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Item 1.
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| City Council Work Session | |
| Date: | 07/18/2022 |
| Title: | Parks and Recreation Funding |
| Presented by: | Mike Whitaker, Parks, Recreation & Public Lands Director |
| Department: | Parks/Rec/Public Lands |
| Presentation: | Yes |
| Legal Review | Not Applicable |
RECOMMENDATION
No action is required of City Council at this time.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
Monday night's work session presentation (see attached) will provide an overview of the Parks and Recreation Department and funding issues. This is the 2nd of 4 work sessions in which parks, recreation, and trails funding will be discussed. The 1st work session covered the proposed recreation center project and cost recovery. The 3rd work session will cover park operations and development tools and the 4th work session will include park development and funding recommendations.
Most cities can routinely provide municipal services like trash collection and street maintenance. However, there are two public services that set some cities apart from most. These are public schools, and Parks and Recreation Departments. Parks and recreation services largely define the health, vibrancy, and quality of life in a community. They also have a large impact on where families choose to live and businesses choose to locate.
The mission of the department is to provide accessible, safe, and quality parks, facilities, open spaces, and recreational opportunities for all. According to a statically valid community survey that was completed in 2017, eighty-six percent of Billings households used a park in the past 12 months and 91 percent of households in Billings believe parks and recreation is an essential service. Parks and Recreation has the power to strengthen communities. No other public space in Billings has the ability to bring together so many citizens in one location.
The first of 3 problems Billings Parks and Recreation faces is that current funding levels are below a typical park and recreation agency in the United States. The difference between the national median level of operating expenditure ($7,826) per acre of parkland and Billings' operating expenditure ($3,112) per acre of parkland is the number and types of park amenities provided and maintained. The following 9 community parks are only partially completed: Poly Vista, Coulson, Centennial, Castle Rock, Central, High Sierra, Sacajawea, Optimist, and Veterans. Three community parks remain undeveloped: Cottonwood, Wilson, and Meadowlark.
The 2nd problem is that there is no adequate funding mechanism for new parkland, trail, and recreation facility development. Until the completion of the first phase of Centennial Park in 2021, the last community park that was built in Billings was Castle Rock Park in the early 1980s when the population of Billings was approximately 68,000, and it was never completed.
Community parks are approximately 20 to 50 acres in size. The recommended service level is 3.5 acres per 1,000 people. Typical active amenities include a large playground, informal ball fields (multi-use open space), game courts, tennis/pickleball, volleyball, shuffleboard, ice skating, swimming pool, disc golf, and restrooms. Typical passive amenities include internal loop trails, individual picnic sites and group picnic shelters, general open space, unique landscapes/features, natural areas, gardens, cultural activities (amphitheater), parking, and security lighting.
Neighborhood parks are approximately 5 to 10 acres in size, and they meet the recreational and social needs of a neighborhood. They offer both active and passive recreational opportunities. Typical activities include court games, informal playfield/open space, tennis/pickleball, volleyball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, ice skating, and splash pad. Typical passive amenities include internal loop trails, picnic shelters, general open space, small on/off-street parking, and security lighting.
Open Space/Natural Parks enhance the livability and character of a community through preservation and conservation of significant natural resources, open space, and visual aesthetics/buffering. Amenities include nature viewing and study, hiking/walking/jogging, bicycling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, and linkage to other parks.
Sports Complex Parks consolidate heavily programmed athletic fields and reduce impacts (noise, traffic, parking, domination of facilities) on neighborhood and community parks. The service area is city-wide, and they are 40 to 150 acres in size. Amenities include programmed multi-use venues (baseball/softball fields, soccer, football), outdoor/indoor tennis, pickleball, hard courts (racquetball/handball), volleyball, internal access trails, spectator areas, group picnic/shelters, multipurpose buildings, restrooms, common space, playground, parking, security, and security lighting.
Approximately $9,921,399 in capital projects has been completed by Park District #1 over the past 11 years. The projects included replacing 8 playgrounds ($1,830,000), replacing the fall protection under 22 playgrounds ($420,000), remodeling 6 park restrooms ($520,000), installing 3 new modular park restrooms ($170,000), replacing the operations/bathhouse building and 2 waterslides at Rose Pool ($2,320,000), replacing the pitching machines at the Stewart Park batting cages ($50,000), rebuilding 7 tennis courts ($700,000), replacing two 50-year-old irrigation systems ($874,314), replacing the wading pool at South Park with a sprayground ($1,100,000), paving the road and parking lots in Riverfront Park ($697,881), paving the parking lot at Centennial Park ($176,204), repurposing 2 tennis courts at Lillis Park into 6 dedicated pickleball courts ($45,339), and completing Poly Vista Park Phase 1 ($1,017,661).
Park District 1 funding was also used to leverage 4 grants totaling $505,040. Three of the grants were used to assist with the replacement of playgrounds at South Park ($75,000), Hawthorne Park ($125,000), and Rose Park ($150,000). One grant ($155,040) will help pay for the rebuilding of the tennis courts at Central Park.
We have $2,141,040 of Park District 1 funded projects underway. These projects include Central Park tennis courts, Rose Pool liner, North Park playground, Arrowhead Park playground, Ponderosa Park irrigation system, and Castle Rock playground. Several additional projects have just recently been approved with the approval of the FY2023 budget. These projects include Castle Rock Park parking lot and restroom design work ($100,000), Cottonwood Park master Plan ($125,000), multiple irrigation projects ($924,750), Highland Park playground replacement ($206,000), Rose Pool spray features upgrade ($103,000), and additional work on the Multi-generational Recreation Center design.
The Parks and Recreation Department manages over 2,700 acres of parkland (approximately 10 percent of the lands in Billings), 40 playgrounds, 16 park shelters, 7 neighborhood centers, 24 tennis courts, 21 basketball courts, 2 outdoor pools, 2 wading pools, 5 spraygrounds and provides over 188 recreation programs. The FY2023 budget ($11,211,148) is funded by the City’s General Fund ($4,797,602), Park District 1 ($3,283,741), Fees & Charges ($1,579,886), Parks Special Funds ($277,398), and 37 Individual Park Maintenance Districts ($1,272,521). The expenses for FY2023 ($10,162,941) are divided up in the following areas: Administration ($489,312), Aquatics ($411,042), Recreation ($1,059,253), Park Maintenance Districts ($1,236,341), City Funded Capital Projects ($1,737,524), Urban Forestry ($274,532), Senior Services ($263,644), Parks ($3,442,360), Cemetery ($488,538), and Park Special Funds ($760,395).
The 3rd problem is that Park District #1 is set to expire in December 2024 and will result in a $3,283,741 (FY2023) reduction to the department's annual budget representing approximately 29% (FY2023) of the budget.
What happens when Park District 1 goes away? With the sunsetting of Park District 1 in December 2024, there will be a $3,275,400 (FY2023) shortfall in the FY2025 budget that will cause a very large decrease in services if there is not another way to fill the budget shortfall. The sunsetting of Park District 1 will end all lifecycle replacement in the parks and recreation system. The Department currently spends approximately $1.3 million annually on lifecycle replacement in the parks.
In Conclusion, the City of Billings is in a unique position to maintain and grow our award-winning parks and recreation system and address the challenges described. Just like Billings' founders had the incredible foresight to build iconic parks like Pioneer, North, and South, I believe we can find a pathway forward to meet the current and future needs that will benefit generations to come.
STAKEHOLDERS
City of Billings Residents
ALTERNATIVES
NA
FISCAL EFFECTS
There are no fiscal effects as a result of this council item as there is no action being taken.
SUMMARY
NA