DPR Initial Presentation

DPR Initial Presentation Department Representatives: Lauri Dannemiller, Manager, Scott Gilmore, Deputy Manager of Parks and Planning, Erin Brown, Deputy Manager of Recreation, Dody Erickson, Director of Special Projects, Fred Weiss, Director of Finance (audience) David Edinger, Brendan Hanlon, Molly Duplechian, Laura Wachter, Lindsay Neil

Denver Parks and Recreation contributes to delivering a world-class city by managing and maintaining the system s 144 year history that spans from the first park, a single block that two savvy developers donated to the city in 1868 to create Curtis Park to the expanding 20,000 acres of urban parks and mountain parkland in 2012. Our 27 neighborhood, local and regional recreation centers provide affordable opportunities throughout the city for our youth, adults, seniors and people with disabilities to get active and live healthy. All world-class cities have one thing in common they have world-class parks. From our 100 year old recreation center (20 th St. Gym) to Denver s oldest parks and parkways are treasures recognized through local and federal historic designation. The Game Plan, the department s 50 year strategic plan, proposes to preserve this legacy through comprehensive training, strict design review, restoration and repair efforts that use durable and historically accurate materials, and preventative maintenance. A world-class city must also respond to the current demands of the 21 st century needs and trends. As Denver increases in population, comes the need for more bike lanes that are used for both commuting and exercise, park land for play and solitude, and recreation centers and programming that provides for quality out of school time for youth and physical, social and cognitive experiences for all ages and abilities. The Department of Parks and Recreation aligns exceptionally well with the citywide vision. Denver Parks and Recreation amenities are located across all areas of the City providing citizens free access to trails, parks, playgrounds, ball fields, mountain parks, and tennis courts for the enjoyment of all ages and abilities. Through sponsorships and partnerships, free events are held frequently, especially during the summer months, such as Movies in the Parks, free concerts in the parks, Festivals and celebrations such as the People s Fair, Cinco de Mayo, Black Arts Festival and the Taste of Colorado. Parks are places where people meet to enjoy the outdoors, get active and stay healthy. All Great Cities have Great Parks! And DPR s Agency Vision aligns perfectly with the Citywide Vision. 2

DPR s mission directly impacts all five priorities of Mayor Hancock s administration. 1. Kids: We are part of a network of providers for quality out of school time opportunities. Our presence during the school year in both elementary and middle schools provide children a structured, educational and nurturing environment during their out of school time; during the summer months, we provide youth in neighborhoods where there are no recreation centers the opportunity for structured recreational programming in a park setting. Our Outdoor Recreation Program provides youth the opportunity to learn to ski and snowboard, explore the outdoors and challenge themselves beyond their dreams. Children with disabilities are included in typical recreation programming as well as specialized programming that includes swimming, social activities, outdoor education, sports and many other positive experiences that assist in their growth and development. Recreation Centers are our largest area for impacts to kids through numerous programming and opportunities as well as a safe place to play during out of school time. In addition, our playgrounds, skate parks, swimming pools, recreation centers, and play fields provide youth the opportunities for physical activity and development, social development, and educational opportunities. These are all skills that contribute to the physical, social and cognitive development that enrich lives. 2. Jobs: Parks and Recreation develops our youth through job skills training by employing them for part-time jobs as lifeguards and recreation aides/facility assistants within recreation centers. We also provide youth out of school programming that bridges that time gap from when school is dismissed to when parents typically leave work. Day camps are also provided in many of our parks and recreation centers during the summer months. Providing safe places for our youth to go after school assists working families throughout the year. 3. Safety Net: Social Safety - The recreation centers and out of school time programs provides youth an outlet for their leisure time with trained and engaged adults that reinforces youth life skills, physical and social well-being. Public Safety From our Park Rangers to our City Forestry program, Public Safety is in the forefront. Our park rangers are visible in our parks ensuring the safe and enjoyment of our users. The City Forestry program performs tree risk and health assessments in high traffic and public use areas as well as trees that are on the public right of way and private property trees. Trees found to be in violation of City code shall be issued notices requiring mitigation work for trees that are the greatest risk to the public. 3. Sustainability: Environmental - This is one of the principles of our Strategic Plan (The Game Plan) that addresses using green or environmentally friendly, practices for design, renovation, construction, and maintenance of all buildings and landscapes. These measures will conserve water, energy, and other natural resources, reduce pollution, and protect wildlife habitat. The 2007 Greater Denver Bond program allowed us to replace old irrigation systems with newer and more water efficient systems that provides improved coverage and decreased water usage. Central Park Recreation, which opened January 2011, is LEED Gold Certified. Energy audits and re-commissioning studies have been completed on all of our recreation centers and have identified improvements that will provide good ROI and reduction of energy costs. Economic DPR continues to make improvements that have a financial savings that supports our sustainable future. These include irrigation system replacements and automation for savings in water costs and personnel. DPR will develop a Resources, Allocations and Priorities Plan (RAPP) in 2012 that will identify resource allocation and cost recovery goals and provide formulas and structure for pricing decision for all level of the department. It will also help develop a philosophy that details the level of subsidy necessary for our services. This Plan will develop our Service Portfolio that will identify services that are core to our values and vision as well as potential revenue enhancement opportunities. Social Equity- This is another priority of our Game Plan that will ensure that our services and programs are of quality and accessibility to all. 4. Customer Experience: Denver Parks and Recreation is one of the most visible agency that provides positive Customer Experiences throughout the City. Whether the experience is in our parks, recreation centers, golf courses, trails or ball fields, DPR strives to provide a positive customer experience as measured in the Citizen Survey and recreation center comment cards. 3

The 2011 Citizen Survey contained questions seeking residents perspectives about opportunities and services related to the community s parks and recreation services. Recreation opportunities in the City of Denver were rated positively as were services related to parks and recreation. City parks were rated much higher than the benchmarks and recreation programs or classes and recreation centers or facilities were rated similar to the national average and much higher than the custom benchmark. Parks and recreation ratings have generally remained stable over time. Benchmark Comparisons: % using at least once in the last 12 months Used Denver recreation centers: Less in populations over 300,000 Participated in recreation program: Much more in populations over 300,000 Similar in national comparison and Similar in national comparison and Visited a neighborhood Park or City Park: Much more in both national and populations over 300,000 comparisons The slight decrease in 2011 recreation program participation could be related to the department s reorganization for core programs. The recreation division is tracking program participation numbers per season and making adjustments for improved participation. 4

Percent of Excellent or Good Benchmark Comparisons: City Parks: comparison and populations over 300,000 Much above both the national Recreation programs/classes: Similar to national comparison and much above populations over 300,000 Recreation centers or facilities: much above populations over 300,000 Similar to national comparison and Services found to be influential in ratings of overall service quality from the Key Driver Analysis were: Snow Removal Municipal Courts City Parks Of these services, the City Parks Services in Denver were above the benchmark and should continue to ensure high quality performance. 5

The Game Plan was developed in 2003 and is divided into two broad parts: Offers a 50 year physical vision of Denver as a City in a Park: ideas for the future, as well as ideas for today. Recommends short and long-term policy, management, and community actions to implement the vision. The Game Plan clarifies values that the people of Denver expressed as important for their parks and recreation system. All Game Plan recommendations are made with these values in mind. Sustainability Protection and wise management of existing and future resources is a #1 priority. Without policies and the availability of adequate funding to keep even with the current physical resources in good condition, discussions about vision, new trends, and expansions are meaningless. Equity Equity doesn t imply equally dividing the annual budget pie or providing identical amenities for everyone, but means comparable distribution, access and quality across the city. Parks, parkways, natural areas, and recreation centers should vary across the city, reflecting geography as well as the needs, character, and history of neighborhoods. Access to open space and facilities should be equitably distributed across the city and applying equally high standards of quality construction, programs, and maintenance across the city and physically accessible to all populations. Engagement Highly successful parks and recreation departments anticipate, respond to, involve, and respect their users. Engagement means that Denver residents are encouraged to participate in every aspect of the parks and recreation system, including programming, park design and maintenances. Denverites are encouraged to take an active stewardship role as volunteers and advocates. DPR resources are also strengthened and leveraged through innovative partnerships with other agencies and organizations dedicated to open spaces and recreation. Sound Economics Ensuring a sustainable parks and recreation system requires adequate funding. Emphasis is placed on the need for creative sources for both operating and capital dollars. Our ability to develop new parks and programs depends upon our ability to maintain our current system while securing funds for improvements and acquisitions. This requires realistic and sustainable economic practices and dependable revenues as well as skilled staff to develop and manage high-quality programs and facilities. These values are the determining criteria for allocating resources, for DPR management and accountability, for continuing our partnership with the public, and for protecting Denver s open spaces for the future. 6

Our Peak Performance Plan is based upon these values or Goals of the Game Plan. Under each Value/Goal are listed Strategies that will be addressed over the course of this next year. Each Strategy will me monitored on a quarterly basis in order to track progress of meeting the stated outcomes. Details of these strategies, tactics and measures are listed on upcoming slides. 7

Improving/updating the irrigation systems within the parks division is essential to best manage our water usage, park maintenance and sustainability efforts in the department. Right now we have 826 units in our inventory, of which 339 are central control and 487 still need to be upgraded. However, a portion of the 339 still need to be upgraded to our standard of flow sensor and master valve. The Central Control Master Plan is the guiding plan to implement a unified irrigation control system across the entire Parks system. Water Conservation has begun implementation of the Central Control Master Plan (CCMP), with funding by Denver Water s 10% Match of the Denver Better Bond. The conversion of stand-alone controllers to central control began with the Northeast district. Assessment of individual sites was made to evaluate the suitability for conversion to central control, consolidation of multiple controllers, installation of master valves and flow sensors, cost, and priority. Determination was made to bid installation on more challenging projects and utilize Parks in-house Citywide services to accomplish the conversion of less complicated installations. During the first phase of the CCMP (2011-2012) Parks in-house Citywide Services is replacing 48 standalone units with Sentinel satellites, and contracted upgrades will replace 29 standalone units. 143 units have been added or replaced with Sentinel Central Control as a result of Parks Planning projects (Better Denver Bond, CIP). 23 units were replaced or added due to the addition of new irrigated acres and other agency projects on Park land (such as CDOT, Public Works, TREX, and RTD). 8

This graph shows the park irrigation use over the past 3 years and projection for 2012 based on target of 27 /acre. $4.5 million is the annual water budget for the department. With the changes in water policies and the irrigation central controls, we re able to reduce water usage historically over the past 3 years. We budget for a 28 /acre average however, we ve been able to reduce that due to weather and budget savings. 9

Audubon Society Certification at Golf courses: Since 2007, Denver Parks and Recreation has been working collaboratively with Greenprint Denver to achieve its Water and Environmental goals to reduce water consumption and return parts of Denver back to their original prairie and native grasses. Denver Golf is following the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP) guidelines to become Audubon certified at 6 City-owned/managed golf courses. ACSP certification is a six-step process that requires organizations to develop and implement environmental management plans. According to Audubon International, which oversees the certification, management practices in six key areas will be evaluated and achieved in order to receive this prestigious certification: Site Assessment and Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Water Quality, Water Conservation, Chemical Use and Reduction, and Outreach and Education. Denver Golf has been working towards achieving this certification by implementing the required changes, management practices and receiving certification at each course in one of the six ACSP areas per year. Through this process, Denver golf courses are halfway through the certification process, with a goal of having all six courses certified in 2015. City Park Golf Course Chemical Use and Reduction (2012), Water Quality (2013) Harvard Gulch Course Water Quality (2012), Wildlife and Habitat (2013) 10

Tree planting is an important part of the long-term maintenance of Denver s canopy cover. This strategy is one of many efforts that are occurring on a city-wide basis both on public and private property to increase Denver s canopy. This Strategy focuses only on City property within the park districts. We will be working to assure that the trees that are removed within our park system due to disease, damage and age are replaced. In an effort to efficiently achieve this objective, forestry staff will focus on replacing 1,000 trees per year rotating counter clockwise through our park districts (Southwest 2012, East 2013, Northeast 2014, Northwest 2015 and then repeating). Newly planted trees will need establishment care for a 2-year period, and therefore Forestry will be caring for 2,000 young trees every year as we continue this rotation. 11

This graph demonstrates the number of trees that were removed from public land and the number of replacement trees. As you can see, there have been a few years where the number of trees removed is greater than the number that were replaced. An 18% goal for our tree canopy was stated in the Infrastructure study (circa 2004 2006) which generated the most recent incarnations/allocations of CIP, Better Denver Bond and created the need for One Million Trees Initiative (aka Mile High Million). The goal was to increase canopy cover from 8% to 18% canopy cover within the City and County of Denver. (The canopy mapping in 2005 2006 revised the initial 8% to slightly over 10% because of improved satellite imagery collection, etc.) Throughout the City, The Park People, Denver Digs Trees and the Mile High Million are working towards increasing Denver s Tree Canopy through tree sales, volunteer planting efforts, and tree distribution for public and private property. All construction projects in Denver has a Development Review that must meet established standards for tree planting and tree preservation. 12

Currently DPS serves 72,422 Kindergarten 12 th grade students Denver Parks and Recreation current youth membership visits total 190,880 for youth ages 5-17 In order to attract more youth into the recreation centers, we will be implementing a Universal Youth Card which will allow free access to Denver s Recreation Centers for all DPS students. Increasing youth engagement in our recreation centers will increase skill development, provide a positive and safe environment for our young people to learn, play and succeed. Implementing the Universal Youth Card, our goal is to increase youth membership visits by 10% which will increase the total number of youth visits to 210,000 in 2013. 13

These graphs show the visits for youth for 2010, 2011 and through May of 2012. As you can see in the 2010 and 2011 graphs, there is a spike in drop-in visits during the months of June and July due to the Free Summer program for Denver youth at our recreation centers and outdoor swimming pools. 14

The development of the asset study began in 2011 and involved DPR staff from planning, design, parks, and recreation divisions, Denver s Budget management office, Design Concepts consultant, and the CU School of Business students and Professional Asset Managers. A database has been designed, and a plan has been developed for evaluating the quality and condition of park assets. This plan will: Identify the financial commitment required to maintain our aging system and growing backlog of capital repairs Determine the necessary funding for system upgrades, improvements and expansions Establish a preventative maintenance and lifecycle repair schedule of assets Improve the ability to provide innovative programs and facilities Build a base to fully recognize, improve, document and celebrate the Economic Value, Social Value, and Environmental Value of Denver Parks and Recreation Provide evidence based needs for adequate funding 15

This program will provide youth exposure to stewardship and work experiences. By utilizing more youth and interns, we should achieve more projects completed, more weeds removed and more native planting to enhance riparian areas. 16

Photo of 2012 summer s park interns and park staff mentors 17

This resource will allow the parks division to track labor costs by tasks and locations This data will be used to measure the level of Park Maintenance standards that are being met. Identification of best practices and efficiencies will be a significant outcome for this project. 18

The recreation division strives to provide exemplary customer service through the recreation centers and programs. We are committed to continuing these efforts and strengthening our service delivery by improving our internal processes. In 2011, the recreation division began collecting customer feedback regarding the Appearance of the Center, Staff s willingness to Assist, Employee Knowledge, Service Satisfaction and Likeliness to Recommend to others. This feedback provides information from current customers and our goal it to have all recreation centers achieve a rating of 4 or above in all areas of measurement. The following slides have a sample of the Customer Comment Cards. As part of this strategy, we will implement additional customer service trainings, improve operational procedures and establish clear expectation for all front desk and first line staff. In addition, we would like to implement a secret shopper program. 19

Sample of the Customer Survey Card that is currently being utilized in the recreation centers 20

Sample of the Customer Comment Card that is currently being used in the recreation centers There are Customer Comment Boxes in all of the recreation centers. 21

The Department of Parks and Recreation will be involved with many projects over the course of this next year that will prove beneficial to the overall departmental operations. All of these Improvement Efforts are detailed in the supplemental handout/attachment for the Peak Performance Plan. 22

Parks and Recreation s next quarterly review will be in September 2012. 23