2015 Parks and Recreation Master Plan
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RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN CITY OF VESTAVIA HILLS AUGUST 2 0 1 5 BRIEFING DOCUMENT INSPIRE. EMPOWER. ADVANCE. RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN: BRIEFING DOCUMENT PREFACE In April 2015, the City of Vestavia Hills (the “City”) engaged Brailsford & Dunlavey (“B&D”) to conduct a Recreation & Athletics Master Plan (the “Plan”). The purpose of the Plan was to evaluate current and future demand for recreation and athletic facilities, collectively referred to as quality-of-life assets, in order to develop a strategic roadmap for achieving the community’s vision. The following Briefing Document summarizes B&D’s recommendations for re-positioning the City’s quality-of-life assets to align with the community’s vision for quality and capacity. The findings contained herein represent the professional opinions of B&D’s personnel based on assumptions and conditions detailed in this document. B&D conducted research using both primary and secondary information sources that are deemed reliable, but whose accuracy cannot be guaranteed. B&D does not represent or warrant that the estimates and projections contained herein will be realized, as the actual projections will be influenced by market and other external factors. The methodologies employed as a part of this Plan included the following: An in-depth tour of existing athletic and recreation facilities was conducted, in addition to a comprehensive review of data provided by the Vestavia Hills Parks & Recreation Department (the “Department”) regarding facility usage and sports participation, in order to gain a thorough understanding of the City’s existing assets. Focus group sessions with leaders of youth sports organizations from the community created a qualitative understanding of satisfaction levels with current athletic and recreation facilities and preferences for future facilities A demographic analysis was conducted to define the target market and inform demand projections with a detailed understanding of historic and anticipated population growth trends Detailed phone interviews of City staff and leaders of local youth sports organizations were conducted to confirm current utilization of indoor and outdoor facilities by season A community-wide Internet-based survey was administered to City residents to assess current and future preferences regarding recreation and athletic facilities. A total of 1,734 residents completed the survey, resulting in a margin of error of 2.4% at a 95% confidence interval. Responses were sorted by various demographic characteristics to further analyze the current experiences and future preferences of residents and their families. AUGUST 2015 1. 1 CITY OF VESTAVIA HILLS: RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN B&D would like to thank the following individuals for their insight and direction throughout the process: Mr. Alberto Zaragoza, Mayor, City of Vestavia Hills Mr. Steve Ammons, Mayor Pro-Tem, City of Vestavia Hills Mr. Jerry Dent, Vestavia Hills Board of Education Mr. Jeff Downes, City Manager, City of Vestavia Hills Mr. Tommy Dazzio, Parks and Recreation Board (President) Mr. Tommy Coggin. Parks and Recreation Board (Vice-President) Ms. Lilla Hood, Parks and Recreation Board Ms. Anne Smyth, Parks and Recreation Board Mr. David Myers, Parks and Recreation Board Mr. Jordy Henson, Vestavia Hills Park Foundation Ms. Susan Compton, Vestavia Hills Park Foundation Ms. Leigh Belcher, Vestavia Hills Park Foundation Ms. Karen Odle, Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce (President/CEO) Mr. Brian Davis, Public Services Director Mr. Jason Burnett, Parks and Recreation Superintendent The B&D team that produced the Plan was comprised of the following individuals: Chet Roach, Regional Vice President Joe Winters, Project Manager Joe Collums, Assistant Project Manager 1. 2 BRAILSFORD & DUNLAVEY INSPIRE. EMPOWER. ADVANCE. RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN: BRIEFING DOCUMENT THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK AUGUST 2015 1. 3 CITY OF VESTAVIA HILLS: RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Preface 2. Executive Summary Strategic Vision Community Preferences Recommendations EXHIBITS A. Presentation of Findings B. Community Survey Results 1. 4 BRAILSFORD & DUNLAVEY INSPIRE. EMPOWER. ADVANCE. RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN: BRIEFING DOCUMENT THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK AUGUST 2015 1. 5 CITY OF VESTAVIA HILLS: RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STRATEGIC VISION B&D held a Strategic Asset Value (“SAV”) work session with representatives of the Parks & Recreation Board, the Vestavia Hills Park Foundation, Board of Education, Chamber of Commerce, as well as City elected officials and staff to develop a comprehensive understanding of the vision for delivering an improved recreational and athletics experience in Vestavia Hills. Currently, the quality of recreational and athletic facilities is limiting the City’s ability to deliver a quality-of-life experience to residents that is consistent with Vestavia Hills’s desired brand as “A Life Above.” In particular, the City’s athletic facilities are unevenly mixed, with tournament- quality playing conditions and amenities located in less accessible locations (i.e., Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex and Liberty Park), while facilities in close proximity to the City’s population center are outdated by the same standards (e.g. Wald Park, Cahaba Heights). Regardless of location, the community’s robust participation in Vestavia Hills Youth Sports (“VHYS”) has exceeded current facility capacity, resulting in strained field conditions, condensed practice/game time for some sports, an inability to add new sports according to community demand, and limited opportunities for adults to engage in their recreational interests within the community. As a result, the committee identified the following set of primary strategic objectives that the facility must accomplish in order to catalyze the desired impact for the community: Re-position quality-of-life assets to reflect the Vestavia Hills brand and effectively recruit and retain families. Elevate the quality of existing facilities to comprehensively serve the recreational interests of all members of the community, regardless of age. Increase the capacity of City athletic facilities to ensure that VHYS delivers a high- impact and consistent experience that results in the athletic and personal development of all participants. COMMUNITY PREFERENCES As confirmed through the on-line survey of City residents, the community’s values and current experiences regarding recreation and athletics are aligned with the strategic objectives described above. Currently the community is unsatisfied with the quality offered at several athletic facilities, including Wald Park (including Wald Park Pool), Cahaba Heights, Central Elementary, and Old 1. 6 BRAILSFORD & DUNLAVEY INSPIRE. EMPOWER. ADVANCE. RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN: BRIEFING DOCUMENT Columbiana. Additionally, as shown in Figure 1 below, an inverse relationship exists between facility quality and convenience, with the most convenient locations rated as the lowest in quality, and vice versa. FIGURE 1: Community Perceptions of Facility Quality vs. Convenience 99% 94% 100% 90% 85% 85% 88% 90% 81% 76% 80% 71% 70% 60% 46% 50% 45% 42% 40% 28% 30% 22% 18% 20% 15% 10% 0% SHAC Liberty Park Recreation Wald Park Cahaba Central Old Wald Park Center Heights Columbiana Pool High-Quality Convenient As a result, families with a child playing youth sports cite improved quality as a top priority. However, B&D’s analysis of demographic sub-groups confirmed a unique and robust support in Vestavia Hills for the importance of quality-of-life facilities in achieving broader community objectives, regardless of residents’ direct involvement in youth sports, as shown in Figure 2. FIGURE 2: Importance of Quality Recreation and Athletic Facilities by Level of Involvement 100% 99% 99% 100% 98% 96% 95% 94% 94% 95% 92% 89% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% To Youth To Creating To Family To Economic To My Quality of Development Community Recruitment Development Life Sports Families Non-Sports Families AUGUST 2015 1. 7 CITY OF VESTAVIA HILLS: RECREATION & ATHLETICS MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS A unique opportunity exists for Vestavia Hills to deliver an enhanced quality-of-life experience characterized by the level of quality and access sought by the community. In order to accomplish the City’s targeted new reality for quality-of-life facilities, B&D recommends the following: The City should address the acute need for centrally located outdoor field capacity by adding eight to ten additional youth rectangle fields (i.e., football, lacrosse, soccer, rugby) and two to four small diamond fields (baseball and softball). In order to project the City’s need for additional outdoor athletic facilities, B&D developed a demand model based on actual hours of field utilization by sport and season compared with the recommended hours of utilization for maintaining a quality field surface, according to national research. The analysis found that the City’s current inventory is not sufficiently sized to ensure a quality player experience for VHYS teams, exclusive of the additional demand from outside organizations. As shown in Figure 3 below, the City needs to add approximately 1,150 hours of field capacity in the fall season (equating to five fields) and approximately 900 hours of field capacity during the spring (equating to four fields) to adequately meet VHYS demand. FIGURE 3: Recommended Utilization (in Hours) By Field-Type Fall