Draft Recreation Programming & Partnerships Chapter

Purpose:

A subset of the 2020 Park System Plan (under development) are the recreational components which is entitled within this case; Chapter 3, Recreation Programming & Partnerships—which will also define the policy and theory for recreational programming.  This policy development corresponds to City Council's adopted Strategic Plan Strategy to "Connect the community both physically and socially to destinations, services, and activities." and more specifically, the Action item "Update the Recreation Programming Work Plan—Deliver a diversity of programs that finds a balance of revenue and access."


Background:

Formalizing recreation programming goes back approximately one half decade ago as part of the city's [then] strategic plan goal of 'creating a diverse and robust system of recreation services.'  One significant step in that process was to inventory recreation opportunities available within a 15 minute drive from Ramsey.  That 2015 analysis (of 134 categories) found that there was a void in Ramsey for recreational opportunity with many different offerings unavailable from neither the private or public sector.

The various attachments following the adopted Strategic Plan (below) track the above mentioned planning analysis and survey of residents' desire for recreation and enrichment programming. Attachments 2 and 3 are related to the 2018 Citizen Survey and include valuable insights into residents view of the park system.

In terms of addressing the strategic plan action item to Update the Recreation Programming Work Plan—Deliver a diversity of programs that finds a balance of revenue and access, this case and policy plan discussion by the Commission continues this endeavor.

 

Recreation Specialist Abby Proulx will present the continued development of the Recreation and Partnerships Chapter by highlighting Sections 1 through 3 at the meeting.  Staff will be requesting detailed feedback on these first three sections (Section 1 is estimated to be an approximate 95% draft, Section 2 at 90% and the third at about 85% draft.  Note formatting, photos, citations etc. will be addressed after Commission review).

The Recreation and Programming & Partnerships Chapter when approved by the Commission, would advance for Council consideration thereafter, or available leading up to City Council's strategic planning in early Winter of 2020.

To place the Chapter 3 (the subject of this case) into context, the following is an overview of the content of the larger Park System Plan:

This Park System Plan—Ramsey’s first comprehensive planning document dedicated to parks, trails and related open space will attempt to be aspirational and visionary, yet realistic.  It will catalog where we are and what we have, while describing where we are going and what we can achieve.

Chapter 1, Introduction & Where We Are highlights very briefly where we’ve come from, and sets up the context for this plan, However, greater detail will be revealed in the chapter that explores ‘Recreation Districts’ at the larger neighborhood scale—as well as painting a picture of what can be.

Chapter 2,  Vision & Essential Elements will describe basic or foundational elements of the park and trail system and their value and interrelationships.

Chapter 3,  Recreation Programming & Partnerships  is a key portion of the Park System Plan, exploring recreation programming theory, its value to the community and most importantly, the partnerships that allow these government services to be efficient, effective, and yielding a continued return on investments.

Chapter 4,  Recreation Districts & Neighborhoods as signaled, comprises much of this plan—describing the existing infrastructure and recommended future improvements at a both a neighborhood level and also how these neighborhoods interact to bring a community of recreational opportunities together without redundancy but with connectivity.

Chapter 5,  Implementation & the Future explores how we move towards capitalizing on the vision and prospects, and how we pay for it, while taking care of existing investments.


 

This topic does not not authorize funding per se, however the resultant recreation and programming policy will guide price setting and theory in recreation services, to include strategies relating to the revenue side of recreation and enrichment programming for 2020 and beyond.
 

Staff requests feedback on the draft chapter's content (first attachment) and any other input Commissioners may have.

Consensus input on Draft Park System Plan, Chapter 3, Sections 1 -3.