Planning Department, James Kelly, Acting Director, its well-planned park and boulevards system, which forms the core of today's and the Omaha Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department, Clarence system and some of its most beautiful landscape features. In the twentieth cen- Shafer, Acting Director. tury, depressions, wars, and the influx of Federal money have all influenced the Omaha parks and led to various changes to them. Such influences continue today and prompted the completion of this document under the auspices of the Urban Mayor: Michael Boyle Parks and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978. Omaha City Council: Bernie Simon, President; Sylvia Wagner, Vice President; Administered by the Department of the Interior, 'Heritage Conservation and Walter Calinger, Fred Conley, Connie Findlay, David Stahmer, Steve Tomasek. Recreation Service, UPARR provided the City of Omaha with monies to complete a comprehensive plan for maintenance and improvement of the parks and recrea­ Urban Parks and Recreation Task Force: Betty Abbott; Deanie Anderson, Subby tion system. This document, an assessment of existing conditions, is the initial Anzaldo, Joseph Baburek, Gloria Bartek, Ron Bernth, Mary Burbridge, Joseph section of the Recovery Action Program. Churchich, James Classen, Connie Claussen, Robert Cunningham, Homer The focus of UPARR programming has been toward restoration of deteriorated Early, Joseph Fairhall, Robert Fee, Jim Findley, Ann Goldstein, Mary Ann facilities and provision of services for urban residents, a prudent approach in Hayes, Bonnie Jacobson, Ken Krabbenoft, Arlin Meadows, Bill Michael, Dick days of tight budgets and financial constraints. This need for financial restraint Mondragon, Terry Moore, Eugen Persons, John Potter, Lee Sessman, Helen also extends to the Federal level, however, and the UPARR program is currently Strnad, Warren Swigart, Carl Tyler. without funding. The City of Omaha will continue to follow the Recovery Action Program in anticipation of its implementation through local means. This com­ Project Manager: Susan Ruby prehensive Program provides an amount of information previously unavailable in Research Coordinator: Steve Jensen Omaha and will serve as a valuable planning and programming tool in the years Contributing Planning Staff: Garneth Peterson, Greg Peterson, Michael Wiese, to come. Hank Austin, Jackie Falkenroth, Robyn Glick, Lisa Lemble, Abdullah Mohsin, Barbara Schultz. Contributing Parks Staff: Dale Mathre, Jerry Parks. Publication Design and Photos: Kent Behrens Cover photo by Lynn Meyer. Type set in Times Roman by Priesman Graphics, Omaha. Context 2 Contents Introduction to Omaha 3 Overview of the Parks System II Government Functions Associated with Parks and Recreation 13 Citizen Participation 17

Physical Issues 20 Introduction 21 Overview of Omaha Area Facilities 21 Park Facility Inventory and Analysis 31 Summary of Issues 48

Rehabilitation Issues 54 Introduction 55 Overview of Rehabilitation Approaches 55 Survey Areas and Facilities in Need of Rehabilitation 57 Types of Sites and Properties in Need of Rehabilitation 64 Rehabilitation Impacts and Relationships 65 Summary of Issues 71

Historic Preservation Issues 74 Introduction 75 Changing Attitudes Toward Parks 75 The Role of Historic Preservation 76 Inventory of Historic City-Owned Facilities 78 Policies for Parks Planning 80

Management Issues 82 Introduction 83 Department Organization and Staffing Levels 84 Contractual Services 87 Equipment Maintenance and Replacement 88 Budgeting Process 89 The Parks Advisory Board 91 Summary of Issues 92

Service Issues 94 Introduction 95 Type, Extent and Intended Beneficiaries of Recreation Services 95 Coordination with other Jurisdictional Plans and Activities 106 Summary of Issues 106

Implications and Conclusions 108 2 3

Context Omaha is the central and largest city in a metropolitan statistical area also Introduction to Omaha containing Council Bluffs, Iowa; Bellevue, Nebraska; the U.S. Strategic Air Command; and a number of smaller Nebraska and Iowa incorporated com- munities. With a 1980 population of almost one-half million, the Omahaj Bellevue area forms the only major urban hub in the essentially rural State of Nebraska. Omaha was originally platted in 1854, and quickly grew into an important regional wholesaling and marketing center with a relatively heterogeneous population mix. The City's urban destiny was initially sealed by the 1863 Pacific Railroad Act and subsequent presidential decision to locate the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific near Omaha; and later reinforced with establishment and growth of the Union Stockyards Company during the 1880's. However, in spite of this rapid growth the City found it difficult to dispel its frontier town image until well into the 20th century. With the post World War II era came a gradual shift in the City's employment base toward a service oriented economy. Also during this period Omaha estab­ lished a pattern of low density westward and southwestward expansion which finally culminated in the suburban residentialj commercialj industrial boom of the late sixties and early seventies. Today, the vast majority of this fringe growth lies within Omaha's three mile extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdic­ tion. However, it is for the most part sited outside ofthe 92.5 square miles that make up incorporated Omaha, and consequently central city demographic characteristics have changed dramatically in recent years. For example, the typical 1980 Omaha family is smaller than its suburban counterpart, with a higher percentage of elderly and fewer young children. While the State of Nebraska, the metropolitan area, and the Omaha jurisdic­ tional area have all increased in total population during the past decade, the City proper has witnessed a population decline of over 10% (from 354,000 to 315,000) since 1970. Fortunately, liberal state annexation legislation provides Omaha with the opportunity to mitigate some ofthe adverse cost-related impacts of tax base decline that tend to parallel such overall population losses. Even so, Omaha remains an older, established central city currently experiencing a number of the negative effects associated with what has come to be generally known as "the urban problem". Planning and programming for the 1980's must, therefore, respond to the climate of fiscal austerity that is now emerging through­ out the nation's major urban centers. Geographic Location Omaha is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, which forms the eastern boundary of the State of Nebraska. Although not central within Nebraska, it is sited in the approximate geographic center of the forty-eight contiguous United States. Situated on the eastern edge of the Plains states, Omaha is in a region generally sparce of large urban populations. Lincoln, Nebraska, with a population ofalmost 200,000, lies 50 miles to the southwest. Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri, approximately 150 miles to the east and 200 miles to the south respec­ tively, are Omaha's closest large urban neighbors. Due to this relatively low density of metropolitan areas, residents of Omaha tend to be more dependent upon locally provided amenities than urban residents in many other portions of the country. As is characteristic throughout the Great Plains, the Omaha climate is one of extremes. The City, which is not proximate to any of the major natural fea­ tures that can mitigate severe weather conditions (e.g., large lakes, mountains, ocean currents), is subject to frequent severe storms, including tornados, hail, dust and blizzards. However, the sequence of meteorological change is generally rapid, providing Omaha with a greater number of sunny to partly sunny days than would be anticipated based solely upon its annual precipitation averages of 28 inches of rainfall and 32 inches of snowfall. For this reason, typical warm weather activity is a somewhat reasonable option throughout the April to October period. 5 4

To a large degree, the extremely slow Douglas County rate of population in­ crease is attributable to a major decline in the population of the City of Omaha, Minncapolib from 354,000 in 1970 to 315,000 in 1980. Consistent with national trends, the persons per household average within the central city decreased dramatically. Rapi City At the same time, substantial inner city household declines were recorded, and o Sioux Falbo 1------\ the City followed a financially conservative policy which limited annexations on its western fringe. Meanwhile, western sections of Douglas County experienced significant urbanization, particularly in those southern areas just west of the

Des Moines City's corporate limits. The Omaha jurisdictional suburbs grew from an esti­ Cheyenne o mated 22,000 residents in 1970 to approximately 60,000 residents in 1980. There­ o fore, although certain portions of Sarpy County clearly showed an atypically Lincoln o high percentage increase in population during the seventies, the greatest numeric population shift in the region occurred within Douglas County itself, from the Denvero central city to its adjacent suburbs. Kansas City A diversity of factors can be identified that have instigated or contributed to Topeka 0 0 such regional population shift trends. Most important, the southern loop of the interstate highway system through Omaha was completed by 1970, and industrial and commercial development naturally followed the more accessible and estab­ lished southern urban corridor. South and southwest Omaha are better served by active rail lines, interceptor sewers, and the range ofurban services than many other o 200 300Mi '00 sections of the urban area. Finally, an early 1970's court order mandating central Regional Map - Omaha's closest large urban neighbors tend to be a 3-4 hour drive, which leads area residents to rely more on locally provided services. city school district busing to achieve racial integration reinforced these land use developments. In the Omaha area, "white flight" for the most part meant moving out to the Millard, District 66 or Ralston school districts, which are generally Vegetation and topographical features in the Omaha area have always served clustered south of West Dodge Road and west of nnd Street. as significant determinants in the development of the City's park and recreation As these overall population patterns have evolved, the population in the tradi­ system. When the first settlers arrived in the early 19th century, less than 3% of the tionally black community of North Omaha has greatly declined. In 1970 this State of Nebraska was tree covered. In Omaha, the ravines along the Missouri area, bounded by Ames, Cuming, 16th and 30th Streets, had a total population River were heavily forested, with the streambeds of the Papillion Creek tributaries of 23,000. Today, North Omaha contains only 13,000 residents - a 43% decrease also tree covered to a lesser degree. The bluffs and much of the remainder of over the ten year period. Blacks in Omaha have tended, in general, to migrate to the the land currently in the City was prairie, supporting a diverse wildlife population. northwest, with heavier concentrations currently living in those areas immediately Terrain, which was rolling throughout. the Omaha vicinity, was (and still is) adjacent to the older, original North Omaha community. roughest along and near these bluff areas, and in the northeastern portion of the Although not yet readily discernible from such overall demographic statistics, county. In light of such features, it is not surprising that the City's park and there is some evidence that many of the long established trends reviewed in this boulevard system was developed to take advantage of naturally forested areas section are in the initial stage of change or reversaL Recent data on new subdivision along the waterways and views from the ridgeline of the bluffs. It is also only activity, public infrastructure improvement activity, housing unit starts, home natural that the Papillion Creek tributaries emerged as an integral element in value appreciation rates, and other market related characteristics indicate that most plans for park system expansion. by 1978 the impacts ofthe energy shortage, changing life styles, and various regional Regional Population Trends and national economic factors have begun to be felt in the greater Omaha area. Census data for 1970 and 1980 reveal that during the past decade a series of Today, the central city is becoming an increasingly popular location for both new significant population shifts have occurred throughout the Omaha region. Taken development and redevelopment options. In addition, the northwestern and as a whole, these population figures show overall declines in the older, more central northern suburban areas are witnessing a more rapid rate of urbanization than portions of the urban area, along with major growth in the rural Douglas and in past years. Due to the relatively low level of urban expansion into these areas Sarpy County sectors. However, recent incremental statistics sensitive to initial prior to 1978, many closer-in, more economically developable suburban sites are demographic shifts indicate that in the 1980's we can anticipate at least some still available for new development. reversal of these more established trends. Such changes may have ramifica­ The City of Omaha adopted a growth management ordinance in 1977 designed tions on the resident demand for urban amenities, as well as on the ability of the to systematically encourage this private sector interest and investment in central City of Omaha to provide for new or existing facilities and services. Omaha areas, as well as to insure cost-efficient and appropriate land usage in In 1970, Douglas County's population was recorded at 389,455, and Sarpy suburban sectors of the Omaha jurisdiction. Because this "Urban Development County's (adjacent to the south) at 63,696. Preliminary census statistics for 1980 Policy" provides a public sector framework for reinforcing the population trend In contrast to the last decade, the central city is becoming reversals recently initiated, it sets at least a portion of the basis for an economically more popular, due in part to moreeconomical redevelop­ indicate that while the Douglas County figure increased by only IV,%(to 395,028) ment options as well as access to existing facilities and during the seventies. the Sarpy County population grew by over 33% (to 84,933) healthy and socially viable City of Omaha in future decades. services. over the same period. This general population shift to the south represents one Economy and Employment Characteristics of the more significant of the demographic trends currently impacting the Omaha The Midwestern agricultural belt is known for its general economic stability. region. In contrast to other Nebraska urban counties, which generally recorded As a part ofthis section ofthe country, the Omaha area does not typically encounter strong population gains throughout the seventies, Douglas County population the severe economic swings characteristic of many other regions. This is not totals remained virtually constant. surprising in light of the City's employment diversification into secondary and 6 7

tertiary sources, and its limited involvement in the primary industry areas. The City's economic base is heavily oriented toward the service, trade, gov­ ernment and insurance industries. Figure I presents a 1960 through 1978 break­ % Participation 1970 1980 down of Omaha's wage and salary labor force by major employment sectors, along Total Male s1.6 82.6 with a comparison of these statistics to U.S. urban area averages. The data clearly Black Male 72.4 76.1 indicate that a continued decline in manufacturing and construction employment Total Female 45.3 53.5 has occurred in Omaha since 1960, and that this decline is greater than might Black Female 54.0 58.1

be anticipated based upon national rates of decrease in these sectors. Conversely, • Aligust. !980 the service, trade, and government sectors have employed an ever increasing o SUI""": Ncbmska Job Ser\'ice segment of the labor force. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Omaha region Fig, 3 has witnessed a relatively strong move toward a more service based economy M over the last several decades. Recent commercial, industrial, and institutional building activity levels provide additional insight into Omaha's economic development patterns. A Figure 2 summarizes Omaha jurisdiction building permit statistics for 1979, show­ ing both the predominance of certain types of construction, and the degree of H investment in various portions of the Omaha area. Institutional, office, and government investments along the Dodge Street corridor (from the central A business district to 1-680) show up as the primary construction types, followed by commercial investments scattered throughout the southern sections of the City. On the other hand, industrial investments make up a relatively insignificant portion of total new construction activity. Notably, very few new construction dollars have found their way to locations north of Maple Street. However, if the level of northwestern residential expansion evidenced since 1978 continues, this pattern might be expected to change during the 1980's, with an increase in commercialjoffice construction in the northwest similar to that now visible in ,;, the southern areas. ".,.,." .'

Source: Ncbra~ka Jab Service: Bureau of Economic Analysis, U, S, Dcparlmcll! of Commerce, Regional Economic Information of elderly city residents has increased from 35,000 to approximately 40,000. Thus, System where only 9.9% of the Omaha population was over 65 in 1970, today this figure has Fig. I grown to over 12% of the total population. Paralleling the elderly population increase is an expected significant decline in the number and percentage of children under 18 years of age. Census statistics show that in 1970 approximately Although these trends are projected to accelerate during the 1980's, it should be 36% of the total Omaha jurisdictional population fell into this group. However, remembered that both the female and minority labor force participation rates over 40% of the suburban population was under 18 at that time, while the figure will be significantly influenced by any additional severe downturns in the national typically averaged 35% or less in the more established sections of the City. One economy. 8 9

major exception to this trend occurred in the predominantly minority com­ income of $18,000, Omaha residents have traditionally "under spent" on housing, munities, where the percent of population under 18 was closer to suburban area and clearly continue to do so today, This is made possible not so much by the averages, and appeared to be increasing slightly as recently as 1976. cost of new construction (although this is also relatively low) as by the existence ofa .. Preliminary 1980 census tabulations for City of Omaha persons per household large supply of single family homes falling within the low / middle range, defined support assumptions regarding a continuing trend toward a diminishing in-city as $16,000 to $30,000 in the City's 1977 Housing Plan. youth population. In 1970, the typical dwelling unit located in what now is the Omaha's 1980 vacancy rate is estimated at almost 7% - an extremely high figure City of Omaha housed three residents. Today, this same unit houses only 2.5 for a central city. This is in part due to the recent interest rate escalations and residents. In contrast, persons per household have remained relatively more corresponding glut of unoccupied new construction, and in part due to the period of stable in suburban areas. Therefore, because the decrease in persons per household over-building of multifamily units during the late sixties and early seventies which has been greater in the central city than its suburbs, and because this type of still affects the City's vacancy rates today. However, even in 1970 Omaha's vacancy decrease tends to be closely linked to a decline in the under 18 population, it is rate was well over 5%, and in 1960 over 4%, indicating an historically softer housing logical to predict that the percentage of Omaha youth to total population has market than would be expected for an urban center. Assuming a general continua­ continued to decline, and that 1980 statistics will show it well below the 35% tion ofcurrent national economic trends, the anticipated acceleration ofthe ""return 1970 average. to the city" movement recently initiated in the Omaha area, and an increase in the Paralleling the City's total population decline and aging, Omaha's minority conversion ofthe multifamily stock to condominium units, this high vacancy rate is population has increased substantially as a percent of total population. The 1970 likely to decrease substantially during the eighties. Although it will probably not census classified 36,700 persons as either Black (34,400) or Native American/ reach the 2% rate typical in many of the more healthy central cities throughout the Oriental (2,300). In 1980, there are an estimated 39,800 Blacks and 4,700 Native nation, a rate of 4% can generally be anticipated by 1985, American/Oriental residents of Omaha. In addition, about 8,200 persons have Not surprisingly, on the census tract and neighborhood levels there tends to be been identified as of Hispanic descent. While it is not possible to precisely cal­ great variations in the city-wide averages reviewed above. The housing stock is culate the percent minority population increase due to inadequate 1970 statistics on generally older in the central areas east of72nd Street, and in particular in the North Hispanics, it would appear that the 1970 figure approximated 12.5%. Therefore, Omaha, West Central and South Omaha communities ringing the CBD, east of the 1980 estimate of 15.8% minority population shows this increase to be of about 42nd Street. Mean home value in these inner city areas averaged only $19,000 in the same magnitude as the elderly percentage increase discussed above. 1979, while new construction levels remained extremely low, The renewed interest Such evolving demographic patterns will no doubt influence Omaha's park in central city locations, to date, has been for the most part limited to those areas and recreation system needs in coming years. Most obviously, an increase in west of42nd Street, or to the immediate CBD viCinity. Although inner city commun­ services targeted toward adult and elderly population groups should be anticipated. ities should eventually feel some of the positive effects associated with such current Also, programming for minority groups will become increasingly important, and trend reversals, it is probable that these sections of Omaha will require the lion's due to what appears to be a more diversified age structure among the minority share of public reinvestment dollars for many years to come. population, may require special user analysis for certain sections of the City. City Government and Parks Department Structure The service radius information presented in Physical Issues section of this Assess­ In 1912 Omaha established a City Commissioner form of government. The ment offers a breakdown of age characteristics in greater detail. This analysis can, electorate selected seven at large commissioners, and the commissioners then therefore, provide a foundation for future park and recreation planning efforts elected one of their own to serve as Mayor of Omaha, Each of the remaining which are consistent with the observed population characteristics and their commissioners subsequently headed up one of the various administrative City evolution. departments. Housing Characteristics and Trends The City's existing "strong mayor" form of government was set up after a 1956 Omaha's housing stock is less expensive than might be expected, relatively new, charter convention which essentially sought to separate the legislative and adminis­ and during the last decade has been plagued by high suburban multifamily trative functions of government. As chief executive of the City, the Mayor appoints vacancy rates. Although neighborhoods tend to contain a mix of single and (or reappoints) seven charter cabinet members to serve as directors of the charter multifamily dwelling unit types, densities are on the average fairly low, with high­ City departments (Planning; Parks, Recreation and Public Property; Finance; rise options virtually unheard of in the greater Omaha area. Public Works; Public Safety; Personnel; and Law), and two additional cabinet Because new residential developments have traditionally skipped over large members to head up the City Council-created Housing and Community Develop­ parcels of closer-in land, leaving these for development in later years, the housing ment and Human Relations departments. Prior to 1981, seven at large council stock is fairly heterogeneous at the census tract level in terms ofage, design, and to members were elected to four year terms, and one of these members was selected by some degree even price range, However, overall the City's housing characteristics a vote of the entire Council to preside as president. Due to a change in state law, the do form a series of cohesive patterns, essentially creating corridors of similar City of Omaha is now required to create seven balanced electoral districts, with one characteristics radiating out from the central business district. council representative elected from each district. Although the City of Omaha is The 1970 census shows that 54,293 of the 117,869 City housing units, or currently appealing this state action in court, it would appear that Omaha voters 46%, were constructed prior to 1940, Since that time, approximately 3,000 of will elect their first district council in May of 1981. these structures have been demolished, With an estimated 7,500 new housing In the days of the City Commissioner form of government, the Parks Commis­ units added to City totals by 1980 (including both new construction and an­ sioner functioned as director of the Parks and Recreation Department, while an nexations), about 42% of Omaha's current housing stock is over 40 years of appointed Parks and Recreation Commission initiated and supervised all adminis­ age. When compared to other major central cities, this statistic reveals the relative trative and system improvement activities, With the 1956 charter change, a Depart­ newness of the Omaha housing supply, ment of Parks, Recreation and Public Property was created, and a professional The mean home value within the City for 1979 was about $32,000, Although administrator was appointed by the Mayor to serve as department director. At this this is well over a 100% increase from 1970 values (the median was $14,400), it time, Public Property became a part of the Parks and Recreation Department. remains a fairly low figure in comparison to the 1979 Omaha median family Therefore, in addition to parks, recreation and forestry, the Department was II 10

specifically made responsible for the stadium, municipal dock and airport. Al­ (including parks and recreation) as a mechanism for supporting central city renewal though 1959 state enabling legislation led to the creation of a separate airport efforts and identifies two zones (Zone A representing the areas east of 42nd Street, authority, all other public property responsibilities have rcmained as divisions and Zone B the areas between 42nd and 72nd Streets) as focal points for such public within the Department. sector support. Later Sections of this Assessment and Action Plan, including the Today, the Parks, Recreation and Public Property Department is composed of discussions on physical and rehabilitation issues, make use of these divisions for nine divisions: Administrative, Parks, Recreation, Golf, Forestry, Central Mainte­ both data organization and policy development. In suburban areas the policy works nance, Performing Arts and Stadium, Building Services, and Omaha! Douglas toward insuring high quality new development. Park and recreation opportunities Civic Center. Also, the Department serves as staff to two advisory bodies - the are viewed as a major element of such activities, and are, therefore, carefully Municipal Dock Board and the Park and Recreation Advisory Board, The latter, a evaluated on a subdivision by subdivision basis as a part of overall Urban Develop­ carryover from the pre-1956 Park and Recreation Commission, is comprised of ment Policy implementation. seven members, appointcd by the Mayor, and serving staggered three year terms. This UPARR Assessment and Action Plan, upon completion, will be adopted as Comprehensive Planning a master plan section by the Omaha City Planning Board and the City Council. The City Charter charges the Planning Department with the responsibility for Because the UPARR program focuses on the rehabilitation of existing central city preparation and updating of a "comprehensive general plan for the improvement resources. it will serve as an important and consistent addition to the City's various and development of the city." The Charter specifies that public open spaces, includ­ comprehensive plan components. ing parks and recreational areas, be elements of this plan, and that all proposals involving "acquisition, extension, widening, narrowing, removal, relocation, vaca~ tion, abandonment, sale, change, or other (affecting) actions" be made a part ofthe general planning process. Park and recreation planning is. therefore, considered a Omaha's present park system is the product of several distinct phases of munici- Overview of the Parks System pal park development. Early in its history, Omaha benefited from the commitment major element of Omaha's overall master plan, and, as such, has been historically well integrated into the City's comprehensive planning efforts. of its community leaders to the parks and open spaces concept. Internationally Omaha, which has adopted numerous comprehensive park and recreation plans known planners were retained to plan the system and the City aggressively moved to through the years, is currently operating under the 1972 "Parks, Recreation, and acquire land and implement those plans. By 1920 Omaha had an exceptional park Open Spaces Master Plan." Other recently adopted master plan sections relevant to system consisting of nearly a dozen forty to fifty acre parks connected by an park planning include; the 1977 "Environmental Resources Inventory," the 1977 integrated system of wide, handsome boulevards. "Housing Plan," the 1977 "Future Land Use Plan," the 1979 "Community Develop­ In the period from 1920 to 1940 the City concentrated the majority of its park ment Master Plan," and the 1981 "Comprehensive Program for Historic Preserva­ development efforts on the acquisition of new park sites in the then suburban areas tion in Omaha." In addition, the City's "Urban Development Policy," adopted in in the City. The result was the addition of a number of relatively large parks early 1977, provides a basic framework for the range ofgrowth management related encircling the periphery of the City, and several smaller parks to fill voids in the issues. The policy stresses the use of public facility and service improvements system. Although attempts were made to connect these new parks to the original park! boulevard system, they were not entirely successful, and as a result extension of the boulevard system effectively ceased during this period. The 1950's brought with it two major effects on park development. The first was the conversion of the existing park system from a primarily open space, passive orientation to one designed for the growing neeq for active recreation. Golfcourses, ballfields, swimming pools, and other recreational facilities were constructed in the parks, while many boulevard segments fell to the needs of increasing automobile usage. The second development phenomenon of this period was one experienced by most major cities. In its rush to build new housing for the fast forming post World War II families, the City was unable to set aside in advance of new development adequate spaces for new parks. As a result, a large section ofthe now mid-city area is devoid of major park facilities. Only after development had occurred was the City able to install parks, and then only on less desirable, smaller sites which had been skipped in the original development surges. By the mid 1960's the City was able to re-establish a sound park planning program. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's the City has pursued a dual program of park development. Through the use of public financing of improvements in subur­ ban s~bdivisions and the application of formalized land subdivision regulations, the CIty has been able to secure public ownership of neighborhood-sized park facilities in almost every new development. At the same time, using its own land acquisition efforts and in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control program, the City is undertaking the development of a series of new, major park facilities at the suburban fringe. Urban DcwlopmCnl rolic;.- Z

Services (7) Development of an "indoor park" in downtown Omaha by converting the Taken as a whole the City has a well diversified park system capable ofproviding historic McKesson-Robbins building, for a wide variety of recreation needs, The City owns nearly 130 separate park sites totalling over 6,200 acres, with individual parks ranging in size from one-third ofan acre to over 1,450 acres. Within these parks the City owns and operates over 100 ballfields, 146 outdoor Prior to the initiation ofany comprehensive planning effort, it is first necessary to Government Functions Associated tennis courts, nine golf courses, nineteen swimming pools, two indoor ice skating review the various elements which serve as overriding conditions to the way a with Parks and Recreation facilities, an indoor tennis center, lakes for boating and fishing, a trap and skeet system operates, In the case of parks and recreation - planning and financing - as range, and eight community recreation centers offering a variety of physical as well well as a diversity of acquisition, development, operation and maintenance factors as arts and craft type recreation programs, The centers allow for informal drop-in contribute to the existence and extent of Omaha's present leisure time delivery activities, as well as structured programs that cater to individual, family, and team system, The following discussions provide a synopsis of these overriding elements, activities, In addition, the City ofOmaha sponsors recreation programs at a number Through this review, a basis is created for evaluating overall system relationships in of public school sites throughout the City, terms of such factors as organization, approach, efficiency, and coordination with In 1980, over one half million persons participated in seasonal classes ranging other public and private sector functions, Once identified, these relationships can from pottery to jewelry making to slimnasties, Athletic leagues, a well as a compre­ then be utilized in appropriate sections of both the UPARR Assessment and the hensive senior citizen program, drew sizable groups, Over 13,000 persons partici­ Action Plan, pated in athletic leagues either held in Community Centers or at other park Elements of Planning facilities, The City of Omaha Senior Citizen Programs serve approximately 10,000 As discussed earlier, one of the City Planning Department's charter responsibili­ persons, for an annual attendance of 100,000 persons over age 55 (Senior Citizen as ties is the development and updating of comprehensive master plan elements, designated by National Association of Retired Persons), including general parks and recreation master plans, The Planning Department is, Despite this diversity, accessibility to these parks and recreation facilities differs therefore, periodically involved in comprehensive park planning activities, In addi­ throughout the City, As a result of the distinct development phases of the Omaha tion to this function. the Planning Department, again through charter designation, system, certain geographic portions ofthe City are better served than other sections, generates an annual Capital Improvements Program based upon schedules initially In addition, because of continuous shifts in population, the characteristics of the created by the various City departments and divisions. The capital improvement residents within each service area change over time. programming process is a key method for coordinating mid-range plans among While a relatively good street and transit system enhances access to those physi­ City departments, Submitted projects are reviewed for conformance with adopted cally removed from recreation facilities, the Metro Area Transit Authority master plan elements, as well as the Urban Development Policy, Representatives (MAT) does not provide service to outlying regional recreational facilities (e,g, the from the participating departments then meet with Planning and Finance Depart­ lake/dam sites), or to approximately 20,000 residents located on Omaha's suburban ment staff, and with each other, to insure consistency in capital facility develop­ fringe, In any event, periodic review of both the siting of recreational facilities and ment. All comprehensive plans, smaller scale master plans, and the Capital the specific programs offered at each is necessary in order to insure the best possible Improvements Program are forwarded to the City Planning Board and the City service as populations shift and needs change over time, A detailed description of Council for public hearing, review and adoption. Because Omaha's legislative service analysis of the present system is contained the Physical Issues section branch has traditionally considered such plans as important elements of city of this plan, government, planning functions tend to be at least reasonably coordinated with Proposed Changes legislative implementation actions. The City's park and recreation system, as a whole, provides a reasonable level of In order to improve intergovernmental coordination on the review of private services and amenities to the diverse population groups residing within the· Omaha sector development plans, the City created the "Subdivision Plat Review Commit­ jurisdictional area. However, identified system inadequacies, as well as changing tee" in early 1979, At the time of preliminary plat application, representatives from needs, fiscal constraints, city growth management policy, and evolving park related the Planning Department, Public Works Department, Finance Department, Parks strategies mandate that the City continue to critically evaluate the overall system, Department, Fire Division, Metropolitan Utilities District, Omaha Public Power and that system changes be implemented where necessary, Based upon rccent District, Papio Natural Resources District, Public School Districts, and any other ev luations, the following major park system changes are currently planned, agency interested in aspects of a proposed subdivision meet to discuss potential ei' ontinued develo ment of nei hborhood level ark facilities as new s~!:: problems associated with specific development proposals, Comments and issues sians are created and annexed into the City. Howev£L..thesetypes of facilities will_ raised at this meeting are forwarded to both the developer and City Planning Board, receive closer scrutiny with respect to both sitinund facili!,Y-lliP-e.U:LQIger to reduc-'C Therefore, the effects of new development on the existing park and recreation Ju.tuf[operariOllahiJ mamtenance cost ai1dj?ot~llliaLs.en1i.ce...D.I'.e.rlalL­ system, as well as concepts for new neighborhood park development, are reviewed (pJ''\Encouraging the joln.t...cJ_e.:'C.e.!~ment..!>~eral.~\!bdivisionsof moye medium­ on a subdivision by subdivision basis. Creation of this committee has proved a ~Ized parks In the su\mrban are~ significant factor in providing for ongoing coordination on park and recreation (3) Completion of the Corps of Engineers flood control dams and related recrea­ system related proposals, tion development. Alternate park sites should be acquired in locations where The Housing and Community Development Department, in conjunction with proposed dams are deleted from the program, the Parks and Planning Departments, is also involved in park planning related (4) Further development of "in-fill" parks in locations within built-up areas lacking activities, Sixty percent of the City'S Block Grant appropriations are allocated to adequate facilities, neighborhood revitalization programs, with distribution concentrated in small (5) Construction of a twenty court outdoor tennis center in the western section of target areas, as designated by neighborhood groups, Development plans for these the City, target areas are then tailored to specific needs and physical environments, This (6) Improvements to inner city parks and parkways consistent with the Urban process, which frequently involves park and recreation master planning and facility Parks Action Program detailed in this plan, improvement, is designed to create expanding sections of neighborhoods that 14 15

are in a state of repair, improving the visible perception of health throughout type facilities and services, and result in capital and operation cost savings for both inner city revitalization areas. the school districts and the City. Within the Parks Department, itself, planning is typically done "in house", Donations to the Omaha park and recreation system are periodically received, although more often than not it is geared toward construction plans rather than although for the most part the City does not actively solicit these, and consequently concept development. The planning staff, which is currently composed of four this potential funding source remains relatively untapped. The most significant members (two of which are professionals), is also responsible for all project site regular donor is the Omaha Softball Association, which provides annual appropri­ inspection and construction supervision. Because there is no personnel separation ations to aid in the operation and maintenance of softball diamonds and lighting. of design and construction responsibilities, the most immediate concerns tend to The Gerald Ford Birthsite Memorial is the only major facility to have been donated take precedence, and general physical master planning activities are frequently in recent years. Because a trust fund will be established by James Paxson, the donor, limited as a result. for the continued operation and maintenance of the site, this contribution is In spite of these inherent problems, park planning staff members point out representative of the kind that the City might more aggressively seek in future years. several areas of benefit in the Department's existing planning system. In-house Other than the City of Omaha, the Sanitary and Improvement District (SID) design work, which is financed through the general fund budget, conserves scarce mechanism has proved the single most important funding source for park and capital dollars. In addition, when one person is responsible for all aspects ofa given recreation system expansion and improvement in the Omaha region. SID's, which project, follow through is stronger, and overall quality frequently improves. As can be formed in Nebraska as a result of state law, are essentially corporate entities plans for park system and facility expansion decrease in future years due to the which have powers similar to those ofincorporated municipalities (with the excep­ expected continuation of current fiscal policies, and as rehabilitation projects tion of the police power). During the past two decades, Omaha area new suburban become an increasingly important element in the total capital budget, Department residential or mixed use subdivisions have tended to develop their public service staff will have a greater opportunity to perform overall site analysis functions. infrastructure through the SID mechanism. Within Omaha's three mile extraterri­ Therefore, although staffing levels relative to work load may have been inadequate torial planning jurisdiction, a district willllsually be formed at the time the Omaha during the seventies, it is likely that such levels, along with the existing Department City Planning Board grants preliminary plat approval. The SID then operates as planning structure, will prove more reasonable in light ofwhat is anticipated for the any governmental unit, supplying the financial structure for public service , eighties. provision. Gerald Ford Birrhsire Memorial" The establishment of Elements of Financing Public improvements, including park system acquisition and development, are an operation and maintenance trust fund, as well as the donation oflne Memorial, are good examples orthe lypes Omaha's park and recreation system facilities, services l and administration are initially financed through the issuance of warrants by the SID. After improve­ of contributions sought by the City. financed through a variety of methods. For the most part, financing is exclusively ments are completed, the district levies special assessments on individual lots within based upon public sector sources; however, in some instances private support is the district for improvements which directly benefit those lots. Other portions ofthe utilized to supplement these public resource outlays. warrant debt (typically all of the park related debt) become a general obligation of City Sources - Omaha Park and Recreation Department administration, opera­ the district. A bonding house provides backing for the warrants throughout this tion and maintenance activity is typically funded through the City's general fund, period, and after several years, bonds are issued to retire the warrants. The bonds supported by both property or ad valorem taxes and a 1.5% sales tax on retail are usually retired over a twenty year period - initially through special assessment goods. Occasionally, capital improvements also receive general fund allocations, interest and collection - and later, as homes are built and structures occupied, however, in most cases the City's capital improvement contributions are raised from through property tax mill levy. the issuance of general obligation bonds. For example, a four million dollar parks Upon annexation into the City of Omaha, the public debt ofthese subdivisions is bond issue was passed in May, 1981, allowing for a number of central city facilities absorbed into the general debt of the City. Similarly, SID public improvements and facilities for elderly residents to be improved and/ or rehabilitated. become City improvements, and the Omaha Parks Department inherits all park The City also makes use of revenue bonds and admission or user fees to fund and recreation facilities originally owned by the SID. appropriate capital, operating and maintenance activities. Revenue bonds are State and Federal Sources - In addition to the numerous sources discussed above, issued for facility development where the expected user fees will be substantial State and Federal financial assistance has traditionally played a major role in the enough to payoff principal and interest debts within a reasonable period oftime. In development and maintenance of Omaha'8 park and recreation resources. As other cases, the collection of admission or user fees supplements the City'S general already stated, Community Development Block Grant appropriations support fund. However, because the City does not directly credit the Parks Department for neighborhood level inner city park system improvements. Also, these funds have this income, it is not always clear whether such collections can be considered as been utilized in the development of the Central Park Mall - Omaha's focal point specifically supportive of park and recreation operating or maintenance functions. for central business district revitalization. Other Local Sources - The Omaha area does not have a regional park authority. The Corps of Engineers has supplemented the City's park and recreation system Rather the City Parks and Recreation Department assumes the role ofcoordinating through cost sharing on park facility improvements involving flood control pro­ park system functions for most of the regional level facilities in Douglas County. jects. As a result, funding has been provided for N,P. Dodge Park improvements on Douglas County currently owns and operates only one small athletic oriented the Missouri River, and the improvement of two major dam sites (including facility. The County is, however, funding the acquisition and development of the development for recreational purposes) in the Papillion Creek Watershed. Addi­ Marina City complex, in conjunction with the City's Central Park Mall. This tional flood control projects are in the planning stage. complex will ultimately be operated and maintained by the City. The City also receives Federal Land and Water Conservation funding, which is The City has formal agreements with the Omaha Public, District 66, and Millard matched with State appropriations. Urban Parks Recovery Act grants (UPARR) School Districts for reciprocal use of facilities and services. Upon Parks Depart­ are a recent addition to this list of federal funding sources, as is the use of Economic ment scheduling, most of the region's school facilities can, therefore, be made Development Administration (EDA) grants for park related projects. available to the public at large. In the area of recreation programming, these Acquisition and Development agreements provide a significant supplement to the City-run community center With the exception of sporadic and relatively rare private sector contributions; program. The joint use agreements minimize duplication of park and recreation the use of grant funds as CDBG appropriations in inner city target areas and for the 16 17

Central Park Mall; and the Corps of Engineers' flood control projects; City of needs within the geographic area. Consequently, a District was essentially self Omaha park site acquisitions have been limited to annexations which include newly sufficient, employing its own plumbers, carpenters, and other skilled labor in developed SID facilities. Because SID's are generally located on the City's western addition to those performing regular trash pick-up and mowing functions. and northern fringe, it is reasonable to state, then, that the primary focus of City of Under the new system, a central maintenance facility was acquired and staffed Omaha park acquisitions during the past decade has been suburban in orientation. with the specialized or skilled labor force. Although there are still four district . SID park site acquisition and development does not, however, occur at the whim offices, these are now staffed only with personnel responsible for ongoing park of subdivision developers or suburban residents. As a result of modification to the maintenance functions. The centralized system allows for closer supervision of State SID Law, park site acquisitions, concept plans, development plans and costs, skilled personnel. thereby increasing actual maintenance efficiency. Over time, it and scheduling programs must first be approved by the Omaha City Council. A will also result in some skilled staff position reductions, avoiding unnecessary and complex process has subsequently evolved for review and approval ofall such plans costly overlap in the periodic or specialized maintenanced areas. and costs. Initially, a proposed park site and likely development scheme are Future Coordination approved with the plat by the Parks Advisory Board, Planning Board, and City As has been made clear in this section, the City has traditionally functioned as the Council. Before the final plat can be accepted by the City Engineer, and hence main governmental coordinator on urban area park and recreation system matters. recorded with the Register of Deeds, a "subdivision agreement" must be signed by For this reason, intragovernmental coordination has been considered at least as the developer and City specifying the costs for all public improvements. At the time important as-intergovernmental coordination throughout this discussion of over­ that the SID purchases the site, additional hearings are held and approval of riding elements. acquisition costs granted by the two Boards and the City Council. This process is However, the eighties are likely to be a time ofaccelerating fiscal constraints. For repeated for park site development and, where necessary, for any additional project this reason, coordinating efforts on park system related functions should continue stages or revisions. to be expanded, with the City exploring new arrangements and agreements wher­ In addition to City administrative input into sUbdivision agreements, representa­ ever possible. For example, joint ventures with the Nebraska Game and Parks tives from the Public Works, Parks, Finance, Law, and Planning Departments also Commission, Douglas County, and the City of Omaha Parks Department might be hold regularly scheduled meetings to review all SID improvement proposals. established. Council Bluffs, Iowa provides an urban park system serving Omaha Through these various administrative and legislative checks and balances, subur­ area residents, and improved lines of communication between the two central cities ban park and recreation acquisition and development concepts are comprehen­ might be developed. As the largest city in the region and the State, Omaha will no sively reviewed for both financial feasibility and conformance with adopted City doubt continue to be viewed as the chief public sector provider of park and plans. recreation services. The issue of coordination does not involve abdicating this role, As already discussed, a "general obligation" SID facility becomes a part of the but rather suggests an efficient use of government resources in a time when this is Omaha system upon subdivision annexation. In those cases where a portion of the expected and demanded by the public at large. incurred debt was specially assessed against abutting property owners (as some­ times occurs with rear lot line greenways), the park ground is also incorporated into the public system. On occasion, an agreement between SID and the City is reached involving annexation of recreation facilities either prior to or after the majority of Omaha residents are provided the opportunity to participate in local government Citizen Participation the sUbdivision has been annexed. Finally, some open spaces and recreation facili­ decision-making as a result of a number of established or systematized procedures. ties in suburban subdivisions were never owned or developed by the SID, and in Citizen input on park and recreation issues related to planning, programming and these cases the facilities remain in private ownership (usually horne owner associa­ budgeting typically occurs through the public hearing process before the Planning tion) after City annexation. Board, Parks Advisory Board, and City Council. In cases involving inner city The development or redevelopment of existing City sites and facilities is funded redevelopment projects, citizen participation is actively solicited by the City'S through the range of local, state and federal sources listed in the preceding section. Housing and Community Development Department. Less formalized channels of The local review process for such activity generally involves scheduling all projects communication have also been established within several City departments, and in the Capital Improvements Program, and later programming these through the these are of particular importance to the Parks and Recreation Department's City'S annual budgeting process. Consequently, administrative review, Planning overall decision-making system. Finally, the Parks and Planningdepartments have Drainage ways are frequently incorporated into an SID's and Parks Board hearings and recommendations, and City Council approval are recently created an Urban Parks Task Force to insure a reasonable level of public park system in the form of rear-lot greenways. required on several occasions. This review process is implemented for locally and participation throughout UPARR Assessment, Action Plan, and program imple- federally funded projects alike. mentation stages. Operation; Maintenance and Programming The City Planning Board holds a monthly public hearing on zoning, subdivision, City operation and programming activities are viewed as a supplement to the master plan referral, annexation, and general master planning cases. Park and commercial and non-profit sectors. The Parks and Recreation Department's goal is recreation related issues are frequently addressed at these hearings, and forthcom­ to insure programming that serves all segments of the population - from youth to ing public input is often incorporated by the Planning Board into its recommenda­ elderly, including both active and passive opportunities. Therefore, it attempts to tions to the City Council. Weekly City Council meetings allow for citizen comment fill the service gaps left by other program providers. Underlying this philosophy is at least once on every ordinance or resolution prior to legislative action. Council the issue of service costs. Given increasingly scarce public financial resources, the meetings offer a commonly utilized forum for citizen participation on matters City can not afford programming redundancy. ranging from new park site acquisition and development to park and recreation Consistent with this concern, the City's park maintenance system was thoroughly budgeting, management and operational issues. revamped during 1980 to allow for increased cost-efficiencies. Under the old The Park Advisory Board meets monthly to review the needs of the Parks and decentralized system, the City was divided into five geographically equal districts, Recreation Department, and to make recommendations on park site acquisition headed by one overall Park Maintenance Superintendent. Each District had its own and development cases connected with SID financing. Although meetings are Maintenance Foreman, as well as sufficient personnel to handle all maintenance advertised and open to the public, citizen attendance and testimony is infrequent. 18

More often. programatic concerns are expressed directly to community center supervisors, while interest groups vocalize needs and expectations through com­ munication with appropriate Parks Department administrative staff. Because re­ quests from interest groups aid Parks Department staff in understanding user demand, therefore improving the overall decision-making process, staff members view this informal citizen participation as critical to the formulation of future implementation strategies and programs. Over ninety neighborhoods are recognized by the Department of Housing and Community Development, with the most active of these representing areas targeted for redevelopment under the Block Grant Program, In recent years, funding has been allocated for the development of several neighborhood mini-parks, involving the conversion of derelict lots into positive neighborhood spaces, Neighborhood groups actively participate in the development of design concepts for these park facilities, therefore helping to insure that designs are sympathetic to resident needs, The Department generally stresses the use of such projects to improve social interaction and provide visual relief in specified areas targeted for other major rehabilitation actions. Integral to the goal setting and policy formulation process for this UPARR Plan has been the creation of an Urban Parks Task Force, This group, appointed by the Mayor based upon Parks and Planning Department recommendations, consists of a mix of individuals representing neighborhoods, citizen interest groups, and political and community leaders. Area school districts are represented, as is the Chamber of Commerce, service organizations, youth organizations and the handi­ capped, Members of the City Council, Planning Board, and Parks Advisory Board serve on the Task Force, providing a liaison to their respective political bodies, Following an orientation meeting in June of 1980, an extensive educational process was initiated which included Task Force site visits to over 40% ofthe City's park system, Task force members were offered an opportunity to walk through the parks and facilities, allowing them to make visual comparisons and draw their own conclusions about system condition. A slide presentation on parks not toured was presented at the next meeting, In order to obtain additional input on park site condition, the Task Force then requested that the park-condition survey (see Rehabilitation Issues section) be sent to each Housing and Community Devel­ opment group, Groups were requested to inspect a park oftheir choice, Twenty-one percent of the groups returned the survey form, and their responses were noted and forwarded to appropriate Park Division employees, Other Task Force meetings centered on a presentation of park system history, emphasizing changes in leisure service philosophy and the effects ofsuch change on the developing Omaha system. Park and Recreation Division financial history was presented. and physical and service issues were reviewed, noting leisure service providers in o·ther sectors of the community. Rehabilitation concerns and manage­ ment issues were also discussed, allowing Task Force members the opportunity to actively participate and to make meaningful and realistic recommendations to the staff. It is anticipated that a nucleus of this group will continue to perform a valuable service to the community by consenting to further evaluations of the leisure service system throughout the five year UPARR Program, The nucleus group, drawn from those current members who have been the most active in Task Force efforts, will operate under the leadership ofa Park Advisory Board representative, The ongoing evaluation process established should contribute to an improved understanding of user needs and financial tradeoffs, as well as serve to foster a better community image for the Omaha Parks and Recreation Department. 21 20

Omaha's geographical location and general lack of significant natural features, Introduction Physical Issues including oceans, mountains, lakes, and major forest areas, creates a recreational problem unique to this region. Leisure opportunities such as hiking, fishing, boat­ ing, camping, and skiing, which are readily available in many other parts of the country, are much more limited in the Omaha urban area. Only the Missouri River and a handful of oxbow lakes provide natural water recreation within a short distance of the City. In addition, nearby hiking trails and camping facilities are often overcrowded. This shortage of regional recreational opportunities, coupled with the ever increasing cost of transportation, places a greater demand on local jurisdictions to provide a comprehensive system of leisure facilities and services. Historically, Omaha has reserved the park sites necessary to keep pace with urban development. However, current economic conditions may not allow the continued construction of new facilities on a large scale, and thus will affect our ability to meet all of the recreational needs of the public in future years. At the same time, the impact of sanitary and improvement district acquisitions on the park system, the generally increasing density of new housing, and the design of subdivisions in developing suburban areas raise new questions as to the current and future recreational needs of the Omaha area population. It is within this context of increasing demand, decreasing funds, and changing development characteristics that the following analysis ofphysical recreation issues was conducted. Since an overriding goal of the City is to insure an adequate and equal level of service to all of the City's residents, it is the purpose of this section to identify those areas not presently well served by park facilities. In so doing, no attempt has been made at this time to determine which, ifany, ofthose underserved areas identified should receive new facilities. Such determinations require additional analysis, taking into account relevant issues and directions outlined in subsequent sections of this needs assessment, as well as present system deficiencies. Recommen­ dations relating to, and programming for, new facility development can then, be established as one of the major components of the UPARR Action Plan.

The rich, rolling farmland of eastern Nebraska provides few recreation opportunities.

In order to fully assess Omaha's recreational needs, we must first evaluate our Overview of Omaha Area l1acilities existing resources from a regional and overall jurisdictional standpoint. This back- ground information will provide the basis for developing a well rounded picture of Omaha's current situation and future needs. Regional Level As discussed earlier, the Omaha area is deficient in regional park sites. This statement is based on the 1973 Nebraska State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (S.C.O. R.P.), which documented the lack of park ground in the eastern part of the State. Most of the State recreation areas, according to the plan, are located in the western part of the State and are available to Omaha residents only on extended trips. According to the S.C.O. R. P. plan the 1972 Omaha metropolitan region had a supply of 9,525 acres of total park ground, which included municipal sites. There was a need for 37.212 acres, leaving a deficiency of 27.717 acres. By 1980 this 22 23

demand was expected to rise to 67,382 acres, resulting in a projected shortfall of well as specific system deficiencies. It should be noted that the privateand commer­ 57,857 acres. cial facilities reviewed in the following paragraphs deal primarily with those activi­ Specific deficiencies were identified in the areas of picnicking, camping, natural ties not provided by the City Parks Department. Providers which overlap with City beaches and boating. In addition, increased interest in hiking, biking and canoeing services will be discussed in detail later. was expected to create shortages in land and water available for those activities as Private and Commerical Providers - The activities reviewed in this section were well. Although the addition of dam sites II and 16 was expected to help reduce the grouped as follows: deficit, the State specifically noted that these acquisitions would still be insufficient (I) Roller skating. miniature golf, game galleries to meet projected needs. In order to offset these shortages the State proposed to (2) Health. racquetball, tennis, and sports clubs purchase potential park sites near Omaha, and to expand the use of flood plains (3) Billiards and bowling within the area as linear park systems. They also proposed to develop the Missouri (4) Museums River environs to increase opportunities for camping, fishing, and boating. To date, (5) Movie theatres few of these proposals have been implemented, and consequently many of the (6) Live theatre and stage shows problems outlined in 1973 still exist today. Although some of the specific facility types are spread evenly throughout the City. Although the quantity of natural recreation areas within a short drive of Omaha nearly all of the categories show a surprising degree ofgeographic clustering. While is therefore clearly limited, City residents are within a 25-mile radius ofa number of bowling alleys and billiard parlors appear to be an exception, these facilities excellent regional park facilities. Specifically, seven regional parks provide facilities actually group together when analyzed separately. Other activities, such as sports for fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, picnicking, sight seeing, swimming and more. oriented clubs, museums, and movie theatres, are so clustered that access becomes a The following is a listing of these areas and the facilities available in each one: major consideration. Nebraska The following series of maps and corresponding analysis reveals several (I) Twin Lakes Recreation Area - boating, fishing, swimming and camping. important patterns. Taken as a whole, this review of existing private and com­ (2) Schramm State Park and Recreation Area - native fish aquarium, nature mercial recreation opportunities documents the real need for emphasizing and/or center, picnic area, and hiking trails. expanding public sector recreation services in inner city communities. (3) Louisville State Recreation Area - camping and power boating. (4) Plattsmouth Refuge - fishing. Iowa (5) Lake Manawa State Park - boating, fishing, camping, and swimming. (6) Wilson Island State Park - fishing, camping, and boating. Combined Iowa/Nebraska (7) DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge - boating, swimming, fising, picnicking, biking, wildlife sanctuary, and museum. (8) Missouri River - boating and fishing. Usership rates at each of these locations support the S.C.O.R.P. conclusion that the metropolitan area is lacking in such facilities as boating, swimming, camping and picnicking. Overcrowding is constantly a problem during the summer months as urban residents seek to "escape" to the country_ Locally maintained dam sites, marinas, and camping areas have alleviated this situation somewhat, however as stated in the S.C.O.R.P. plan, even these additions have not been sufficient to meet the ever-growing demand. The forecast, therefore, would seem to indicate a need for more and more regional type park ground as long distance travel abilities decrease and the metropolitan population increases. Jurisdictional Level Just as regional park deficiencies create a greater need for city services, local private recreation deficiencies also put a greater demand on public leisure facilities, How people spend their spare time fluctuates depending on income, socio-eco­ nomic background, and geographic location. However, all demographic groups have leisure time, and the need for leisure time activities. Since private and public recreational service needs are so closely linked, ifoo commercial resources exist in an area, the pent-up demand will exert even more pressure on the existing park system. (I) Another kind ofpressure put on the public recreation system is the inevitability of change. As the concept of leisure activity has evolved over the years, the use ofpark Roller skating, miniature golf, game galleries - Although these activities appear ground has shifted to meet new requirements. During that time. some parks have on the map as bemg spread throughout the City. five out ofsix businesses located in been easily adapted to meet an increasing need for facilities, while others have been Urban Development Policy Zones A and B (east of nnd Street) are strictly game nearly impossible to alter. The review of existing parks and their adaptability galleries. In addition, large areas of Zones A and B. and the Zone of Present therefore provides insights into the development of new City and SID parks. Development (the suburban areas west and north of Interstate 80/680) are Com­ Both of these fundamental concerns will be discussed in this section. When pletely unserved. Only Zone C (the area between nnd and 1-680) contains a combined with the earlier regional level findings, they should provide the back­ variety of services with relatively good distribution. ground information necessary for proper analysis ofuser demands on the system, as 24 25

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(4) Health, racquetball, tennis and sports clubs - Only one facility, a boxing club, is Museums - Here the sites are clustered almost cxclusively in Urban Develop­ located east of 66th Street, leaving virtually all of Zone A (east of42nd Street) and ment Policy Zone A, and primarily in the downtown area. (Such statistical cluster­ one-half of Zone B (42nd to nnd Streets) without private or commercial clubs. ing in Zone A is influenced by the fact that this is the oldest portion ofthe City, and some of the museums are located in historically significant structurcs.)

(5) Billiard parlors and bowling alleys As noted above, the map showing this distribution pattern is somewhat deceptive. All four ofthe facilities located in North Movie theatres - Of the sixteen Omaha jurisdictional area movie theatres, over Omaha are billiard parlors, leaving that arca devoid of bowling alleys. On the other half are located within Zone C. Two more are located in the Present Development hand, bowling alleys are sprcad uniformly throughout the City, with a slightly Zone, three in Zone B, and two others on the boundary between Zones A and B higher concentration evident in South Omaha. (42nd Street). This leaves virtually all of Zone A unserved. 26

Based upon Nat'l Recreation and Parks Association standards as well as local patterns, seven categories of existing parks were identified; regional, metro, district, community, neighborhood, mini, and linear. The definitions for each JI5 as follows: 't.!J! Regional Park: 250+ Acres Serves population within one hour driving time; may include camping facilities, water recreation, boating, fishing, hiking, bike trails, picnic facilities, pavilions, play areas, ball fieldsjlit or unlit, and open space; extensive parking necessary. These are generally full service parks, although they may encompass a one ofa kind facility such as the City Zoo. \(2») Metro Park: 100 - 249 Acres Park East Mini"Park . This park provides a quie! open Serves population within VI. hour driving time; provides comprehensive passive space for inner.city residents. yet it is less than one acre and active recreational areas; may have special facilities (ball field complexes. in sile. 9-hole or 18-hole golf courses, or a trap and skeet range); off street parking ,necessary. ® District Park; 25.1 - 99 Acres . Serves a minimum of I 1/2 mile radius (however, one of a kind facility may draw upon a larger area); may include playground area, hard surfaced courts, lit and unlit sports fields, lit Or unlit tennis courts, swimming pool, indoor ice rink, picnic area, p/,vilion, 9-hole golf course; off-street parking is necessary. @Community Park: 14.1 - 25 Acres Serves a radius of between 2/3 - I 1/4 mile; facilities may include play apparatus, (6) hard surfaced courts, sports fields, lit and unlit tennis courts, lit ballfields, swim­ .ming pool, open space, picnic areas; off-street parking probable but not mandatory. Live theatre and stage shows - Coverage for this type of facility is almost the @Neighborhood Park: 2.5 - 14 Acres reverse ofthat for movie theatres. In this case, Zone C and the Present Development Serves a radius of about 1/2 to 2/3 mile; facilities may include play apparatus, Zone are poorly served, while the central portions ofZones A and Bcontain most of hard surfaced court area, tennis court, sports fields, open space,picnic area; may be the City's theatres. lQ,cated adjacent to school; may have some off-street parking. Based upon the information presented above, it would appear that Urban Devel­ @)\Iv!ini Park; 2.5 Acres opment Policy Zone A is lacking in many services, while Zone C contains virtually -s'erves a sub-neighborhood; may serve a target of special population group (e.g., all of the facilities listed. In particular, the downtown portion of Zone A is well ehildren or senior citizens, depending upon neighborhood needs); may include endowed with live theatres and museums, but little else. North and South Omaha children's play equipment, quiet games area, landscaping, benches. contain pin ball galleries and billiard parlors, however, only South Omaha and (I) ~inear Park Or Parkway: Florence have bowling alleys located east of 42nd Street. Zone B and the Present ~ay serve a single use; elongated; generally relates to a roadway, scenic view or Development Zone have many of the businesses reviewed, but some portions are waterway; size varies and depends on condition of natural area; may also provide still lacking in certain activities. Only Zone C appears to have a complete comple­ for jogging or bike paths. ment of typically used commercial recreation facilities. Although it would be helpful if the City could require new movie theatres and other commercial providers to locate in specific sections of town, this is clearly beyond the scope of government regulatory authority. Consequently, the variety of leisure services cannot be easily increased within the older portions of Omaha. Because of the reduced number of recreation options, there is a greater need for publicly sponsored activities and facilities to fill the apparent service voids. These findings, when added to the demographic information discussed earlier (see Con­ text section), would seem to reinforce the need for improving public recreation opportunities within the inner city. Park Type and Distribution - By analyzing the existing park system at the Omaha jurisdictional level, it is possible to identify important historical trends and evolu­ tionary patterns. Each Urban Development Policy Zone has slightly different park facility characteristics which correspond to the concepts of recreation and acquisi­ tion methods most prevalent during the area's urbanization period. The move from passive to active recreation in the mid-1900's, the housing boom of the 1950's and 1960's, and the advent of SID's are all changes which are reflected in the present make-up of the park system. The following breakdown of the existing conditions therefore provides background information necessary for effective decision-making N.P. Dodge Marina - The size of this park, along with its diversity of recreational on park system expansion. development and redevelopment issues. opportunities, place it in the Regional Park category. 29

Omaha jurisdictional area parks were first grouped by Urban Development Policy A review of the average acres and percentage ofvarious park types reveals several Zone, and then assembled by type. Figures 4 and 5 summarize this information. A patterns in the development of the City's park system. With the exceptions of complete listing, by Zone, of the parks which fall into each category can be found in regional and metropolitan size parks, Zones A and B are quite similar in their the Assessment Appendix. make-up. Of the parks located in these two most eastern Zones, the percentage of the total listed in the smaller sizes is nearly identical. In addition, the recent trend toward mini parks has apparently affected the two Zones in the same way, and Average consequently the average number of acres in each park type is roughly alike. Part ('~An~e__-;cp"a",r",k_T,;Yup"e -'~"'-Acres ""'"-'~"'--No. Parks -"i;';'z-Acres __-2'-'-F"-% Parks'" ~ Regional 675 2 337.5 3 of the reason for such overall similarities stems from the fact that most of the parks Metro 0 0 0 in these two areas were acquired and developed in a like manner. The only major (pistr(D 369.9 6 q!:p @) difference between the two Zones appears to be the large disparity in total number Community 72.3 5 .5 8 of park facilities. Neighborhood 144.5 26 5.6 44** Mini 17.3 20 .9 33 Several differences do exist, however, between the eastern two Zones and Zone C, Unear 12.6 I 12.6 2 involving both the percentages of each park type and the average size. When TOTAL 1318.6 60 compared with A and B, Zone C has a higher proportion of its park ground grouped into the district, community and neighborhood categories, while the number of Regional 0 0 0 0 mini parks is substantially lower. Also, the average Zone C district facility is 26 Metro 738.7 4 184.7 15 District 117.0 2 58.5 8 acres smaller than Zones A and B district parks. This general decrease in the size of Community 33.8 2 16.9 8 typical district parks is even more significant in light ofthe fact that more commun­ Neighborhood 65.4 II 5.9 42 ity type parks have been constructed in this Zone than district facilities. Mini 11.0 7 1.6 27 Just as Zones A and Bare similar in many ways, Zone C and the Present Develop­ Linear 0.0 0 0 0 ment Zone display many parallel characteristics. In the latter Zone, the trend TOTAL 965.9 26 toward developing smaller district parks is still continuing, accompanied by a C Regional 0 0 0 0 proportional drop in the number of district parks and an increase in community Metro 145 I 145 4 facilities. In this Zone, for example, there are three times as many community District 102 3 34 13 parks as there are district facilities, while in Zone A there are actually more district Community 64.2 4 16.1 18** than community types. The western two Zones also contain vastly fewer mini parks Neighborhood 59.7 12 5 52 B. Mini 2.7 2 1.4 9 than do Zones A and Linear 34.5 I 34.5 4 With a continuing drop in the number of larger parks, and a decrease in average TOTAL 408.1 23 size, the number of park acres per person has also declined. Figure 6 helps to }.:-D:~eloped only) illustrate this trend. ~ Regional 2908.6 4 727.2 9 Metro 345.1 2 5 Urban Development Total Total Park @stricD 110.4 ) '@6.8 Acres/ W Policy Zone Population'" Community 174.0 9 19.3 20 Acreage Person Zone A 120,718 1,318.6 .011 Neighborhood 118.2 18 6.6 41 Zone B 99,484 965.9 .010 8.2 6 1.4 14 Mini Zone C 79.488 408.1 .005 Linear 27.0 2 13.5 4" Zone PD (south)** 59.871 423.8 .007 TOTAL 3691.5 44 Zone PD (north)** 15.220 3.267.7 .215 Include, nOll-fe,idell'.' wilhin ,!le' OnWha juri'diction. 'R

It is clear from these figures that, with the exception of the area north of Maple in the Zone of Present Development, there are 8ubstantially fewer acres available for % by Vrban Development Policy Zone recreation in the developing portions of the county. Park Type lone A Zone B Zone C P.O. Zone It is interesting to note that this reduction in recreational opportunities coincides Regional 33o/r,1 091· 0% 67% closely with the rapid housing expansion ofthe 1960's and the escalation in Sanitary Metro 0% 57% 14% 29% Improvement District usage. Between 1972 and 1980, approximately 790 acres of 22%** District 43% 14% 21% potential park ground were purchased by SID's at a cost of $3,844,038. During Community 25% 10% 20% 45% Neighborhood 39% 16% 18% 27% that same period, SID's spent $4,205,016 to develop parks on ground set aside for Mini 57% 20% 60/(, 17% that purpose. With a combined total of $8,049,054, the SID mechanism has Linear 25% 0% 25% 500/{, become the major method for development of small to medium size parks in the jurisdiction. 'R,lundcd hi lhe' ll~arc,t "'hole lll,mbcr ",'

with the exception of regional facilitics, as development methods have changed and to determine where additional facilities should be provided if inner city resi­ there has been a general trend toward smaller and fewer public parks constructed dents are to have reasonable access to recreational opportunities. in the outer Zones. These points are very much interrelated. In Zone C and the Present De~elopment Zone the lack of park land can be partially offset by the mcreased avaIlabIlity of commercial recreation facilities. However. the need for public facilities cannot In order to identify specific deficiencies within the Omaha park system, it was first Park Facility Inventory be totally discounted, and could increase if changes in the economy result in the necessary to define the meaning of "adequate level of service." Two sets of guide­ and Analysis elimination of existing private services. In addition, the tremendous proportionate lines were developed for the following analysis which together create the definition drop in the number and size of district type parks creates a problem which cannot and form two of the three steps necessary for identifying potential service deficien­ be solved by the private sector. In Zones A and B, on thc other hand, the lack of cies. These guidelines were based on NRPA standards modified to fit Omaha's commercial recreation facilities places a greater demand on public parks and needs. The first set ofguidelines follows the concept oftime and distance as it relates recreation centers. Consequently, the lack of a particular park type (e.g., poor to use. Here, service radius limits were developed for each commonly used facility distribution of ballfields, tennis courts, etc.) may result in a greater need for the maintained by the City (see Figure 7). It was assumed that people living within the deficient facility than in the more suburban Zones. defined service area were able to use that park. For the second set of guidelines, the At first glance, the lower ratio of district sized parksin the outer Zones w()uld population residing within the service radius of each facility was determined, and appear to have few implications. However, this essenttal change 10 park system based upon these figures, a target population was selected (see Figure 7). Therefore, .patterns is likely to have an adverse Impact on residents of these area~ f()r some residents of a portion of town would be termed "adequately served" if they were time to come. History has shown that as recreatIOn patterns evolv~d In the mId located within the service area ofa particular facility, and if that facility were serving 1900's the district parks within the established portions of the CIty were best a population near the target figure. able t~ adapt. The locations of the facilities allowed for good distribution of new These two guidelines then became the first two steps used to determine potential sports complexes, while their size enabled them to be altered eaSIly. Thro~gh gaps in service. For example, the target number for playgrounds is; 300, 5-11 year the years they were changed over and over again, and filled with an ever e~pandmg old children persite. The service radius for playgrounds is 1/2 to 2/ 3 mile. Hanscom assortment of fields, diamonds, and courts. Today many of these sItes have Park's playground serves approximately 227, 5-11 year old children, living within reached their capacity, and consequently, locating new facilities within Zones A 1/2 to 2/3 mile of the park. Therefore, according to the definition, that portion of and B has become increasingly difficult. As a result, more and more mini parks town within 1/2 to 2/3 mile of Hanscom Park would be adequately served by have been built in an attempt to meet the needs of older neighborhoods. However, playgrounds. On the other hand, portions of town which are either not within the mini parks by nature have very limited flexibility and capacity, and typically service radius of any playground, or areas with playgrounds which have much require a disproportionate share of maintenance. . higher than average service populations, would be considered poorly served. Because of the important art that district palks have played 10 recent years, til,,,, relaitve a sence in the outer Zones is significant. No other park type can fill the ga'p left by an madequate number at d~t facilities, and to try to constructthenl Facility Radius (Mi.) Target Figure Population Type Golf 40.000 Total Population subsequent to ur6amzabon IS nearly1m ossible. An inadequate numbe! of dIstn:l 2112-22/3 Recreation Center 2 ~2 1/6 35.000 Total Population 10 10 parks WIll result a system w lch is less capable of change, as weliiWTIlCklng Lit Softball I 1/2-12/3 None Leagues ~IVerSlty. tn addition, a.;; future needs, arise, the Ci!y.will be f?rced to constru~t Lit Buscball I 112-12/3 None Leagues mini parks to fill newly Identlhed servIce gaps. ThIS ,,:,!!~n alllikdlhood resultm Soccer I 112-1 2/3 10.000 Total Population ageneral increase in maintenance cosrsana aSSOclate~ responslblh.tles,;, Football I 112-12/3 10.000 Total Population .. Past experience, therefore, would seem to pomt to the need for a hIgh p~rcentage Lit Tennis I 1/2-12/3 4.000 Total Population H_()wev,,~ Basketball I 1/2-12/3 2.700 Total Population of district SlZed parks throughou(ine City. location and development Swimming Pools I 1/2~1 2/3 3.500 5-19 Age Group ot tfie sriiaJler parks has been vTiTuiiHyassumcd by the SID's durinub.

In-City Zones Golf (I) For this analysis all courses wele considered to be equal. (2) Commercial courses fill some of the gaps shown on the service radius maps. (3) The Elmwood and Fontcnelle courses are slightly overcrowded and should be monitored for signs of stress, (4) There is no additional ground inside the older sections of the City adequate for the construction of new courses, therefore. it will not be possible to ex­ pand service to the in-city Zones. Since a stated Plan goal is the provision of a uniform level of service over the entire City, each new course built in the't)uter Zones should'be placed in such a man­ ner as to maintain the in-city level.

Underwood /fills Elementary School, Kt'llom Elementary Schoof(left)- Public school open spaces and facilities provide a valuable component to the City park system.

Facility Inventory and Analysis Golf - service radius Following the methodology described above, the service radii offourteen separ­ ate types of facilities were mapped and the populations served were listed. When­ ever other organizations or businesses provided a similar service, the locations of these groups were also mapped. As a result, it was possible to identify gaps in the coverage, as well as to locate potentially underutilized or overcrowded facilities. Legend Emphasis was placed on identifying recreation system deficiencies which were located within the City limits, although other areas were also reviewed. Because the o Adequately served population analysis was tied to existing urbanization levels, the complete analysis methodology was only performed within Zones A, B, and C. A modified version, iii Not adequately served which excluded population, overcrowding, and underutilization factors, was used Unserved for the Zone of Present Development analysis. In this Zone only the areas lacking in o specific services were identified. Public The following pages contain the service radius maps, maps of other providers, o and findings for each of the facilities located within Zones A, B, and C. The o QuaSI-Public deficiencies for the Zone of Present Development are then listed after the service conclusions for the fourteen identified recreation types. A full breakdown of the o Private analysis process leading to the following conclusions, including a discussion of Commercial specific sites and population characteristics, is provided in the Assessment o /::;. Appendix. Schools u o '0

:(' I'

Golf - other providers 34 35

Recreation Centers Lit Softball (I) Quasi-public facilities, such as the (I) Zones A and B contain five service Y.M.CA., fill the void left within the gaps, and Zone C shows a need for be­ 1-480 loop. tween three and fOUf diamonds for com­ (2) The Applewood area of Zone C is plete geographic coverage. not well served by City facilities, how­ (2) The fields shown as being available ever, much of its potential service area by other providers are fenced off and lies outside the City limits. locked. They can be used under special (3) Since A. V. Sorenson serves a large circumstances, but do not provide the potential population and has a high same level of service as City owned attendance record, it should be moni­ fields. tored for signs ofoveruse and considered (3) The lit diamonds are used almost ex_ for expansion. clusively for league play. Consequently, (4) Benson has a low attendance figure the need for new fields depends largely when compared with its potential service on the requirements of the league. population. It is possible that this .is re­ (4) In light of the above, if the leagues lated to its present size and condItIOn. adequately serve all segments of the If so, upgrading the facility should re­ population, and if tbe number of exist­ sult in larger attendance. ing fields is satisfactory to the leagues, (5) New Northwest, Southwest, and there is no need for expansion. However, Near South centers would fill virtually if the previous statement is not accurate, all of the unserved areas identified. then there may be a nced for additional fields. '\ ;1 (5) If additional fields are needed, they should be located within the gaps found and listed in the Assessment Appendix.

Recreation Center, - service radius Lit Softball - service radius

Legend

[] Adequately served

[11 Not adequately served [] Unserved

0 Public 0 Quasi-Public . [] ,i ~ Private fl/ "i \°1 Commercial , 0 \ r"", ~,-,.," 6 Schools ~Hc".cc,,+ tAt!__ ._il~ ca i i\ 4 I.

o 0"

-~-,_:_'-

Recreation Centcr~ - other providers Lit Softball ~ olher providers 36 37

Lit Baseball Soccer (I) The City has very poor coverage by (I) The tI:!ree in-city Zones contain this type of facility. roughly nine unserved areas. (2) The fields shown as being available (2) Other providers help fill three voids,. by other providers are fenced off and leaving six areas potentially unserved. locked. They can be used under special (3) The Kellam and Fontenelle fields circumstances but do not provide the serve a much larger than average popu­ same level of service as City owned lation, and should be augmented in fields. order to provide better service. (3) The lit diamonds are used almost (4) Levi Carter, Maple Village and exclusively for league play. Consequent­ Seymour Smith all appear to be po­ ly, the need for new fields depends large­ tentially underutilized. If other types of lyon the requirements of the league. facilities are in greater demand in these (4) In light of the above, if the leagues areas, it may be possible to remove a adequately serve all segments of the field and replace it with the desired population, and if the number of exist­ facility. ing fields is satisfactory to the league, there is no need for expansion. HDW­ ever, if the previous statement is not accurate, then there may be a need for additional fields. (5) If additional fields are needed, they should be spread as evenly as possible throughout the City. (

",..... ", "

Lit Baseball· scrvlct::' radIUs Soccer - service radius

Legend

[] Adequately served III Not adequately served D Unserved

0 Public 0 Quasi-Public [] Private \) Commercial D, Schools

Lit Baseball - other providers 38 39

Football Lit Tennis (I) It is apparent from the service radius (I) Only Zone A is relatively well served map that very few City residents have with public courts. access to public fields. (2) Public coverage is sporadic in Zones (2) Most of the otherfieldsshown on the B, C and the Present Development map are school fields, which may be Zone (Anderso'n Field and Westwood fenced and locked. Heights). (3) Adams Park serves more than twice (3) Westside High School is the only as many potential users as the average other provider of publicly accessible field and would need to be expanded lit courts in the City. to ';eet the target number. (4) New courts are probably not needed (4) If additional fields are built to pro­ to provide complete coverage. Lighting vide an even level of service south of some of the existing day use courts 1-80, at least one field could be removed would begin to fill the voids, and at the from Hitchcock Park. same time extend the use ofthose courts. (5) For total coverage, six new fields are needed in Zone A, three in Zone B, and two in Zone C.

(

Lit Tenms - service radms Football ¥ service radius

Legend o Adequately served liI Not adequately served o Unserved

0 Public 0 Quasi-Public 0 Private 0 Commercial L::,. Schools

Football· other providers Lit Tennis - other providers 40 41

Basketball Swimming Pools (I) The City appears to be well served by (I) Only Zone C appears to be inade­ basketball courts. quately served by public facilities. How­ (2) Only Schroeder Park may need ex­ ever, residents of this Zone have higher pansion. than average incomes, and several pri­ (3) Since dirt or grass courts were not vate neighborhood pools help fill po­ included in the study, and the coverage tential voids. Many of these private was still indicated as good, it would pools would have difficulty operating appear that the remaining non-paved with competition from public pools. courts could be removed. Since private and commercial pools could close, and therefore, may not pro­ vide permanent service, they should be monitored and considered for purchase by the City if the situation warrants. (2) Miller Park Pool serves a large pop­ ulation with virtually no relief from other providers. Expansion and re­ habilitation should be considered here. (3) The Hitchcock, Upland and MOrlon area should be studied since the City provides a much higher than normal level of service to this area. (4) Carter Lake should be studied for the possibility of clean-up and reopen­ ing for public swimming. ~{

/

Basketball· service radius Swimming Pools - ,ervicc radim

Legend o Adequately served I ~ Not adequately served /( o Unserved '1 \ 0 Public i 0 Quasi-Public 0 Private () Commercial 1::, Schools

Basketball· .other providers Swimming Pools + other providers 42 43

Playgrounds Unlit Tennis (I) Between the City facilities and those (I) Of the 21 sites found to be unserved provided by others, there appears to be a by both the City and the otherproviders, good level of coverage for the City as a eight are small and in lightly populated whole. areas, making construction unneces­ (2) The addition of two courts in the sary. center of Zone B would fill nearly all of (2) Expansion into three other poten­ the identified service radius gaps. tially unserved areas may result in cost (3) Additional courts may be needed at inefficiencies, and these locations should Erskine and Hanscom Parks to relieve be reviewed for need. possible overcrowding. (3) The ten remaining unserved areas would appear to need new playgrounds to be adequately served. (4) Miller and Fontenelle appear to be overcrowded and could be expanded. (5) Kountze, Metcalfe and Tomahawk Hills should be monitored for evidence ,"","'._--- of stress due to overuse,

{

u,.,,.,,,,,,; ,Ii

Playgrounds - service radius Unlit Tennis - service radius

Legend [21 Adequately served j III Not adequately served /j [21 Unserved .' I \ 0 Public I 0 Quasi-Public [21 Private

<) Commercial D,. Schools

Playgrounds. other providers Unlit Tennis - other providers 45 44

Multi-Use Open Space Day Use Ballfields (I) Facilities in this category are defined (I) All baseball and softball fields were as: fiat, treeless, grassy, open space, and considered equal in this analysis. onc acre or larger in size. (2) Twelve new fields are needed for (2) The City is generally not well served total coverage, with six of these needed with this type of open space. Zones A in Zone A, five in Zone B, and one in and C seem to be the most severely lack­ Zone C. ing. The addition of nearly forty new (3) Lake James field appears to be over­ sites would be necessary for complete crowded, and may need to be aug­ coverage. mented. (3) In Zone A, a great deal of former (4) It is possible that the City can reduce open space has been turned over to other this need for new construction still uses, such as ballfields, soccer fields, further if new lit baseball and softball etc., while in Zone C, relatively little fields are properly placed. space was set aside as open space to be­ gin with. (4) In addition, some of the existing open space is located in relatively in­ accessible areas, and serves very few people from a neighborhood stand­ point.

Multi-Use Open Space service radius Day Usc Ballficlds • service radius

Legend [ill Adequately served fill Not adequately served o Unserved o Public o Quasi-Public D Private o Commercial t::. Schools

Multi-Usc OPCfl Space. Mher providers Day Usc Ballficlds - other pr\)Vidcrs 46 47

Horseshoe Pits Elderly and Handicapped Facilities (I) The existing pits are scattered \ (I) There are presently no parks de­ throughout the City and provide only signed specifically for use by the elderly limited coverage. However, there is and handicapped. probably little need to blanket the en­ (2) Most of the facilities available to tire City with these facilities since the these target population groups are com­ typical user is elderly, and the demand is bined with specific programs. Conse­ low. quently, a discussion of the facilities (2) Additional pits may be needed in . provided for elderly and handicapped areas with higher than average elderly residents is included in the Service populations, and should be located near Issues section of this report. mass transit routes where possible.

HOTshoe Pits ~ service radius Elderly and Handicapped Facilities - service radius

Legend o Adequately served IiI Not adequately served o Unserved 0 Public 0 Quasi-Public 0 Private 0 Commercial b. Schools

HOTshoe Pits - other providers Elderly and Handicapped Facilities - other providers 48 49

Zone of Present Development Jurisdictional Summary Facility Deficient Area Issues Identified Directions Identified Baseball -- north of Biondo and west of 144th a. There appears to be a shortage of Private individuals should be encour­ Softball - north of Fort commercial leisure services in the aged to develop facilities such as Community Centers - north of Dodge areas east of nnd Street. movie theatres, bowling alleys, Swimming Pools - west of 120th and north of Dodge health clubs, etc. through the use of - north of Military block grant funded commercial re­ - west of 132nd; Harrison - "F" Street vitalization projects. In addition to Baseball - 120th west, Dodge - Maple these incentives, the City should en­ - north of Military courage quasi-public agencies to ex­ Tennis - 120th west, Dodge - Maple pand their services to include some - north of Military of the aforementioned activities. Indoor Swimming - north of Dodge Playgrounds - 120th west, Dodge - Maple b. Due to a lack of commercial recre­ The City should place a higher prior­ north of Military ation opportunities in the areas ity on the construction of new park Football - north of "F" Street east of nnd Street, there will be facilities to fill those gaps identified Soccer - 120th & Center area increased pressure on existing park in Zones A and B. "'" - 120th west, Dodge - Maple facilities. Golf -;:);v - north of State It is important to emphasize that the preceding facility related recommendations G There are fewer acres of park Due to a trend toward decreasing the pertain to physical coverage and service only. It should also be noted that the ground per person in the areas west average size of several of the park physical analysis assumes that all of the facilities reviewed were in useable condi­ of nnd Street than east of nnd types, a set of firm but flexible tion, with little difference in quality. The basic premise was to identify those Street. This lower level of service guidelines should be developed for potential actions or changes needed to provide complete and uniform physical appears to be caused by: use in reviewing proposed subdivision coverage of the City. However, issues and recommendations forthcoming from - change in the average size of park acquisition and development other sections of this Assessment will, of course, serve as modifiers to these initial several park types, which there­ plans. In addition, the Planning findings. In particular, the rehabilitation issues and analysis section must be taken fore has led to poorer service; Board should work more closely with into consideration in any specific application of these physical facility and, the Parks Advisory Board to insure recommendations. - fewer district size parks, re­ proper size and placement of park sulting in less flexibility in terms sites within each new plat. In order of ability to adapt to evolving to reverse recent trends of de­ facility needs. veloping both smaller and fewer Summary of Issues The problems discussed in this "Physical Issues" section have ranged from the district type parks, the Planning De­ regional level to specific facility deficiencies. They also have included references to partment, together with the Parks the impact of other providers on the system, and the need for diversity and Department, should establish an on­ flexibility in the park system. The following paragraphs summarize the various going process which would identify findings discussed earlier, and therefore, provide direction for further discussion potential park sites in areas con­ and decisions in UPARR Action Plan development. sidered likely for development. (A Regional Summary pilot project designed to test the use Issues Identified Directions Identified of computers in this process was con~ a. The 1973 S.C.O.R.P. plan identi­ The City should continue to develop ducted by the Planning Department, fied eastern Nebraska in general the Missouri River environs for and is available in a written form as and the Omaha area specifically as camping, boating, and fishing. In an appendix to this report.) Once lacking in regional park land. addition, increased emphasis should those areas have been located, the be placed on expanding the use of the City should work to coordinate the Papio Creek floodplain as a linear set aside and development of large park system used to tie together parks by several SID's, or purchase existing and proposed parks and dam the tracts prior to urbanization. sites. Facility Summary Overall deficiencies and policy considerations b. Although progress has been made A task force committed to the in­ Issues Identified ._ Directions Identified in the area of City owned regional creased development of State parks a. There IS no eXIStIng overall guide- A policy should be established which facility expansion, little has been in eastern Nebraska should be line con~erning the level of service states, in effect, that the City will accomplished on the State level. formed, perhaps as a sub-committee to be maIntaIned by the CIty. attempt to provide an equal level of of the Parks and Recreation Advisory recreation services throughout the Board. City to the extent that funds allow. 50 51

b. As the cost of transportation rises, When the need for a new park or actually serve the residents of both sible to make an appropriate decision .and the ability to travel to other sports complex had been established, neighborhoods better. One possible regarding facility expansion. Conse­ parts of the City becomes more every effort should be made to place example of this situation is the A. q~ently, prior to adding to City facil­ difficult, the need for nearby it within the developed portion of the V. Sorenson and Benson Recreation Ities, the follOWing four steps should neighborhood parks increases. In City, providing that section is pres­ Centers. The A. V. Sorenson be taken: addition, the construction of new ently unserved. Center has a very high user count, - cheCk the potential population facilities in unpopulated areas is and appears to require expansion to counts for that facility, as well as not cost effective because it re­ meet that need. But many of the for those of surrounding facilities. sults in less overall use and requires people using A. V. Sorenson may - evaluate the condition of that site more travel time. Come from the Benson area, and as well as those nearby. ' use the A. V. Sorenson Center - review user counts, if available. c. A set of guidelines for the place­ The suggested step-by-step procedure because it is a more elaborate - map user addresses, if available. ment of new facilities should be is as follows: facility. It therefore can be argued established to insure uniform - Following a decision to go ahead that if the Benson Center were coverage and an equal level of with new facility construction, the upgraded it would draw Benson service. City should spread the new projects residents back to their community, uniformly throughout the unserved reduce the load on the Sorenson areas with top priority given to Center to manageable levels, and large voids east of nnd Street. serve both neighborhoods better. - Upon achieving an acceptable, even distribution in top priority Specific facility deficiencies and policy considerations areas, a hierarchy of needs for ~ss':{~l{d~ntified .,. Directions Identified other service gaps should be estab­ '. .N~ new fa~lhtles can be Since no new courses can be built lished as follows: first, all re­ bUilt ":Ithm the City. However, inside the older portions of the City maining gaps should be filled; gaps. still remain both inside and the same level of service which outSide the 1-680 loop '.h' second, overcrowded facilities shouid . eXISts Wit m the Interstate loop be augmented; and finally, areas should be maintained in the de­ requesting a higher level of service veloping areas. If a higher level of should be considered. service is desired by residents in de~ veloping areas, either private Courses d. Broken equipment on tennis courts, Uniform coverage means nothing should be constructed to meet the ballfields, etc. forces people to go without uniform quality. A neighbor­ need, or private courses should also elsewhere, and in turn places an hood served by a tennis court without be purchased within the City to increased burden on nearby facil­ a net is not served. Consequently, equalize the level of service through­ ities of the same type. This ad­ proper maintenance is imperative. out the urban area. ditional load then causes those All areas must receive an adequate facilities to deteriorate faster, level of maintenance, with particular b. Recreation Centers - Based upon a If total coverage is desired, con­ leading to overall increases in attention paid to those parks which goal of total coverage, some gaps struction of new facilities and ad­ maintenance costs. serve larger than average populations. have been identified, and some ditions to some existing facilities facilities have been found to be should be considered. e. Generally, we consider user counts The Parks Department should develop potentially overcrowded. as an indication of whether a fa­ a method for determining whether cility is properly located, or if an facilities with higher user counts c. Softball and Baseball - Based upon A task force under the direction of addition should be made to an actually need to be augmented. In a goal of total coverage, several the Parks Advisory Board should be existing facility. This can lead to the example of the Benson and gaps have been identified. How­ formed to determine the needs of the false assumptions. If there is a Sorenson Center, additional infor­ ever, the actual need for new fa­ leagues. Additional fields should be lack of the service in question mation would help in the decision­ cilities is based primarily on the placed in the gaps identified. elsewhere, users will go to the making process. First, the De­ reqUirements of the leagues. existing facility, which in turn will partment should gather counts of artificially inflate its counts. The the potential number of people d. Soccer and Football - Many gaps New fields should be designed for danger here is that new additions served by each center. Second, the have been identified throughout multiple-use whenever possible, and to existing facilities will be made Department should analyze the the inner city, and new fields are should be placed in the openings based upon use, when upgrading or addresses of the A. V. Sorenson users. in demand. listed in this section. adding to another facility may in Together with the user counts and a fact reduce· the number of people knowledge of the condition of the e. Lit and Unlit Tennis - There are Since unlit courts provide relatively using the first location, and two facilities, it would then be pos- very few gaps in coverage for unlit good coverage, additional lighting 52

tennis courts, however, lit courts could be added to existing unlit facil­ arc sparse. ities. New lights will also extend the use of existing courts. Care should be taken to spread any new lit courts as evenly as possible throughout the City.

f. Basketball - There are virtually no Existing dirt courts are not needed service gaps found inside the Inter­ and should be removed. One new state loop, and only onc court was paved court should be constructed, identified as potentially over­ and other requests should be re­ crowded. viewed carefully.

g. Swimming Pools - Several gaps in A task force, under the direction of service were identified, along with the Parks Advisory Board, should be both overcrowded and under­ formed to review City swimming pool utilized facilities. needs. Special attention should be given to the possibility of taking over financially troubled private pools where they can fill important service gaps, upgrading Carter Lake for swimming, and studying areas with overlapping service for possible reductions.

h. Playgrounds - Several gaps and New playgrounds should be developed overused sites were identified in in the gaps identified, and should be various portions of the City. included within or adjacent to ex­ isting parks, if possible. Mini parks should be avoided due to higher main­ tenance costs and reduced visibility.

1. Multi-Use Open Space - This is one A task force under the direction of of the most disturbing deficiencies the Parks Advisory Board should be in the Omaha area park and recre­ formed to locate new potential park ation system. Parks which origi­ sites, and to identify underused facil­ nally contained a great deal of this ities which could be removed to pro­ type of ground have been filled vide for additional open space. with facilities and consequently, large urban areas are now unserved by this amenity.

j. Horseshoe Pits - There are very New pits should be developed only few pits available within the Inter­ upon request, or in areas with high state loop. elderly populations adjacent to mass transit routes. Unused pits should be removed.

k. Zone of Present Development ­ The Parks Department and the There are several apparent gaps in Planning Department should work service in the areas west of 1-680. closely to ensure proper size and lo­ New facilities arc sometimes diffi­ cation of parks within new sub­ cult to locate since development divisions. Other needed facilities patterns may change and housing should be installed in the gaps identi­ growth is not always constant. fied. Service radii and population totals should be completed for out­ lying areas as these approach full development. 55 54

~ The City's Preliminary UPARR Action Plan, which provides an overview assess- Introduction Rehabilitation , <.,r,.'" ment of the Omaha park system, identifies four major categories of park system Issues deficiencies that impact all levels of existing park facilities: boulevard system discontinuity; underutilization; lack of facilities; and maintenance-related prob- lems. Although this section on rehabilitation issues deals primarily with one ofthese key deficiency areas - maintenance of the current system - it also evaluates the relationships between such maintenance problems and other critical park system deficiency categories. Essentially, rehabilitation strategies and preventative maintenance programs are viewed as two sides of the same coin. Consequently, the initial pages of this section inventory existing rehabilitation needs, while later subsections (based upon the major trends identified in the inventory provided) introduce strategies for reducing these problems in the future through rehabilitation program development, con­ struction techniques and supervision practices, government regulatory procedures, and other appropriate measures. Findings developed here are therefore basic to the formulation of the subsequent UPARR Action Plan and the accompanying five year implementation schedule in that they promote a level of policy development which goes beyond the simple rehabilitation of our existing urban park resources. They also establish strategies for insuring a level of preventative maintenance adequate to minimize the diversity of potential rehabilitation costs anticipated over the next several decades.

Park system rehabilitation programs must necessarily be consistent with key City Overview of policies. Such ongoing programs as the Housing and Community Development Rehabilitation Approaches Department's targeting approach, the Urban Development Policy, Historic Preser­ vation Commission regulatory activities, and evolving annexation and mid to long range fiscal planning efforts all affect rehabilitation approaches and choices, and therefore, provide direction and priorities for both the rehabilitation inventory and strategy formulation sections of this Assessment. The City's Housing and Community Development Department has recently embarked on a new approach to the allocation of Community Development Block Grant appropriations. Approximately 95% of these funds are expended in neigh­ borhoods east of 42nd Street, with the major portion of dollars committed to renovation and reutilization of housing stock and public open space in the Near North Side, an area generally bounded by Cuming Street on the south, 30th Street on the west, Ames Avenue on the north and 16th Street on the east. Within this large geographic area are eleven designated revitalization areas. Working together, the City and neighborhood residents pick a one to two square block target area where 50 to 70% of the homes are rehabilitated. The selection ofthe target area is based on existing level of owner occupancy, location of the blocks within the overall redevel­ opment area, and quality of the current housing stock. Other selection factors include physical relationships to community centers and parks, and the physical extension of previous rehabilitation areas. Also included in the target approach is the improvement of parks, streets and sidewalks within the target area. In addition to the eleven Near North Side revitalization areas, there are fourteen other target rehabilitation areas located primarily east of 42nd Street. Overall, the City is currently allocating 75% of its Block Grant funds to target area projects north of Dodge Street and east of 42nd Street. Figure 8 delimits all twenty-five existing community development target areas. The City's Urban Development Policy specifically addresses public facility reha­ bilitation issues as a part of its "In-City" program. The Policy stresses the need for "repair, renewal and replacement ofaging public facilities" and "a general upgrad­ ing of all city services" in Zones A and B- the areas east of nnd Street, and in particular, calls for "installation and/ or redevelopment of parks and recreation facilities" in Zone A- the areas east of 42nd Street.

Postcord (~f Woo/worfh Boulevard (1940) - One of the four major problems confronting the City today is the interruption and discontinuity ()f the boulevard systcm_ 57 56

In light of the various City policies and strategies noted above, a park condition Survey of Areas survey was developed to determine the scope and geographic magnitude ofOmaha's and Facilities current park system rehabilitation needs. Consistent with these policies, as well as in Need of Rehabilitation the aerial limits used in the earlier Physical Issues service radius analysis, only the in-city zones (A, B, and C) of the Urban Development Policy were selected for this initial evaluation of existing park conditions. The park condition survey was developed primarily with the intent of assessing the overall appearance of each park, and the physical condition of the facilities within the parks, and was not intended to address the need or lack ofother facilities. A total of eighty-nine parks inside the Interstate loop were surveyed by two staff members during the summer of 1980. By using the same two individuals to perform all field survey functions. it was more likely that each park site and facility would be evaluated in a consistent manner. The survey was divided into two basic categories: park site and park facilities. The first category, park site, allowed for an analysis ofthe general or overall appearance and condition ofthe open space. Major points surveyed included length ofgrass and height of weeds. amount of broken glass and debris, general overall condition of paved areas and sidewalks. and appearance and usability of sheltered and picnic areas. The second category of the survey dealt with the physical condition of the major capital improvements within each park. These included ballfields, tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pools, playgrounds and pavilions to name a few. -, ...~ Upon completion of the survey, facility usability and site indices were established to rate the overall usability of the individual park site, and the facilities within that park. Based on a scale of0 to 100, with 0 being the most usable, each item surveyed was weighted by degree ofusability. A copy ofthe park condition survey, along with the weighted usability indices for park sites and facilities can be found in the appendix to this report. It is important to note that the park condition survey effort was undertaken at each park site only one time. Therefore, if the field survey was conducted on a Papcr is often the most visible form ofdebris found in the parks according to the Parks Condition Survey: however, Housing and Community Development Department Target Areas. Monday or Tuesday, the park in question might receive a lower than deserved broken glass is a much more serious problem. Fig. 8 rating where the maintenance crew had not yet cleaned the park from heavy weekend use. Also, due to mowing schedules, there was always the possibility that Also impacting the generation of park system rehabilitation policies and ap­ the field survey occurred at the end ofthe cycle period, thus showing unclipped grass proaches is the City's ongoing commitment to the preservation of significant .or hIgher than normal weed growth. Although time constraints did not permit the architectural and historic features, as well as its commitment to promoting rehabili­ survey of each park site more than once during the study period,a general review of tation options as viable tools for insuring the continued health of the central city. field survey results indicated that the survey basically provided a valid, first round The City's "Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha" estab­ assessment of existing condition and major rehabilitation needs. lishes rehabilitation standards, landmark and district designation criteria, and Survey Overview proposes eight district designation priority areas east of nnd Street. In addition, Because of the above detailed City policy focus on improving public facilities in overall City capital improvements programming is increasingly recognizing the the areas east of nnd Street, and the general UPARR orientation toward conserva­ importance of rehabilitation over new construction, particularly where the City is tion and revitalization of inner city park and recreation facilities, the survey effort able to provide essentially "like new" facilities at a cost lower than totally new was for the most part limited to the identification of central Omaha park system development because the infrastructure is currently in place. deficiencies. However, there is a clear relationship between inner city and suburban An example of the cost savings that can be realized through implementing these park system issues and needs. Consequently, information derived from this condi­ policies can be found in the renovation ofa typical, existing park pavilion. In such a tion/usability survey is extremely relevant to the planning for new facilities in case, all gas, water and electrical service are already connected to the building. Also, developing areas, as well as to the generation of policy directions in the conclusions footings, foundations and structural members are in place. The structure is com­ of this Rehabilitation Issues section. pletely enclosed and can be worked on during inclement weather and throughout Figure 9 offers a rating breakdown of the eighty-nine City parks surveyed within the winter months. Construction costs are consequently minimized because these the 1-680 loop. The chart, which shows condition by Urban Development Policy major items are currently existing, and obviously do not have to be included in the In-City Zone, specifically details the percent of park sites and facilities falling rehabilitation project. Into the excellent, good, fair and poor categories based upon the weighted Past experience has shown that rehabilitation work can be approximately 50% rating system explained earlier. less expensive than totally new construction. The resulting significant capital Taken as a whole, more than 55% of the central city park grounds are in excellent budget savings realized in turn increase the City's long range potential for fiscal or good condition, while over 80% ofthe facilities in the parks fall into the same two solvency, and allow for the development of a more systematic approach to annexa­ cat~gories. Although the data does not show any bias in either site or facility tion and other future growth related options. maintenance levels by geographical area, it should be noted that the greatest 58 59

rehabilitation needs appear to be concentrated east of 42nd Street due to the large Site D~ficiencies - Zone A number of park sites and facilities located in these older portions of the City, Florence Square: minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris, major sidewalk repair needed Logan FontenelJe: minor glass & debris - overflowing trash. minor bike path repair needeu Bemis: minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris. erosion, major sidewalk repair % Zone A* % Zone B* % Zone c· needed Mt. Vernon; major sidewalk repair needed, minor parking repair needed, minor road repair needed FaCIT'ltles Gifford: major glass & debris problem, erosion, some tree & shrub trimming needed Parksite 29 37 21 13 27 32 32 9 30 38 19 1:< Christie Heights; some tree & shrub trimming needed, erosion, minor sidewalk repair Flower Beds 100 100 100 needed, major parking repair needed Scenic Overlook 100 Waterways 50 50 100 Spring Lake; major parking area repair, minor road repair Comfort Facilities 3I 7 6 33 II 56 100 Kountze; minor tree & shrub trimming, major glass & debris Picnic Areas 35 30 15 20 22 78 38 50 13 28th & Craig; major glass & debris, parking area in need of major repair 20 Ballfield -, Unlit 77 18 5 92 8 80 Adams; major repairs on parking areas, major repairs on bike paths, minor tree & shrub Ballfield - Lit 80 20 100 100 trimming, minor glass & debris Tennis - LJ nlit 30 61 4,5 4. 71 29 70 10 20 Tennis - Lit SO 25 25 Kiwanis; some tree & shrub trimming, major sidewalk repair, minor parking area repair, Basketball 45 35 5 15 69 23 75 13 12 major bike path repair Golf 100 100 100 22nd & Willis; no trees; overflow of trash Paths or Par Course SO SO 100 Kellom; glass, debris, & trash - major problem Swimming Pool 83 17 100 Boating 10 Miller; minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris, major repair needed on side­ Lagoon wi Bridge 100 100 walks, parking areas, roads Lagoon wi 0 Bridge 100 10 Columbus; minor tree & shrub trimming, major glass, debris, trash overflow, erosion Playgrounds 37 56 33 6 5 62 38 Kellom Greenbelt; uncontrolled grass & weeds, minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & 5ti~ 67 33 SO 50 Horseshoes 33 debris, major sidewalk & bike path repair Socccr~Football 10~ 71 14 14 !OO Pavillion { ,~2 SO SO Levi Carter; minor glass, debris, and trash problem, minor sidewalk repair, bike paths, major repairs on parking areas, roads BlufrView; grass and weeds out ofcontrol, most trees & shrubs need trimming, major glass & Repairs Needed Paved Areas debris Sidewalk 35 29 36 33 SO 17 13 25 62 Spaulding; no trees, major glass & debris Parking Lot 31 19 50 42 8 50 2 18 55 28th & Grant; weeds & grass out of control, most trees &shrubs need pruning, minor glass & Bike Path 45 34 21 R3 17 2 38 38 debris, major trash overflow 14 72 14 ' 86 Road 29 43 28 Dahlman; grass & weeds out of control, some tree & shrub trimming, erosion, minor glass & Amenities debris, minor sidewalk repair, minor parking area repair, minor road repair, major bike path Bike Racks 100 Light Fixtures 34 66 100 repair Bulbs 34 66 10 Facility Deficiencies - Zone A Bridges 100 50 50 Kellom Greenbelt; major glass & debris at picnic area & playground, minor shelter repair at Drinking Fountains 25 75 100 100 picnic area, hoops missing on basketball courts, benches on playground in need of major Fence 5 SO 45 55 56 44 repair Vandalism 8 27 65 5 23 72 22nd & Willis; major net & windscreen repair on tennis courts • Rounded percentages Lynch; picnic area - major glass & debris, no picnic tables, horseshoe pit in need of repair, Fig, 9 major bike rack repair Christie Heights; ballfield fence needs major repair Rehabilitation Needs Columbus; comfort facility closed and in need of major repair, playground extremely unsafe An evaluation of specific park site and facility usability problems by Urban to use, extreme vandalism

Development Policy Zone sets the stage for the development of comprehensive 35th & Leavenworth; comfort facilities closed & in need of major repair, picnic area w shelters, rehabilitation and preventative maintenance strategies and programs, Analysis of & tables in need of major repair, dirt basketball court - surface repair the accompanying matrices of individual park site and facility ratings, along with Erskine; major glass & debris (picnic area), no picnic tables. hoops missing on basketball the listings bf deficiencies in cases involving an overall fair or poor rating, is courts, no benches in play area therefore critical to UPARR Action Plan formulation, Kountze; comfort facility closed - in need of repair. basketball hoops in need of major repair, Figures IDa & lOb show the usability survey results for Zone A (east of 42nd pavilion in need of major repair Street) sites and facilities, This Zone, which has the greatest total number of parks Bemis; comfort facilities in need of major repair (closed). picnic shelters in need of major and facilities, is characterized by a number of large parks that were formerly repair, glass, debris, etc., fence for tennis court in need of major repair connected by a boulevard system, The parks in this area are some ofthe oldest in the Spaulding: ballfield bleachers need major repair City, and not surprisingly contain mature plant materials, lagoons, antiquated Logan FonteneHe: unlit ballfield - playable, spectator benches need major repair. hoops restrooms and pavilions, and floral displays, as well as experience a high degree of missing - basketball, paths & par course - signs & equipment missing, playground - some use, Listed below are the parks and facilities in this Zone that were rated overall as in major repair on equipment. unsafe to use either fair or poor condition, and the stated causes for such ratings, Levi Carter; restrooms need major repair 61 60

Zone A o Excellent e Good (iil Fair v V V ~~'?'?'? ->: • Poor Facilities Facilities oeoe.(iil e (iil (iil eeeeeoeee'i (iil e eo0 Parksite eeo(iil(iil ••eoo(iil.ee••oo(iilooeo(iiloo ~ Flower Beds Parksite o 0 0 0 0 • 0 Flower Beds 0 0 Scenic Overlook Scenic Overlook o 0 Waterways Waterways 0 •(iil Comfort Facilities • 0. (iil Picnic Areas Comfort Facilities 0 ! e I 8O~O• 0 e • Picnic Areas • ee 0 o. ~ 0 00 e 0 (iil 0 0 0 t3 0 Ballfield - Unlit Ballfield - Unlit •o 0 e Ballfield - Lit o § Tennis - Unlit Ballfield - Lit o e e 0 0 e e 0 e 0 0 Tennis - Unlit (iil e e Tennis - Lit Tennis - Lit .0 e 0 0 (iil 8 I", I...H ~ ~ 0 e 0 Basketball e o 1 Golf Basketball eo • • I~l~'~ 0 Golf • I~ Paths or Par Course Paths or par Course e 0 ~ ~ 00 0 0 Swimming Pool Swimming Pool e Boating Boating Lagoon wi Bridge Lagoon wi Bridge 0 0 0 0 Lagoon wlo Bridge Lagoon w/ 0 Bridge oeooo e 0 0 e e (iil e e 0 (iil 0 e 0 0 0 e Playgrounds Playgrounds eee eoee •i Horseshoes Horseshoes o 0 0 0 0 Soccer~ Football (iil Pavillion Soccer-Football o e e e e Pavillion • Fig. lOa Fig. lOa

Repairs Needed o Major () Minor Repairs Needed • None Paved Areas Paved Areas o 00 00. Sidewalk Sidewalk o o o ~ Parking Lot Parking Lot • • Bike Path Bike Path i () Road Road o Amenities Amenities Bike Racks Bike Racks o Light Fixtures Light Fixtures I Bulbs Bulbs Bridges Bridges Drinking Fountains Drinking Fountains Fence Fence Vandalism Vandalism Fig. lOb Fig. 10 b 62 63

Zone B, the area between 42nd and 72nd Streets, contains several well established Fontenelle; unsatisfactory grass, some tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris, major major parks that are both centrally located within the Zone, and connected to the sidewalk repair, minor bike paths repair boulevard system. Also included at the outer edges of the zone are two large parks Seymour Smith; minor glass, debris & trash, grass needs trimming, parking areas in need of that are intensely used - Benson and Seymour Smith. Both ofthese parks are heavily major repair developed for baseball and softball play, coupled with tennis courts. In addition, Hitchcock; glass and debris (minor), trash (major), minor repairs needed on parkingareas& Benson has an indoor skating rink and I8-hole championship golf course. As with bike paths Zone A, a listing is provided of the parks and facilities falling into the fair and poor Country Club; grass untrimmed & unsatisfactory, some tree & shrub trimming, minor glass categories overall. Figures Iia & lib detail the specific site and facility usability & debris, major trash overflow, minor sidewalk repair, rock retaining walls need major repair determinations for all Zone B properties. . Schroeder; minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris, major trash problem Memorial; uncontrolled weeds, minor tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & debris _major Site Deficiencies - Zone B Seymour Smith Clubhouse Proper mainlenance can Lake James; minor glass & debris, minor tree trimming, minor sidewalk repair sidewalk repair, minor road repair. keep even heavily used facilities in good condition. Benson; some tree & shrub trimming, minor repair to sidewalks & bike paths, major repairto Elmwood; minor tree & shrub trimming, major sidewalk, parking, and road repair, minor parking areas bike path repair Crown Point; grass untrimmed & unsatisfactory, some tree & shrub trimming, major glass, debris & overflowing trash, major sidewalk repair Zone B Facility Deficiencies - Zone B o Excellent eGood Karen; unplayable infield (ballfield), no bounda~ posts (ballfield), major outfield repair ~ Fair needed (ballfield). undrained (ballfield), no spectator benches (ballfield). minor backstop e Poor repair (ballfield), minor net repair (tennis), major fence repair (tennis), unsatisfactory field Facilities turf (soccer/football) Parksite 9 ~ 0 0 ~ ~ 0 0 9 ~ 9 9 ~ 9 9 9 ~ ~ 0 Memorial; comfort facilities closed & in need of major repair, no boundary post, benches or Flower Beds 8 ••0 fence on ballfield, dirt basketball court with tilted pole Scenic Overlook Schroed~r; Waterways comfort facilities closed (repair need unknown), minor glass & debris (picnic Comfort Facilities •0 9 0 area), mInor shelter & table repair (picnic area), trash overflow Picnic Areas •~ 9 ~ ~ ~ • 9 S ! ••~ Lake James; comfort facility closed & in need of major repair, minor glass & debris (picnic Ballfield - Unlit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 area), picnic shelter(s) in need of major repair, major picnic table repair, major surface repair Ballfield - Lit 8 0 0 0 • 0 Tennis - Unlit 0 9 0 9 0 0 for basketball courts (dirt), no benches or fence or boundary markers at ballfield, minor glass Tennis - Lit \< & debris on playground, minor equipment repair on playground Basketball 0 0 0 ~ ~ ro 9 9 0 0 Golf 8 8 .' 'i,~~ • Paths or Par Course 2~( \,: Zone C Swimming Pool @ 0 0 Excellent 0 ~. p o Boating ,~ 9 Good ~ovo::-.~ o:*'~# (,-..;:¢(,::-..~~ ~o't' Lagoon wjBridgc 9 i Fair .... Lagoon w/o Bridge Poor ~~~Q\pC(?~<)~

Repairs Needed • Major () Minor ON one Paved Areas () () Sidewalk b () Parking Lot () • 0 8 Bike Path ~ § () •• 0 § • ~ ~ 0 Road 0 • 0 Amenities • Bike Racks , • '. ••••• . CO' 411 0 Unpaved parking lots, providing morc than! 5 stalls, are The amount of vandalism may vary from one neighbor· Light Fixtures in violation of city code. Many are in need of extensive hood to the next. although no portion of the city i... en­ Bulbs repairs. tirely free from damage. Bridges • Drinking Fountains •0 80 Zone C, with the fewest number of parks and facilities, appears to be in the best Fence () 0 condition based upon the ratings. The recurring parking lot repair requirements Vandalism O.O()OOO()OOOOOO()IOO noted above are also prevalent in this section of the City, coupled with erosion of Fill. 12b existing waterways. Vandalism of park sites and facilities is lowest in this western­ most zone, at 24% on a combined scale. It should be noted that parks in this area of the City are generally newer than in other central city sectors, and therefore may not Zone C. (nnd Street west to 1-680) contains no major parks, revealing the rece~t yet display the magnitude of rehabilitation problems evidenced in older urban shift in overall park development philosophy (see both PhysIcal Issues and Hlstonc areas. Preservation Issues). In this area the housing stock has been constructed m the last Survey results for Zone A, in particular, clarify this relationship. For example, 70% 20 years, and as these subdivisions were created, developers providedpa.rk areas of a of the existing comfort facilities within Zone A need major repair, and in some cases neighborhood scale. This area also contains fewer parks and facl1ltle~ than the these structures are closed and boarded shut. Similarly, twenty-five percent of the eastern two Zones. The parks and facilities found to be in generally fair or poor Zone A drinking fountains are inoperable. Waterways and lagoons typically require condition are listed below, while specific site and facility factors for all Zone C repair due to erosion and inadequate bank stabilization. This condition occurs at properties are shown on Figures 12a and 12b. half of the locations inside of42nd Street containing such amenities. Another major Site Deficiencies - Zone C problem identified in Zone A pertains to paving conditions. Approximately 80% of Roekbrook; most trees & shrubs need trimming, erosion. major parking area repair the bike paths and 65% of the sidewalks are in need of major or minor repair. Even 1.A~e ~ Meadow Park A number of City parks contain Maple Village; most trees & shrubs need trimming, minor parking repair, major bike path more significant, parking areas and existing roads within many ofthe Zone A parks waterways where stream~bank erosion proves to be a constant maintenance headache, repair are in need of major repair. In quite a few cases, these parking areas are not Roberts; grass and weeds uncontrolled, some tree & shrub trimming, parking repair (major) hard surfaced, which is in violation of current zoning regulations. The improve· Towl; grass unsatisfactory, needs trimming, some tree & shrub trimming, minor glass & ment and renovation of parking lots and roads is extremely costly because of the debris, minor p~rking & bike path repair immense area that generally needs to be reconstructed or repaired. Palamino HiUs; major glass & debris, trash overflow, erosion- . Vandalism is highest in Zone A. A tremendous amount of broken glass is Brookside; grass' & weeds out of control, major glass & debris, major road repair, mmor prevalent in many parks through this Zone which makes certain areas in the parks sidewalk repair unsafe and almost unusable. However, this problem is not strictly limited to our Mockingbird; uncontrolled weeds, minor glass & debris, major trash overflows, some tree & eastern-most parks, and negative ratings can be found relating to this factor shrub trimming, major sidewalk & parking repair throughout the park system. Facility Deficiencies - Zone C Zone B contains many problems similar to those found in Zone A. Sidewalks and Rockbrook; comfort facility closed, minor picnic table repair, minor grill repair, no boun­ bike paths in this area require at least minor repair in 80% of the parks. All of the dary posts or benches or fence (ballfield), minor tennis net repair, no tennis wind screens, not waterways in Zone B parks need to be improved. Parking lots and roadways also drained (tennis courts). playground - major equipment repair, playground - most benches require extensive rejuvenation. Picnic areas in 78% of the parks are in poor or fair need repair. playground - major glass & debris condition, which is the highest percentage for this category of all the three Zones.

Although the park condition!usability determinations provide overview and Types of Sites and Properties The Park Condition Survey has generally identified typical categories of rehabili­ Rehabilitation Impacts tation problems and their geographic distribution. These are summarized below. foundation information for correcting existing rehabilitation needs, this data is and Relationships in Need of Rehabilitation From this, it is then possible to establish trends in rehabilitation needs, a~d only one part of the larger picture on park system rehabilitation related issues. subsequently to develop strategies for futur~ progr~mming. Such strategIes. ~Ill Based upon the City's various policy directions as outlined earlier in this section, the accomplish two overriding objectives: they WIll prOVIde directIOn 10 the rehablhta­ data and issues discussed in the Physical and Management Issues sections of this tion of existing park resources; and they will set the parameters for park site and report, as well as the parks condition survey results, per se, it is possible to identify facility programming in developing sectors of the Omahajurisdktional are~,. there­ five general, functional areas of rehabilitation concerns. Through such comprehen­ by assisting in the development of methods for preventmg senous rehabilItatIOn sive problem identification, strategies and new directions for rehabilitation related problems in the first place. . .. park system policies can then be formalized. The following discussions should As already stated, analysis ofsurvey information reveals that central cIty rehablh­ therefore be of primary consideration in the development of the UPARR Action tation or renovation needs are greatest in the eastern·most sections of the CIty. Plan. 67 66

Preventative Maintenance Issues Numerous other examples of current or impending facility rehabilitation needs During the process of compiling this Park Assessme~t document, the curre?t asso~iated w~th. preventative maintenance issues exist, involving such practices as administration in the White House has proposed drastIc shifts m the manner m the tl,:,ely p~mtmg ofmetal surfaces to prevent rust, annual inspection and patching which Washington provides financial assistance to cities. These poli~y changes, will of major faCility roofmg, etc. However, the recent, massive repair work required to have a major impact on the UPARR program, and could pOSSibly elimmate It I~ ItS meet Health Department standards on 13 City owned or operated swimming pools entirety. It is important to note that major shifts in Federal funding can ?ccur m a Illu~trates most clearly the serious cost implications of failures in the preventative short period of time, and that any Federal program can be as eaSily abolished a.' It mamtenance area. (ThIS problem was not incorporated into the park condition was established. For this reason, it is important that the Omaha park and recreatIOn survey ratings due to difficulties in identifying pool requirements comprehensively assessment of park system rehabilitation needs, issues, and directions look beyond with brief, one-time field inspections.) During the last several years, five suburban the simple identification of existing problem areas for correction, and toward pools originally constructed by SID's were closed by the Health Department for preventing such problems from arising and repeating themselves ~n the fIrSt pla~e. major repairs involving decks, roofs, and bath houses. Such deterioration was in In other words the forthcoming plan should provide a realistIc, cost-effective part caused by application of pool construction standards never intended for implementation'program which is not strictly geared toward Federal funding sup­ heavily utilized public facilities. In addition, 8 swimming pools in older sections of port. To this end, preventative maintenance and associa~~d i~sues become central the City were closed and rehabilitated as a result of decking, pipe and filtration themes in any assessment of a City's park system rehabilitatIOn problems. probic,:,s, and general. deterioration of adjacent structures and fencing. Although The preceding review of existing park system condition has revealed that reh~bllitatlon needs will always crop up as facilities age, the recent swimming pool throughout the park system the condition of the paving is inadequate. In many enSIS, ultimately costing approximately $2,500,000 to correct over a three year cases, the bike paths and sidewalks are virtually unusable. On an even larger scale, penod, demonstrates the magnitude of the probicms that can arise when initial roadways and parking lots east of 72nd Street tend to be detenorated and m need of construction practices, construction supervision, and on going preventative mainte­ massive repair, while in the more recently acquired and developed parks there:8 a nance are inadequate. lack of hard surfacing of these areas altogether. While the lack of hard surfaCing Bec~use the above menti?ned maintenance problems are attributable to a range reduced initial construction costs, other problems were created. There are no curbs, of mamtenance program failures, solutions will also be multifaceted in nature and gutters, or inlets to direct the flow of storm water. This can cause erosion problems generally require a ?omprehensive approach to maintenance program dev~lop­ in the parks, leaves low areas for water to collect and stagnate, and generally creates ment. In cases mvolvmg older roadways and bike paths, crack sealing or patching is muddy and unusable parking areas, On the opposite end of the scale, dunng dry curre~tly not systematically performed, leading to pavement deterioration during conditions blowing dust becomes a problem. These conditions, which are a result of the wmter months. The Parks Department is hampered by lack of money, equip­ insufficient preventative maintenance programs and! or incorrect construction ~rac­ ment and staff to perform this function, and monies are not available from the tices, contribute toward diminishing the quality ofthe park and open space envlfon­ Public Works Department to perform work on park roads or bike paths. The Public ment, as well as toward the general deterioration of air quality throughout the Works Department uses a systematic approach to this crack sealing operation, and Omaha urban area. the same type of approach should be developed and implemented by the Parks Departme?t. The Public Works Department should contribute to program develop­ ment m thIS area, and study the feasibility of overseeing or actually performing thi, Important preveI?-tative maintenance operation on park property. In the area of parking lot and roadway construction which totally lacks hard surfacing, a different line of policy development should now be implemented. A tremendo~s amount of funds is currently being spent on new facility development. However, m order to save money for such facility construction, the Parks Depart. ment has used gravel for entrance roads and parking lots. The City has an ordinanc, statmg that any parking lot which has more than 15 stalls must be hard surfaced The Parks Department is a violator of that ordinance. A policy should therefore b, adopted and adhered to specifying that when a new facility is constructed, sufficien' -,;:,!~~ti:~ funds must be earmarked for compliance with this City Ordinance. In addition, the . Department should establish methods for determining or evaluating parking lot Sufficient funds should be allocated for proViding hard Meadow Lane Park - Increased runoff upstream has surfaced parking areas, prior to the construction of need at both existing and proposed sites. new facilities. caused extensive bank .;:rosion in this park, This erosive action has cut into the bike path that parallels the stream, Where new developments are proposed, extreme care should be taken to insure leaving the harardous situation shown here, that past problems do not recur. The Department should analyze existing soil sub-base conditIOns. Before development, construction details, thickness of mate­ riaIs and overall initial construction costs should be weighed against long-term maintenance costs. In particular, construction details must be reviewed to make certain that the development will withstand projected, heavy usage. Finally, close City staff field supervision should be maintained to insure compliance with contract ~"\.' . .. .. , \. dr~wings and.specificati?ns during all phases ofthe construction ofpublic facilities. "'. "\ ThiS IS a C,"ilcal phase m guaranteeing that the City receives a durable, quality Mif/er Pool- Lack of preventative maintcnance can rC~lllt in thc need for cxpensive repairs. product. Simply stated, if we can't afford to construct a facility properly, we can't afford the facility. 69 68

Even with the implementation of the above getailed practices, there will ob­ to limited staffing levels within the Parks Department. And even if there were more viously remain the need to provide ongoing routine maintenance to keep the image staff available, this method would not be cost effective as a total approach. Several of the park at its best. Consequently, reasonable schedules should be developed and additional methods should therefore be explored in this area. followed to protect to the greatest degree possible Omaha's major capital invest­ First, the City should thoroughly investigate the various types of clean-up ments. In so doing, there is reason to believe that long range operating and main­ equipment available for picking up broken glass. The City's Public Works Depart­ tenance cost increases can be avoided, while at the same time the usefulness and ment currently has large truck vacuums that clean leaves and other debris from image of the overall park system can be improved. clogged sewer inlets. Similar equipment, on a smaller scale which allows for Waterway and Drainage Issues mounting on a tractor, permitting access to areas around picnic tables and play­ Waterways and drainage ditches in parks have generally created long range, ground equipment, would certainly be of benefit in pick up operations. difficult to solve maintenance problems. It has been past practice to allow develop­ In addition to such equipment additions, the Parks Department should continue ers of new subdivisions to designate waterways or isolated drainageway land parcels to develop and expand its volunteer programs associated with park patrol and adjacent to little or no usable open space as public parks. What this policy did, in routine maintenance activities. The recently instituted Volunteer Park Ranger essence, was to significantly increase the already heavy burden on the Parks program (see Management Issues section) can provide aid in identifying individuals Department in terms of long range maintenance demands. While such practices can responsible for intentional glass breakage, and assist the Police Division in enforc­ create open, scenic and passive recreational areas, as well as protect the natural ing fines for this type of activity. Also, neighborhood groups can be extremely environment, situations involving erosion and banks sluffing off into waterways useful in park clean up operations. Finally, the City should strongly support the become a recurring problem. In addition, subdivision development greatly in­ passage of state level "bottle bill" legislation. In areas of the country where there is creases storm runoff and natural waterways cannot handle the additional volume. an added cost for unreturned cans and bottles, litter of this type tends to be The City should therefore continue to implement recently developed policies of minimized. closely scrutinizing these types of open spaces as dedicated public parks. Taken as a whole, a reasonable portion of park system vandalism might be In park areas where this waterway problem currently exists, the City should curtailed through improving the overall image and visual quality of the major park determine what is causing the erosion and sluff-off problem, and then try to correct sites and facilities. Frequently, vandalism is simply a result of disrespect, and by . , the identified problem(s) at its source. Ifa problem continues even after corrective upgrading the system's image, a reasonable amount of vandalism type activity can There is evidence to suggest that an improved quality measures are taken, it may be necessary to provide adequate bank stabilization to be avoided. in the Park System would lead to an improved public perception, and in turn, result in reduced Jitter problems. prevent further erosion, or to tube and fill these drainage areas. One example ofthis approach is portrayed by the Central Park Mall in Omaha's Vandalism/Public Perception Issues Central Business District. In this particular park, the maintenance is absolutely The parks condition survey has identified a number of problems associated with superb. The grass is always mowed, there is never any trash scattered around, the the general appearance of park sites and facilities, as well as the intentional trees are pruned, all light fixtures are in working condition, and the quality of the destruction of park property. The issues and recommendations detailed below water is always excellent. Since the initial opening of the Mall in 1976, there has establish an overall strategy framework for correcting such difficult to address types never been any vandalism of significant impact. of maintenance concerns. On a recent Friday during the noon hour, approximately 600 people brought Comfort facilities have long been recognized as a maintenance problem for the their "brown bags" to the Mall to enjoy their lunch break. When everyone had left Parks Department. This obviously much needed facility is subjected to both inten­ by early afternoon, there was not one scrap of debris remaining. It would appear sive hard use and vandalism. In older sections of the City, a majority of such that the people using the facility felt a strong pride in the appearance of the open facilities are boarded up and unusable. An in-depth analysis should consequently be space, and that the same pride could be established for other parks in the system. In conducted for each facility to determine specific renovation requirements and costs. order to accomplish this goal, it will be necessary to initiate a systematic approach Cost information should then be weighed against the necessity ofhaving the facility aimed at upgrading major parks throughout the system. Although front end costs reopened, as well as the cost of totally new construction. With such data available for so massive a program could be fairly substantial, in the long run overall for review, a realistic decision can be made on an individual basis as to whether operation and maintenance costs should be reduced. replacement or total rehabilitation activity should be initiated. Where it is decided Special Population Group and Cultural/Arehitectural Needs Relating to that the facility is not needed, it should be removed immediately. If the facility is Rehabilitation found to be necessary, a schedule should be established for its systematic rehabilita­ As the rehabilitation ofexisting park facilities is undertaken, attention should be tion or reconstruction. In this evaluation process, areas of highest demand should devoted to such factors as the needs ofspecial population groups and the renovation be reviewed first, with the others to follow on a "greatest need" basis. requirements of historically or architecturally significant landmarks. It is critical In the renovation or rebuilding of comfort facilities, the structural design be­ that public renovation activities serve as a model to other sectors ofthe community comes of utmost importance. There are fixtures available specifically designed for in encouraging appropriate rehabilitation investments, designs, and treatments in high abuse, such as prison fixtures and light fixtures that can be recessed into the these areas. ~~~~; wall. The walls should be coated with a durable easily-washed-down material, and For example, the City should continue to insure that all park system rehabilita­ the floors should be sealed so that they can be washed down with a hose. Specifying tion work undertaken is in conformance with existing handicapped codes. In the The recently organized Park Ranger program should help to minimize park facility vandalism, these types of vandal-resistant materials will increase the initial construction costs, current rehabilitation grant from the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Serv­ but the materials will pay for themselves by reducing future maintenance problems. ice for renovation work at Miller Park and Kellom Pools, provisions were made to While this list of design features is not all inclusive, it points out several major areas make these facilities readily accessible to handicapped and elderly persons. This is a of design concern and directions for construction or renovation improvements. policy that will be followed throughout Omaha's future park system rehabilitation Another identified appearance/vandalism related problem is the large amount of process. broken glass evident throughout the park system. Broken glass is extremely difficult Park rehabilitation work should also be both consistent with, and supportive of and time consuming to pick up, with the most effective clean up method being to the housing target areas identified by the Housing and Community Development pick it up by hand. However, ongoing by hand pick up activities are not realistic due Department. This will involve funding coordination with the ongoing program to 70 71

aid elderly individuals, as well as with those projects geared toward the minority a new facility to reduce such higher maintenance costs. Of course, each case would populations of the community. Additional funding support for H & CD target have to be carefully evaluated to insure that the added cost of the new facility, areas is critical from two standpoints. The rehabilitation needs in these older areas coupled with its projected, additional maintenance costs, is in fact over the long run are massive, and the use of Block Grant funds, alone, is insufficient to correct the less costly than the increased maintenance burden at the overused facility. Taken as numerous housing and public facility oriented problems identified. Also, as was a whole, however, it is likely that the Parks Department will identify at least some established in the Physical Issues section, residents ofsuch neighborhoods are much cases where overuse makes the prospect of new construction cost effective. more dependent upon the public sector for recreational services than in other portions of the Omaha urban area. Consequently, in order to equalize recreational ('\~"" opportunities throughout the City, overall park system rehabilitation approaches #-~~~1 should be in line with, and focus in on the Housing and Community Development Park East Mini-Park· These parks tend to be more ex­ Department's programs and target areas. Issues Identified Directions Identified Summary of Issues pensive to maintain than larger parks, due mainly to Where park system rehabilitation work involves the renovation of historically or a. Poorly designed parks result in The Parks Department should estab­ additional travel time for work crews, architeeturally significant properties, the standards and criteria established in the greater mainte'nance costs in the lish a set of guidelines for the layout City's "Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha" should be long run. of new parks primarily for use in the adhered to at all times. This adopted Master Plan section states "if the City is to review of proposed SID parks. The assume a leadership role in heritage conservation, it must back this position with guidelines should specify parking re­ efforts that insure the consideration ofpreservation policy in its own activities. "The quirements, allowable grades, open adopted preservation objectives, design criteria, and rehabilitation standards are space requirements, a method for de­ therefore to be taken into account on all relevant cases involving public actions. termining facility needs, etc. Routine Maintenance and Usage Issues The Parks Department currently perceives that it is more difficult to maintain a b. Facilities which are not well con­ A set of minimum design standards mini or small neighborhood park than a larger district, metropolitan, or regional structed will lead to costlier should be developed by the Parks scale park. However, based upon the data analysis of the park condition survey repairs in the future, Department in conjunction with the results, this perception would superficially appear to be unfounded. ApproxImately Public Works Department. A set of 66% of the parks surveyed are of this smaller variety, and yet more than 65% of the standard plates and specifications for parks in question are in excellent to good condition, while the vast majority of the everything from required paving larger parks are in fair to poor condition. thicknesses to planting details could be However, such conclusions tend to be misleading for several reasons. Many ofthe included. The Parks Department should lower ratings attached to the larger parks are caused by poor condition ofexisting also place greater emphasis on construc­ roads and parking lots, and not necessarily related to routine maintenance items. tion supervision to insure that the These generally poorly rated facilities are most likely to exist in the larger parks in facilities are built according to plan. the first place. In addition, the condition survey only indicates the extent of - Roads and parking areas are All parking lots should be hard surfaced maintenance. It tells nothing of the time requirements necessary for achieving the often in need of repair due to and overflow parking raised with existing state. improper construction. mountable curbs, checkerblock paving In order to determine the relationship between park size and routine maintenance and grass. Roads should have curbs requirements, it will be necessary for the Parks Department to direct the mainte­ and gutters to prevent erosion along the nance staff to keep accurate records of the time they spend at a given location, roadside and damage to the roadbed. including how long it takes to perform a specific task. With this information, the - Paths and sidewalks are not The subsoil should be properly prepared Department will be able to evaluate the total number ofman-hours expended f~r all always installed properly, re­ and asphalt or concrete must be laid to maintenance items by individual park. A correlation can then be estabhshed sulting in uneven, rough walkways. an adequate thickness. Also, paths between total number of man-hours and the size of a park. Ifcurrent Department should not be laid in areas which may be perceptions are true, an inverse relationship will be evident. subject to erosion, and should be set To accomplish this task, the Parks Department should immediately initiate such back from d rainageways when possible. a time-keeping procedure. In addition to identifying the relationship between - Swimming pools built by SID's SID pools must be reviewed prior man-hours and size, the Department will be able to determine whether certain and acquired by the city have to approval and inspected during con­ physical design features require excessive maintenance, and translate such findings had problems due to poor con­ struction to make certain they will to the design offuture parks, possibly deleting or redesigning the feature in question struction. meet city specifications for high in­ in some cases. tensity use. The Parks Department has found that in certain instances facilities can be - Waterways which are to be used Storm water drainageways should not, subjected to overuse. The heavy use or overuse of a specific site or facility tends to for storm water drainage are as a rule, be dedicated as park ground create an additional maintenance burden on other facilities throughout the City. By subject to increased erosion and but should instead be maintained by utilizing the time-keeping procedures discussed above, the City could correlate and high maintenance costs. the Public Works Department. Also, quantify the added man-hours necessary for performing routine maintenance on an drainageways which are currently identified, heavily used facility. carrying less water than they will A comparison could then be made between maintenance requirements for the following full development should be heavily used facility and other, similar in size facilities to determine the maintenance stabilized at the time of platting to cost differential. Ifthis cost differential is substantial, it may be cheaper to construct reduce future erosion. 72 73

c. Without preventative maintenance The Parks Department should set up a h. It is possible that overuse of some The same record system described the Parks Department will en­ systematic approach to maintaining all facilities may result in higher costs above, when used in conjunction counter costlier repair bills in the existing facilities in order to prevent than the construction and main~ with the population counts, could help future. costly repairs and rehabilitation work. teoaoce of new facilities. to determine the need for new facilities - Roads and other paved surfaces A program of patching and crack and their impact on maintenance costs. often require extensive repair sealing similar to the one used by the due to spalling and cracking. Public Works Department should be employed by the Parks Department. - Lagoons and already approved Bank stabilization practices should be drainageways suffer from bank employed before the erosion further erosion. reduces water quality or damages nearby facilities.

d. Vandalism damages park structures This year the Parks Department is using and equipment and results in a volunteer park patrol to help control dangerous situations for the user vandalism in the parks. As an aid to and high costs for the city. this effort experience in other com­ munities has shown that immediate repair of vandalized sites also dis­ courages multiple cases of vandalism at the same park. - Damage to comfort facilities has Restrooms which have been closed been so extensive that many should be reviewed to determine the have been closed. level of need. If not used, they should be removed. If needed, they should be refurbished with recessed lighting and vandal resistant walls, ceilings, floors, and fixtures. - Broken glass in playgrounds and The Parks Department should investi­ picnic areas leaves some facil~ gate available clean-up equipment to ilies virtually unuseable. see what is available. The City should also actively support a deposit­ type bottle bill to reduce the number of bottles and hence the amount of glass in the parks.

e. Existing historic structures and The City should encourage proper sites within the system which are rehabilitation of historic structures by in need of repair may be damaged making repairs in a sensitive manner in by unsympathetic additions. keeping with the historic nature of the property. The Parks Department should work with the City's Historic Preservation Officer concerning repair plans.

f. Handicapped individuals and low The Parks Department must pay income groups may suffer the most special attention to rehab plans to insure from poorly maintained or im­ conformance with handicapped codes. properly repaired public facilities, They should also try to gear their plans due to their lack of access to toward Housing and Community private facilities. Development target areas.

g. Small parks are perceived by the A record system for reviewing man­ Parks Department as being more hours should be established. If the difficult to maintain. records show that miniparks are more difficult to maintain, their construc­ tion should be avoided. 75 74

Historic preservation is a relatively new consideration in the process of compre- Introduction Historic Preservation hensive park and recreation planning. It will assume a more significant role in the Issues future, however, as fiscal constraints dictate an increasing utilization of existing resources and less new development. Americans are becoming aware that it is often more economically feasible to adapt properties to changing lifestyles than to tear down and rebuild. Park planners are also moving toward conservation and redevel- opment of existing parks to better meet the challenges of the 1980's. A closer look at the situation in Omaha reveals exciting possibilities for the preservation of parks and recreational resources, as, well as opportunities for expansion. Besides the fact that Omaha's original parks and boulevards system is worthy of landmark status, the City can re-use historic buildings as well as adapt historic sites for park and recreational purposes. As rising construction and gaso­ line costs point toward movement in from the suburbs, upgrading parks will serve as a catalyst to redevelopment of older neighborhoods. This discussion will explore these ideas, as well as describe methods for implementation and policies for future planning and programming efforts.

Before assessing the role of historic preservation in Omaha's long range park Changing Attitudes planni,ng, it is necessary to examine some of the City's changing views toward its Toward Parks parks and the evolution of park planning in general. The history of the Omaha parks and boulevards system (see A History of the Urban Parks of Omaha) discussed its growth from the initial plans and bond issues of 1890's to the modern department operating in 1980. The historical analysis revealed that in several ways Americans have moved full circle in regard to their conceptions of parks and their uses. Omahans have also followed this general cycle, and found themselves return­ ing to some of their earlier ideals. One of the most obvious of these changes has been the evolution in uses of parks from the nineteenth century's quiet urban retreat to the twentieth century's center for hiking, ballgames and other sports. When nineteenth century park systems were initially planned, recreation was a prerogative only of the wealthy; it gradually became available for all classes and recreation assumed a large portion of parks department functions. Today, however, as central cities become more dense, there is a need to provide relief from the noise and congestion of urban life. As a result, the quiet urban retreat, a place for walking and escaping noise, will once again be in demand in the most crowded urban areas. Conceptions regarding park locations have evolved in a similar manner. Early parks were sited on rocky, hilly ground, land too rough to be used for housing or other purposes. Today governmental regulatory procedures ensure that parks are not placed on only leftover land. Typically, some land has been set aside for parks and recreational uses in new Sanitary and Improvement District developments. However, most recently there has been a tendency for these SID's to again select the more "unusable" portions around drainage ditches for park sites. Once again, park and recreation departments must work toward acquisition of suitable land for parks. Park and recreation funding has experienced a fluctuating cycle as well. After an early history of reliance only on municipal funding, the government stepped in to support parks and recreation in particular during the Depression and World War II. The 1950's brought a return to municipal funding, only to be followed by the massive Federal assistance programs with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR) a decade later. Today, an age of inflation and cutbacks has forced the Federal government to again pull back from outright funding, and instead place increased emphasis on effective planning. Omaha, too, has experienced the changing conceptions ofpark use and locations and the alternating financial cycle. One question in regard to park location, how­ ever, has not been resolved. Since 1854 when surveyor Alfred D. Jones planned a 77 76

...... •••••••vo ...... _,,!~u,< .v _"T.... 'y.

Central Park Mall- Early plans called for a park in the Downtown area near the site of the new Mall.

park near the river in his original city plat, Omahans have attempted to return to the Missouri River. After Jones' short-lived park, plans were made in the 1920's for a river drive, but only small portions of it were ever completed. Today Omahans are again making the effort to utilize the river vista through the Riverfront Develop­ ment Plan and the Downtown Central Park Mall, which will connect the heart of the Central Business District with the river six blocks away. Once again we find ourselves returning to the ideas advanced at the beginning of American park planning. The cycle of events makes it clear that we must be aware of our past in order to effectively plan for the future. Preservation of our significant sites and structures is a first step in that direction.

The Role of Historic Preservation Historic preservation became an established part of Omaha's municipal govern- ment with the City Council adoption of the Landmarks Heritage Preservation Ordinance in December, 1977. The Ordinance created a seven-member Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission (LHPC) for the purpose of recommending to the City Council potential landmark structures and districts. As of January 20, 1981, the LHPC had recommended forty-one properties, including two historic districts, to the City Council, thirty-eight of which were eventually designated. The 1977 Ordinance also called for a Master Plan for historic preservation in Omaha, A Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha which was forwarded to the City Council for adoption in early 1981. This document contains an extensive discussion of Omaha's history and its architectural heritage, providing the groundwork for future LHPC designations. Other elements of the plan include a survey of the entire City, identifying significant areas, criteria for designation and rehabilitation of structures and districts, and implementation methods for preservation in the City. Goals, policies and strategies set forth in the plan will define the scope of historic preservation in Omaha in the future. This information, particularly the goals and strategies, will provide the basis for relating preservation to long range parks planning, and must be taken into consideration in formulating the goals in this plan. Perhaps the most important conclusion of the Master Plan for historic preserva­ GREATER tion in regard to Omaha's parks is its identification of the original parks and boulevards system as historically significant. Based on the design of well-known oMAliA~- landscape architect H. W.S. Cleveland, the system was well planned and undertaken ",...... ,.. DUNp .... at a time when the City was expanding and could carefully follow the plans. Because 11\ VICINITY Hanscom Boulevard· Construction of the Interstate in some sections of the boulevard system have been destroyed by Interstate highways or the early 70's severed many portions of the boulevard other road construction, most Omahans do not generally identify the boulevards as system, as seen here by this dead-end section of Po,","''''' Hanscom Boulevard. a part ofthe parks system. The altered portions ofthe boulevards could be enhanced TOWL ENGINEERING CO. CIVIL tNClNEERS by landscaping and other improvements while restoration and redevelopment of 322 &. 8'uildh'f. Omoh. 1~12 older parks proceed. c..,",~,I1....., The Parks and Boulevard System as it was in 1912. 79 78

Certainly the preservation of both the parks and boulevards makes econ?mic sense in the 1980's. As rising construction and gasoline costs push more Amencans toward central cities both recrcational facilities and the boulevards will be subject to increasing use. l~ Omaha the Riverfront Development Plan calls for housing downtown, while the impetus for additional residential development m the CBD area will be provided by the Old Market and the new Central Park Mall. These sections of the City east of nnd Street are already the most densely settled portIOn of the urban area and the home of most of its minority residents. Any Improve­ ments to the cen'tral city parks will certainly benefit an increasing number of residents and meet some of the need for facilitics in the Black community. In addiiion:the redevelopment of parks will contribute to the upgrading of surround­ ing neighborhoods. A number of inner city residential neighborhoods have already begun to explore the values of historic designation in exe.rcising control. over demolition of existing structures and design of new constructIOn. Coordmatlon of these areas, as identified in the Master Plan for historic preservation, with the redevelopment proposed for the original parks and boulevards syst~m could result in revitalization and conservation of several of the City's older neighborhoods.

""""'- Warson Brothers Tran~fer Company Building - Thisarchitecturally significant structure While the original system of parks and boulevards is worthy of designation,. it is was recently acquired by the Parks Departmellt for use as a central maintenance Inventory of headquarters. Historic City-Owned Facilities also important to realize that within the parks are a number of bUildmgs qualified for recognition, based on their own significance. The Department of Parks, Recrea­ tion and Public Property is responsible for maintenance of all city-owned struc­ Other City Properties tures, including a number of major public buildings not located in parks. An (I) Bcnson Library analysis of city-owned properties by the historic prese.rvation st~ff ."~sulted m the (2) Benson Community Center following list of structures possessing histonc or architectural Slgmflcance: (3) Christie Heights Community Building Parks and Recreation Facilities (4) Fire Department Repair Garage - 2202-08 Ames (1) Benson Park Pavilion and Dwelling (5) Fire Station No. 5- 4702-04 South 25th Street (2) Brown Park Pavilion (6) Fire Station No. 20- 31 II South 20th Street (3) Carter Lake Boat House (7) Fire Station No. 23 - 7508 North 30th Street Miller Park Pavillion • Thi~ hj~toric postcard depict~ the (4) Carter Lake Men's Restroom and Storage (8) Old Fire Station No. 20 - 2026 Lake Street pavillion as it appeared around 1912. (5) Carter Lake Women's Restroom and Storage (9) Omaha/Douglas Health Center - 2201 South 10th Street (6) Carter Lake Open-Air Pavilion (10) Omaha/ Douglas Health Center - 1604 South 50th Street (7) Columbus Park Day Care Building (West Christ Child Center) (II) Police Department Assembly Station - 40th and Nicholas (8) Elmwood Park Office and Service Building (12) Public Works Equipment, Storage and Office Building - 2602-14 Lake Street (9) Elmwood Park Pavilion (13) Public Works Miscellaneous Storage Building - 2634 Lake Street (10) Elmwood Park Golf Supplies Storage Building Most of the parks and recreation facilities listed date back to the spurt of growth (11) Elmwood Park Dwelling - 808 South 60th Street and expansion that occurred in the 1920's and 1930's, with WPA funding and labor (12) Elmwood Park Springs - Steps and Landscaping responsible for construction of a number of the buildings. It is apparent, too, that (13) Fontenelle Park Pavilion almost all of the structures listed are located in parks that were a part ofthe original (14) Hanscom Park Pavilion boulevard system or added to it in the 1920's. The only exception is the Watson (15) Hanscom Park Greenhouses Brothers Transfer Company Building, erected in streamlined Moderne style, and (16) Mandan Park Pavilion and Dwelling recently acquired by the Parks Department for use as a centralized maintenance (17) Miller Park Pavilion facility. (18) Morton Park Pavilion A number of the Major Public Buildings listed are still standing today and owned (19) Mount Vernon Gardens Portico by the City because of their historic nature. The Union Station, Orpheum Theatre, (20) Spring Lake Park Pavilion, Pro Shop and Dwelling former Public Library, Bemis Bag, McKesson-Robbins, and Burlington Buildings (21) Watson Brothers Transfer Company Building - 1523 South 24th Street were all designated as local landmarks of historical and architectural significance Major Public Buildings under Omaha's Landmarks Heritage Preservation Ordinance. In addition, the (I) Bemis Bag Building Burlington Building, former Public Library, Orpheum Theatre and Union Station (2) Burlington Building are included on the National Register of Historic Places. The Orpheum has been (3) Interim City Hall restored, while Union Station is now a museum and in the process of restoration. (4) McKesson-Robbins Building The Public Library Building will become offices, while the other three structures are (5) Former Public Library located in the heart of the Old Market - Central Park Mall Redevelopment area and (6) Union Station (Western Heritage Museum) are candidates for adaptive re-use by private development corporations. Among the (7) Orpheum Theatre other historically significant properties owned by the City are the local government (8) South Omaha City Hall and Police Annex buildings acquired in the annexation of South Omaha in 1915 and Benson in 1917,

Elmwood Springs Plaza· Once a popular source of pure spring drinking water, these springs are now capped and polluted, and seldom \l~cd today. 80

and a number of fire stations and storage buildings in various older areas of the City. As an assessment of properties already owned by the City, this list necessarily does not address all historic properties in Omaha that might be utilized for recrea­ tional purposes. Omaha's most obvious examples in adaptive re-use have been the Western Heritage Museum's use of the Union Station and the Great Plains Black Museum located in the old Webster Telephone Exchange Building. In addition, the McKesson-Robbins Building, a warehouse located close to the riverfront and on the Central Park Mall, has been proposed for conversion to a sun-lit indoor park. The City also possesses several historic sites that may be utilized for recreational purposes. Prospect Hill Cemetery, located only a few blocks from John Creighton Boulevard, could be incorporated into exercise paths or simply utilized for its McKesson-Robbins Building· According to one pro­ posal, this building, in the Central Park Mall, might be magnificent view of the Iowa bluffs across the river. Fort Omaha, now the home of used as a unique indoor park. Metropolitan Technical Community College, has open space badly needed for recreational purposes in North Omaha. The Union Stockyards, the reason for the creation of South Omaha in the 1880's, no longer occupies the physical space that it once needed. As stockyards facilities are vacated, the land could be acquired for recreational purposes, such as ballfields or tennis or basketball courts. This plan is not the appropriate vehicle for a further discussion of all historic buildings and sites suitable for recreational re-use. However, identification of these locations in the historic preservation Master Plan can serve as an initial guide for future action in regard to parks and recreation expansion. Certainly the Parks and Recreation Department can only benefit through use of available land and buildings in lieu of acquisition of new properties for such purposes.

Policies for Parks Planning With Federal cutbacks in the amount of money available for recreation, munici­ pal departments across the United States will be forced to reduce new acquisitions, and instead make better use ofexisting resources. Omaha is fortunate to possess its excellent parks and boulevards system as a basis from which to work in the future. Careful planning, along with preservation and conservation of our system, will be the underlying foundation for dealing with the changes in funding sources, demo­ graphics and economic conditions that are going to confront park planners in the coming decades. In an effort to best deal with these issues and problems (which are fundamental to the UPARR Program) the following conservation related policies should be incorporated into Omaha's park planning and programming efforts. (I) Support the stabilization and strengthening of identified preservation target areas through the improvement of existing parks and open spaces, thereby pro­ viding a catalyst to the redevelopment of surrounding neighborhoods. (2) Improve City Government recognition of historic park facilities and the main­ tenance requirements of these resources. (3) Follow a policy of adaptive re-use of identified historic structures and sites in cases of both new and existing park, recreational and cultural facilities. (4) Coordinate existing Riverfront Development plans with the UPARR focus on inner city conservation and preservation. (5) Recognize the assets provided through the boulevard system, and again establish it as an important component of the central city parks and open spaces system. (6) Insure adequate emphasis on passive as well as active recreation in established urban areas to accommodate increasing population densities associated with "return to the city" trends. (7) Design programs which respect austerity in government funding, and are sup­ portable locally, independent of continuous massive Federal outlays. (8) Coordinate historic preservation plans with park conservation plans in order to insure that park program goals are consistent with the concepts, policies and strategies developed in the City's Historic Preservation Master Plan, and by the Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. 83 82

The 1956 City of Omaha Home Rule Charter, which set up a strong Mayor­ Introduction Management Council form ofgovernment, established a Parks, Recreation and Public Property Issues Department responsible for the following functions: Parks; Recreation; Forestry; Auditorium; Stadium; Building Services and Maintenance; and Airport. The Charter created the position of Parks and Recreation Superintendent to head up a Park and Recreation Division, as well as that ofdepartmental Director, which was a regular cabinet position filled by Mayoral appointment rather than through the Civil Service System. The Charter also established an Advisory Board to make recommendations to the Mayor, Council, and Parks and Recreation Superintendent on matters con­ cerning Parks and Recreation. The five Board members, who were to be "qualified electors of the City ... in sympathy with the development of a park system and recreation program," were appointed by the Mayor in staggered five year terms. In 1974, the Charter was amended by a vote of the people to expand this Board to seven members, each serving three year staggered terms. Since the first years of the Charter, the Parks, Recreation and Public Property Department has both changed and grown. Most obviously, independent authorities were created to run the Airport and Henry Doorly Zoo, while other Parks Depart­ ment functions were expanded, as in the performing arts area and the addition of weed and litter control responsibilities. More important in overall impact, however, was the great increase in park system size. The 1956-1970 period was one of major annexations by the City of Omaha. Although very few larger park facilities were brought into the system, a number of small, intensively developed neighborhood type sites requiring disproportionately high levels of maintenance were annexed during these years. Between 1970 and 1980, park system total acreage then expanded from 3000 to 6000, and accompanying this doubling of acreage the number of park sites increased from approximately 90 to almost 130. As a result, one of the biggest issues confronting the Parks Department over the last ten years has been the allocation of an operating and maintenance budget that has not kept pace with the combination of inflation and facility growth. While the Department has attempted to stretch this budget far enough to provide acceptable levels of maintenance and programming, it is now clear that these attempts have not been entirely successful to date. The facilities available, program types, and general recreational opportunities offered to Omaha area citizens are outstanding. However, preventative maintenance is currently not being done due to such budget limitations, and the effects of this approach are just now beginning to be felt. The Parks and Recreation Department has historically maintained a low number of full-time civil service employees, opting instead to increase its part-time and seasonal work force as needs have dictated and the budget has allowed. Although this policy may in some cases be considered fortunate in light of the fiscal con­ straints and expanding park system demands discussed above, the policy originally evolved out of the need for departmental flexibility. Due to Omaha's geographic location, maintenance requirements are necessarily seasonal in nature. In partic~ ular, the summer months are ones of heaviest demand for general park and golf course maintenance. Also, experimentation in recreation programming is made more feasible when the majority of the work force is not of civil service classifi­ cation. Overall programming can then grow, decline or change without substantial­ ly altering the number of full-time employees. Unfortunately, this flexibility in the seasonal work force also permits major budget declines to be almost totally ab­ ,sorbed without any immediate, apparent effect on the Department's full time work force. However, in the long run the continued depletion of seasonal and part time staff contributes to general park and recreation system qualitative declines. As these Parks Department management related issues have evolved since Charter formation of the Department, the role of the Parks Advisory Board has actually narrowed during this period. Today, the Board does not address most of the responsibilities outlined in the 1956 Charter, and does not become involved in management issues critical to overall Department functions. 84 85

In the following pages, these and other Parks Department management issues are explored in further detail. Based upon this information and analysis, the need for more explicitly formulated policies becomes clear, and areas for policy develop­ ment are identified. The management approach generated is designed to fit into a context of fiscal austerity that is certain to be with us for many years to come. For this reason, a general strengthening of existing approaches is recommended, as opposed to a more radical restructuring of the current"system.

Department Organization The Director of Parks, Recreation and Public Property is the administrator of and Staffing Levels the Department, and has the overall responsibility to direct and coordinate the operations- of the Department, determine priorities, and allocate resources. The Department is divided into 9 separate divisions, each headed by a division manager. These are: (I) Administrative (2) Parks (3) Recreation (4) Forestry

(5) Golf Postcard o.fOmaha Boulevard (1915)- The Forestry Division of the Parks Department is responsible for all street (6) Central Maintenance right-of-way trees, This includes boulevards. (7) Civic Center (8) Building Services ously identified, and if it continues, will result in programming quality as well as (9) Auditorium/ Stadium/ Orpheum quantity declines. In effect, the Department's Public Property divisions (numbers 7, 8 and 9) are Forestry. Headed by the City Forester, this division employs 30 full-time staff relatively independent from the remainder of the department, and these arc there­ members. The division is responsible for the planting, maintenance, and removal fore reviewed separately in this section. ofall City street right-of-way trees, and all plant materials within the Omaha parks Parks and Recreation system. These trees and plant materials are valued at $127,000,000; forming a rela­ The functions and staffing levels of those divisions related to park and recreation tively major asset in any listing of government owned resources. The Forestry Di­ services are as follows: vision makes use of part·time or seasonal personnel only on special occasions, and Administrative. This division has five full-time employees; the Director, Park and usually in conjunction with a special inventory or other research oriented project. Recreation Superintendent, Office Manager, Executive Secretary, and Clerk Golf· This newly created division, headed by a City Maintenance Superintendent, Typist. The division coordinates and administers all departmental responsibilities, currently employs 41 full-time employees. The division is responsible for the main­ with an estimated 25% of its work effort directed into Public Property oriented tenance ofall City operated golfcourses, as well as the operation ofthe pro shops. It divisions. is a City of Omaha requirement that the golf course manager assigned to each Parks. The division is headed by the City Maintenance Superintendent, who over­ eighteen hole course be a Class A Pro, as defined by the P.G.A. sees the maintenance of the parks, and a Park and Recreation Planner, who super­ Because the nine municipal golf courses are only open approximately 8 to 9 vises all master planning and construction activities involving the parks. The di­ months per year, it is not economically feasible to depend entirely on full-time em­ vision currently employs 120 full-time staff members. With the exception of a four ployees for maintenance and/or operation functions. Therefore, this division usually member planning staff, all of these are assigned to maintenance related functions. hires approximately 28 to 30 seasonal employees to assist in the mowing, trimming, The Parks Division has typically hired approximately 75 seasonal maintenance and operation of the golf clubhouse. Although the City Charter requires all revenues employees to help in the park mowing and trimming areas. However, within the last to be deposited to the City's General Fund, it is generally conceded that the golf few years the number of seasonal employees has been decreasing, and now averages program is essentially self-sufficient. The 1980 revenues from green fees, golf cart under 50. This is due to increases in the minimum wage paid to the seasonal work rentals, and concessions were nearly one million dollars. force, with no accompanying increase in dollars budgeted for this activity. CentralMaintenance. This division, headed by a City Maintenance Superintendent, Recreation. This division, headed by a Recreation Manager, has primary responsi­ was created in 1980 when the City was able to acquire a large warehouse/garage for bility for the programming and staffing of the diverse Omaha recreational pro­ this purpose. The facility, which is centrally located, has allowed the department to grams and related facilities. including recreation centers, swimming pools, ice consolidate all mechanics, warehouse operations, and skilled maintenance em­ arenas, day camps, and various athletic leagues. The division is staffed by only 34 ployees into one unit. Although the centralization of maintenance employees does full-time employees, depending instead upon its part-time and seasonal work force. tend to increase on-the·job driving time in many instances, the change was insti­ It has been long-standing departmental policy to maintain a small professional tuted to improve supervision and job planning, and increase efficiency in job per· staff that serves as a nucleus for a large number of part-time and seasonal em­ formance. Eventual reductions in the full-time skilled labor force are therefore ployees. This allows for more flexible programming as needs change, as well as anticipated. These cost savings can then be used to supplement other needs which reduces programming costs because of savings associated with the City's fringe must be supported by the Department's operation and maintenance budget. benefit package for civil service personnel. However, in recent years the average Given the functions and staffing level trends itemized for each park and recre­ number of part-time/seasonal staff employed during peak periods has decreased ation oriented division, it is clear that any operation and maintenance budget in­ from approximately 250 to 180. This has been due to the budget constraints previ- adequacies will be felt first, and affect more severely, the two divisions most depend- 86 87

ent upon seasonal and part-time employees: the Parks Division and the Recreation Auditorium. However, during City Council budget review hearings, these overall Division. mcreases can have a damaging effect on the amounts ultimately allocated to Parks As discussed in the Service Issues section of this Plan, staffing cutbacks for Recreation and Forestry. ' Omaha recreation programs tend to occur in the less capital facility intensive areas In addition to these points, it should be noted that the Parks Department, which requiring a relatively large number of employees, such as with the playground pro­ is the third largest in City Hall, has one of the smallest Administrative divisions of gram. On the other hand, decreasing staff levels within the Parks Division translate any of the City departments. Management of Public Property functions consumes into putting off costly renovation projects wherever possible - i.e., a lack of pre­ about 25% of the Administrative division's time. If Public Property were no longer ventative maintenance particularly relating to larger capital investments. A combi­ the responsibility of this division, more time and effort could then be reserved for nation of the so called "band-aid" approach to maintenance and the cutbacks in the systematic analysis of park and recreation related needs. more "outreach oriented" recreation programs may eventually lead to a system heavily dependent upon major facilities that are in generally deteriorated condition. Volunteers Because this is not always apparent until a real crisis emerges, the issue of how to The Parks Department has historically chosen not to depend upon volunteer spread an increasingly taxed operation and maintenance budget should now be efforts for parks maintenance and recreation programming. Where volunteers were more systematically explored. recruited, they were directed toward programming for a particular recreation event PublIc Property or toward special clean-up or maintenance projects. However, in light of recen; Public Property, including the Civic Center, Building Services, and the Audi­ budgetary problems and an increasing public recognition of park maintenance torium/ Stadium/ Orpheum divisions, has been a part of the Parks Department needs, the Department has reevaluated its long standing policy regarding the use of since adoption of the 1956 Charter. These divisions, as well as weed and litter con­ volunteers, and has recently organized a Volunteer Park Ranger program. tfol responsibilities, have essentially evolved into maintenance oriented functions The .newly created program has three explicit goals: to help curb park facility within the Parks Department, having virtually no qualitative impact on the pub­ vandalIsm; to promote public safety; and to generally educate the public on the wide licly provided leisure-time delivery system. range of recreati?nal facilities available through the Omaha parks system. In Although it can be argued that City owned performing arts facilities do offer a particular, vandalIsm has been a major problem during the past several years, and form of public recreation, staff within these divisions are totally independent from has resulted in negative perceptions of the overall system. As litter tends to bring on Park and Recreation related staff members, and primarily in maintenance job more litter, and destruction more destruction, maintenance personnel have had to classifications. Due to such employee and functional differences, there has been a be temporarily reassigned, ultimately causing the deferment ofroutine maintenance growing sentiment within the Parks and Recreation divisions for the creation of a in ~ther parks areas. Also, in organizing the program it was discovered that many separate Department of Public Property, or at least the removal of Public Property mdlVlduals were unaware of the diverse opportunities available through the Omaha divisions and responsibilities from the Parks Department administrative structure syste.m. The volunteer program will therefore be used as a vehicle for improving the and budgeting process. publIc awareness of local recreational opportunities. Such an administrative separation would appear reasonable for a number of Cu.rrently, the first seventy volunteer rangers are enrolled in a training program reaSons. The Parks Department is only one of several City departments owning that mcludes fir~t-aid, defensive driving, the use of radio equipment, and public public property. Therefore, public property responsibilities might just as logically relations. These mdlvlduals will begm their park patrolling efforts in the spring of 198 I. A head Park Ranger has also been hired to supervise the volunteer activities fall under the Public Works or Public Safety administrative structures. Figure 13, bee~ which provides a breakdown of Department operating budgets from 1970 through and $80,000 in Law Enforcement Assistance Administration funds have 1980, shows that Public Property related expenditures have increased at a more allocated for equipment acquisition and the Park Ranger's salary. Although the rapid rate than Park and Recreation related expenditures. Thus, while the overall program initially encountered resistance from the Omaha Police Division, this appearance is one of large departmental operating budget escalations, much of has now been overcome. Volunteers will not have arrest power, but will instead this is attributable to routine maintenance for such items as the Civic Center and the call for police assistance if a situation warrants such action. Finally, the volunteer program has recently incorporated and received a non-profit IRS status. This % Increase will allow for program donations, and therefore establish an independent funding 1970 1975 1978 1979 1980' 1970-1980 source for future volunteer efforts. Administration 40,319 53,062 99.341 104,634 118,056 192.08% It is envisioned that the Volunteer Park Ranger program will soon be expanded Parks 1,358,155 2,294.593 3.332,171 3,509,881 3,557.302 161.92% to include 200 to 300 individuals, and will also make use of existing neighborhood Recreation 754.687 1,058.398 1,138.928 1.174,234 1,256.257 66.46% Forestry 315.592 474,066 509.169 521,779 608.325 92.76% orga.nizations to provide similar services for the smaller neighborhood type park TOTAL 2.428,434 3.827.057 5,205,894 5.421.884 123.27% faCIlIties. Overall, the program represents a positive approach to solving the diver­ Parking Meter Maint. 69.3 16 114,320 4'l~ 0 0 sity of problems facing the Parks Department in the eighties. Its continued expan­ Auditorium 296,640 377 ,~52 605,472 607.116 104.66% sion and development should therefore be strongly encouraged. Rosenblatt Stadium 43,479 . ;( 6"~S 85,758 117,954 101.773 134.07% Omaha Performing Arts 0,~3, 104.816 95.634 106.841 Weedj Litter 0;;) .. ~,366 268.764 338,819 364.874 Building Services 479.76S· 677.854 730,874 793,573 861.507 79.57% The Parks Department presently contracts for a variety of services that it feels it Contractual Services Civic Center 0 607,473 995,994 1,017,267 1,143.200 cannot provide to the general public as cost effectively as private enterprise. These Police Custodial 0 181.997 265,737 0 0 services, which range from maintenance and concessions to programming and Municipal Dock 482 0 9,188 9.543 229,492 TOTAL 889.685 2.222.695 2.981,383 2,968,719 3,414,803 283.82% architectural design, typically require a particular kind of expertise, type of equip- ment, or manpower specialty not regularly available to the Department. Major • Repre~cnls amount approprialed contractual services systematically utilized during the past several years are: Fig, 13 Architeclural-Engineering - Because the Parks Department does not have a contin­ uous building program, it would not be economical to hire licensed architects or 88 89

engineers on a full-time basis. Therefore, design and inspection responsibilities that a recent Department analysis of costs showed these vehicles to be uneconomi­ associated with both new construction and rehabilitation are generally contracted cal over the long run. The Department has subsequently been able to convince the out to private consultants on an hourly basis. Consulting fees have historically City administration of the savings inherent in the purchase of new vehicles. consumed approximately 8 to 10% of the total construction cost. The Parks Department intends to continue the development ofsuch replacement Trash Collection - A private company provides trash collection services to the City's policies through better record keeping and cost analysis. It is generally felt that the community centers and other facilities that generate a large regular amount of newly created Central Maintenance division will be able to provide this information refuse. This allows City crews, which do not have special trash compacting equip­ in a more systematic manner than was possible under the previous Department ment, to service the many other park facilities that generate smaller quantities of organization. refuse. Concessions - Concessions contracts vary from the usual food stands to the rental of boats and other goods at the City lakes. The Department relies heavily on conces­ sion contracts in lieu of in-house operation of these stands due to manpower and City of Omaha park system capital improvements have traditionally been funded Budgeting Process equipment limitations, and because the City typically receives a percentage of the through general obligation municipal bonds, in conjunction with Federal and State gross revenue from the private concessionaire. In addition, concession operations grants. These grants include Land and Water Conservation funding, Community can provide an important source of earnings to various athletic organizations and Development Block Grant funding, and most recently UPARR appropriations. neighborhood groups. Supplementing such quasi-public recreation providers is Figure 14, which breaks down locally derived appropriations for capital improve­ viewed as in the interest of the overall Omaha area park and recreation system. ments during the 1970-1980 period, clearly illustrates the City's heavy reliance on Inspection Services - Routine inspection of facilities such as elevators and air these general obligation bond issues. Such expenditures have for the most part been conditioning and heating controls are contracted for when the Department staff targeted toward improving existing park lands as opposed to the acquisition of new lacks the required expertise. park ground, and in many cases have been used to rehabilitate existing facilities. In Athletic Programming - The Parks Department has had a formal contract with the the past, Omaha voters have typically approved bond issues in five to seven year Omaha Softball Association for over 25 years to provide a City-wide softball increments, therefore conforming to City policy of not putting a new bond issue on program, as well as diverse maintenance services to the City-owned facilities. It is the ballot until the specified amount of existing bonded indebtedness has been felt that this amateur softball program, which is one ofthe largest in the nation, can retired. In this way, new park bond issues do not require an increase in the mill levy be most cost effectively operated by a private concern in cooperation with the used to retire the debt. Omaha Parks and Recreation Department. Through the years the Parks Department has established a policy of not request­ As municipal operating and maintenance appropriations continue to shrink, iog bond issue appropriations for major, single item recreational facilities. Instead, there will be an increasing temptation to expand the Department's use of contrac­ the Department policy has been to develop programs that include projects for all tual services. Where these services can duplicate existing services or provide new or geographic locations, and a wide range of interest groups. In addition, the Depart­ added opportunities at a reduced cost, the City is certainly justified in such expan­ ment has attempted to spread its capital resources further by cooperating with other sions. However, needs can change very rapidly, and what is worthwhile and cost department programs for capital facility expansion', as well as with Federal agencies effective today may not be so a decade from now. Also, contractual service propos­ involved in the development of the area's recreational facilities. Examples of this als may have the appearance of cost savings, when in fact they do not measure up to approach are the Corps of Engineers' flood control projects leading to the develop­ the existing public system (as was found to be the case with a recent proposal to ment of two major recreational fa'cilities, the HUD neighborhood park improve­ contract for the operation of City-owned swimming pools). A program requiring ment projects, and the proposed combination of the Maple Village recreation CenJraf Maintenance Headquarters" This consolidation systematic evaluation of current and potential contractual service sources should centerI library facilities. of the Parks Department's maintenance facilities should result in more efficient job planning and record keeping therefore be incorporated into the Department's overall management system. This systems. should provide for continual review of current contracts, as well as encourage creative new approaches in both the programming and maintenance areas. Funding Source t970 1971 1972 1973 t974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1970-1979 General Obligation Bonds 850.248 662,562 203.675 391.380 1.048.030 2.513.830 496.144 723,420 1,081.961 751.133 8,722.389 Revenue Bonds 599.566 599,566 General Fund 50.803 49.660 311.224 191.182 78.589 1.142.023 1.829,481 Equipment Maintenance The Department's Central Maintenance garage and.Central Maintenance divi­ Other 11.563 11.563 and Replacement sion staff have the capability of providing routine maintenance for equipment used TOTAL 901.051 712.222 532,462 582,562 1,126,619 2.513.830 496.144 723,420 1.081.967 2,492.722 11.162.999 by the Department. Although the Department has kept records adequate for the Fig. 14 maintenance of an inventory of parts used on a regular basis, in the past there has been limited analysis for overall repair needs and costs, and consequently no real evolution of a cost-effective equipment replacement policy. This has resulted in a As discussed in earlier sections of this report, the SID mechanism has proved to system of inheritance for the Parks Department. For example, a good portion ofits be one of the most significant funding sources for Omaha jurisdictional area park heavy equipment is surplused from the Public Works Department, is anywhere system expansion and improvement during the seventies. Although annexation of from 8 to 25 years old, and in many cases is virtually worn out. SID facilities has slowed in recent years due to an overall City policy change toward This long-standing non-policy toward replacement - or "don't replace it until it's debt ratio allowances, these capital expenditures, totalling over $8 million for the absolutely unrepairable" - is finally giving way to formulation of more systematic 1972-1980 period alone, clearly represent the jurisdiction's single largest local replacement criteria through improved cost accounting methods. One positive funding source for park system improvement. In light ofthis, the City has developed change has recently been implemented in the acquisition of cars for park foremen. an elaborate review process for SID park related expenditures. Unfortunately, The Parks Department typically inherited these vehicles from the surplus police however, the process has not generally included any assessment of associated cruiser inventory. With 85,000 to 90,000 miles of previous use, it is not surprising operation and maintenance needs upon eventual annexation by the City, and 91 90

therefore the City review of SID facilities cannot, to date, be considered as com­ has been found to be inadequate relative to the substantial increase in park system pletely comprehensive. Based upon recent experience with SID park facility annex­ maintenance needs, ations and operation and maintenance requirements, the Parks Department is now The budgeting problems identified in this section have resulted in the virtual suggesting that an Operation and Maintenance Impact Statement be prepared for abandonment of ongoing preventative maintenance programs. For example, major all new additions to the park system, and that this also be performed for proposed facility roofs are not inspected and patched annually, often leading to a deteriora­ SID acquisition and improvement expenditures prior to their approval by the City tion of insulation, and ultimately to an entire new roofing job. Paint is allowed to Council. Such analysis is particularly appropriate in the lalter case because it would crack and peel, exposing metal surfaces to rust, and eventually requiring facility in effect mandate comprehensive cost evaluation prior to facility construction. surface or total replacement (as in cases involving park bleachers). Frost heave Operation and Maintenance action caused by Nebraska's harsh climate contributes to calking problems. How­ Although the operation and maintenance budget for Parks, Recreation and ever, where seals are lost and calking repair is not forthcoming, a total replacement Forestry has increased by 123% during the last decade, it has not kept up with the of concrete slabs frequently becomes necessary. These typical maintenance prob­ combination of inflation and the increase in park system acreage and number of lems illustrate that in the long run it is more costly to forgo preventative mainte­ facilities. Figure 14, providing a breakdown of Parks Department expenditures for nance, even though in the short term such a policy is seemingly more economical. this period (not adjusted for inflation), shows that public property related func­ And although most Omaha park system maintenance problems have not yet tions, on the other hand, have consumed an ever larger portion of the total reached the stage where they are clearly visible and glaring, the City may soon find departmental budget. itself at that point if corrective procedures are not initiated. (See Rehabilitation Even when the great expansion of acreage and number of facilities is not taken Issues). into account, Omaha operation and maintenance budget levels historically have not Because it is unlikely that the City will be able to substantially increase the Parks fared well relative to budget expenditures in other major urban centers. In 1970 the Department's operation and maintenance budget during the eighties, solutions to Parks, Recreation and Forestry divisions were expending about $6.65 per capita preventative maintenance associated problems will require a creative combination based upon service to a jurisdictional population of 365,000. At that time this ofapproaches, including the various suggestions to improve maintenance efficiency compared to a $12 to $15 national standard for per capita appropriations. By 1980 noted in this section. While these recommendations cannot, in themselves, correct the Omaha per capita allocation had climbed to $14.65, assuming a 370,000 jurisdic­ all budget related deficiencies, they do represent a reasonable beginning for belter tional population. However, the national standard is now quoted at between $25 to analysis of cost-saving possibilities during the coming years. $30 per capita. The Omaha per capita figure is also low when compared to many other urban areas: e.g., Lincoln, Nebraska ($25): Dallas, Texas ($26); Austin, Texas ($27); and Minneapolis, Minnesota ($32). . As already stated, Omaha park system acreage increased from 3,000 to 6,000 during the last ten years, and with this doubling came a dramatic increase in the rate of park facility development at both the newly acquired and existing park site locations. Examples of this include the development of N.P. Dodge Park to the point where it has become the heaviest used park in the system, and the acquisition and development of the 195 acre Seymour Smith park site. In 1970, N.P. Dodge Park contained only a parking lot, picnic shelter, boat ramp and restrooms. This 445 acre park, which is located proximate to much of the densely populated urban core, was considered extremely under-utilized at that time. N. P. Dodge Park (left), Seymour Smilh Park- These two During the seventies, however, a number of major facilities were added to the park, parks exemplify the dramatic increases in park acquisi­ tion and development over the last 10 years. including camping areas for trailers and tents, bathhouses and additional rest­ rooms, picnic facilities. playground equipment, six soccer fields, rugby and foot­ ball fields, a four field softball complex, and a pavilion capable of serving three hundred persons. An existing lake was dredged and turned into a Marina with a 250 boat capacity, while construction activity continued on a caretaker's house, bicycle and exercise paths, five picnic shelters, two tennis courts, and additional hard The 1956 City Charter defines the role of the Park Advisory Board as both broad The Park Advisory Board surfaced roads and parking lots. Today, N.P. Dodge Park functions as one of the and significant in relationship to the range of park and recreation issues. The major recreational complexes in the metropolitan area. . Charter states that the Board "shall have the power and shall be required to: Seymour Smith Park, acquired in 1971, has to date seen the construction of four (l) Advise the Mayor, Council, and Parks and Recreation Superintendent on tennis courts, a thirteen station trap and skeet range, a four field softball complex, a matters concerning parks and recreation. Class A baseball field, soccer fields, a model airplane facility, roads, parking lots, (2) Make recommendations to the Mayor concerning the appointment or removal and a tree nursery. However, with almost 200 acres, the park's ground remains only of the Parks and Recreation Superintendent. partially developed at this time. (3) Furnish to the Planning Director for inclusion in the master plan, or any In addition to these examples of facility growth, the City has constructed, modifications thereof, recommendations on the location of sites for park and acquired or agreed to manage ten swimming pools, four community centers, two ice recreational areas. rinks, a major softball complex, three golf courses, over fifty tennis courts through­ (4) Submit to the Planning Director annually a schedule of improvements to be out the City, and, of course, the two Corps of Engineers' flood control sites -noW undertaken in any of the six succeeding years for the location, extension, and Standing Bear and Cunningham Lake recreational areas. In light of this overall development of parks and recreational areas, which schedule shall be given due level of facility expansion during the seventies, then, it is not surprising that the consideration in the formulation of the city's capital improvement program and Parks Department's only moderately increasing operation and maintenance budget budget. 92 93

(5) Recommend to the Finance Director annually a proposed operating budget for - Continue to make use of facility the parks and recreation programs, sharing approaches and increase (6) Recommend to the Personnel Director a classification and pay plan for all agency coordination to further positions in the classified service relating to parks and recreational activities. conserve on operation and main­ (7) Advise the Council on the sale, exchange, lease, transfer, or acceptance of any tenance dollars. real estate or buildings for parks and recreational purposes, - Require the preparation of an (8) Submit to the Mayor and Council annually a report on the status of the parks Operation and Maintenance Impact and recreational facilities. Statement for all new additions to (9) Perform such other related duties as may be assigned to the board by the Mayor the jurisdictional area park system or Council." prior to Council approval of associ­ In essence, then, the Board was originally envisioned as a major part of the overall ated acquisition and development Parks Department management structure, costs. Although the Park Advisory Board probably never functioned in as comprehen­ sive a capacity as defined by the Charter, its role in recent years has been primarily c, The newly created Central Main­ Through monitoring the division's limited to review of SID park site acquisition and development plans, Because this tenance division is expected to in­ progress in accomplishing its stated Board could provide substantial support in advocating for park and recreation crease efficiency in job per­ objectives, the Department will be related issues, it is recommended that the board's functions be studied and clarified formance, and eventually reduce able to evaluate potential uses of this by appropriate Parks Department personnel, with the intent ofencouraging more employment levels in the skilled approach in other employee organi­ active participation on the diversity of park and recreation system matters, labor force. zational areas.

d. The use of volunteers would appear The Parks Department should: to be productive in promoting pub­ - Continue and expand the Volunteer Summary of Issues If there is a central theme to the park and recreation management issues identified lic safety, as well as in improving Park Ranger program, looking to in this section, it most certainly centers around the need for greater efficiency and park system image and educating donations as a major funding creative management approaches in light of a new and increasing scarcity in public the public on the recreational op­ source. funding support. The following issues and directions summarize aspects of this portunities available. - Continue to focus on public safety, need, and should therefore provide important input into Action Plan development. park image and educational ob­ Issues Identified Directions Identified jectives, however, also explore the a. Public property related functions At a minimum the Parks Depart­ feasibility of expanding the use of require significant time and effort ment's annual budget should be re­ volunteers in the recreation pro­ contributions from a relatively structured to show parks, recreation gramming areas. small and already overburdened and forestry as separate and distinct Administrative division. Also, from public property related functions. e. The use of contractual services can The Parks Department should estab­ operation and maintenance budget Additionally, the City should explore provide an important supplement lish an ongoing program, including a increases for public. property lend the removal of public property throughout the range of park and systematic process for evaluating an appearance of greater overall responsibilities and weed and litter recreation system activities. Where both existing and potential con­ Department budget escalation than control from the Parks Department, used, these services should offer tractual service possibilities. has historically been the case, and study the establishment of a greater opportunities at reduced separate Department of Public Prop­ costs. erty, f. The Parks Department has histori­ Through improved cost accounting b, Effective, if not actual. declines in The Parks Department and the City cally lacked objectively derived methods within the newly created the Parks operating and main­ should: equipment replacement policies, Central Maintenance division, the tenance budget have led to funding - Establish and implement a compre­ and this has resulted in long-range Department should establish equip­ trade-offs, and resulted in the for­ hensive preventative maintenance cost inefficiencies relating to the ment replacement guidelines and going of many necessary preventa­ program, and educate the admini­ repair and replacement of vehicles educate the City administration on tive maintenance and recreation strative and legislative branches on and park maintenance equipment, the cost-savings inherent in their service activities. This has pro­ the long range cost savings associ­ implementation. duced some short-term cost savings, ated with this important activity. but will lead to major long-range - Where reasonable based upon iden­ g, The role of the Park Advisory The purpose and function of the Park cost inefficiences. tified needs (see Physical Issues), Board has narrowed considerably Advisory Board should be studied and encourage the development of since Charter adoption, and today clarified, with the intent of encour­ revenue producing facilities and this body is not serving as an ef­ aging more active participation on programs, and provide better cost­ fective advocate for overall park park and recreation related matters. accounting and methods for effectually and recreation system improvements. reimbursing the Department's operat­ ing and maintenance budget. 94 95

Service Recreation programs contribute to the physical, social, emotional and creative Introduction growth of program participants. They provide the opportunity to develop and Issues improve upon skills which will be useful throughout one's life, and in many cases lay the basis for everything from a young person's career choice to an elderly indi- vidual's redefinition of personal goals. The Parks Department Recreation division attempts to insure that recreation programs and services are both appropriate for and accessible to the heterogenous if:, Omaha jurisdictional population. Because it is clear that the City, alone, cannot meet the massive needs in this areal the division views its key role as that of coordinator for the diversity of the region's recreation program providers. To accomplish this, the division frequently serves as a leader in the development ofnew programs and services. Upon the identification of an important service void, the division will set up a model program, essentially providing an example for further program development by other pubHc, quasi public and commercial sources. The program and service issues referenced in this section are examined within the context of these long standing Recreation division goals and role perceptions. Above all, the recommendations and directions established seek to eliminate exces­ sive competition and duplication among the various recreation providers, therefore providing for a leisure service system which is both cost efficient and responsive to user needs in this ever evolving area.

In order to assess Omaha's current program and service network, it is first Type, Extent necessary to review the major changes that have occurred in recreation program· and Intended Beneficiaries ming during the past several decades. Through understanding the short and long of Recreation Services range implications of these program shifts, we are better able to provide a coherent direction to recreation service programming for the eighties. As a result of the general social consciousness which emerged throughout the country in the early to mid sixties, Omaha initiated a major program of recreation service expansion in about 1966. For the next decade, what might be labeled as "outreach" oriented services grew and evolved. Most significant of these was the Summer playground program, at its peak employing 120 seasonal workers, and serving anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 elementary school age children in fifty permanent City of Omaha park or school site locations. Complementing this program, ten "playmobiles" circulated throughout the City, making available equipment (for tetherball, box hockey, softball, basketball, etc.) and crafts to children in neighborhoods not having adequate, accessible park facilities and a permanent playground program. Each playmobile was staffed with two seasonal employees who organized numerous recreational activities. In addition to these summer programs, the City established or continued pro­ During the late sixties and earlyscventies, 10 playmobiles gram expansion in such areas as the arts, physical education and competitive like the one pictured here, served children who had no access to permanent playground facilities. These play­ athletics. Extensive afler school, evening and Saturday morning athletic programs mobiles are now being used for maintenance work. were operated by the Recreation division out of local public and parochial schools, serving children and adults alike. The Parks Department found that youth partici­ pation in these programs ran as high as 42,000 per year. Summer concerts in six City park locations provided additional youth and adult recreation, while a show wagon program, operating at the neighborhood, community, and metropolitan levels, encouraged competition in singing, dancing, and other similar activities. A Park Players group was formed, offering three major productions per year. Finally, the City's summer day camp program was at its peak, serving children throughout the City at its Hummel Park and Fontenelle Forest locations. Very few ofthese more neighborhood oriented or traditional recreational services remain today. Beginning in 1975, Recreation division operating budget effectual declines led to continual decreases in the part-time and seasonal work force (see Management Issues section). This, in turn, resulted in the phasing out of the summer playground, playmobile and school programs by 1978 (even though thpoe 97 96

Adams Park Center A. V. Sorensen Center Benson Center consumed only about 15% of total operating{ maintenance expenditures), as well as

a variety of cutbacks in the other programs listed. During this same period, 0' o 0 however, the City constructed four new community centers. Therefore, it is not ~ Q-::Y.:z-~~~~.~ ~(v~~~,s.~(;' ~~~.::?~o.OI'::- ~ l.J Qo -..;(j'iI'~, , ,', ' " " ~(jj'~ ~"" .& .'d~ ~. ~ ~"rr '6~ ~'"'l ~l.J~1¥ surprising that a new focal point emerged for recreation programming in Omaha. Program "t''''!'6or ~,,~::>~~~ "1l.J (/;;O{' :;: .:J".:j !J {jJl ",'" or' .:;,: .::J .:::j !:! By 1980, the community recreation center had become the established method for Arts and Crafts City provided recreation service delivery. Ceramics I- I- Currently, eleven City-run community centers offer Omaha area residents a China Painting ••• •••• ••:: •• •••••• diversity of recreational opportunities. However, with a typical service radius of Oil Painting • Pottery ::• ••• only two miles each (see Physical Issues section), these centers cannot hope to Macrame •••• • provide the level of geographic coverage that was afforded by the various midsev­ Lapidary ••• ••• enties programs. And although some Omahans are better served today than in Batik previous years, a large portion of the population does not reside within close range Clay ••• Sewing •• •• of any recreation center now in use. Cultural Arts ••• ••• The City's evolving dependence upon community centers for recreation service Aerobic/Dancing delivery, along with their relatively low level of geographic coverage in Omaha, is Ice Dancing ••• •••••••••• •••••• not compatible with two recently established, major trends. Because neither capital Tap nor operating budgets are expected to increase significantly in coming years, it is Guitar •••• • unlikely that a large number of new centers can be added to the existing system. Piano ••••••••••• Puppetry :••• demand for "close to home" Also, the Recreation division has identified a growing Homemaking • • neighborhood level, low-cost recreational opportunities. The combination of user Cooking needs, existing service levels and budgeting limitations would seem to indicate that Cake Deconlting ••••• some modification to the current community center approach is therefore in order Health Maintenance ••• at this time. Consequently, the evaluation of recreational services in this section Weight Training Slimnastics •••• ••• seeks to establish a foundation for an overall recreation service delivery approach, Gymnastics • ,- ••• I- •• as well as analyze other quantitative and qualitative aspects of Omaha's recreation • • •••• •• Table Games •• programming process. Table Tennis - •••I:• • ••• Pool I • • • Inventory of City Sponsored Programs :I : • ••• • •• Figures 15a through 15m provide a summary of the existing City-run recreation Foosball I• :• .: II ••I: Shuff1eboard • •••• I: :: : Ii•: :: programs offered through the ten city owned and one leased community centers, Bridge ~ ~ • • •• and the Benson and Hitchcock Ice Rinks. These services are itemized for each .~f\ ••• • Pinochle "( facility by age group served, and further broken down based upon seven general Whist ~ :):\,,\ • • Biooo •• .. categories of leisure time activity. ,,'" .. While the services detailed on the charts define the bulk of the City's current Special Events .~r • recreation program delivery system, the Recreation division also sponsors recrea­ Parties Basketball Hotshot Contest •••••••• • • I· • tional and competitive tennis programs for all age groups out of the Hanscom Carnivals :••••• ••••• ••• Tennis Center, and still maintains one summer day camp program out of the Movies • •••••• • - • Hummel Park location. In addition, as a result of the reciprocal use agreement Picnics •••:••• • • formalized between the City and Omaha School District #1 in 1969, and School Festivals ••• •• • I-,- Rollcrskutin<> ••• • • ••I: •• ••• • Districts #66 and Millard in 1971, the City has managed to continue to offer some • := Competitive Sports ••••• • •• recreational services at fourteen area school sites. Even though programming levels Adult Flag Football have been greatly reduced since the mid seventies, the City sponsors volleyball, Basketball •• wrestling and basketball leagues and tournaments at these various school facilities. Wrestling :•••II •• • •••• :I: :•••• Volleyball ••• Although the accompanying charts present an accurate and reasonably compre­ •• Judo •••• hensive recreation service inventory, essentially reflecting the thrust of Omaha's Tennis ••••••• current recreation programming activities, such information must necessarily be •• Swimming ••••• .1- considered as partial in any evaluation of overall system quality. This is because a Hockey •••••• • '. diversity of private and other public sources provide recreational opportunities to Fip'ure Skatin' the region's citizens - and because these other program providers are integral to the Leisure Activities Field Trips operation of our recreation service delivery system. Due to time and data con­ I- I. Basketball • ••• •• • ,-I. I. • straints. a comprehensive, detailed service radius type evaluation of the various Volleyball •.1- ••:: •• •• recreational services complementing the City-run system has not been attempted in Tumbling • Recreational Icc Skating • this section (i.e., an inventory and analysis similar to that performed in the • • Physical Issues section). However, even given such data limitations, it is possible Fig. 15a Fig. 15b Fig. 15c to draw a number of more general conclusions regarding the City's recreation service system, and consequently to outline appropriate directions for City policy development and refinement in this area.

I 98 99

Benson Ice Rink Christie Heights Center City- Y Center Florence Center Hitchcock Ice Rink Kellom Center

lo 0 lc• ry~ b 'l:l0l0l.$" ~ ..:y~~~,Q\~ <: ~..:y~~~~€,~ ~"~,,,,,I.').~ ~ '~ ~ jjj/"/~ 00..... I,", " Program ~~~~~~~~~~(fj/""IJ ~~~~~~~~~~ .& "1IdO(~"~!::}~~~ Program Arts and Crafts (ji""iJ Arts and Crafts Ceramics Ceramics China Painting •••••••• ••••••••• •••••• China Painting Oil Painting Oil Painting Pottery ! i! Pottery Macrame •• I. Macrame Lapidary •• 1-. Lapidary Batik Batik Clay 1- •• Clay Sewing ••:• Sewin" Culttiral Arts ••• ••• • ••• Cultural Arts Aerobic/Dancing Aerobic/Dancing Ice Dancing ~ ·Ie. ••••••• 1-· I- Icc Dancing Tap .. • • Tap Guitar Guitar Piano Piano Puppetry Puppetry Homemaking Homemaking ~I" l~ Cooking Cooking l'~ ,",,~ Cake Decorating .1- •• '1'. '.~: . Cake Decorating H=,.a::ilT.th;:'Mrr.:a:;:';n:it'''n;;;a~n.;!;.'------j-I-I-+-++++-J--+---j--+-J--(,k. ~~+-+-t-j-+-+-+-t-j-f--1-+-+++- •• .# " '~'\.' ,\~ , Health Maintenance Weight Training ,f.. 11llo.. ••••.1-la: Slimnastics Gymnastics ,,,'...... •• •• Gymnastics Table Games •••• Table Games Table Tennis I. Table Tennis Pool ..... : ••••• •••• •• •••• Pool Foosball ••••• •••• •• Foosball Shufneboard ••••• •••• •• Shufneboard Bridge ••••• •••• •• Bridge Pinochle ••• Pinochle Whist ••• Whist Bingo • Binl'w Special Events • Special Events Parties •••••Ie.~ •• Parties Basketball Hotshot Contest I- • •• ••••••••• Basketball Hotshot Contest Carnivals ••••• ••••• •• Carnivals Movies :1: •••••• ••=• Movies Picnics : • • • Picnics Festivals ~ • •••••• • ~ Festivals Rollerskating .. II Ie : ...... • ••••••• • •••• ••••••••• Rollcrskatinf!: Competitive Sports •••••• Competitive Sports Adult Flag Football Adult Flag Football Basketball Basketball Wrestling ••••• ••• •••••• Wrestling Volleyball ••• ••• Volleyball Judo ••• Judo Tennis •• .Ie Tennis Swimming ~ •• Swimming Hockey Ie Ie • Hockey Figure Skating • • I I Figure Skatin" Leisure ActIVIties : .. ••••···'!i···•••• ••• Leisure Activities Field Trips ~ == Field Trips Basketball •••••••Ie • Basketball Volleyball Ie Ie ·Ie Ie •••••• • •• •••••• Volleyball Tumbling Tumbling Recreational lee Skating •••••••Ie •• • ••••Ie.1e ••• Recreational Ice Skating Fig. ISd Fig. 15. Fig. ISf Fig. ISg Fig. ISh Fig. lSi 100 101

Lucas Hall Senior Center Montclair Center/Pool Pipsl Park Center Sherman Center

Program ~~/I'''''Jll/!'''''~~/'IiIiJ"~/ Arts and Crafts Program Ceramics Arts and Crafts China Painting • ••• ••••: I Ceramics Oil Painting • China Painting Pottery • i :i: Oil Painting Macrame • Pottery Lapidary . • • 1- •• Macrame Batik ••• lapidary Clay • Batik Sewing •• • •• ••• Clay ...... ul\urai Arts • ••• • Sewin!! Aerobic/Dancing Cultural Arts lee Dancing • • • ••• Aerobic/Dancing Tap • •• •• Ice Dancing Guitar Tap Piano ••••• ••••••••• Guitar Pl-lppetry ••• Piano n.omemaKlPg Puonetrv Cooking Homemaking Cake Decorating •• •••••• ••• Cooking ncann ll'.smlemmce '\ Cake Decorating Weight Training :~\: Health Maintenance Slimnastics • ~ Weight Training Gymnastics • ~' r.\ V ••• •• Slimnastics lame ..,ames ~:; '..- Gymnastics Table Tennis Table Games Pool I- ••••• ••••••• Table Tennis Foosball • •• •• ::• • ••••••• Pool Shuffleboard i :i:: ::I :i: ••••••• Foosball Bridge • •• ••••••• Shuffleboard Pinochle • : ••••••• Bridge Whist • Pinochle Bingo Whist ;:,peC181 r..venlS • BinRo Parties I- ., Special Events Basketball Hotshot Contest • :: • • Parties Carnivals •II • ••••• Basketball Hotshot Contest Movies • I: Carnivals Picnics • •• • • • Movies Festivals • • Picnics RolJerskating I: ••••• •••••• • Festivals l..-ompcullve sports •• ••••• • Rollerskating Adult Flag Football Competitive Sports Basketball Adult Flag Football Wrestling ••• •• •• Basketball Volleyball ,-I. Wrestling Judo Volleyball Tennis •••••••• Judo Swimming Tennis Hockey •••••••••• Swimming Figure Skating ••••• Hockey Leisure AClIVlnes Figure Skatin~ Field Trips Leisure Activities Basketball • •••• Field Trips Volleyball - •• •••• ••r-." Basketball Benson Ice Rink - This facility is one of {WO indoor icc Tumbling •• ····i!·! Volleyball rinks operated by lhe City. Recreational Ice Skating •••• •••• Tumbling Fig. 15k Fig. 151 Fig. 15m • Recreational Ice Skating Fig. 15j 102 103

relative to those charged by competing providers) should be raised where extreme It is clear from the information presented that at least in recent years the City has hardship does not result. Finally, the City should make better use ofleasing arrange­ channeled the majority of its recreational services through a relatively small number ments which allow for temporary or more flexible programming, and should of City owned community centers. In other words, the City's recreation program­ explore additional possibilities for entering into joint use agreements with the ming approach has evolved into one that is mainly community center in orientation. diversity of Omaha's private recreation providers and public service organizations. This is not surprising in light of Omaha's major recent capital investments in these Other Significant Recreation Service Providers centers (with four new centers constructed during the seventies alone). However, the As already emphasized, the City cannot hope to establish itself as the primary existence of new physical plant is not, in itself,justification for significant alteration recreation service provider for the entire Omaha area population. Rather, the City's to what may have been an appropriate earlier system. role is mo.re appropriately defined as that ofcatalyst for other program providers, as Although more indepth study is required to determine specifically where the well as dIrected toward filling critical gaps in service involving segments of the City's current community center programming approach is in need of alteration or popUlation or geographic areas lacking access to the range of other public, quasi modification, the Christie Heights and Montclair Centers (Figures 15e and 15k) public and commercial sources of recreation programs. In light of this approach provide one example of the kinds of problems generated by programming that is and philosophy, the basic services and leisure opportunities available through the more dependent upon facility availability than population need. Because Christie schools, area non profit agencies and the commercial recreation sector become an Heights is an older center lacking a multipurpose room, programming for the important overlay in assessing the overall quality of recreation services in the elderly is minimal. Conversely, Montclair Center was constructed during the seven­ greater Omaha vicinity. In the following pages, these various non City sources are ties with a good deal of square footage devoted to this purpose, and therefore offers briefly examined to identify general types of services provided. This information comprehensive services for the 60 and over population. Paradoxically, Christie can then serve as a foundation for the additional studies and evaluations called for Heights is sited in an area of South Omaha containing a large elderly population, by this plan. while Montclair Center was constructed in the western suburbs, surrounded for the The Schools - Three of Omaha's public school systems and a number ofthe area's most part by younger families with a higher than average number of children. It parochial schools offer recreational programs during extended school hours to the therefore would appear reasonable in this case to investigate a shift in the location of public at large. These include recreational swimming, tumbling, gymnastics, tennis, some of the arts and crafts oriented programs presently offered to senior citizens slimnastics, dance, basketball, and volleyball, and are targeted toward age groups from Montclair to the Christie Heights area. Ifnecessary, the City's programs could six years and over. In addition to programming at actual school site locations, the be expanded into a nearby facility which is either owned by the City, or some other schools also make use of the range of City owned facilities for their recreation community organization. service development, For example, the school districts have access to Omaha's Civic Thorough analysis of both City and other recreation program sources, when Auditorium for some of their basketball games, tournaments, commencement and overlayed on population characteristics and projected needs, will no doubt point out baccalaureate programs and music concerts. An additional 72 City owned facilities, additional potential areas for recreation service refinement. A study of program including 60 tennis courts, 6 golf courses and 5 baseball fields, afford the school attendance records, although somewhat revealing, cannot serve as a substitute for districts the opportunity to more fUlly meet their massive programming needs, Ten of this more comprehensive evaluation because these do not identify travel time and these tennis courts are located on school propertyas a result ofa special cooperative distance components, service gaps, or the populations affected by these gaps. And agreement between the City and the districts. Under this agreement, Omaha pro­ while a more comprehensive evaluation is difficult to perform and keep current due vides the funding to construct a court, while the districts provide the necessary land, to ongoing changes in the recreation service area, it is certainly warranted in light of In or~er to prevent programming conflicts at these shared facilities, agencies submit the significant cutbacks that have occurred and are likely to occur in public sector a projected use schedule to one another no later than six months in advance of recreation service provision. scheduling. It is anticipated that such evaluation will lead to a number of system modifica­ Although the facility sharing approach clearly promotes overall public cost tions, including at least a partial shift back into the more outreach oriented efficiencies, problems have been identified which indicate the need for contract programs of the mid seventies (e.g., the school and playmobile programs). This is reevaluations at this time. The Parks Department, which provides the lion's share of because such programs generally provide a higher level of service to more people, facilities involved, notes a need for more control over programming schedules in per dollar spent. In any event, this analysis should be performed within the context order to insure that City owned facilities are available to the Department on of operating and maintenance budget limitations. Simply stated, City-run pro­ specified occasions so as to prevent any major loss in admission or user fee revenues. grams should be geared toward filling the most critical service gaps at the least cost. On the other hand, the Omaha Public School District, serving a majority of the Underlying the need for improved analysis of the public recreation service region's low and moderate income residents and operating under a voter mandated delivery system are the range of social, economic and physical issues and tradeoffs spending lid, cannot possibly generate the capital funding levels necessary to presently facing many of the nation's urban centers. For example, growth manage­ duplicate the facilities it currently "borrows"from the City. Therefore, although it is ment objectives, as defined by Omaha's Urban Development Policy. stress the value reasonable for the Parks Department to expect to exercise greater control over of attracting residents to a revitalized inner city. However, where inner city services scheduling in coming years, care should be taken to insure that contract changes do are inadequate to support these goals, the suburban exodus is likely to continue. not result in any significant reductions in O.P.S. programming levels because such Similarly, City budget constraints are expected to accelerate during the eighties. reductions are clearly not in the best public interest. However, population service demands do not tend to decrease as constraints grow. Quasi Public and Private Sector Providers - Quasi public agencies playa signifi­ Programming should therefore be structured as flexibly as possible to insure our cant role in providing community recreation activities. The major providers are ability to modify and make tradeoffs as needs change and population shifts occur. those agencies sustained in part through the United Way, with 14 of these specifi­ Many methods exist for improving the City's recreation service system, while at cally serving area youth. These agencies include: Junior Achievement, Boys Clubs, the same time providing for the above mentioned cost reductions. These of course Girls Clubs, Campfire Youth, 4-H Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Christ Child include service centralization in appropriate cases to stretch scarce operating and Society, Jewish Community Center, Wesley House, Social Settlement, YMCA, maintenance dollars. as well as service expansion into areas with lower operation YWCA, and the LaFern Williams Recreation! Day Care Center. Membership fees and maintenance budget consumption. In addition. fees (which are excessively low 104 105

range from $1 per year to $40 per month (for a family membership). Although such courts have subsequently been constructed as a result of an agreement in which the organizations are located throughout the City, the highest concentration of facili­ Y deeded a .4 acre site to the City, and the City, in turn, built courts with the ties is found in the communities east of 42nd Street. assistance of State and Federal funding. In southwest Omaha, the new YMCA One of the most prominent of the quasi public sector recreation providers is the branch has recently entered into an agreement with the City to provide swimming Knights of Aksarben, a non-profit group that distributes any excess program lessons at the nearby City owned and operated Montclair Community Center. revenues to a diversity of public causes, including the expansion of area public The City of Omaha cooperates with other agencies to supplement its various recreational opportunities. Aksarben, which hosts the largest race track in the senior adult programs. Five churches, one hospital care center, one hotel converted Plains region, also contains an indoor amphitheater frequently used for skatingand into a residential home for the elderly, and five Omaha HOUSing Authority elderly ,1,*--,,~,.1 J: other sports activities. high rise apartment buildings have recreation programs run by City staff. Rent, A number ofadditional quasi public organizations contribute to Omaha's leisure utilities, and some equipment costs are absorbed by the agencies who own these liiiiji :~. 'Crillil service system. These include the Joslyn Art Museum which sponsors arts, crafts facilities. ;~:',. ,·,,£c. '-. and cultural classes for all age groups, and a "hands on" Children's Museum offer­ Taken as a whole, the joint programming and facility sharing approach repre­ ing creative craft opportunities to area youth. sents a reasonable method for reducing both capital and operating dollar outlays. The Omaha area is also served by many commercial recreation providers that Sherman Communiry Center· Recreation programs for For this reason, the Parks Department should continue to expand into this area to special populations are offered through the City's comw supplement both public and quasi public sector programs. The City has five country supplement its strictly City owned and operated services. munity centers, clubs, as well as numerous fitness clubs, gymnastics clubs, golf courses and roller Recreation Services and Programs for Special Populations skating rinks. In some cases these recreational opportunities are not within the Consistent with earlier findings in this section, the City's role in providing financial means of the typical inner city resident. However, more often than not recreation services for target populations, such as the handicapped, elderly, minori­ their existence reduces the demand placed on the City and other public sector ties and disadvantaged youth must necessarily be viewed as limited. However, in providers. such cases it is critical that the Recreation division remain sensitive to the needs of Joint Programs and Facility Sharing these groups, and that it serve as leader and catalyst in program development for In addition to the cooperative agreements with the Omaha area school districts special populations. discussed earlier in this section, the Parks Department hs historically supported In the past the division has attempted to establish just such a posture. Typically, joint programming and facility sharing approaches with other public and quasi programs ranging from arts and crafts to athletics and team sports are offered to public recreation service providers. Not surprisingly, however, during the past these groups out of the community centers and other park facilities. At the same decade the focus ofthis approach has changed in a manner paralleling the shift from time the division tries to identify major service gaps, and to coordinate with other the outreach to the more community center oriented programming direction. agencies in providing services which are not currently available. For example, in For example, in the early seventies the Recreation division received supplemental 1970 Omaha's first city-wide senior center was opened under the auspices of the financial assistance from Greater Omaha Community Action (GOCA) to help Recreation division. Serving as a model for the community, both the City and other sponsor an extension of the mobile playground program in inner city neighbor­ agencies now meet the needs of a growing number of elderly. hoods. However, this assistance was terminated by the mid seventies as a result of During the summer of 1980, the Planning Department conducted a comprehen­ financial constraints and program emphasis. Similarly, the City maintained a close sive survey of recreation facilities offering special programs for the elderly, handi­ working relationship with the Eastern Nebraska Community Office for Retarda­ capped, disadvantaged youth and elderly. Figure 16 summarizes the information illilliJi11¥f~,,:;::~~t·;~\;i[~fc= tion (ENCORE) during this same period. ENCORE supplied transportation and gathered, including typical activities offered, degree of City facility ownership, Miller Park Y.M.C.A. ~ Program and facility sharing additional staffing assistance for City sponsored programs including camping, special transportation availability, and general location in the jurisdiction. These agreements between the City and other agencies help to athletics and special events. The ENCORE program was eliminated in 1978. statistics clearly show that facilities offering such services do not tend to be City stretch limited recreation dollars while stm providing Today, joint programming and facility sharing is most often associated with a needed programs, owned and operated by the Parks Department, and do not typically provide special public or quasi public recreation center or similar kind of facility. While this transportation options. Also, a large majority of the programs targeted toward approach is typically implemented with organizations outside of City Hall, the special population groups originate out offacilities located east of72nd Street. This Parks Department has also supported intradepartmental facility sharing involving is reasonable, as a higher than normal percentage ofthe population in the inner city combined libraryjcommunity center facilities. The two newest public libraries have is elderly, low to moderate income, and minority (see Context). consequently been constructed in conjunction with community centers, thereby conserving tax dollars and allowing for programming coordination. Other exam­ Location by Urban Development Policy Zone ples of program and facility sharing range from agreements made between the City Total City Facilities and various local colleges and universities to agreements made with the YMCA, Total Facilities Facilities Providing No. in No. in No. in P.O. CIty/Wide Population* area churches, and the Omaha Housing Authority. Surveyed Surveyed Transportation Zone A Zone B Zone C Zone Regional Seniors 47 10 24 3I 6 2 3 5 The Parks Department shares facilities with the region's three large higher Handicapped 43 9 16 21 5 2 2 13 education institutions. The University of Nebraska at Omaha and the City ex­ Disadvantaged change the use of specified athletic facilities at no cost to either party. While the same Youth 23 5 10 15 0 2 5 type of athletic field exchange exists between Creighton University and the City, a Mentally Retarded 19 more limited agreement has been implemented with Metropolitan Technical Com­ 10 6 8 3 0 7 ·Typical Activilies: Seniors: Aqualics. Arts and Crafls. Bingo, Bowling. Camping, C~ramics. Card Games, Dancing, Exercise, Field Trips, munity College. Metro Tech uses a number of City owned tennis courts, and in Gllmes, MovieSl Lectures. Music. Pool, Quilting. Sociafil:lIion, Table Games. Handicapped: Aquatics. Ans and Crarts. Boating/Canoeing, Bingo, Ceramics. Cooking. Camping. Exercise. Fishing. Field Trips. Games. Hiking. Horseback Riding, Moviesl Lectures, Music, NalUre return the City schedules music concerts on the college campus, as well as programs Studies, PholOgraphy. Soeiafilillion, Team Games, Disadv1Lnl;lgcd Youth: Aquatics. Art~ and Crafts, Cooking, Camping, Dancing. Exer­ in various classroom facilities. cise. Fishing, Field Trips, Gamc~. Hiking. Movies, LcclUrcs. Mu,;ic, Nccdleerart, Nature SlUdies. Photography. Sociali/alion. Team Games, Boating/Canoeing. Mcmally Retarded: ACljualics. Arts and Crafts. Camping, Ceramics. Cooking, Ex~rcise, Games. lfiking. Music, The Parks Department also works closely with area YMCA's in several portions NalUre Studic.s. S"ei,Lli/alion, Team Games. ofthe City. The Recreation division operates a full time community center out ofan Fig, 16 inner city Y facility, paying rent for this use on an hourly basis, and furnishing its own office equipment and recreational supplies. Two adjacent outdoor tennis 106 107

The City's Recreation division should continue in the future to identify major b. The Recreation division's oper­ The Recreation division should: service gaps in the provision of recreation services to special populations. Upon ating budget is not likely to keep - Continue to work with other area identification, the division should continue to initiate model programs where pace with the combination of in­ providers in satisfying the bulk of possible, as well as educate other providers relative to programming gaps in this flation and increased citizen de­ these increasing recreation re­ area. The survey completed for this plan can serve as a basis for coordinating these mand for services during the lated demands. activities, in addition to providing the Recreation division with information useful eighties. - Develop a community leisure serv­ in its own programming efforts. ice education program to foster coordination among the various program providers, possibly spear­ headed by members of the Parks and Coordination The Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) has Recreation Advisory Board. with adopted a Regional Open Space Plan to coordinate park and recreation plans and - Study existing fee structures, and other Jurisdictional Plans activities initiated by the various jurisdictions in the region. All projects involving raise fees where special popu­ and Activities Federal appropriations are consequently reviewed for conformance to this plan by lation groups are not adversely the MAPA staff and Board of Directors. In addition, MAPA has developed an impacted. elaborate committee structure as a part of the A-95 review process. Park plans and activities are typically reviewed by both the Comprehensive Planning and Environ­ c. Omaha's current approach of maxi­ The Recreation division should mental Committees, as well as the appropriate committee of its Citizens Advisory mizing services at City run com­ undertake a comprehensive study and Board. munity centers can lead to pro­ initiate an ongoing evaluation of The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission administers State Comprehensive gramming that is not consistent community center programming, Outdoor Planning under the SCORP Process. Omaha's Parks and Recreation with the specific needs of sur­ taking into account other area Department works closely with this agency to insure local compliance with the rounding residents. In addition, the providers of similar services, trans~ SCORP program. extent to which other providers in portation factors, demographic data, a given community are duplicating income levels, and other relevant City services is not always taken conditions. Programs should then be into consideration in the scheduling developed based upon population Summary of Issues The Recreation division has recently identified an increasing demand for c1ose­ of City community center services. needs rather than strictly upon to-home, low cost or no cost recreation service. This demand would appear to be existing physical facility availability. directly tied to a combination of the national inflationary economy and the energy Rentingjleasing arrangements should problem, both of which are having a restrictive impact on personal, family and be explored, and the division should group mobility. The division is attempting to address such concerns by placing attempt to maximize the potential greater emphasis on maximum scheduling in existing recreational facilities, as well for programming flexibility rather as re-evaluating service gaps created due to cutbacks in the playground and various than relying heavily on major capital city / school programs. commitments that in tur"n preclude The recreation service issues and directions outlined below provide the division future program evolution. with a framework for evaluating new ideas and approaches in the ever evolving recreation service area. Where additional study is noted as necessary, it can then be d. Long standing cooperative agree­ The City/school district cooperative programmed into the Recovery Action Plan. ments between the City of Omaha agreements should be re-evaluated Issues Identified Directions Identified and the three major public school and modified to afford the Parks De­ a. Operating and maintenance budget Because the more neighborhood districts have contributed to sched­ partment greater scheduling control, cutbacks during the seventies have oriented programs consumed rela­ uling problems and the resulting within the context of not interfering led to the virtual abandonment of tively insignificant portions of total loss in fee revenues for the City with important school programs that Recreation division programming operation and maintenance budget of Omaha. satisfy major public needs. through the public schools, as well expenditures, the Department should as an elimination of the neighbor- restudy the financial impact of, and e. Although facility and program The Recreation division should con­ hood playground program. Instead, consider reinstating at least some of sharing between the City and other tinue to expand into the area of the approach is now to maximize these earlier programs. In light of recreation service providers has facility and program sharing with programming at the City-run com- the need to reduce personal or occurred to a limited degree, with other quasi public and private munity centers. At the same time, individual transportation costs, the the exception of the public schools recreation providers. the demand for close to home, low school and playmobile programs this has never served as a signifi­ cost recreation programming is would appear to offer the greatest cant portion of the overall city growing, and will probably continue public benefit at the least cost. recreation approach. to increase during the eighties. 108 109

Implications The preceding sections identify major strengths and weaknesses associated with and Conclusions Omaha area park and recreation resources and their distribution. Essentially, Omaha has an excellent park system that evolved in a planned, controlled and reasonable manner, and has been found to be generally well suited to defined resident needs. However, as is true in other public service type areas, system weaknesses exist which dictate corrective measures. The recommendations included in each Assessment section summary provide a basis for such corrective actions, and consequently their overlay and expansion serve as the framework for UPARR Action Plan development. Taken as a whole, the park and recreation related issues identified in the various Assessment sections can be reorganized into the following interrelated, more general themes. These are the overriding factors that will establish the context for park system development and redevelopment in coming years.

As tax dollars become increasingly morc scarce, operation and maintenance Public sector budgeting budgets can only be expected to decline in terms of real dollars and system size. capabilities This, in turn, will accentuate many of the existing problems identified in this Assessment involving staffing levels, service programming levels, preventative maintenance deficiencies, system expansion requirements, and, of course, rehabilitation needs. Such effectual budgetary declines are a fact ofthe eighties. The Action Plan should therefore be developed under an assumption of fiscal constraint.

The planningjprogramming process, which has historically played a major role Comprehensive planning: in park and recreation system development, is fundamental in a time of limited physical and policy resources and changing demand. However, long and short range planning, programming and policy development have suffered in recent years, with crisis oriented response frequently replacing comprehensive evaluation. The Park and Recreation Advisory Board, which has been underutilized to date, provides a potential vehicle for generating an improved planningj programming function. For this reason, a number of Assessment sections have recommended that Board members be encouraged to increase their involvement in aspects of the parks planning process.

The various Assessment sections have identified existing and anticipated future Service and facility gaps gaps in the City of Omaha leisure time delivery system. These, ofcourse, are related and future expansion factors to central city park facilities, but additionally occur in such areas as recreation programming and facility maintenance, and extend into suburban jurisdictions in terms of facility provision, size, and other qualitative parameters. In light of the fiscal factors discussed above, it is clear that the City, alone, cannot hope to eliminate all identified park and recreation system gaps. Therefore, the goals, objectives and policies developed in the Action Plan must, in essence, establish a strategy for tradeoffs, as well as methods to defray some traditionally public sector responsibilities.

The City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Department has long assumed the role The public sector's role of primary recreation provider in the region. However, as a charter department and popular perceptions within City Hall, it is in constant competition for funding with other departments regarding parks and which provide critical public health and safety oriented services (Le., fire and police protection, streets and sewers). Because of this, it is tempting to draw comparisons and develop the overall perception that park and recreation functions are "non- 110

essential services." This typically occurs within City Hall, but also occurs to some degree with the public at large. In fact, a region's park and recreation resources cannot be viewed as non-essential services. Rather, they represent a function which can be more easily neglected for a longer period of time without creating any clearly observable negative impact on an ! urban area. However, such long-term neglect combines with other factors to i eventually produce significant overall deterioration in perceptions of urban life­ , quality. At this point, a municipality might very well lose out on new private sector I investments, consequently resulting in a declining tax base and accelerated deterioration in the characteristically "essential" urban service categories. Park services therefore should be considered as non-essential only in the short range. The Omaha Parks and Recreation Department currently suffers to some degree from the above mentioned perceptions. This is particularly damaging in Omaha, given the Department's major role in public sector recreation delivery. However, these problems can be partially eliminated with appropriate capital improvements programming, budgeting, and an escalation in general educational activities. The UPARR Action Plan should also seek to mitigate these narrow - and in the end iconoclastic - perceptions, with the intent of restoring the park and recreation system to its appropriate place on the list of City of Omaha public services. ERRATA

During the drafting and layout process errors were made in a nunber of maps and charts. They appear correctly on the following pages. r

J Page 23

_.' { " --:- ,. ._-~ }:::\ .,~ (I) Page 24

\ Page 25 r------...,..----, Soccer· other flrovi9crs '---'---'-'--'''-.-,_._,. _. -" --- _.- .--- ."--"".._-,-,,,,...... -. ~ ( _- , . , r .' Page 37 /' /; /'

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Swimming Pools· other providers Page4i-

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0 Public o 0 Quasi-Public I----,-...,.-----'~"', -~~--+~~-: 0 .' ,_ 00 Private -~-----~-'-- L 0 0 Commercial (6) ---- b,. Schools Day Use Ballfields . other providers Page 44 Zone of Present Development Page 48 Facility Deficient Area Baseball - north of Biondo and west of 144th Softball - north of Fort Community Centers - north of Dodge Swimming Pools - west of 120th and north of Dodge - north of Military - west of 132nd; Harrison - "F" Street Basketball - 120th west, Dodge - Maple - north of Military Tennis - 120th west, Dodge - Maple - north of Military Indoor Swimming - north of Dodge Playgrounds - 120th west, Dodge - Maple - north of Military Football - north of HF" Street Soccer -I20th & Center area - 120th west, Dodge - Maple Golf - north of State It is important to emphasize that the preceding facility related recommendations pertain to physical coverage and service only. It should also be noted that the Multi-Use Open Space - oth~_~~p'.~vide~ physical analysis assumes that all of the facilities reviewed were in useablecondi­ Page 45 tion, with little difference in quality. The basic premise was to identify those potential actions or changes needed to provide complete and uniform physical coverage of the City. However, issues and recommendations forthcoming from other sections of this Assessment will, of course, serve as modifiers to these initial findings. In particular, the rehabilitation issues and analysis section must be taken into consideration in any specific application of these physical facility recommendations.

% Zone A* % Zone B* % Zone c*

Facilities 4;i (,; .. 4;i (,; .. (,; .. .Page'58 Parksite 29 37 21'" 13 2 32 '"32 9 30 38 19 I Flower Beds 100 10( 100 Scenic Overlook 100 Waterways 51 5 100 Comfort Facilities 31 6 33 II 56 100 Picnic Areas 35 3 15 2 22 78 38 50 13 Ballfield - Unlit 7 I 5 92 i 80 20 Ballfield - Lit iO 2 100 100 Tennis - Unlit 30 61 4.5 4. 71 29 70 10 20 Tennis - Lit 50 2 2 Basketball 12 Horshoe Pits ~ other providers 45 35 5 I 69 23 8 75 13 Golf 100 10 100 Page 46 Paths or Par Course 50 5 100 100 Swimming Pool 83 17 10 100 Boating 10 Lagoon w! Bridge 100 100 Lagoon WiO Bridge 100 10 Playgrounds 37 51 9 3 56 )3 6 6 62 38 Horseshoes 33 33 3 67 33 50 50 Soccer-Football 100 71 14 14 100 Pavillion 57 14 2 50 50

Repairs Needed PavedAreas Sidewalk 35 29 36 3) 50 17 13 25 62 Parking lot 31 19 50 4 i 50 2 Ii 55 Bike Path 45 34 21 83 17 2 38 38 Road 29 43 28 I 14 72 14 . 86 0 Public Amenities Bike Racks Quasi-Public 100 0 Light Fixtures 34 66 100 Private Bulbs )4 66 100 0 ~-' Bridges 10 50 50 Commercial Drinking Fountains 25 75 100 100 0 Fence 56 44 51 50 .£ 45 55 I:::. Schools Vandalism 8 27 65 5 23 72 6 18 7

..... ,_ A' Zone A o E"cellent e Good Fair r;;, ~... ~... fV~ ~ ~ ...... fb"" ~ ¥ if

Repairs Needed • Major -

• Represenls amounl appropriated Fig. 13 Christie Heights Center City-Y Center Page 98 Benson Ice Rink Florence Center Hitchcock Ice Rink Kellom Center Page 99 C

Program ~~iI/i'~{jJ! !''''~~~~~/ Program Arts and Crafts //"""./ Arts and Crafts Ceramics ••••••••• "'''''JlJ/.1. i1"""'/jiI""'''}/ Ceramics China Painting •••••••• •••• China Painting Oil Painting I! Oil Painting Pottery 1I! Macrame ••• I.I.I • Pottery Lapidary •• Macrame Lapidary Batik , Batik Clay .•• Clay Sewing ••I •.1 • Sewin" Cultural Arts ••• ••• • • Cultural Arts Aerobic/Dancing ~ I. Aerobic/Dancing Ice Dancing •••••••• • • Ice Dancing Tap ••• .,- • Tap Guitar Guitar Piano Piano Puppetry Pupn",v Homemaking Homemaking Cooking Cake Decorating ••.1. •• Cooking Health Main.eoanee Cake Decorating Weight Training "ealth Maintenance Slimnastics ~ I_I: Weight Training • • Slimnastics Gymnastics •• • • Gymnastics Table Games ••• • • • • Table Games Table Tennis Pool • • ••••• I. Table Tennis I • •• •••• Pool Foosball I IIII •• II• Foosball Shuffleboard •• •• Shufneboard Bridge ••••• • •• • •• Bridge Pinochle •• Pinochle Whist •• Whist Bingo • Binoo Special Events • Parties ~ , Special Events Basketball Hotshot Contest ••••• •• • .••• •• Parties I ••••• • Basketball Hotshot Contest Carnivals • ••••• • III •• • • •• Carnivals Movies •• • • I Ii: • Movies Picnics • • Picnics Festivals ~ ~ • ••••• • = I Festivals Rollerskating ••••• •• • ••II:II • Ii • •• ••••••• RollerskatinR: Competitive Sports • =•• •• • Competitive Sports Adult Flag Football • Basketball Adult Flag Football Wrestling ••••••• ••••• •• Basketball • Wrestling Volleyball ••• I•• •••••• • • Volleyball Judo ••• ••• •• • • Judo Tennis ~ Tennis Swimming •• ~ • Swimming Hockey • Hockey Figure Skating ••:: • I ~ Ia • • ••I Fil!ure Skating Leisure Activities •• =:••• • • •• Leisure Activities Field Trips .~ ~ = • Basketball • ~ ~ Field Trips Volleyball •••••• •••••• • •• Basketball • Volleyball Tumbling • •••••• Recreational Ice Skating ••• • • Tumbling •••••• Recreational Ice Skating Fig. ISd•••• Fig. 15. Fig. ISf Fig. ISg ••••••• ••• Fig. ISh Fig. lSi Page 100 Lucas HaU Senior Center Montclair Center/Pool Plpal Park Center Sherman Center lo• 0l• 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~::~~~~OIS' Page 101 IQ ,J' go ,f ~ ~"'i ~fl1 ':'> 00 >" '>t "'1 f'{ 0('" "f:'~ "'f~ -.oQo 0(' ~ ~ .::J.... ::;. ~ $f ~~ ....,~ '<11>0 «" ~ ~ .tf .t! ~'~ ~ ""! ' Program China Painting • .. •• ••••• : Arts and eraCts Oil Painting I I·i. I• Ceramics Pottery • i : •• •• China Painting Macrame •• • i - Oil Painting Lapidary • Pottery Batik •• Macrame Clay • - •• lapidary Sewing •• •••• ••• - Batik ",UnUr•• nuS • •• • " Clay Aerobic/Dancing ~ .~ Sewin2 Ice Dancing • • .• • • • Cultural Arts Tap - Aerobic/Dancing Guitar ~~. .~ fee Dancing Piano •• • Tap Puppetry Guitar nomemliAlng ••••••• •• Piano Cooking ~ PUDDetrv Cake Decorating ••• •••• ••• Homemaking fie.nn l...a.n.ell.n~e •• Cooking Weight Training • Cake Decoratin2 Slimnastics .: Health Maintenance Gymnastics . ••• •• Weight Training laDle \:iames Slimnastics Table Tennis •• Gvmnastics Pool • :••• •••••• Table Games Foosball • • • Table Tennis Shuffleboard '. i iIi ::iI IiII ::••••• Pool Bridge • ::••• Foosball Pinochle • I •• •:• Shuffleboard Whist • • ••••• • Bridge Bingo Pinochle ~PI:C1.1 .r..ven,s • Whist Parties BinQ:o Basketbal1 Hotshot Contest I;: •• • Special Eyents Carnivals - • ••••• Parties Movies :I 1.1 • ••••• • Basketball Hotshot Cornest Picnics • • Carnivals Festivals I ~~ i· • • Movies Rollerskating •••. •••• • • Picnics \..ompelluve "pons • Festivals Adult Flag Football ••••• • Rollerskatinl! Basketball Competitive Sports Wrestling • •• ••• Adult Flag Football Volleyball •• i. Basketball Judo • Wrestling Tennis ••••• ••• Volleyball Swimming Judo Hockey •••••••••• Tennis Figure Skating Swimm.ing Leisure ",tuYlues ••••• Hockey Field Trips I- Figure Skatin2 Basketball .~. Leisure Activities Volleyball - • ••• •••• Field Trips Tumbling •••:::: Basketball Recreational Ice Skating •••• •••• • Volleyball Tumbling Fig~_~ Fi~. 15k Fig. 151 • Recreational Ice Skating Fig. 15m