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This is the final of 4 presentations on Park Funding.  It will highlight “Park Development and Funding Recommendations.” 

With the sun setting of Park District #1 (PD1), the City of Billings has a unique opportunity to chart the course for the Parks and Recreation Department into the future.  Billings’ founders had the foresight and inspiration to build large community parks like Pioneer, South, and North that have benefited generations of Billings citizens, and still plays a major role today.  Additionally, the city has grown a robust recreation division that provides hundreds of opportunities for citizens both young and old to enjoy.  As the city continues to grow, we have the chance to build a parks and recreation system that will provide Billings with an unparalleled quality of life for current and future generations.

The current challenges facing the parks and recreation department can be separated into three key areas:

1) Current funding levels are below national standards as identified by the 2017 Council-approved Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).
 
(2) There are no current funding mechanisms for new parks, trails, and recreation facilities development.
 
(3) Park District #1 is set to expire December 2024 and will result in a $3+ million dollar reduction to the department’s annual operating and capital budgets, representing around 30% of the total budget.

Our recommendation is based on the following studies: The 2017 Council Approved Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the 2011 Billings Area Trail Asset Management Plan, and the 2016 Rimrock to Valley Bike/Ped Feasibility Study, Master Plan, Council Approved Park Master Plans, Council Approved 2019 Multi-Generational Community Recreation Center Master Plan and the 2022 multi-generational Community Recreation Center Master Plan.  For the Parks Division, the 2017 Comprehensive Master Plan's key findings and recommendations include increasing funding for services, increasing staffing to meet best practices, developing a trail maintenance program, and expanding maintenance yard locations to reduce travel time.  Key findings and recommendations for the Recreation Division include constructing and operating a multi-generational recreation center, expanding programs and evaluation criteria, increasing marketing, and staffing.  Key findings and recommendations for Parks and Recreation Administration include updating policies and procedures and implementing performance measures.

A fully funded Parks and Recreation Department includes 13 additional FTEs to maintain parks and faculties, a life cycle repair and replacement program, a trail maintenance program, and the addition of 2 additional staff members in Administration to manage the department's assets and finances.  This also includes locating the entire department under one funding umbrella and providing a mechanism to fund new parks, trails, and recreation facilities.  We are also recommending the City’s 37 Park Maintenance Districts be eliminated.  All of this would cost the taxpayers $11,630,004 annually.

Our park and facilities development recommendations include: completing the following 4 community parks: Castle Rock Park, Poly Vista Park, Centennial Park, and Coulson Park.  We are also recommending that we construct the Stagecoach Trail, the Community Recreation Center, Cottonwood Park, West End Reservoir, and an indoor Tennis/Pickleball Center.  The total cost for these facilities will be $158,481,555.  The construction of the new proposed facilities will increase O & M by approximately $2 million annually.  

 

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It will cost $13,550,624 annually to fully fund O & M for the parks and recreation department.  $11,630,004 to fund current operation and $1,920,620 annually for new development.  The median household will be impacted by $249 annually or $21 per month.