Strategic Master Plan for Batavia Park District Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. July 2012 STRATEGIC MASTER PLAN for the BATAVIA PARK DISTRICT Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................ 3 Introduction ...................................................................... 3 Strategic Master Plan Key Themes for the Batavia Park District .......................... 5 Strategic Master Plan Process ........................................................ 6 Seven Measures of Park Excellence ................................................... 9 Community Input Survey .......................................................... 12 Community Survey Information .................................................... 17 Demographics and Trend Report ................................................... 22 Park Classifications ............................................................... 34 Recreation Program Assessment .................................................... 72 Strategic Master Plan Priorities and Initiatives ........................................ 88 Implementation Guidelines ........................................................ 94 Summary ........................................................................ 95 2 copyright 2012 Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. - All rights reserved JULY 2012 HELLER AND HELLER CONSULTING Acknowledgements PARK DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Patrick J. Callahan President John Tilmon Vice President Gary Foiles Treasurer Nicole Corken Commissioner Kevin Riley Commissioner ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Allison Niemela Interim Executive Director, Director of Marketing and Public Relations James C. Eby Director of Planning and Development Linda Straka Director of Finance Jeff Clark Director of Leisure Services Eric Lacher Director of Parks and Properties Carla Hill Director of Museum and Interpretive Services PROJECT SUPPORT Barbara Heller, Heller and Heller Consulting Corrine Kroger, Heller and Heller Consulting Michelle Kelly, Upland Design Maria Sovan, Upland Design copyright 2012 Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. - All rights reserved 3 STRATEGIC MASTER PLAN for the BATAVIA PARK DISTRICT BATAVIA PARK DISTRICT STRATEGIC MASTER PLAN Introduction The Batavia Park District worked with Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. (HHC) and Upland Design to complete a ten year Strategic Master Plan. The Batavia Park District has a longstanding commitment to planning processes, having completed multiple previous master plans. The last Strategic Master Plan was completed in 1998. Park District staff, Upland Design, and Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. worked collaboratively to complete the 2012-2022 Plan. In addition, the survey instrument was developed by Leisure Vision. The purpose of the Plan is to establish a ten year road map for the District, 2012 to 2022. The Plan provides direction and strategies for parks and recreation services, which comes at an excellent time with new leadership for the District. The process included extensive reliance on resident input. This included a series of focus groups, the distribution of a statistically valid household survey, and a review of previous community engagement results. The development of the Master Plan recommendations were a result of these efforts. In addition, Board members and staff were also involved in providing input into the Plan. Previous documents were also reviewed, including the 1998 Strategic Master Plan, the 2009 Comprehensive Strategic Master Plan update, the 2011 Community Engagement Survey Process, budget, Capital Improvement Plan and Capital Development Plan provided by the District, and the 2011 Comprehensive Master Plan Benchmarking Report. All of this information created the basis for recommendations to position the District for the future. Nestled in the Fox River Valley, the Batavia Park District was established in 1969 to provide parks and recreation experiences that promote family-oriented services in a city with a small hometown feel and old-fashioned values. The District manages the operation of parks, trails, open space, recreational facilities and programs. The Park District owns and maintains 40 parks that include 353.11 acres of parkland. In addition, noteworthy facilities include the Peg Bond Center, Harold Hall Quarry Beach, Eastside Community Center, Civic Center, and the Batavia Depot Museum. The Park District offers 1,045 programs each year and serves nearly 94,800 participants through recreational, athletics, fitness and wellness, arts, senior, preschool, teen, and environmental programs. The District contributes to healthy lifestyles, community involvement, and a better quality of life for Batavia residents. All of these assets are governed by a five member Park Board and are administered by an executive director and 30 full time staff members. BPD’s mission statement is: Committed to providing fun, safe and innovative open space and recreational opportunities that will enrich the quality of life for our residents. 4 copyright 2012 Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. - All rights reserved JULY 2012 HELLER AND HELLER CONSULTING Strategic Master Plan Key Themes for the Batavia Park District Key Themes provide a system overview of the Batavia Park District. The Themes describe the major areas of emphasis for future direction and synthesizes the information included in all of the supporting technical reports to specific direction. The Key Themes of the Strategic Master Plan, or over-arching areas of focus for the next 10 years include the following major areas: Balance Park and Recreation Services: Excellent park and recreation systems have a good balance in assets and resource allocation between park and recreation services. There is a lack of balance in the District’s assets. Moving forward, the District needs to build the recreation side of the agency by adding additional indoor space. The BPD does well in meeting the level of service standards for parks and amenities. This includes slightly exceeding park land acreage according to existing national and state standards and generally having adequate number of amenities throughout the system, including athletic fields, playgrounds and picnic shelters. Furthermore, a commitment to replacement schedules has resulted in the District’s good success in maintaining park assets. On the other hand, recreation service delivery is challenged as a result of a lack of indoor recreation space and constraints within existing facilities. The facilities are outdated, and as a result, are not highly visited by community residents. Recreation Program Opportunity: There is a significant level of unmet need in the community for recreation services. This result is indicated on the Needs Assessment Survey completed by Leisure Vision. Twenty of twenty two program areas listed on the survey have some level of unmet need. There appears to be a latent demand for services. While all of this need cannot be met solely by the District, it does suggest opportunity in offering more programs if additional recreation spaces are added. Organizational Sustainability: Sustainable practices reduce the agency’s carbon footprint, but also to the financial sustainability of the organization. The District is limited in its ability to non- tax revenue as a result of lacking revenue generating facilities. As a result, the production of recreation program revenue is significantly important. Non-tax revenue growth will be important. This includes developing a strategic approach to corporate support and other forms of non-tax revenue. Community Connection: During the last year, the District has embarked on significant efforts to identify community needs and satisfaction levels of residents toward the District. These efforts should continue in the future. This includes continuing to build the District’s image and brand, aggressively seeking partnerships that benefit the District, building the volunteer program, creating ongoing connections and touch points with residents, and continuously working on efforts in strengthening customer satisfaction and loyalty. copyright 2012 Heller and Heller Consulting, Inc. - All rights reserved 5 STRATEGIC MASTER PLAN for the BATAVIA PARK DISTRICT Strategic Master Plan Process The following outlines the list of tasks and sequence of work for the Plan’s development and completion. The steps in the process included: • Community and Stakeholder Input - Community focus groups - Board and staff focus groups - Administration of a statistically valid household survey • Demographics and Trend Report • Parks Inventory and Assessment • Park Classifications and Facility Standards • Recreation Program Assessment • Master Plan Development - Review of mission - Staff Visioning Session - Strategic Master Plan themes, initiatives and goals - Capital Improvement Plan - Capital Development Plan Executive Summary The following section provides a summary of the technical reports prepared in developing the Plan and includes the key findings of each report. This is an overall summary of the Plan, followed by system wide findings and recommendations. Community Input Summary An important component of the Master Plan development was the community input process, which included key leader meetings, focus groups, and public meetings at the beginning and at the end of the process. The input process included the facilitation of a series of questions relating to overall strengths, overall improvement areas needed, and residents’ assessment of parks, trails,