03.16.22 PRAB Packet Study SessionPARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
Virtual Meeting - Study Session
6:00 p.m., March 16, 2022
100 Years of Excellence
Boulder Parks & Recreation
Advisory Board Members 2022
Raj Seymour (Chair)
Pamela Yugar (Vice Chair)
Charles Brock
Elliott Hood
Mary Scott
Jason Unger
Mission Statement
BPRD will promote the health and well-
being of the entire Boulder community
by collaboratively providing high- quality
parks, facilities and programs.
Vision Statement
We envision a community where every
member’s health and well- being is
founded on unparalleled parks, facilities
and programs.
Goals of the Master Plan
1. Community Health and Wellness
2. Taking Care of What We Have
3. Financial Sustainability
4. Building Community
5. Youth Engagement
6. Organizational Readiness
For more information on BPRD Master
Plan visit the City of Boulder web site
at: https://bouldercolorado.gov/pages/
parks-recreation-master-plan
AGENDA
All agenda times are approximate
/͘ APPROVAL OF AGENDA
//͘ ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/INFORMATION
A.Master Plan Update: Phase 4 Draft Implementation Plan
III͘ NEXT BOARD MEETING:
Regular Meeting: : 6:00 p.m. Monday, March 28 2022
IV. ADJOURN
C I T Y O F B O U L D E R
PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA ITEM
MEETING DATE: March 16, 2022
AGENDA TITLE: Master Plan Update: Phase 4 Draft Implementation Plan
PRESENTERS:
Alison Rhodes, Director, Parks and Recreation Department
Regina Elsner, Planning and Ecological Services Manager - Interim
Tina Briggs, Parks Planner
Becky Zimmermann, Principal, Design Workshop
Eric Krohngold, Project Manager, Design Workshop
Sarah Horn, Planner, Design Workshop
PURPOSE OF STUDY SESSION:
The primary purpose of the study session is for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
(PRAB) to provide input on the strategic actions of the BPR Master Plan Update. This
includes discussion of:
1. The role of equity and mapping in decision-making
2. The policies, goals and initiatives for each of the six key themes
3. The primary policy shifts identified as part of the master plan process
The Master Plan Update identifies that for BPR to maintain financial s ustainability,
several shifts must occur:
• Services and service levels (what we do and how we do it) must be evaluated to
determine those that may be reduced or discontinued to allow BPR to continue
those that are most important to the community.
• Additional and stable funding must be identified to:
o Close the existing gaps for funding operations, renovation, and
refurbishment
o Ensure BPR services can meet the city’s climate commitments
o Continue existing subsidized, community benefit programming
o Add more subsidized programming for priority community members
• Investments in new parks, facilities, or programs will only be done to address gaps
in providing core services equitably throughout the community.
• Services that can generate excess revenue will be optimized to provide intra-fund
subsidy.
BACKGROUND:
PRAB has been engaged multiple times throughout the Master Plan Update. Figure 1 below
provides a snapshot of the process to date and current status . The project is nearing the end
of the Implementation Plan phase, where important prioritization discussions are necessary
to ensure that BPR is aligning resources and capacity with the needs of the community.
Engagement has been critical throughout the life of the project, and especially so during
this Implementation Plan phase. During the October 2021 and December 2021 PRAB
meetings, PRAB reviewed and provided input on the key theme overview statements,
policy statements and draft goals. The project team engaged stakeholders and staff in
November 2021 to brainstorm draft goals and initiatives based on the needs identified by
the community in the previous phase of the project. In January 2022, the project team
engaged the community in a conversation to identify the most important work for BPR to
focus on first. The rough notes and comments received throughout these engagement
activities is provided in Attachment D.
Figure 1. BPR Master Plan Update Process as of March 2022
Project Approach
As a reminder from previous PRAB engagement with the project, the Master Plan Update
is broken into five phases. The list below provides a high-level description of the
milestones, deliverables or meetings for each phase that will result in a final Master Plan
and provides an update as to what has been completed to date:
Project Initiation and Kick-off
Kick-off Meetings to confirm project critical success factors, schedule and risk
management
Draft Public Engagement Plan outlining the four engagement windows
Formation and meetings with BPR staff Management Technical Advisory
Group (MTAG) and Working Technical Advisory Group (WTAG)
November 23 PRAB Meeting
December 8 City Council Study Session
Development of master plan graphic themes, templates, and table of contents
Informational video to support community engagement
Research and Trends
Update of 2012-14 White Papers that provide information, research and best
practices to inform the update – In Progress throughout the project until final
drafts are complete.
Past Planning Efforts Review to pull out key takeaways and cross -reference
planning efforts since the 2014 master plan to white paper topics
December 15 White Paper Charette with BPR staff and consultant team to
identify research gaps and prioritize content to inform the current state snapshot
Four stakeholder focus groups in 2021 to uncover on-the-ground trends,
challenges and opportunities
System overview snapshot to provide graphic, high-level overview of the
current state of BPR parks and recreation facilities.
April 12, 2021 PRAB Meeting
Needs Assessment
Review and update of BPR facilities inventory and assessment
Gap analysis updates to the per capita level of service tables for 2020 and future
population projection point
New gap analysis map or analysis around equity
Supply and demand trends memo and maps
Statistically valid survey with Spanish version as well as open participation link
Benchmark update of 2014 study
Scenario planning and draft strategy matrix
Needs Assessment Report to summarize the needs of the community
May 24, 2021 PRAB Meeting- Youth Voice presentation
July 12, 2021 PRAB Meeting
July 27, 2021 City Council Study Session
Implementation Plan
Draft implementation plan– Study Session Discussion
Draft plan on a page that highlights big moves of master plan– Study Session
Discussion
Financial overview and funding strategies memo– Study Session Discussion
Master Plan Acceptance
Master Plan Draft #1 (word document)
Master Plan Draft #2 (graphic, PDF document)
Master Plan Draft #3 (PDF)
Master Plan Final Document
DISCUSSION:
The primary purpose of the study session is to provide input on the strategic actions of the
BPR Master Plan Update. This includes:
1. The role of equity and mapping in decision-making
2. The policies, goals and initiatives for each of the six key themes
3. The primary policy shifts identified as part of the master plan process
Equity and Mapping
New to this Master Plan Update is the addition of mapping that identifies inequities in the
distribution of the BPR system and areas of higher need for access to services provided
by BPR. Attachment B describes the mapping developed as well as how it can further
inform the investment decisions BPR makes. The attachment also outlines a case study
for East Boulder that illustrates how this set of mapping can influence decisions made for
investments and priorities that is data-driven.
Questions for PRAB
1. Do you have any questions about the levels of service metrics utilized for this
analysis?
2. Do you have any questions about the indicator data used to develop the Need
Prioritization Index?
Draft Implementation Plan
The draft Implementation Plan (Attachment A) is outlines the priority work for BPR
through policies, goals, and initiatives. The Implementation Plan also drives discussions
about how BPR prioritizes this work with the existing financial reality of the department.
Through an extensive community engagement process spanning since September 2021,
the policies, goals, and initiatives have been drafted and initially prioritized by the
community. Below, as a reminder, are the working definitions of policies, goals, and
initiatives.
POLICY
Provides clear direction for what BPR will achieve the intention of the key themes.
Policies are driven by decision-makers representing the Boulder community, including
the Boulder City Council and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. They provide
direction and set the framework within which BPR operates by supporting consistent and
transparent decision-making and operations. They also lay the groundwork for the
development of BPR goals and initiatives and must be followed.
GOAL
Result that requires time and planning
Goals are the long-term results BPR would like to achieve to fulfill its mission, vision
and policy.
INITIATIVE
Action taken to accomplish goal
Initiatives are discrete activities and/or projects BPR staff work on to meet the Master
Plan goals. They are specific and measurable and define how the work will be
accomplished.
PRAB initially provided input on the policy statements in October 2021, with follow up
in December 2021. Also in December 2021, PRAB provide input on the draft goals and
initiatives. Discussion for the study session will be focused primarily on the initiatives as
provided within Attachment A. Figure 2 below illustrates to work reviewed by PRAB to
date on the content of the Implementation Plan.
Figure 2. PRAB's review to date
During the study session, for each of the key themes, the PRAB is asked to consider the
following questions:
1. The policies and goals in this document reflect the conversations of the PRAB
in October and December 2021. Has the project team accurately captured your
input?
2. Focusing on the initiatives:
a. Has the work to be done in the next five years been accurately
captured?
b. Is there anything missing?
c. Do the goals and initiatives make sense in common language?
The PRAB will also be discussing the key policy shifts outlined below. Based on
research and evaluation by experts in the field of parks and recreation finances, BPR has
accomplished many of the financial goals and shifts outlined within the 2014 Master Plan
to achieve financial sustainability. Attachment C is a report developed by Ballard King
outlining BPR’s financial realities and recommendations for the future. For example,
findings include that: BPR maximizes the use dedicated taxes and general fund subsidies
to provide existing services at minimum service levels and that BPR also has a robust
evaluation in place to determine community benefit programming and appropriate
subsidies and cost recovery rates for its recreation programs. While there are still
opportunities for small adjustments to continue improvement, larger moves will be
required in the coming years for BPR to maintain financial sustainability and meet the
needs of the community.
Based on research and expert advice, below are several policy shifts that must be
considered and approved by the PRAB and ultimately City Council to maintain BPR’s
financial sustainability.
The Master Plan Update identifies that for BPR to maintain financial sustainability,
several policy shifts must occur:
• Services and service levels (what we do and how we do it) must be evaluate d to
determine those that may be reduced or discontinued to allow BPR to continue
those that are most important to the community.
• Additional and stable funding must be identified to:
o Close the existing gaps for funding operations, renovation, and
refurbishment
o Ensure BPR services can meet the city’s climate commitments
o Continue existing subsidized, community benefit programming
o Add more subsidized programming for priority community members
• Investments in new parks, facilities, or programs will only be done to address gaps
in providing core services equitably throughout the community.
• Services that can generate excess revenue will be optimized to provide intra -fund
subsidy.
Discussion Questions for PRAB
1. What questions do you have about the policy shifts?
2. Do any of these policy shifts give you pause? Why?
3. Do you support these policy shifts? Why?
NEXT STEPS:
Following the study session discussion will be incorporating PRAB’s feedback into the
first full draft of the Master Plan Update. Below is the current anticipated schedule for
completion of the Master Plan Update.
March 28: PRAB update on Action Plan
April 26: City Council Study Session on draft Master Plan Update
April TBD: Final window of community engagement on draft Master Plan Update
May 23: PRAB Discussion Item on draft Master Plan Update
June 27: PRAB Action Item recommending acceptance of Master Plan Update
July TBD: Planning Board public hearing recommending acceptance of Master Plan
Update
July TBD: City Council public hearing for acceptance of Master Plan Update
Attachments:
Attachment A: Draft Implementation Plan
Attachment B: Equity and Mapping Appendix
Attachment C: Balancing Community Needs with the Financial Realities Report
Attachment D: Draft Window #3 Public Engagement Notes
Attachment A: Draft Implementation Plan
MEMORANDUM
To: Regina Elsner, BPR
From: Design Workshop
Date: March 3, 2022
Project Name: Boulder Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update
Project #: 6444
Subject: Implementation Plan Memorandum
Copy To: File
Introduction & Memorandum Purpose
This Implementation Plan Memorandum is part of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department Master Plan Update. This memorandum
fulfills scope deliverable 4.1, providing updates to six key themes established in the 2014 Master Plan, including updated policies, goals,
initiatives, and desired projects and programs that are reflective of the community and the community’s vision for the future of Boulder
Parks and Recreation. The information contained in this memorandum will be used to inform the implementation recommendations of the
Master Plan Update.
Implementation Plan Process
Recommendations, goals and initiatives in this implementation memorandum were collected through a multifaceted public engagement
and research effort which included public and staff workshops, interviews, surveys, and micro-engagements with the Boulder community.
The following section details the engagement and research efforts that were used to inform this Implementation Memorandum.
Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Engagement
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) were engaged throughout the Implementation plan phase of the project, reviewing the
key theme overview statements, policies, and draft goals and initiatives. Their input helped shape the language contained wit hin this
memorandum.
Community Engagement
Stakeholder Engagement
Staff hosted an in-person workshop with department stakeholders to review the findings of the Needs Assessment Report. At this world
café-style workshop, stakeholders were able to share their thoughts on how BPR should go about the work of meeting the needs identified
by the community. These conversations were the foundation for the draft goals and initiatives developed in this phase of the project.
BeHeardBoulder.org Online Engagement
To gather input from the community on how BPR should prioritize departmental goals for the Master Plan Update, an online survey was
created and advertised through multiple print and digital communications. The survey asked the community to prioritize the goals under
each key theme. The initiatives were provided for each goal to provide more in-depth understanding of each goal. Community members
also had the opportunity to provide open ended comments for each key theme.
Virtual Public Workshop
Staff hosted a virtual public workshop to discuss goal prioritization with the community. An informational presentation was followed by
discussion in breakout rooms. Each breakout room focused on a specific key theme. Each breakout room facilitator hosted a dis cussion,
took notes, and reported the discussion highlights to the main group.
Landscape Architecture
Planning
Urban Design
Strategic Services
1390 Lawrence Street
Suite 100
Denver, Colorado 80204
303.623.5186
303.623.2260 fax
designworkshop.com
Spanish First Virtual Public Workshop
A Spanish-first virtual public workshop was hosted for Spanish speaking community members. Participants gathered to discuss, in their
native language, the goals as they relate to their experiences and needs.
BPR Staff Engagement
Staff Workshop
Following the stakeholder workshop, the project team hosted an in-person staff workshop to review the findings of the Needs Assessment
Report and brainstorm ideas for meeting the needs identified by the community. Along with the input provided by stakeholders, these
discussions were the foundation for the draft goals and initiatives developed in this phase of the project.
Management Technical Advisory Group and Working Technical Advisory Group Workshop
The project team hosted a virtual Management Technical Advisory Group/Working Technical Advisory Group (MTAG/WTAG) workshop to
discuss specific projects and programs for parks, facilities and programs. The MTAG and WTAG are specific teams of staff that have been
working throughout this planning process to help shape the plan. An informational presentation was followed by discussion in three
breakout rooms. Each breakout room focused on fiscally constrained, action and vision budgeting scenarios. Breakout room facilitators
hosted discussions, took notes, and reported the discussion highlights to the main group.
Departmental Interviews
Design Workshop conducted interviews with seven departments or workgroups throughout the city: Climate Initiatives, OSMP, Facilities,
Equity, Transportation, HHS and Finance. The interviews identif ied common policy and capital goals, shared community goals,
opportunities for collaboration, overlap between the work each group does and the work BPR does, and how both can maximize and best
achieve shared goals and visions for community. This information was used to update the goals and initiatives and add detail to the
projects and programs under each budgeting scenario.
Ballard King
To inform best practices around operations and programming, the Implementation Plan process includes an assessment the depart ments
existing programs and services by Ballard King, a recreation consulting firm specializing in parks and/or recreation master plans,
operational audits and assessments for recreation, sports and wellness facilities, and management solutions for parks and recreation
departments or organizations.
*All findings and recommendations from Ballard King’s Assessment are included as an appendix item to this memorandum.
Financial Framework & Budgeting Scenarios
Adopted in 2006, The City of Boulder’s budgeting strategy requires each department to acknowledge and plan for multiple revenue
scenarios. These scenarios are intended to enable departments to proactively plan for outcomes in which revenues remain flat or increase.
The following section summarizes the three budgeting Plan Alternatives in which future projects and programs are assigned.
Fiscally Constrained
The Fiscally Constrained alternative plans for prioritized spending within existing budget targets. The intention of this alternative is to
refocus and make the most of existing resources with the primary goal being for the department to maintain services. The actions
associated with the Fiscally Constrained alternative require limited or no funding to accomplish and are focused on providing or enhancing
core and/or existing services.
Action
The Action alternative describes the extra services or capital improvement that could be undertaken when additional funding is available.
This includes strategically enhancing existing programs, beginning new alternative programs, adding new positions, or making other
strategic changes that would require additional operational or capital funding. In coordination with the Central Budget Department, PRAB,
and City Council, BPR would evaluate and analyze potential sources of additional revenue, including but not limited to capital bond
funding, program income, grants and existing or new taxes.
Vision
The Vision alternative represents the complete set of services and facilities desired by the community. It is fiscally unconstrained but can
help provide policy guidance by illustrating the ultimate goals of the community and by providing a long-range look to address future needs
and deficiencies. In this Master Plan Update, the Vision alternative addresses aging facilities to make improvements in operational
effectiveness and the overall sustainability of the park and recreation system.
Budgeting for Resilience
To incorporate better performance metrics, higher levels of collaboration, and a more transparent approach to the budget ing process, the
city has begun implementing the Budgeting for Community Resilience Framework. Budgeting for Community Resilience encourages the
city and BPR to build greater resilience, with more robust and flexible systems for budget decision making, service delivery model
optimization, and to create a framework for the continuous measurement and evaluation of services and programs over time through key
performance indicators with an emphasis on resilience. Beginning in mid-year adjustments in 2020, the city began classifying programs
and services into the four Budgeting for Community Resiliency categories: essential, important, helpful and amenity. Funding is prioritized
for essential and important services, while more work and discussion is needed to understand and define all services and serv ice levels.
BPR System Elements
Parks, Recreation Facilities, and Recreation Programs are the three major elements that form Boulder’s parks and recreation system.
These three elements, in combination with the three budgeting alternatives of Fiscally Constrained, Action, and Vision, are used to
prioritize the specific projects and programs in this Master Plan Update. The following definitions should be used to define parks, facilities
and programs in the context of the BPR system.
Parks are the land base that provides areas for active and passive recreation as well as the location of park and recreation assets. This
system of parks has a unique balance of developed urban areas with amenities as well as natural features like the urban canopy.
Recreation Facilities are the major park assets that provide both active and passive recreation opportunities, from aquatics facilities to
recreation centers.
Recreation Programs are the planned activities that provide instruction, socialization, competition and learning to a w ide range of
community members and visitors to Boulder within parks and recreation facilities.
Implementation Plan Elements
Equity and Resilience
The principles of equity and resilience are woven throughout each key theme and their corresponding polices, goals and initiatives.
Equity: The City of Boulder is leading its equity work with racial equity , as race is often the greatest predictor of access to success in the
current system. Racial equity is providing everyone what they need to be successful by taking race and the impacts of racism into account.
This is distinct from racial equality, which is treating everyone the same. Racial equity is the condition that would be achi eved if someone’s
racial identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how they fare. Racial equity is one part of racial justice, so it also includes work to
address root causes of inequities, not just their manifestation. This includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural
messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or that fail to eliminate them.
Resilience: Resilience is the capacity to prepare and plan for disruptions, to recover from shocks and stresses, and to adapt and grow fr om
those experiences. Since the 2014 Master Plan, the department has experienced annual fluctuations in revenue, natural disasters, climate
events, the pandemic, and other dynamic situations that require strategic response systems. In addition, the Master Plan Update also
focuses on a proactive approach to minimize the impacts of environmental shocks and stresses related to global climate change. BPR has
a role in ensuring the city meets its climate commitments through all its services.
Introduction to Key Themes
The Master Plan Update is organized around six key themes originally developed during the 2014 master planning process. These key
themes continue to be the framework for all aspects of this Master Plan Update, including the policies, goals, and initiatives of the
implementation plan. These themes are clearly defined by overview statements that give the overall intent and background information to
explain why the theme is important.
Definitions
The elements of the six key themes are Policies, Goals, and Initiatives. The following definitions should be used.
Policy: Provides clear direction for what BPR will achieve within the intention of the key themes. Policies are driven by decision-makers
representing the Boulder community, including the Boulder City Council and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. They provide
direction and help set the framework within which BPR operates by supporting consistent operations and transparent decision-making.
They also lay the groundwork for the development of BPR goals and initiatives and must be followed.
Goal: Result that requires time and planning. Goals, which are influenced by the master planning process, are the long -term results BPR
would like to achieve to fulfill its mission, vision, and policy. Feedback was gathering during public engagement efforts to guide BPR in how
goals should be prioritized. Goals are listed in the priority order in which the community felt they should be pursued.
Initiative: Action taken to accomplish goal. Initiatives are activities and/or projects BPR st aff work on to meet the goals. They are specific
and measurable.
Master Plan Key Themes, Policies, Goals & Initiatives
Key Theme: Building Community and Relationships
Build a connected community through outreach programs and initiatives. Create social and cultural equity for healthy
relationships across our community.
Overview Statement
Parks and recreation facilities, programs and services promote community and environmental health, can help address social an d cultural
inequities. These services also help Boulder function effectively by building a strong, connected and engaged community. BPR offers a
variety of programs, spaces, events and services that foster socializing and help people learn from, understand and support e ach other.
Relationships improve and expand access, creating a more equitable and resilient parks system. Partnerships with volunteers, community
organizations, non-profits and private entities are necessary for long-term success, especially when considering constrained budgets,
staffing challenges, climate change impacts and increasing usage. Building Community & Relationships encourages a stronger, more
diverse, and more unified community, benefitting from a variety of viewpoints and life experiences. Working together, the Bou lder
community can collectively propose and implement workable solutions that care for Boulder’s parks and recreation system, helping it to be
resilient in the face of environmental, economic and social change.
Achievements Since 2014
• The Recquity Pass program, which offers subsidized facility passes, initiated over 5,000 visits in the first eight months of its operation.
• Boulder’s EXPAND program for people with disabilities offered new summer camps and sites for participants, enhancin g self-esteem
and social skills.
• 52% increase in EXPAND enrollment.
Policies
• BPR shall ensure all community members feel welcome by providing safe, accessible, and meaningful parks and recreation servic es
and experiences available to all.
• Recognizing that government makes better decisions and creates more responsive programs when the community it serves has a
meaningful voice, BPR staff shall use inclusive, equitable, transparent, and consistent communication and engagement practices.
• BPR shall build community through partnerships that foster equity, resilience, and innovation, that are mutually beneficial, mission
focused, and grounded in City of Boulder values. Partnerships are intended to maximize the impact of each partner’s funding,
knowledge, and expertise through collaboration.
• BPR shall partner with other departments to advance citywide goals related to both equity and resilience to serve the Boulder
community and proactively prepare for the future.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Build a stronger system through meaningful connections with the community
A. Prioritize equitable and inclusive outreach methods
B. Engage people in existing gatherings and solicit feedback about meaningful engagement
C. Expand virtual engagement tools and techniques
D. Foster informal relationships with like-minded organizations
E. Coordinate with the citywide Volunteer Collective to enhance community connections through volunteerism
F. Engage community groups in activity specific volunteer opportunities and/or fundraising efforts
G. Collaborate with local organizations and agencies to activate parks through art, cultural and social community events
2. Strengthen administration of partnerships
A. Develop a partnership model
B. Allocate appropriate resources to manage the model
C. Develop a community interface about the model and available resources
3. Strengthen and build partnerships
A. Develop an ongoing database of like-minded organizations
B. Identify priority gaps in services which have the opportunity be supported through partnerships
C. Prioritize partnerships that address barriers
D. Expand and improve partnerships with BVSD, local Universities and other schools
Key Theme: Community Health and Wellness
Keep Boulder emotionally and physically healthy through its parks, facilities, and programs.
Overview Statement
Nationally, regionally and in Boulder, people recognize that the parks, recreation programs, trails and natural areas improve quality of life.
They provide many measurable personal and Community Health & Wellness benefits, including increased physical and mental health,
direct contact with nature, increased opportunities for social interactions, and an understanding of environmental stewardshi p. The natural
environment we live in also provides many physical and mental health benefits. Caring for the environment that sustains us promotes
individual health and wellness. Community feedback indicates that BPR is doing a good job of providing accessible and safe parks,
facilities and programming, and encouraging physical activity. Recently, BPR has seen high levels of increased use of parks and recreation
resources. This, coupled with the city’s popularity as an outdoor mecca for tourists from around the world and visitors from across the
region, adds complexity to how BPR maintains its properties, offers recreation activities, health and wellness programs and community
services. Equitable access to parks, programming and facilities, and building a resilient system in the face of population gr owth and climate
change are essential to keeping Boulder a healthy, vibrant and inclusive community.
Achievements Since 2014
• “Healthy Together,” a grant funded program that provides low-income youth with physical activity, education and mentors in their
neighborhoods.
• Classes specifically designed for older adults are provided at facilities.
• Walk With a Doc and Be Well Saturdays have expanded wellness programs in partnership with Boulder Community Health.
• BPR currently exceeds both national and Colorado median LOS for most parks and recreation asset types.
• 211% increase in financial aid enrollments
Policies
• BPR shall continue to recognize the role the department plays in supporting the overall health and wellness of Boulder throug h
deliberate and thoughtful design and delivery of programs, facilities, parks and services that emphasize the important and unique
mission of the department to enhance the public health and wellness of the community and shall be available, accessible and
equitable to all.
• BPR shall serve as a facilitator, collaborator and leader with local organizations and partner with other city departments, local and
regional agencies in efforts to improve the community’s health and wellness, helping to increase positive outcomes in public health
trends.
• BPR staff shall refer to the Health Equity Fund Theory of Change model to strategically consider cause and effect – to support the
idea to keep track of activities, measure short and long-term outcomes, and make logical assertions that the activities of the
department relate to these outcomes.
• Recognizing the importance of accessible outdoor public spaces and ecosystems linked to many positive health outcomes, BPR shall
prioritize thoughtful planning and management of outdoor spaces to achieve overall community health goals.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Identify opportunities to improve programming and reduce barriers to access
A. Create programming where people already gather and solicit feedback about meaningful and culturally relevant services
B. Identify and prioritize opportunities to reduce barriers to access and inclusion
C. Focus on the user experience for the registration system, flexible services, and marketing
D. Explore programming that pairs different generations, abilities and cultures
E. Encourage behaviors that lead to reducing the collective citywide carbon footprint
2. Ensure BPR services meet the recreation needs of the community
A. Ensure new and renovated parks and facilities support population growth, diverse needs, and climate resilience
B. Identify opportunities to repurpose underused parkland and/or facilities
C. Follow through with previously planned phases and improvements
D. Track user satisfaction with services over time
3. Align community expectations with available resources for parks, facilities, and programs
A. Clearly communicate core services that can be provi ded with the current level of stable funding and priorities if additional funding
is available
B. Use data and community input to ensure equitable distribution and prioritization of resources
C. Increase the number of residents that have access to quality parks, facilities, programs, and services within a 15-minute walk
Key Theme: Youth Engagement and Activity
Engage youth with parks, facilities and programs that provide direct experience with nature, experiential learning and
opportunities to close the educational achievement gap.
Overview Statement
BPR plays a vital role in enhancing the mental and physical health of younger members of the Boulder community through Youth
Engagement & Activity. A growing body of research suggests that increasing children’s interactions with nature can have positive physical,
mental and spiritual benefits throughout life. The power of these benefits increases exponentially when started at a young age. While
Colorado is considered one of the healthiest states in the country and is a national leader in appreciating nature and active lifestyles,
serious physical and mental health issues are impacting youth. According to the 2018 Children’s Hospital Colorado Community H ealth
Needs Assessment, nearly one quarter of Colorado children are overweight or obese, and less than half get the recommended 60 minutes
of daily physical activity. Between 2013 and 2019, the number of high school students reporting sadness or hopelessness that increased
by more than 40% and in 2019 alone, 18% of teens participating in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey reported seriously considering
suicide. In May 2021, Children’s Hospital Colorado declared a state of emergency for youth mental health, citing 90% increase in demand
for behavioral health treatment in the previous two years. BPR can help reverse these trends by working with youth mental health
providers to offer programming and services targeted to children’s and teens’ specific needs, supporting physical and mental health, civic
pride, community belonging, environmental stewardship and healthy living for life.
Achievements Since 2014
• Over 1,800 youth were served through diverse & popular BPR, and partner supported summer camp offerings.
• The Youth Services Initiative (YSI) program was awarded a grant to implement the SPARK After School Physical Activity Program. It
offers after school and summer programming to enhance youth (6-18 years old) physical activity and fitness.
• 141% increase in daily participation of youth
Policies
• BPR shall enhance the health, safety, resilience and overall development of Boulder’s youth through parks, facilities and services.
• BPR shall support family activities that benefit youth and build a strong sense of community and place, encourage a culture o f
environmental stewardship, and promote their perseverance.
• When considering capital improvements, BPR staff should use all available data and metrics available to prioritize amenities and
features that encourage youth activity, participation and healthy lifestyles such as pr oviding nature-based play spaces, innovative teen
areas and engagement opportunities for children and youth in parks and public spaces managed by BPR.
• Given the increasing health challenges facing children, youth and older adults, BPR shall prioritize par ks and facility upgrades,
programs and services that support positive health outcomes for these specific populations in Boulder.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Focus on the physical and mental health of teens
A. Explore programs for the physical and mental health needs of teens.
B. Focus on programming to keep teens occupied and engaged
C. Create programming that focuses on beginner skills for older youth
D. Involve teens in decision-making
E. Implement more volunteer and leadership opportunities
2. Utilize community partnerships to expand recreational opportunities (duplicative for teens, discuss with PRAB)
A. Create list of existing service providers focused on youth and teens as potential partners for programming and shared resources
B. Establish, maintain and prioritize new community partnerships that supplement capacity and resources and create innovative
pathways to engage youth and teens
C. Work with local organizations to develop youth recreation services and volunteer opportunities that focus on culture and in clude
family activities
D. Work with PLAY Boulder Foundation to enhance PlayPass program
3. Integrate more passive and active recreation opportunities for kids into existing services
A. Encourage kids to be active and develop healthy lifestyles
B. Continue to explore nature play opportunities
C. Develop models for nature clubs or family nature outings
D. Consider ‘drop-in teen times’ at the recreation centers and pools and teen nights with teen-focused special event
Key Theme: Taking Care of What We Have
Prioritize investments in existing parks and facilities.
Overview Statement
Boulder currently manages over 100 parks and facilities and must carefully manage these amenities to ensure community members have
access to enjoy the outdoors and to recreate. In fact, a recent trend of public lands being “loved to death” is evident at bo th national and
local levels due to the increasing demand for parks and recreation services and is expected to continue for many years. Beyond the built
parks and facilities, taking care of the land, water and air in the BPR system is critical for the community’s long -term sustainability. Boulder
residents feel that existing assets are sufficiently maintained an d BPR is doing a good job of continuing to maintain its parks and facilities
given constrained resource and aging infrastructure. Community members want BPR to continue to prioritize maintaining and enh ancing
existing assets before building new facilities. Taking Care of What We Have now requires a more strategic approach to prioritizing
maintenance needs and developing more flexibility around programming and services. BPR will need to ensure decisions promote
equitable access and help maintain a resilient parks and recreation system.
Achievements Since 2014
• Voter approved financial support allowed us to invest in neighborhood parks, with 15 renovated.
• BPR staff has implemented a Zero-Waste program in all parks.
• BPR completed construction on two popular facilities – Scott Carpenter Pool and the Boulder Reservoir Visitor Center and finished
several plans that outline future priority infrastructure improvements.
• 41% reduction in backlog repairs
Policies
• BPR shall prioritize financial resources to manage all a ssets to ensure safe, clean and accessible parks and facilities by implementing
a life cycle approach for investment in preventative, regular and capital maintenance guided by condition assessments, asset
criticality, community input, equity, resilience, and feasibility.
• BPR shall recognize living systems as infrastructure and strategically focus on an integrated ecosystem approach to operations and
management related to the urban forest, natural lands and parks that supports city-wide climate goals through implementing new
technology, best practices and innovative strategies. BPR shall prioritize ecosystem services to achieve immediate results sp ecified in
relevant plans such as the Urban Forest Strategic Plan, Natural Lands Management Plans and the Capital Investment Strategic Plan,
among others.
• While planning and implementing capital maintenance and enhancements to existing assets, BPR shall recognize the importance o f
providing relevant and meaningful parks and facilities that inspire the community to co ntinue active lifestyles and respond to latest
trends in recreation.
• BPR shall actively work to minimize the contribution of BPR facilities, programs, and operations to total emissions of climat e forcing
pollutants, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and soot. These efforts should include consideration of the total lifecycle
emissions of materials and equipment used by BPR and will include the emissions programs and policies create via induced trav el.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Provide well-maintained and multi-use parks and recreation facilities
A. Develop plans to ensure Boulder's recreation centers can serve the community for the next 50 years
B. Update labor standards based upon available resources and to focus on highest priority assets
C. Explore opportunities and planning scenarios for desired improvements
D. Collaborate with other departments during the project planning process to identify efficiencies and cost saving opportunities
E. Clarify process and prioritization of projects to address def iciencies in existing parks
F. Conduct a needs-based mapping process to inform where in the community additional facility and/or program investments
should be made
G. Define, collect, and analyze criteria to measure the success of parks, facilities, and programs
2. Ensure BPR’s Asset Management Program (AMP) is consistently and clearly implemented
A. Develop a standardized process to define maintenance responsibilities, asset specific service & maintenance plans, inspection
schedules, and component and/or asset replacement dates
B. Develop training curricula to educate staff on an ongoing basis
C. Collaborate with OSMP, Boulder County and other regional partners to research and develop common best practices
D. Conduct assessments on all major assets on a regular basis and have a full digitized plan for regular maintenance
E. Continue to expand utilization of data-driven decision making and investments
F. Finalize and regularly use criteria to prioritize assets based upon consequence of failure
3. Budget for the operation, maintenance, and replacement including replacement of existing assets
A. Calculate and analyze the Total Cost for Facility ownership by tracking expenditures for operation and maintenance (O&M) and
capital replacement to ensure sufficient funding availability for the full life of the park or facility
B. Annually update the Current Replacement Value (CRV) of department assets
C. Annually identify O&M related expenses to ensure that sufficient funds are being spent for upkeep
D. Utilize all relevant plans, such as the UFSP and HiPP, to inform budgeting
E. Develop a long-term strategy to close gaps in O&M and capital funding and address critical asset needs
4. Implement ecosystem and facility improvements that support achieving the city’s climate commitments
A. Ensure that capital projects use sustainable building materials and processes and improve energy efficiency where feasible and
appropriate
B. Implement the recommendations of the Urban Forest Strategic Plan to support a healthy urban tree canopy
C. Develop a Natural Lands Management Plan
D. Develop a Water Resources Plan
Key Theme: Financial Sustainability
Balance the many demands with existing resources. Recognize the need to focus on core services and the priorities of the
community.
Overview Statement
Boulder’s parks, facilities and programs provide many positive community benefits and are funded by a mix of sources. While m ost park
services are fully subsidized by taxes, most recreation services are funded by user fees. Stakeholders and community leaders recognize
the limits to public funding and the need to focus on ensuring community dollars are focused on services that provide the most community
benefit. BPR has continued to provide high levels of service while revenues have remained mostly flat, and expenditures have continued to
rise. At the current pace, BPR must consider prioritizing services and identifying alternative funding sources as the current funding doesn’t
meet the demand and expenses to achieve the community’s goals. Staff must determin e the highest and best use of services and facilities,
setting maintenance priorities, and working to provide the right financial support for those who need it most. Balancing mult iple and
increasing demands with limited resources is difficult. BPR is committed to finding creative ways to achieve Financial Sustainability, while
delivering high quality programming and facilities, and constructing, operating, and maintaining both the built and natural e nvironments that
sustain the community, providing equitab le access to these resources.
Achievements Since 2014
• From 2014-2020, 16,621 volunteers gave 172,699 total hours of their time to BPR projects and maintenance efforts, allowing staff to
focus on other issues, helping ensure financial sustainability.
• BPR outsourced dance, pottery, competitive gymnastics and some summer camps to community partners, allowing BPR to focus
more resources on higher-level community-benefit and recreation level programming.
Policies
• BPR shall continue to categorize services using the PRAB-approved Recreation Priority index (RPI), which objectively determines
community benefit of a service to inform appropriate subsidy level and cost recovery target.
• BPR shall determine the actual cost of an activity or service using a standardized method that emphasizes consistency of data inputs,
analysis methods, and to track and monitor financial performance of services consistently and uniformly.
• BPR shall explore all feasible funding strategies to manage existing assets and conti nue to foster key partnerships and strategies to
leverage funding with other means such as donations, sponsorships, foundational support and philanthropy to support BPR provi sion
of community goals and expectations in all aspects of operations, programs an d capital investment.
• Recognizing the increasing gap in funding related to expenses outpacing revenues, BPR shall develop strategies to increase fu nding
through a variety of means to meet the community goals and expectations outlined in the master plan.
• BPR shall use the Asset Management Program to ensure limited funding is prioritized annually to manage the most critical assets
while considering retirement of assets if feasible to reduce expenses.
• To demonstrate the critical importance and ensure sustainability of BPR’s dedicated funds to implementing the mission of the
department, staff shall complete an annual budget process founded on transparency and clarity of the key funding priorities a nd
results achieved.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Increase non-traditional funding and resources to meet the expectations of the community
A. Evaluate and pursue non-traditional funding sources like grants, philanthropy, and sponsorships
B. Define a transparent and streamlined process for donations
C. Identify resources needed to develop and maintain non-traditional funding sources
2. Fill the funding gap
A. Identify and resolve existing inefficiencies
B. To ensure resource allocation aligns with community priorities. employ Budgeting for Resilience and Racial Equity tools to
budget development and execution.
C. Pursue investments in technology and innovation that provide efficiencies
D. Prioritize technologies and projects that impact the City’s climate goals
E. Regularly assess total cost of service for all programs and facilities to inform budgeting and fee-setting
F. Identify and track annual cost recovery targets against actuals
G. Collaborate with the Central Budget Office on how tax revenues can be used to fund future capital projects
3. Focus on the most important work
A. Prioritize a sustainable approach to financial aid
B. Evaluate a sliding scale financial aid
C. Streamline the financial aid application process
D. Identify enterprise services that can generate funds to be reallocated to other programs
E. Work with the Health Equity Fund and community partners to measure positive health equity outcomes
F. Streamline and simplify the department’s current Service Delivery Framework and Recreational Priority Index
G. Establishing a transparent process for financial decisions to communicate to staff and the community
Key Theme: Organizational Readiness
Respond to changes over time by using new technologies and data-driven and collaborative decision-making tools.
Overview Statement
Keeping an engaged and motivated workforce remains a top priority for the dep artment. BPR’s employees are resilient and have ensured
its ability as a department to pivot in the face of economic, social and environmental uncertainties. A variety of initiative s have been
planned and implemented to make sure staff are ready to meet ch anging user, operations, maintenance and programming needs and
address community goals related to equity and resilience. New software, service delivery models, and training are helping wit h this effort.
The workforce is also challenged by reductions in sta ffing levels, capacity and funding. Continuing education, team building, skills
development and streamlining internal processes are opportunities to support staff growth and morale and to foster deeper con nections
with each other. Organizational Readiness is paramount to BPR’s continued success in serving the Boulder community.
Achievements Since 2014
• Beehive Asset Management Software was implemented to manage $270 million in park assets more effectively.
• As part of the City of Boulder’s Climate Leaders Program, leaders from parks and recreation are being trained in the science of
climate change, so everyday decisions can be informed by a consistent foundation of knowledge.
• Reports that took weeks now take minutes.
Policies
• BPR shall ensure that the department workforce, structure and culture are designed and prepared to respond to community needs
and positively impact the community’s health and well-being.
• BPR staff shall continue to use and implement accepted plans and rep orts to guide all aspects of the department and allow informed
decision making.
• BPR shall develop Key Performance Indicators to measure successful delivery of services, facilities and programs to meet the
community goals outlined in this master plan.
• BPR shall support employee well-being through city-wide efforts to address cost of living and multi-modal transportation issues that
create barriers to living, working and playing close to home.
• BPR shall prioritize ecosystem services and meeting climate goals as well as sustainability in all aspects of the department.
Goals & Initiatives
1. Improve internal processes
A. Establish role clarity, streamlined processes, and standard procedures and documentation
B. Apply for accreditation by the Commission for the Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA)
C. Ensure that staff have the knowledge, resources, technology, and tools to effectively perform their roles
D. Collaborate with the city’s IT department to develop a central information repository where staff can request and/or receive data,
information, support, and resources
E. Improve the annual work plan process to clearly and transparently identify priorities, establish realistic allocations for st aff time,
and a framework for being able to decline projects or programs
F. Create a budget allocation and process to support innovation
G. Develop Key Performance Indicators
H. Identify opportunities to partner with other city departments on services and/or maintenance responsibilities
2. Build our team
A. Recruit, hire and retain a highly competent and capable work force
B. Ensure hiring practices dismantle institutional racism
C. Develop clear and consistent onboarding and training processes
D. Build plan to recruit and retain frontline positions
E. Expand paid intern program
3. Support our team
A. Provide opportunities for cross-training and cross-teaming
B. Support a culture of learning and development
C. Support supervisors in managing their teams holistically
D. Continue to strive for livable and competitive wages and/or benefits
E. Create a strong organizational culture
F. Ensure all staff are trained to support implementation of the city’s Racial Equity Plan and addressing the climate emergency
G. Create a process for succession planning
Metrics & Master Plan Integration
Metrics
BPR should regularly measure the progress toward completing projects and programs identified in the implementation plan. As t he city
finalizes climate and equity related targets, BPR should utilize recommended assessment tools to collect data to better inform which
projects or programs should be pursued.
BPR has well-defined set of tools used to plan, measure, and evaluate proposed projects and programs. However, through this master
planning process, BPR has discovered that they can continue to add methods that will increase the success of addressing impacts relating
to changing social, economic, and environmental conditions. These additional tools enable BPR to meet equity and resilience goals that
provide the framework for the department and citywide efforts to serve the Boulder community.
Equity Mapping
In alignment with community feedback, citywide equity and resilience goals and target metrics of the Boulder Valley Comprehen sive Plan,
BPR is working to fill gaps in service using equity mapping as a new evaluation and measurement tool.
Equity mapping will be part of BPR’s decision making and priority setting toolkit moving forward, along with adherence to citywide
initiatives, and the AMP and RPI processes. With equity mapping, BPR can analyze level of service against several variables. These
variables are indicators which when layered together, reveal geographic locations of need where additional service provision may be
necessary. Adding this mapping will help prioritize investments, measure success, and create a more equitable parks and recre ation
system far into the future.
Equity and resilience are already woven into BPR’s operations and financial plans and practices. Adding equity mapping to inf orm decision
making will help BPR better fill gaps and add another layer to guide the city toward a truly equitable and resil ient system that better aligns
with citywide goals and initiatives.
The Master Plan Update introduces an innovative gap analysis to identify differences in the level of service for three parks and recreation
metrics within Subcommunities. The Subcommunity LOS (Level of Service) map is the first step in identifying spatial inequity in terms of
parks LOS and trees LOS.
The purpose of this gap analysis is to discover any physical gaps in access or quantities of neighborhood parks and playgroun ds – key
recreation amenities. Gap areas can be further evaluated to understand if prioritized effort is 1) feasible to close the barrier to access
neighborhood parks and playgrounds and/or 2) if further study is warranted. These types of maps are also recommended by the N ational
Recreation and Park Association for evaluating locations of access inequity within a community’s parks and recreation offerings.
Considering all developed parkland acres, an overlay of Subcommunity boundaries was added to understand variations in distrib ution of
parks and amenities throughout the city. To determine LOS for each subcommunity and compare them w ith each other, three metrics were
used:
• Acres of developed parkland / 1000 People (NRPA standard metric)
• Percent of population in each subcommunity that live within ½ mile of a neighborhood park or ¼ mile of a playground (BVCP met ric)
• Tree Canopy (Urban Forest Strategic Plan metric)
Looking at LOS by subcommunity provides a more detailed understanding of the variation in distribution of parks and amenities in different
areas of the city. While this map starts to paint the picture of LOS by subcommunity, the maps also include areas outside current city limits,
which can have limited or partially complete data. Future planning and data gathering efforts should be done for the entire s ubcommunity
areas to rectify this issue. Areas within city limits, but not included within a subcommunity are areas without developed housing units, either
existing or planned.
Figure 3. Subcommunity Level of Service
*A full discussion of equity mapping and maps created as part of the master planning effort are included as an appendix to this memo.
Master Plan Integration
Annual Planning Process & Project Planning
BPR will use recommendations in the Implementation Plan as a guide to inform annual planning processes. These processes will be
completed in collaboration with PRAB, City Council, and aligned City departments. Recommendations in this memorandum will be used to
meet community needs, achieve key theme goals, and make the most effective use of limited resources to provide parks and recr eation
services.
Integrating the Master Plan
BPR will consult the Implementation Plan when planning new projects, preparing strategic plans, or developing or updating individual
master plans. Doing this will ensure the goals and initiatives related to each key theme are considered, and that the appropriate
departments are consulted, to maximize resources and efficiency and ensure the department continues to deliver best-in-class parks,
facilities, and programs for the community. The steps below outline a process for integrating the master plan into all planning processes.
1. Review previous year’s work to identify initiatives that should be carried forward
2. Review key themes, goals, and initiatives to identify areas of focus for the year
3. Select projects from the Implementation Action Plan to implement per areas of focus
− Use the Service Delivery Model, Recreation Priority Index (RPI), Asset Management Program (AMP) and equity
mapping to prioritize investments in parks, facilities and programming projects
4. Submit budget request
5. Plan yearly projects
− Utilize BPR equity mapping, and citywide sustainability and equity frameworks and assessment tools to plan
projects and measure success over time
− Collaborate with appropriate departments for each project per Implementation Action Plan
Attachment B: Equity and Mapping Appendix
BPR MASTER PLAN DRAFT: EQUITY MAPPING
LEVEL OF SERVICE BY SUBCOMMUNITIES
The Boulder Valley Comprehensive
Plan defines a subcommunity as: “an
area within the service area of the city
(Area I and II) that is defined by
physical boundaries such as roads,
waterways and topography. Each
subcommunity is composed of a variety
of neighborhoods and has distinct
physical and natural characteristics.
There are ten subcommunities in the
Boulder Valley: Central Boulder,
Central Boulder - University Hill,
Crossroads, Colorado University, East
Boulder, Southeast Boulder, South
Boulder, North Boulder, Palo Park and
Gunbarrel.”
WHERE WE ARE: EQUITY MAPPING
The 2021 Master Plan introduces an
innovative gap analysis to identify
differences in the level of service for
three parks and recreation metrics
within Subcommunities. The
Subcommunity Level of Service (LOS)
map is the first step in identifying
spatial inequity in terms of park land
LOS and tree canopy LOS.
The purpose of this analysis is to
discover physical gaps in access or
amount of neighborhood parks and playgrounds – key recreation amenities. BPR can further evaluate gap areas to
understand if prioritized effort is 1) feasible to close the barrier to access neighborhood parks and playgrounds
and/or 2) if further study is warranted. The National Recreation and Park Association reco mmends these types of
maps for evaluating locations of access inequity within a community’s parks and recreation offerings.
Considering all developed parkland acres, BPR added an overlay of Subcommunity boundaries to understand
variations in distribution of parks and amenities throughout the city. To determine LOS for each subcommunity
and compare them with each other, staff used three metrics:
Figure 4 Level of Service by Subcommunities
* Acres/1000 People not calculated due to very low
population
• Acres of developed parkland / 1000 People (NRPA standard metric)
• Percent of population in each subcommunity that live within ½ mile of a neighborhood park or ¼ mile of a
playground (BVCP metric)
• Tree Canopy (Urban Forest Strategic Plan metric)
Looking at LOS by subcommunity provides a more detailed understanding of th e variation in distribution of parks
and amenities in different parts of the city. While this map starts to paint the picture of LOS by subcommunity, the
maps include areas outside current city limits, which can have limited or incomplete data. BPR should conduct
future planning and data gathering efforts for entire subcommunity areas to rectify this issue. Areas within city
limits, but not included within a subcommunity are areas without developed housing units, either existing or
planned.
NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS LEVEL OF SERVICE BY SUBCOMMUNITY
The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) includes the following parks service metric for neighborhood parks:
“Provide neighborhood parks of a minimum of five acres in size within one -half mile of the
population to be served.” 2020 Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan
BPR manages 45 neighborhood parks that each average approximately seven acres. From an initial analysis, staff
made the following preliminary findings when comparing the neighborhood parkland LOS between
subcommunities:
• East Boulder, Colorado University and Central Boulder – University Hill have the lowest neighborhood
parkland LOS. Other factors do influence this analysis, including the lower population of East Boulder,
university and industrial centers within these subcommunities, and other types of park classifications.
• Crossroads and North Boulder subcommunities have the highest LOS when including only neighborhood
parks.
• When considering just parkland managed by the City of Boulder the parkland per 1000 people for Gunbarrel
is low and the only neighborhood park in the subcommunity – Tom Watson Park – is separated by a major
barrier - the Diagonal Highway - from the residential areas of the subcommunity. The LOS for Gunbarrel
would go up if lands that are managed by other entities such as HOA’s are included.
ALL PARKLAND TYPES LEVEL OF SERVICE BY SUBCOMMUNITY
To test how the subcommunity parkland level of service looks when other types of developed parks (i.e.,
community and city parks, as well as neighborhood parks less than 5 acres in size) are included, BPR calculated a
separate LOS. In this analysis:
• Colorado University and Central Boulder have the lowest parkland LOS.
• North Boulder continues to have a high LOS and Southeast Boulder and East Boulder move from mid -low
to high LOS for all types of parkland.
• While East Boulder’s LOS is low when looking strictly at Neighborhood Parks, when considering total
parkland, it ranks extremely high, due to Valmont City Park and Stazio Ball Fields.
PROXIMITY TO NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS & PLAYGROUNDS LEVEL OF SERVICE BY SUBCOMMUNITY
In terms of the proximity to neighborhood parks and playgrounds metric - % of population within the walkshed –
there are two subcommunities where less than 50% of residents are within a ½ and ¼ mile of these assets –
Colorado University and Gunbarrel (not including East Boulder which is discussed in more detail later in this
document). Ensuring residents of these subcommunities have the access recommende d by the BVCP in the future
is important to ensure equitable distribution of parks and playgrounds.
TREE CANOPY LEVEL OF SERVICE BY SUBCOMMUNITY
The city has a no net loss canopy goal of 16% by 2037. Today, Gunbarrel, Palo Park, East Boulder, Crossroads, and
Colorado University do not meet this citywide threshold. Focusing on increasing canopy in these subcommunities is
important. At the same time, it is also important to understand that there are layers to these analyses. For
example, East Boulder is lacking tree canopy cover due to the industrial and commercial land uses of the
subcommunity. Due to the current and proposed future land uses for Eas t Boulder, it will be important to make
investments that both maximize tree planting on city-owned property in the subcommunity, such as Valmont City
Park, but also to work with private landowners as parcels are developed and redeveloped to increase the ov erall
urban tree canopy.
EQUITY MAPPING
In alignment with community feedback, citywide equity and resilience goals and target metrics of the Boulder
Valley Comprehensive Plan, BPR will be working to fill gaps in service using equity mapping as one of our
evaluation and measurement tools.
The citywide Racial Equity Plan includes a short-term objective that “City staff will collect relevant data, coordinate
data systems to understand and track needs and impacts.” While this relates more directly to int ernal processes, it
also applies to how BPR provides services. The department is committed to providing a parks and recreation
system that meets the needs of everyone in our community. Nationally accepted LOS standards are currently
based strictly on acreage per capita and distance (as the crow flies). Through this planning process, BPR has
decided to reframe LOS to include park accessibility and quality. This will help ensure services do not fall under a
“one size fits all” parkland per capita approach. BPR will include qualitative measures with quantitative measures to
reflect the unique needs of our Boulder community.
Equity mapping will be part of our decision making and priority setting toolkit moving forward, along with
adherence to citywide initiatives, and the AMP and RPI processes. With equity mapping, BPR can analyze level of
service against several variables. These variables are indicators which when layered together reveal geographic
locations of need where additional service provision may be nec essary. Adding this mapping will help prioritize
investments, measure success and create a more equitable parks and recreation system far into the future.
BPR currently weaves equity and resilience into operations and financial plans and practices. Adding equity
mapping to inform decision making will help BPR better fill gaps using a geographic lens and add another layer to
guide the city toward a truly equitable and resilient system that better aligns with citywide goals and initiatives.
PRELIMINARY EQUITY MAPPING ANALYSIS
Measuring LOS based on qualitative as well as quantitative data through mapping is a new initiative for BPR.
Keeping that in mind, the department has completed a preliminary analysis, creating a framework and baseline for
including this mapping process in BPR’s work moving forward. BPR will update this analysis as the City of Boulder
Equity Data Framework evolves, and better data becomes available. In particular, updated tree canopy data is
expected in 2022. BPR may consider additional variables as department and city staff build data sets and will
incorporate these where appropriate as they become available.
ACCESSIBILITY: PROXIMITY TO NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS & PLAYGROUNDS
Neighborhood Parks are:
• 1 to 20 acres in size (avg size = 7 acres)
• Often within an accessible distance of neighborhood residences
• Tend to serve neighbors within a mile radius
• Most common park type in the BPR system – 45 total
• Typical Assets: playground, park shelter, athletic court or field, Natural Areas, open tur f, multi-use trail,
garden, natural exploration areas, seating, shade, bike racks
Equitable Access: Improving equity means improving distribution and access for those who need it most, improving the
balance of services across the city, and being proactive in planning for future population increases and demographic
changes.
The Boulder Valley
Comprehensive Plan (BVCP)
outlines the following target
parkland service metrics
(specific to parks and
playgrounds):
• Provide neighborhood
parks of a minimum of five
acres in size within one-half
mile of the population to be
served.
• Provide playground
facilities for toddlers,
preschoolers, and school-age
children up through age 12
within one-quarter to one-half
mile of residents.
This map shows the service
areas according to the BVCP
metrics. Areas not covered by
green on the map indicate
gaps in BPR services. This map
does not include services
provided by other city
departments, organizations, or
private providers, such as City
of Boulder Open Space and
Mountain Parks, Boulder
Valley School District, or
neighborhood HOA parks and
playgrounds. BPR can use this
map, along with community
feedback and policy direction,
as a decision making and prioritization tool to better understand service gaps in both quantitative and qualitative
terms. The department can also use it as a baseline for understanding how to meaningfully address these gaps for
surrounding neighborhoods.
Figure 5 Accessibility to Parks & Playgrounds
NEEDS MAPPING
Building on the Proximity to Parks & Playgrounds mapping, and using the same equity lens, staff compiled a set of
indicators/metrics and grouped them to create two composite index maps, which staff can use to compare gaps in
the city’s parks and recreation system with need from environmental and human perspectives.
The Environment Need Prioritization identifies areas that have less tree canopy cover and the temperature is
higher than the city average. The Income based need map shows areas where residents are receiving some form of
income-based financial aid from the city in recent years (i.e., Affordable Housing, Parks and Recreation fina ncial
aid, Food Tax Subsidies). The darker the colors on these maps the greater the need.
INVESTMENT NEED PRIORITIZATION INDEX
Combining the environmental and income need index maps can help identify areas with greater need of BPR
investment. This provides an easy to understand visual and geographic representation of all the data layers used for
analysis. For the Investment Need Prioritization Index map, areas of highest need for investment are darker in
color, while light yellow indicate areas of lower need according to the variables used for this analysis.
Figure 7 Environment Need Prioritization Figure 6 Income Need Prioritization
This map can help BPR
determine how best to
prioritize future investments to
best meet specific needs
throughout the Boulder
community. In the future, as
the city further develops its GIS
data sets and identifies quality
data to incorporate into our
equity analysis, the
department can include
additional equity indicators to
provide a more fine-grained
picture of where and what
types of needs are located
throughout the city.
Figure 8 Investment Need Prioritization
EAST BOULDER SUBCOMMUNITY CASE STUDY
A Subcommunity Plan is a tool for residents,
landowners, business owners, city officials
and city staff that communicates
expectations about the future of a
subcommunity and guides decision-making
about subcommunity resilience and
evolution into the future
The East Boulder Subcommunity was the
first area to get a more detailed
subcommunity plan after the revised BVCP.
This plan includes land use
recommendations to increase housing.
The East Boulder Subcommunity Case
Study is an example of how the Investment Need Prioritization Index can provide useful information at a
Subcommunity level to inform how BPR makes decisions and where the department prioritizes investments across
the city.
The East Boulder Subcommunity is unique in Boulder for several reasons:
Industrial Land Uses & Limited Residential Population
• Today, land use is dominated by industrial and commercial uses. Due to its industrial/commercial nature,
East Boulder has some of the lowest percentages of urban tree canopy, along with limited opportunities for
adding canopy through tree planting on city owned properties. The subcommunity has a limited residential
population – there is a pocket of low-income housing within its boundaries, but this housing is outside city
limits.
Parks & Recreation LOS and Future Land Use
• Currently, there are no neighborhood parks in the subcommunity, and while Valmont City Park and Stazio
Ballfields are located in East Boulder, they do not currently include community benefit amenities. Future
development of Valmont City Park will include these types of amenities, such as playgrounds and multi-use
fields. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. This, coupled with the fact that the East Boulder
Subcommunity Plan includes land use recommendations to increase housing in the area, will require BPR to
make informed decisions about future parks and recreation levels of service.
Figure 9 East Boulder: Overview of Parks
The Overall Investment Need Prioritization map for East
Boulder appears to show a subcommunity with medium
priority for investment based on the sum of the
environmental and income needs of residents (See Figure
7). The key to fully realizing the potential of this needs
mapping for East Boulder comes when breaking the data
into its component parts and understanding the
complexities of this particular part of Boulder.
The Environmental Index of Need (Figure 8) shows a very
different level of need within the subcommunity. When
considering areas below the target urban tree canopy
threshold of 16% and areas where the average
temperature is above the City of Boulder average, East
Boulder has significant need for environmental
investments. This is complicated by the current land uses,
primarily industrial and commercial, with relatively little
city owned property. Investments to improve the
environmental condition of East Boulder will likely
require creative solutions, including but not limited to,
working with private landowners as their property is
developed or redeveloped to increase tree planting and
other measures to address environmental quality.
The Income Index of Need (Figure 9) very clearly
illustrates the lack of housing units in East Boulder, which
in turn influences the Overall Investment Need indicated
in East Boulder. But when looking just outside the
subcommunity boundaries, there is a pocket of high
priority income need. Additionally, situated just outside
the city boundary, but within the subcommunity
boundary, is a known area of lower income housing.
Because this lower income housing area is outside the
city boundary, staff have marked it as an area with
incomplete data.
Figure 7 East Boulder: Invesetment Need Prioritization
Figure 8 East Boulder: Environment Need Prioritization
Figure 10 East Boulder: Income Need Prioritization
When considering access and
proximity to parks and recreation
amenities, East Boulder is a significant
gap in the BPR system (Figure 10).
There are no developed neighborhood
parks and only one accessible
playground within the subcommunity.
The service area for a few
neighborhood parks that are outside
of the East Boulder Subcommunity do
exist but there is only one playground
inside the Subcommunity, on the
north side of Valmont City Park. Given
the low-income housing adjacent to
the subcommunity, as well as the
known low-income housing that is
unmapped within the subcommunity,
the priority to address this gap in the BPR system with the development of community benefit amenities at
Valmont City Park increases.
The East Boulder Subcommunity Case Study clearly illustrates how the mapping developed for this Master Plan
Update can help us make more equitable decisions when it comes to investments in our facilities. Without this
mapping that clearly demonstrates the need within East Boulder for additional parks and recreation facilities,
investments in Valmont City Park may be deprioritized in favor of other priorities, such as filling operations and
maintenance funding gaps or investing in renovations of facilities in areas with less need.
BPR can use equity mapping to identify historically underserved areas, and pinpoint other areas that are not
currently served adequately. It can also help begin to identify priorities and anticipate future needs based a variety
of social, economic, and environmental indicators. Using it to make informed and nuanced decisions that while at
first blush, may seem at odds with other priorities, are critical to ensuring equitable distribution of services
throughout the city and can help BPR better meet citywide equity and resilience goals.
Figure 11 East Boulder: Accessibility to Parks & Playgrounds
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Attachment C: Balancing Community Needs with the Financial Realities
Balancing Community Needs with the Financial Realities
As the update to the City of Boulder’s Parks & Recreation Master Plan is nearing completion, it
is clear that balancing the needs of the community with the financial realities of the city will be
of paramount importance if the goals of the master plan are to be successfully implemented.
Master Plan Themes
The following are the identified themes for the update to the master plan that impact community
needs and finances.
1. Community Health & Wellness
2. Taking Care of What We Have
3. Financial Sustainability
4. Building Community Relationships
5. Youth Engagement & Activity
6. Organizational Readiness
7. Equity & Resilience
Of these goals, Community Health & Wellness, Building Community Relationships, Youth
Engagement & Activity, and Equity & Resilience are front facing initiatives that require an
ongoing commitment of time and resources to accomplish.
On the other side, Taking Care of What We Have, Financial Sustainability and Organizational
Readiness are the City’s back of the house commitment to ensuring that parks and recreation
facilities and services can continue to be provided.
These themes strike at the heart of the balance question between needs and resources.
Existing Issues
BPR is currently dealing with a significant number of issues that impact the delivery of parks and
recreation facilities and programs in the future. The pandemic has exacerbated many of these
issues. The material for this section was derived from informa tion included in the draft master
plan update document and additional back-up data provided by BPR.
Continuing to Serve a Growing Market
• Boulder’s population in 2020 was 108,091 (including CU students). The population is
projected to grow to 123,000 by 2040.
• Boulder County’s senior population (age 60+) is expected to nearly double to 28% of
the total population by 2040.
• There will be a significant increase in the Latinx community in the city from 10% in
2019 to potentially just over 30% by 2040 (based on state wide projections).
34
• The population of the northern Front Range is also projected to grow at a fast pace
during this time period.
• While the primary focus of BPR is to serve the residents of Boulder, non-residents make
up approximately 25% of program and facility users.
• The growing market will result in an increasing demand for recreation facilities,
programs and services. The overall population increase in Boulder will require a greater
capacity for services as well as additional specific services focused on seniors and the
Latinx community. This will likely require additional funding to meet these needs.
Note: The demographic information was derived from the 2021 Needs Assessment
Report as part of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update.
Providing a Full complement of Recreation Amenities
• BPR manages a wide range and quantity of facilities.
35
Offering a Full Complement of Recreation Programs
• BPR offers a wide range of recreation programs with strong enrollment numbers, even
with an overall decline in participation since 2017.
• BPR contracts out youth sports, tennis, dance, and some summer camp programs.
Dealing with Increasing Operations Costs
• Staffing costs continue to increase with a commitment to pay a living wage for full-time
as well as part-time positions. The impact of minimum wage increases and the need to
attract and retain good employees has also affected costs. The average annual growth
rate in staffing costs for the next 5 years is projected to be 5%. Staffing is the greatest
operational cost for BPR as well as most all parks and recreation agencies.
• Utility costs have also continued to increase especially in the last two to three years.
This has a significant impact on BPR’s operations budget. The average annual growth
rate in overall operating costs (minus staffing) for the next 5 years is projected to be 4%.
• Goods and service costs have seen a dramatic impact in the last few years due in part to
the pandemic and this is projected to continue for the next couple of years at a minimum
of 4% per year if not higher.
36
• BPR is also assessed interdepartmental charges for services that saw large increases
from 2016 through 2019. However, charges have dropped sharply in 20202 and 2021
due to the pandemic and lower budget numbers. It is projected that these charges will
grow by 3% per year for the next 5 years.
• It is recognized that the pandemic had an impact on certain operating costs in 2020 and
2021. While costs were showing a steady increase until 2020, with the pandemic
overall costs have declined due to reduced programs and services as well as the limited
operation of facilities. However, post pandemic BPR will need to be prepared for
significant increases in operating costs again. This will need to be matched with the
realization that revenues are only projected to increase by 2% to 3% for the next five
years.
Funding Increased Capital Replacement Costs
• BPR utilizes an Asset Management Plan to track parks and recreation assets and
estimate capital replacement value (CRV).
o In 2021 BPR had a CRV value of $298,476,655.
o Based on spending 2-3% of CRV annually on capital repairs and replacement,
BPR has as an estimated total maintenance backlog of $20,579,515. BPR
currently expends $5.6 million annually for this purpose leaving it $1.9 million
short.
o There are also approximately $177,935,000 in unfunded capital projects.
o Operations and maintenance or preventative maintenance funding should be 4%
of the CRV annually or $11.9 million and is only being funded at $8.6 million
annually resulting in a shortfall of $3.3 million.
o The city’s Urban Forestry Strategic Plan indicates the urban tree canopy is also
an asset but since it has an appreciating value, it was not included in the backlog
of operations and maintenance calculations above. The required funding for
maintaining the urban tree canopy is not in place.
Stagnant Earned Revenues
• BPR has strong service delivery and fee policies in place.
o Service Costing Methodology is detailed out.
o Service Delivery Framework modeling is in place to determine what programs
should be offered and how they are best provided.
o Program Prioritization, Subsidization, and Cost Recovery (RPI) guides
programming efforts and the calculation of the rate of cost recovery.
o The cost recovery level for recreation programs increased from an average of
82% from 2007-2011 to 92% from 2017-2019.
• There have been issues with pricing some services beyond what the market will bear.
• Despite these policies there is still a negative gap between yearly program revenues and
expenditures. As a result, BPR will need to consider some or all of these options:
o Increased program fees
o Increased program subsidy
o Adjusting service levels
• Grants have helped with funding for a number of services including:
o Facility Access
37
o EXPAND/Inclusion
o Sports
o Youth Sports Initiative
• Financial aid is available through general fund subsidy and partially supported through
an annual competitive grant from the Health Equity Fund, as the Recquity program.
These sources fund facility access (up to 100% of fee) and 50% of program fees.
Additionally, BPR accepts the PLAY Boulder Foundation’s PLAYpass, which provides
low-income youth with $250 program credit annually towards reduced fees."
• In 2019, $96,392 in financial aid for parks and recreation programs was delivered in the
following manner:
o Age groups were rather evenly split on receiving aid with the exception of Older
Adults (seniors) who received aid primarily through third-party payers.
Age Group Percentage of Aid
Adults 30.5%
Children 35.6%
Older Adults 3.0%
Teenagers 30.9%
o Financial aid was distributed to programs in the following areas. The EXPAND
program (recreation for people with disabilities) was the greatest recipient of aid
followed by Youth Services Initiative and Gymnastics.
Program Division Percentage of Aid
Aquatics 7.6%
EXPAND 50.1%
Gymnastics 17.8%
Health & Wellness 1.5%
Mind & Body 1.8%
Sports 2.0%
Youth Services Initiative 18.1%
o 82% of the financial aid was given to residents of Boulder and the balance went
primarily to people living in communities in close proximity to the city.
• In addition to recreation program aid, in 2019 a total of $430,496 in subsidy was
provided for entry to BPR facilities and for courses provided at those locations ($50,561
of the total). Membership age categories by percentage were primarily families.
Age Group Percentage of Aid
Adults 11.2%
Senior 14.6%
Family 71.3%
38
• It is estimated that up to 90% of older adult (senior) programming is paid through a
third-party payer. This includes Silver Sneakers, Silver & Fit and New Active.
Insurance reimburses BPR at a standard rate per visit, but this is a discounted rate over
the stated user fees. However, a major portion of this market would likely not be
participating in BPR programs or facilities without these services.
• The city offers a Wellness Pass to employees to utilize BPR facilities and programs at a
reduced rate. There is reimbursement to BPR for the value of the pass built into the
General Fund subsidy to the RAF but at a reduced rate from the established fees.
Funding Sources
• BPR utilizes a number of sources for funding operations and capital projects. In 2021
the total BPR budget was $29,936,362. Funding sources include:
Source Funding % Description
General Fund
15% A blend of taxes that supports overall
city operations
Recreation Activity Fund
(RAF)
37% A special revenue fund from user fees,
grants, donations, and general fund
transfers
.25 Cent Sales Tax Fund
30% A voter approved sales tax that
supports operations, maintenance, and
capital improvements
Permanent Parks & Rec.
Fund
13% A permanent earmark of property tax
revenues for capital projects
Lottery Fund
2% A portion of the city’s allocation of
state lottery funds for capital and
maintenance of recreation amenities
Note: The Capital Development Fund makes up the balance of the funding percentage.
• BPR is currently utilizing these available resources to their full capability. Over the last
5 years funding levels have remained mostly flat.
• Future funding from these sources is projected to increase only slightly for the next five
years with annual growth projected to be 2.8%.
• BPR utilizes an extensive number of partnerships for programs and services.
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Community Input
Community members were given the opportunity to respond to a survey to guide the master plan
process. The following are some of the key findings from the survey instrument.
Population Groups and the Importance of Providing Programming for Each
This response indicates the importance of providing programs for population groups that
traditionally have lower fees and consequently contribute to a lower rate of cost recovery.
40
Given the Opportunity to Allocate $100 Tax Dollars, the Following Were the Priorities
Clearly the priority is on maintaining and renovating existing facilities and removing financial
barriers to participation in existing programs and services, over adding park land or constructing
new facilities.
Impact of Spending Tax Dollars for Various Groups in the Community
Respondents believe that their tax dollars would be best spent on youth/teens and seniors with
the lowest impact being on adults.
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Support for BPR Funding Options
For funding, the preferred options are clearly continuing to rely on existing sources with minimal
support for a new sales tax.
Benchmark Comparisons
Boulder information and data on operations was provided by BPR and compared with the
National Recreation and Park Association through their annual Agency Performance Review
data.
Comparisons with 2019 NRPA Agency Performance Review Data
Measure National National
Population
65,000-
175,000
Colorado
Population
65,000-
175,000
Boulder
FTEs per 10,000 Residents
8.5 10.2 22.1 22.2
Operating Expenditures per
Capita
$87 $101 $216 $216
Revenue per Capita $26 $36
$93 $104
Revenue/Expenditure
(cost recovery)
28.7%
29.1% 42.2% 48.4%
Tax Expenditures per
Capita
$59 $62 $92 $111
Operating Expenditures per
FTE
$97,508 $102,050 $95,647 $97,394
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How Boulder Compares
• BPR has performance data that is very similar to other agencies in Colorado with
comparable sized populations with the following exceptions:
o Revenue per capita is 12% higher. This is due in part to the strong emphasis on
revenue production.
o The cost recovery level is 15% higher. This is the result of more aggressive cost
recovery standards that were instituted after the 2008 -2009 Great Recession.
o The rate of tax expenditures per capita is approximately 20% higher. This is due
to increased staffing costs (livable wage), greater levels of maintenance, a
commitment to environmentally sustainable practices, and the higher cost for
goods and services.
It is important to realize that Colorado’s performance data metrics are much higher than
the national numbers.
• Other 2019 NRPA national benchmark information includes:
o For a typical agency staffing costs make up 54% of an operating budget but for
BPR it is 64%. BPR has higher staffing expenditures due to the number and
diversity of parks and recreation facilities that are operated and maintained and
the higher market rates of compensation of employees.
o For a typical agency 44% of the operations budget is for parks and 43% is for
recreation, while 13% is for other. For BPR, 38% is for parks and 44% is for
recreation and 18% is for other. The “other” category is higher for BPR due to
administrative costs, community outreach, volunteers, partnerships, planning and
interdepartmental charges.
o Typical agencies derive 60% of their operating expenditures from general fund
tax support while BPR is only 19%. Earned income is 24% of most agencies
funding but for BPR it is 45%. Dedicated levies are 11% of most agencies’
budgets but for BPR it is 30%. With BPR’s commitment to generating higher
levels of earned income and the ability to pull funding from dedicated levies, the
reliance on the general fund is much lower.
Moving Forward
Operations Philosophy
• Balancing need with funding is a common issue for most communities as they determine
the future direction for parks and recreation facilities and services. The impacts of the
pandemic have only made this more difficult.
• BPR has an outstanding operational foundation and history of providing parks and
recreation services to the community. This includes a strong staff, a variety of facilities,
and great programs, which is backed up with very strong financial policies and
performance data to help make decisions. This is a step ahead of most departments
nationally and allows for well thought out decisions to be made.
• It is likely that BPR will need to further prioritize its allocation of resources for parks,
facilities, as well as programs and services, with a recognition that it is probably not
43
financially viable to do all the traditional as well as new services that are being requested
by the public. Many larger parks and recreation agencies are working through this
difficult process that requires extensive planning, public input, and staff time to
accomplish. The implementation process often requires 5 years or more.
• BPR is currently a regional provider of parks and recreation services with a significant
percentage of users being non-Boulder residents. The future role of BPR in offering
services to non-residents will need to be determined along with the effect on fees
(increasing non-resident fees, demand pricing, etc.) and operating budgets. For
communities that have more of a regional focus, there has been a re-evaluation of the need
and financial impact of taking on this responsibility. There has been a movement toward
having counties start to pay cities for use by their residents when they are in unincorporated
areas.
• Community partnerships are an importan t area of emphasis for BPR and allows for a
broader range of services to be delivered to the community. In the future there will need
to be an increased focus on partnerships if facilities and services are going to grow.
Partnerships have a much larger role in parks and recreation agencies across the country
but doing this well requires a willing and competent partner, a positive cost/benefit
analysis, clear policies, and a detailed partnership agreement to be in place. This all takes
time, staff, and money to accomplish.
• Any significant change to the method, types, or quantity of parks and recreation services
that will be provided in the future will require continued public input and discussion if
these efforts are going to be successful.
Funding
• BPR has a very diversified funding plan that has a low reliance on the city’s general fund
compared to most communities. The Department has a high rate of earned income, and
several sources of dedicated funding for certain aspects of operations as well as capital
improvements.
• It should not be expected that BPR will be able to lower is reliance on the general fund
below its current level and the need to increase services for certain groups of the
population (youth, teens, seniors, lower income, and people with disabilities) could likely
require an increase from this funding source and/or outside funding from other
organizations.
• Despite the low reliance on general fund tax dollars, the ability to generate additional
dollars from earned income will be difficult with fees and charges for many services that
are perceived as being high for the market and contributing to reduced participation from
some segments of the community (hence the need for an increase in financial aid
administered through a sliding scale). BPR has a very high cost recovery rate compared
to most agencies as many have not focused on this aspect of funding or maximized the
potential for earned income. However, it is unrealistic to expect much of any increase in
44
the current cost recovery rate in the future due primarily to higher staffing and operations
costs.
• Even though BPR has a number of dedicated tax funding sources, there are limitations on
how these funds can be used that can result in less flexibility in how dollars are utili zed
for parks and recreation in general. With the level of funding from these sources this
directs a sizeable portion of the operating budget to certain uses. Having dedicated tax
funding sources in place is still not common for most parks and recreation agencies but is
an area that is receiving increased emphasis by agencies as a way to guarantee funding
sources and levels.
• BPR has actively pursued grant opportunities for a variety of parks and recreation
services and this needs to continue. Increasingly, larger departments are employing a
fulltime staff person(s) who’s primary job is to pursue grant opportunities.
Operations Budgets
• BPR has strong management and budgeting practices in place that allows for the effective
utilization of financial resources as well as tracking of expenditures and revenues.
Industry best practices have reinforced the importance of having comprehensive
budgeting policies and practices in place.
• BPR has a well detailed service delivery and fee policy in place. However, simplifying
these policies and methodologies would be helpful. Many agencies do have similar
policies, but they are generally much more streamlined.
• Integrating additional cost center accounting into the budgeting process will help BPR
define the actual cost of operation and management of not only programs but also
individual facilities and parks. There is a strong movement in public agencies to adopt
this form of budgeting to better define the true cost of service for individual programs
and facilities.
• Contracting for more and more programming, operations and maintenance services has
become a definite trend with public parks and recreation agencies. However, this has not
always been the most cost-effective approach, has at times resulted in inconsistent
services, and requires on-going monitoring with strong contracts. BPR should continue
to complete a cost/benefit analysis for possible additional contract opportunities in the
future.
• BPR should continue to provide opportunities for financial aid for those that have limited
ability to pay, however this is currently being done at a high rate which may be more
difficult to sustain in the future. The aid should continue to be for both facility
admissions as well as programs and services. It should include internal department-based
aid (Recquity) as well as external aid through PLAY Boulder Foundation and the Health
Equity Fund. Establishing consistent policies and benefits from all sources will be
important. The cost of providing internal aid should be budgeted and tracked on an
45
annual basis. There should also be some level of payment for services required from the
recipient (sliding scale based on income) as well as a maximum level of benefit per
person per year. BPR does have a maximum level of benefit for its program, but external
providers do not. The question of providing financial aid to non-residents should also be
examined. Most agencies have some form of financial aid or scholarship, but programs
vary widely as do the requirements. There has been a strong effort to have these
programs funded by outside organizations rather than through the department’s budget.
BPR’s commitment to financial aid is at a very high rate compared to other communities
and managing this process from administration to actual funding will be important for the
future. This will require consistent funding sources that support financial aid on a multi-
year basis.
• Reducing budgets in any significant manner will require that staffing levels be lowered,
and operational costs related to utilities minimized. This is a major challenge as the
potential loss of staff directly impacts the level of service and lowering utility costs
usually requires capital investment for more efficient systems. During the Great
Recession of 2007-2008, and the pandemic, agencies were forced to reduce staff, this
often occurred with administrative staff or was associated with a reduction in
programming or facilities.
• With a greater emphasis on controlling staffing costs, parks and recreation agencies have
become much more reliant on the use of volunteers for select programs and facility
operations. This has resulted in some challenges maintaining a consistent level of
available volunteers, defining appropriate roles, completing background checks, and
training. Having an effective volunteer program requires one or more fulltime staff to
manage and coordinate the program. BPR has made great use of volunteers up this point
(2,424 volunteers contributing 19,130 hours in the last five years) and this will need to
continue to grow in the future.
• The BPR budget has a line item for interdepartmental charges which grew substantially
from 2016 through 2019 and then saw a significant reduction in 2020 and 2021 due to the
pandemic. More and more cities (especially those in larger communities) are saddling
parks and recreation budgets with these charges which are calculated by others with no
ability for a department to manage. Some agencies do not include these char ges in their
cost of service or cost recovery calculations.
• BPR should track the annual costs of providing any services for other city departments
when these do not directly relate to the department’s mission.
Capital Budgets
• The public has clearly indicated that they want to see BPR take care of what they have
with less emphasis on new parks and facilities. This is a very common refrain from most
communities these days and has become the focus of most capital funding efforts.
46
• BPR has a very strong Asset Management Plan that is based on a capital replacement
value for all the assets. This identifies the yearly spending that is required (2% to 3% of
the CRV) to handle capital replacement and repairs. While most agencies have a list of
deferred maintenance items as well as a robust CIP budget, relatively few have a
comprehensive asset management system on the level of BPR. At times this results in
facilities that are not well maintained or simply can no longer meet the needs of the
community.
• Based on the Asset Management Plan the amount of money being spent of O&M as well
as capital repair and replacement needs to be increased to the industry standards noted
above. While the goal is notable, most agencies simply do not have the ability to even
cover their deferred maintenance issues with on-going funding sources. They either
prioritize needs or have a bond issue to fund the bulk of the concerns.
Recreation Programs and Services
• BPR should continue to utilize the Service Delivery model to determine how best to
provide recreation programs and services to the community. This needs to emphasize:
o Programs that are best provided by in-house staff.
o Programs that are more appropriate for contract providers but still utilize city
facilities.
o Programs that are the sole responsibility of other providers or organizations.
These could be taking place at city facilities or at locations that are owned by
other organizations.
Although not yet common, this approach to providing programs is gaining more support
by other agencies with the realization that public parks and recreation departments cannot
be the sole provider of all activities.
• BPR should continue to explore additional partnerships with other communities in the
area to provide a regional approach to providing certain specialized services such as
special needs and some youth services. This will require clear funding and operations
agreements as well as staff time to put in place and monitor. There has to be a
recognition that partnerships are often difficult to establish and manage and are not
always successful. Establishing partnerships for recreation programming is now a
standard method for expanding services, especially with limited budgets.
• BPR needs to continue to emphasize the tracking of program metrics while adding a
metric that indicates programming provided by age and population categories. Having
more robust program metrics is a definite trend among parks and recreation agencies.
Parks and Recreation Facilities
• With the public indicating a lower priority for developing new amenities and a greater
emphasis on maintaining existing facilities, the need to maximize the use of current
facilities becomes paramount. BPR’s Asset Management Plan deals with many of the
47
physical plant issues. However, functional obsolescence is also a concern and
increasingly agencies are conducting an assessment of existing parks and recreation
facilities ability to meet department and community recreation uses and needs. From this
facility updates and renovation priorities are developed.
• To ensure facilities are being utilized to their full potential the following tasks are often
completed:
o A capacity analysis is completed to determine not only the carrying capacity of an
amenity (this is especially true for athletic fields) but also the current rate of
utilization measured against the capacity.
o Establishing clear priorities of use for facilities in general as well as specific
spaces or amenities. This helps with potential over use issues as well as
underutilization.
• With operational budget concerns, agencies have begun to look at either having contract
management of existing facilities or the outright lease (usually at below market rates) of
facilities to other organizations. However, the city or district is still the owner, has
certain maintenance responsibilities as well as capital replacement, and has limited input
into the specific services that are offered.
• Since the focus for BPR will be on maintaining existing facilities, the priority for
developing new facilities will be low. If there are to be any new facilities the approach is
likely to include:
o Reliance on other providers to be the owners and operators with possible low-cost
ground leases on city property.
o Equity partnerships with non-profit and public sector organizations to assist with
the development of facilities.
This approach has been utilized by other public agencies with varying levels of success.
The strength of the agreement, the level of financial contribution, and the goals of the
partnering entity can impact the outcome.
• If there is an interest in adding new facilities, the focus should be on those that have
the ability to generate levels of income above the direct cost of operation (high cost
recovery). As an example, these could include event centers and outdoor adventure
park or ropes courses. There are opportunities to have equity partners build and
operate these facilities with low ground leases while still paying a significant annual
rate of revenue to the city based on a percentage of gross proceeds. These P3
arrangements are starting to be more prevalent with parks and recreation agenci es
across the country.
Attachment D: Draft Window #3 Public Engagement Notes
BeHeardBoulder.org
The online survey was posted on BeHeardBoulder.org. The community was asked to prioritize the goal
under each key theme. The goals and initiatives were provided for each key theme for more in -depth
understanding of each goal. Under each key theme, community members were asked to prioritize the
goals and had the opportunity to provide open ended comments for each key theme.
There were 74 results for the English version and 2 for the Spanish version.
In the feedback below, there should be consideration that each person had 6 opportunities to provide
open-ended comments. As a reference, the set of comments below were from line #42. This means the
same survey participant provided this set of comments. This is simply a reference point to understand
how the comments were compiled with no intention of minimizing the impact of their thoughts. Raw
data is available upon request. There was no cross reference to check for duplicate entries. Most
participants did not login to the system, so we do not have demographic data. This was intentional to
reduce the participation barrier.
Line #42 comments, same participant:
• In order to build relationships throughout the community we need new tennis courts as well as
maintenance on the ones available to the community.
• Tennis! It is a game that can be played at any age and level. It encourages wellness through
being outside as well as social interactions.
• Have opportunities for our teens/youth to be active and involved in tennis. Team sports help
with socialization and being valued and part of something greater than yourself. More tennis
courts would allow for the space for these programs to happen.
• Please resurface the tennis courts but DO NOT put pickle ball lines on all of them. There needs
to be courts where USTA leagues can play their matches and have the team together. A set of
separate pickle ball courts should be built so that tennis and pickle ball can co-exist
• There is a need for more tennis courts - dream big! An indoor facility with indoor and outdoor
courts with lights so that the tennis community can grow and be active all year. Pickle ball needs
to be separate but also needs courts and some sort of facility as well.
• Tennis needs to continue to be organized throughout the city so the people have access to
courts and the reservation system
Virtual Public Workshop
Staff hosted a virtual public workshop to discuss goal prioritization with the community. There was an
informational presentation followed by discussion in breakout rooms. Each break out room focused on a
specific key theme. Each breakout room facilitator hosted a discussion, took notes, and reported out
discussion highlights to the main group.
There were approximately 14 participants, including 2 PRAB members.
Spanish First Virtual Public Workshop
A Spanish -first virtual public workshop was hosted for Spanish speaking community members.
Approximately 12 participants were gathered to discuss the key theme goals as they relate specific to
their community. A $15 gift card incentive was provided to support participation. This will expand on
previous outreach through community connectors and p articipation in local events.
Age-Well Center
Staff hosted a 2-hour in-person drop-in session at the West Age-Well Center to reach our aging
population for discussion around their needs and priorities. The Age -Well staff helped us define a time
and day that would be most active for participants and helped us get the work out to their patrons. A
day pass to the BPR facilities was provided as incentive to participate in the prioritization survey. This
will building previous outreach to our aging adults through programming, like Silver Sneakers.
Center for People with Disabilities (CPWD)
Staff hosted a workshop for CPWD staff to review the information regarding the process leading up to
the draft goals and initiatives. The draft goals and initiatives were shared in advance for discussion on
the needs and priorities for the population they serve. This will build on previous work done with the
EXPAND program participants and caregivers.
Feedback is color coordinated similar to the previous summary.
BeHeardBoulder Eng
BeHeardBoulder.org Spa
Virtual Public Workshop Notes
Spanish First Public Workshop
Age-Well Center
Center for People with Disabilities – to come
Building Community and Relationships
• Non-profit Relationships
o According to the videos, it would be important to the financial health of parks and rec to
immediately develop relationships with for- and non-profit entities. That should be #1.
o The descriptions of Goals B and C and the accompanying initiatives are non-specific and
vague. Some concrete examples would be helpful. I agree about the part about
expanding partnerships with BVSD.
o Develop partnerships with local 501-C's that have a simulal mission statement
o Working with schools (from access/inclusion perspective)
▪ Representing youth voices – with deep thought and feedback, more than
elementary crayon drawings.
▪ Involving youth in boards and commissions.
• Other Recreation Providers
o Partner with other recreation providers to provide new and enhanced recreation
facilities that the department can't afford on their own.
o Working with existing user groups, not to be lost in inclusion for all. These user groups
can be quickly engaged.
o Big tech in town– funding opportunities. Private organizations should pay their way.
o Tennis enthusiast – Rocky Mountain Tennis Center closing. Community in need.
o Proactive outreach to identify needs around court sports (more Tennis).
o User Groups can contribute Volunteer to help or with $.
o Good to tap into population of outdoor recreation majors at CU.
▪ How do we engage university students and service them knowing they are
transient population.
▪ How can students and faculty in outdoor recreation program be leveraged to
help support department. Interns in program to give them experience?
o
• Process – priority, fairness, and transparency
o BPR already has a lot of strong partnerships, but it seems like there is no consistency
with the management of each partnership. For example the BVSD agreement feels very
one sided, the pools are heavily used by Fairview & BHS during primetime hours, but
BPR doesn't seem to utilize BVSD facilities much except late at night. This ultimately
kicks out the normal BPR patron, and gives priority to the swim teams. Other
partnerships like Kinesis & Gonzo Tennis are great as they can offer programs that are
very specialized, however, again there seems to be a priority over the regular
community member. There have been many times when a Gonzo Tennis program has
only a handful of kids taking up an entire gymnasium, again during some of the busiest
times of the center.
o We already have an amazing large and diverse outreach program.
o Always respond in a timely manner to questions from the community, and from
organizations representing segments of the community!
o it is important to create an efficient and accurate systems approach to identify gaps, and
opportunities to meet goals. Measurement allows clear data to measure success or
failure and where processes can be improved. This data should be shared with the
Community and they should be able to introduce feedback (with a response).
o Compliments for MP survey – got good reach, good representation
o Critical need, could be 2 or 3 staff. Millions of dollars to leverage.
o Short and long term targets should be set for these items.
o Missing opportunity for staff enrichment around volunteer opportunities and being a
recognized face at the store.
o Develop a program to partner/connect seniors as motivation partners
o
• Equity
o Inclusivity vitally (foundationally) important
▪ Consider cultural history of Colorado – mining, agricultural: education.
▪ Parks and rec are for all.
▪ Under-represented voices need to be heard.
▪ Diverse group of people in User Groups – eg Tennis or Disc Golf.
o Building a stronger community by connecting with all members is really imprortant.
o Program at a middle school in the summer had very low participation and seemed that
BPR had not built a relationship and a program that fit the community needs (was in
summer when many kids were away)
o Would like continued conversation with BPR
o Don’t wait until the next master plan to continue this discussion
o Transportation access to rec centers.
o Lost Free virtual classes
• Rating
o I would rate only the first goal as important and the other 2 as not important. That’s not
an option in this survey.
Community Health and Wellness
• Community Involvement, Engagement, Volunteers
o Hoping that community needs can be met, especially to keep people active and
involved.
o Always like to see more opportunities to get people involved.
o More community based events for adults, amplify voices within the community through
events
o When we walk about engaging community important to be proactive about it. Reach
out to club and associations. Impacts of new development.
o Welcome opportunity to do volunteer work, experiential programs for youth.
o Have programs to pair older members of the community with younger ones to bring in
enthusiasm for different sports and activities.
o
• Events and Activities
o Explore more programming for seniors and underserved groups. possibly add
community wellness days that allow community members to explore new recreational
options ( open house style?); Explore if virtual options in addition to live classes add
accessibility to classes and programming.
o Very important for senior to continue to have access to programs.
o We love the East and West Senior Centers. The meals on wheels service is a great
service. We would love to see the day trips return. Thank you for all you do.
o Keep up the good work.
o TaiChi practice/lessons in room with mirrors, i.e., EBRC yoga studio. Art pr ograms for
seniors, i.e. drawing (simply encourage art lessons to encourage cognitive skill) Keep up
Aqua Aerobics class, so good for seniors and disables peoples, Zumba Classes.
o Details matter – often surprisingly, especially important to know for those who have not
participated in various possible uses of the facilities in parks and rec. e.g. mirrors in
spaces where this is especially useful; floor that don’t wave and wobble; adequate
supplies for activity group size; thank you for your efforts – Looking forward to feeling
safer re-covid – this is holding many of us back! I love the morning exercise and Latin
dance exercise classes and swimming.
• Measure for Success
o Needs to be measurement and process to analyze results and be transparent to
community.
o Before you can start improving things you need the foundational information.
• Equity
o Disappointed by how limited programs are right now.
o Older Latino adults have almost NO participation is recreation programs. Major barriers
are language, finding information online or participating in online programming.
o Would like more programming in Spanish.
o Would like more culturally relevant programming: music, soccer, etc.
o It is difficult to connect with/navigate the programming
• Must allow freedom of choice for all vax and mask mandates. Support natural healing, natural
immunity, holistic healers, spiritual healers and all alternative methods of health and wellnes.
•
• Rating
o The "identify opp's to improve programming..." goal is so important. It seems
foundational to the other 2 goals. I could give at least 3 personal examples where work
in these areas would improve my experience with parks and rec. If you work with
people where they are and improve communication with staff, then you're doing the
foundational work of figuring out your next steps. The first goal is more theoretical and
could be better discovered through the goals stated in the third (C.) goal.
o Goal A is difficult to understand. Again, specific examples would be helpful. The user
satisfaction survey is listed under all three initiatives. I'm not sure why this duplication
is necessary.
o First goal is abstract. Not the most accessible terminology. Measurement approach is
key.
o Goal B stands out – foundational point to making sure needs are met.
▪ B starts out the conversation – what are the needs and are we meeting them.
o
Youth Engagement and Activity
• Engagement
o The way these goals are written feels distant from teens. Like "using technology to
meet them where they are and track their activities." ? And the suggestion to have
events in parks to learn what teens want? I have a 19 year old so have spent lots of
time with his friends in groups. They aren't likely to go to a park for this purpose.
They'll respond to something on Discord, maybe. Whoever works on these goals needs
to be working with teens on a daily basis so they know how teens think. One thing I
notice about anything that tries to engage teens is that you'll have a teen advisory board
or the like and those are the type A, already-engaged kids. You need a board with all
kinds of kids, comprised mostly of super technology-focused kids and not-already-active
kids. And kids with disabilities. And THEN you'll end up with true diversity. Start at the
beginning with the kids you're trying to reach. Also, I don't think partnering with BVSD
is a good idea. They have their strict needs to meet their own goals which will make
your programming boring. Partner with video gaming companies, with virtual reality
companies, with arcades, with unlikely partners. That's where you're going to reach the
kids who aren't coming to your facilities. Also, I desperately hope that you try harder to
reach teens who are physically awkward like my son was. He never got the basic ball or
other physical skills because he was too busy in special needs classes. Yet he was not an
EXPAND type of kid. So he fell in between everything you offer. Beginning skills for
older kids in swimming, tennis, basic ball sports in a way that doesn't embarrass them.
• Opportunities
o youth need movement and arts
o This is a city-wide issue. Collaboration with Community Vitality, HHS Youth
Opportunities program and the YOP Board, as well as getting teens into jobs with the
City like the OSMP Jr Ranger program and we need lifeguards, summer seasonally for
parks.
o Teens need places to go in Boulder, and BPR Should help facility opportunities. Even if
minimally supervised. Drop-in Teen times in the gym/pools (especially right after school)
and teen nights would go a long way in supporting that. Possibly teen-focused special
events, movies, etc.
o Add teen specific classes and programs targeting physical, mental health and
community building. Explore new partnerships and programming for after- school and
summer.
o There are so many opportunities out there, for instance Boulder Pottery lab, Growing
gardens, rec centers, community art centers, etc. It would be great to see more
partnerships to bring those activities and opportunities to the community!
o Youth and teens are important, however, older persons should not be discounted (their
needs should be considered; it is older people who can mentor, encourage, and walk
the talk to provide examples of physical fitness, engagement, social interaction and
appreciation of our great outdoors.
o We need places where kids can safely hang out, ie rec centers for our kids
o Youth must have a choice in connecting in person without masks and vax requirements
or coercion with their fellow youths and mentors. Physical activity boosts confidence,
team sports help in working together. Sports/physical activity and social connection are
tantamount in healthy mind, body and spirit.
o Involve them by giving them the opportunity to volunteer or work to do their 150
community hours
• Equity
o Kids love the pools and parks
o Important to work with schools and youth
▪ build programs within schools - Heard this several times!
o Involve youth in developing programs and asking what they would like to do/build
o Create projects for families (like tree planting) - especially for the latino community
o Continue and extend existing partnerships
o Expand opportunities for the community to get out and meet each other like they had
before the pandemic
o Less phones/tech and more nature for kids and teens
• Rating
o All 3 goals seem important. There is some duplication of references to "technology" and
more explanation of this would be helpful. References to "tracking" youth activities is a
little unsettling.
• CU students and the role they could play
o Difficult community to reach. Educational programs that could have some tie in.
• Naropa University partnership
o The university has wilderness therapy programming, mindfulness-based programs –
good to build alliances with universities – incoming classes can start programs as part of
curriculum that link with BPR services and staff – getting civic input and involvement.
Win-win.
• Goal A rises to the top
o Mental health services are severely lacking in general, and youth have such incredible
needs.
• Goal C rises to the top
o Once you have the partnerships, all the other things can follow. Silos need to be broken
up - city, state, region need to have better communication and collaborate more. With
good partnerships, you have more funding, creativity and flexibility. Need the big
picture and interconnection.
• Staffing Cuts
o Staffing has been cut, so making bigger connections is very important. So many
opportunities for people to be around kids and help engage with them.
• Means to wellness
o Japanese forest bathing – cortisol increases in nature. Goal to get people out and
connected as means to wellness.
• Cognitive Health
o Cognitive behaviors/health as well as physical behaviors/health should be focused on –
stress starts in youth and gets increasingly worse – find opportunities to help with this
through BPR services.
Taking Care of What We Have
• Smith Park
o Please improve the small Smith Park that is in lower Chautauqua neighborhood. It's a
great little park but everything needs some attention. Pruning, landscaping, pathways,
benches, etc. Thank you.
o Please improve the small Smith Park that is in lower Chautauqua neighborhood. It's a
great little park but everything needs some attention. Pruning, landscaping, pathways,
benches, etc. Thank you.
• SBRC
o My south boulder community is interested in upgrading our rec center. Is this something
that is on the table? We pay a yearly membership fee and only get a fraction of what the
other rec centers have including the gym which we haven’t been able to use since
November. This would be a wonderful way for our south boulder community to come
together. If we can have a pool with more kid friendly services and more workout
classes. I used to be a part of a workout class and the whole town was practically there!
:) I want to get back to this!! Would love to be a part of this dialogue.
o I have lived in South Boulder for over 16 years and am dismayed by how little attention
the South Boulder Recreation Center gets. Even though we have two elementary
schools within a mile and one about 1.2 miles from the center there is nothing for young
children. The middle and high school are about a minute walk and again, hardly any
reason for them to be at the center. Our weight room is small and overcrowded. We
only have 6 lanes in the pool instead of 8. I could go on and on. And recently I voted to
pass a sales tax and found out that money was being used for upgrades on the East
Boulder Rec Center. I think it way past time for you to take care of the South Boulder
Community and build a Relationship with South Boulder. We are a changing community
with many new families with young children and we all, all ages, deserve more.
o Please see my comment above because the parks and rec department are not meeting
the needs of the South Boulder Community. This winter we have hardly any access to
the lap pool, way, way less than the other rec centers. I swam at South 2 or 3 times a
week last winter (2020-2021) and the pool was almost always full. And I choose to swim
at less busy times. I do understand that this year there is a hiring shortage, but it seems
that a more equitable distribution of the lifeguards could help provide at least a few
more hours for lap swim at South. So how are these severely limited hours meeting your
Community Health and Wellness goals for our community?
o Each recreation center seems to be getting old, the South center seems to keep having
issues from cold showers to a closed gym. It needs money invested or a new building to
support the south side of town. It also doesn't have a play pool, and with only 6 lanes
when it is open users groups take up the whole space. East is out of date, its a nice
space, but can see improvements through out. North has some great amenities, but
seems to be going down because of unhoused & teens abusing the facility - just doesn't
seem clean or safe any more.
o Again, when it comes to your policies with the South Boulder Recreation Center, you are
not Taking Care of What WE Have. There is now water damage and many problems that
have been put on the bottom of the list for years. When I moved here 16 years ago
there were plans at that time to renovate or rebuild the South Boulder rec center and
also plans to get rid of it. So when is the South Boulder Rec Center coming to the front
of the list? I have now with my taxes paid for major renovations at the reservoir and
Scott Carpenter pool and now will be paying for renovations at East Boulder rec center.
And how are you meeting climate commitments by forcing families with young children
to drive to the East and North Rec Centers?
o I have been a swimmer in Boulder for 42 years, and am very grateful to the city for
providing me with an opportunity to do so. I am chagrined that I am still driving an
extra 10 miles in order to access the swimming pool at East Boulder Rec c enter. (NOT in
line with Boulder's climate change initiatives/goals). I swim 3x/week: 30 miles/week:
1,560 miles/year. Me, times all of the previously dedicated swimmers of the South
Boulder pool, congesting the roads, sitting through 10 extra traffic lights.....and feeling
utterly neglected by the city's refusal to include the swimmers of South Boulder in what
should be an equitable distribution of recreational offerings. I have written many letters
and have been told repeatedly that there is a shortage of available lifeguards. I am sure
this is true. It is time to divide the available lifeguards equally between the three rec
centers. It doesn't matter that East and North have 8 lanes and South only 6. The
reopening of the South pool will go a long way towards alleviating the unpleasantly
crowded pools at the other centers by keeping South swimmers off of the roads and out
of those pools. Offering half of one pool to accommodate all of the city's swimmers on
weekday mornings is deflating to this demographic. I have sadly had to trim my
swimming to two times a week due to both the extra travel time, and the fact that, after
battling my way into a lane so I could partake in a compromised swim, I find myself
thinking "this wasn't enough fun to merit the effort". And swimming is one of my
favorite things to do. I am not in favor of upgrading any of the other pool facilities until
South Boulder has been reopened. We don't need a bigger and better East Boulder Rec.
I do appreciate that the city has as many beautiful pools as it does. I just want our South
pool to be included in the mix. Thank you for your consideration.
o There are so many items needed, and the world has changed so dramatically over the
last 5 years. Yet it doesn't seem that BPR has made financial adjustments appropriately,
Scott Carpenter Pool is a great facility but it's operation makes it nearly impossible to
operate the other pools - or is that a financial issue for lifeguard pay? The South Center
seems to have new issues every month (cold showers, pool/hot tub closures, flooded
gym). Planning should occur with things like an aging building in mind, in addition to
maintaining programs within service delivery. Maybe SCP could have been designed to
operate with less staff, or to be open year round. That would have allowed for programs
to be shifted from South Center over to that pool, rather than having the pools
temporarily closed or repaired. The financial aid program is fantastic, but it is truly only
helping those worst-case scenarios, just because a family makes a little bit more the
requirements doesn't mean they aren't deserving of even partial financial aid. The FA
program also seems to benefit some of the biggest troublemakers without recourse.
o Somehow funds were found to do major renovations and rebuilding of the resources at
the Boulder Reservoir and also the rebuilding of Scott Carpenter Pool and these are
ONLY used in the summer months. My question is, why is there no funding for the
maintenance, renovation, and or rebuilding of the South Boulder Recreation Center, a
facility used all year?
o In South Boulder, we have two elementary schools within a mile and one about 1.2
miles from the South Rec center, but there is nothing at the center for young children.
There is no splash pool, no indoor activity space for young children, no child care
options. Our middle and high schools are about a minute walk, and again, hardly any
reason for these age groups to be at the South Boulder Rec center. There is no climbing
wall and the rec center has only a very limited number of classes for all ages. About the
only time I see teens in the center is if they are with the swim team or maybe signed up
for a dance class. Are you meeting your goals for Youth Engagement and Activity for the
students that are only a minute walk from the rec center and youth less than a mile?
o I am a long time swimmer who lives in Boulder and has joined the Louisville Rec Center.
I drive there from Boulder to have a good experience in a pool that is fully staffed with
guards and does not cater to outside money-making groups who pay fees to use the
pools and push out lap swimmers. The current 2 operation City pools are open very few
hours a day for lap swimming due to the fact you resist paying lifeguards a wage which
is attractive. Cut back on other Rec expenditures and use this money to get all 3 pools
up and running. I used to swim at South. Loved the pool. Now it is accessible a few
hours a week. Frankly, I am totally disappointed in Rec Center administration, their
decisions on who gets to use the pool when. It has created massive crowding during lap
swim, bad feelings between swimmers jockeying for a lane, and short tempers. I find
this a very unattractive situation. The purpose of exercise is to reduce stress and enjoy
oneself. Not happening in the Boulder pools for lap swimming. I refuse to join Master's
just to be able to swim. I am going to Louisville and while I am there, I will make a point
to spend some money in their town to give them tax dollars to support their good
policies. Something is very wrong with Parks and Rec administration in Boulder and it
needs fixing. One thing which would help in the pools is fewer outside groups and raise
our fees to have more lap swim to cover the additional cost. I am not coming to City
pools for a bad experience. I have had a few in the past months.
• East Boulder Senior Center
o Senior specific EBRC. We want our senior center back. An extremely well used facility,
we miss it every day. I’ve paid taxes her since 1956, the SENIOR center should belong to
seniors, not a preschool.
o Re-oen East Age Well Center.
o Offer senior specific programming at EBCC – nice facilities with mirrors, floors, lighting
• Pickleball
o PLEASE add more pickleball courts! The data overwhel mingly supported their use,
especially within the SENIOR cohort. It is vital that Seniors be able to have community
and wellness at this time of COVID. Playing inside is not an option for most seniors.
Additionally, now that the pickleball courts are used all year round, please provide
shoveling on the courts. After all, we pay for the courts (Silver Sneakers) and provide a
sizeable income to the Rec Centers.
o more pickleball courts
o Add more pickleball courts so more people can play.
o In accordance with "Taking care of what we have" please, please, please restripe and
add pickleball nets to ALL of NBRC's tennis courts, this spring when the courts get
resurfaced. It doesn't make monetary sense to do it at another time.
o resurface NBRC courts and expand the number of pickleball courts
o Prioritize tennis and pickleball for new investment.
o make it easier to check in for Silver sneakers when using an outdoor court
o We want to play sports! Really you want each boulder resident to read all that PDF?
Quit waisting our resources by writing all this and get outside and FIX our courts! Build
new courts and maybe some pickle ball courts for all the people playing that sport so
there does not have to be a fight for court space!
o Pickleball – need to balance tennis court and pickleball community needs
o Pickleball – need more courts, provide an asset for priority populations
o Expanding pickleball facilities – dedicated facilities, need more, other communities have
them
o
o Tennis Courts, Facility and Maintenance
▪ The Boulder community requests more public tennis facilities, especially indoor
tennis courts. Ideally the creation of a Boulder Tennis Center with indoor and
outdoor courts and lighting for night play would be fantastic and VERY well used. I
can hardly believe we don't have any indoor public courts for the community and
need to drive to Longmont or Arvada for this. :/
▪ Public tennis courts, indoors and outdoors, maybe at Valmont City Park, would build
community and relationships!
▪ In order to build relationships throughout the community we need new tennis
courts as well as maintenance on the ones available to the community.
▪ I believe that we can build better community relationships by maintaining and
building more tennis courts in Boulder. It is somewhat embarrassing how poor the
public courts in Boulder are... we are a community of very active people and a
community that has many resources...Let's put some of those resources to work.
The other issue is that the sport of Pickle Ball has taken off in Boulder. I believe this
is a great thing, one more activity for folks to participate in. The problem, however,
is that the use of tennis courts for pickle ball, leaves less courts for the tennis
players. We need more courts for tennis and it would be nice to build courts just for
pickle ball. It is hard for tennis players to play on courts that have the pickle ball
lines painted on them... the pickle ball lines make it too confusing.
▪ We need more public tennis courts and the existing courts should be maintained
better.
▪ Keep the tennis courts kept up better and add lighting to play after dark. Remove all
mask mandates and vax mandates in all of Boulder County.
▪ I would like to see more consistent pool hours especially in the summer. People go
to private gyms because they can staff their facilities. Also, tennis courts need
resurfacing. To involve the community, we need good quality and quantity of public
tennis courts. A tennis center would be great too.
▪ Please build and maintain city park tennis courts. It's such a great, free activity that
can be enjoyed by young and old and it's soooo hard to find an open court.
▪ The very active Boulder tennis community requests more public tennis facilities,
especially indoor tennis courts. Ideally the creation of a Boulder Tennis Center with
indoor and outdoor courts and lighting for night play would be fantastic and VERY
well used. I can hardly believe we don't have any indoor public courts, or well
maintained (w/ lights and restrooms) outdoor courts aside from East Boulder Rec
(this place is great). It's a shame the Boulder tennis community must often need to
drive to Longmont or Arvada for their tennis needs. :/
▪ We want more tennis courts that do not have cracks. Cracks are not safe. We have
more people in Boulder , we need more tennis courts. Tennis is an inexpensive sport
for all abilities to play.
▪ Add tennis courts in the shade
▪ again, I'd love to see improvements in the quality of our tennis courts and how we
open access and equity to all players.
▪ Tennis is becoming very popular again, and the Boulder facilities are sadly lacking.
▪ I believe that we can build better community Health and Wellness by maintaining
and building more tennis courts in Boulder. It is somewhat embarrassing how poor
the public courts in Boulder are... we are a community of very active people and a
community that has many resources...Let's put some of those resources to work.
The other issue is that the sport of Pickle Ball has taken off in Boulder. I believe this
is a great thing, one more activity for folks to participate in. The problem, however,
is that the use of tennis courts for pickle ball, leaves less courts for the tennis
players. We need more courts for tennis and it would be nice to build courts just for
pickle ball. It is hard for tennis players to play on courts that have the pickle ball
lines painted on them... the pickle ball lines make it too confusing.
▪ Boulder is in desperate need of an indoor facility for the tennis community.
▪ We need more public tennis courts! Gon zo's youth tennis program is outstanding
but needs more courts so the program can continue to grow and serve our Boulder
youth.
▪ Resurface tennis courts.
▪ We tennis players have seen very little evidence of maintenance and repair of
existing tennis courts. That needs to happen first. Then we can figure out how to
build some new public facilities, aka the APEX center in Jeffco.
▪ I like TENNIS .... pickleball is fine, but I wish we could build designated pickleball
courts.
▪ BECAUSE of pickleball, we have LOST tennis courts in Boulder.
▪ I also travel a fair bit-- and I can tell you that Boulder has had some of the better
maintained tennis courts in comparison to other U.S. cities,,,,, but unfortunately
that is changing.... our tennis courts have drooping nets and cracked surfaces. WHY
NOT TAKE BETTER CARE OF WHAT WE HAVE--- some of the nicer tennis courts in the
country, in the beautiful setting of Boulder, CO!!
▪ Re: "Taking Care of What We Have" the Boulder tennis community would greatly
appreciate the cracks on the existing courts could be fixed, lights could be added for
safety and restrooms could be installed. Imagine Boulder Tennis Association league
play at Centennial Middle School for 10+ ladies and no restrooms. OMG -
embarrassing!
▪ Please resurface the tennis courts but DO NOT put pickle ball lines on all of them.
There needs to be courts where USTA leagues can play their matches and have the
team together.A set of separate pickle ball courts should be built so that tennis and
pickle ball can co-exist
▪ I don't understand all your jargon, "flexible recreation facilities" I do know we need
to keep well maintained facilities. Our tennis courts keep getting overlays and the
cracks are back within months. Do the contractors not have to guarantee their
work?
▪ Tennis facilities have not been maintained as they should
▪ The tennis team from Boulder High has to practice on the Centennial courts,
because the courts at Boulder High are no longer playable. This is one more reason
we need to take care of what we have.Also, the repairs that were performed on the
Centennial Courts are already starting to deteriorate. There are new cracks forming
on the courts. Whoever had these courts re-surfaced a few months ago seemed to
have taken the cheap route... Let's do a better job next time.
▪ Not only taking care of tennis courts we have, but providing more public tennis
courts in the city
▪ I use the tennis court a lot and they are hard to get and many are in rough shape. I'd
like to see those fixed when possible. There is a very large community with leagues
coming in from other cities and it's embarrassing sometimes when we have to play
with cracks all over. I'd love to see those updated and possibly more courts added.
▪ In particular, taking care of public tennis courts. Tom Watson Park is in desperate
need of repair, as it is one of the only public lit court in the city and it is dangerous
to play on at this time. We left boulder as a tennis team because there are not
enough lit courts in boulder. We will now be paying our fees to Louisville.
▪ Thank you for resurfacing the Centennial courts! Beyond that, most of Boulder's
tennis courts are in abysmal shape. I hope that the city will allocate the resources to
give them the maintenance they desperately need. While more court s are
desperately needed, capacity could be substantially increased by adding lights to
existing courts. Toward the end of supporting climate goals, the city could
consider adding court cams that would allow people to determine if a court is free
without having to travel there.
▪ Maintain the existing public tennis courts by repaving them and replacing bad nets.
▪ Keep public tennis courts in good condition. These service youth, adepts and elderly.
▪ We need to improve the courts at north boulder rec. no lights. Cracks at centennial
▪ Please add tennis courts and reapir any existing ones
▪ Please take care of the tennis courts. The Tom Watson courts are in terrible
disrepair, and other courts need maintenance as well. These courts are used ALL
the time, especially now that Pickleball is so popular. Please put resources towards
keeping these courts in good shape.
▪ Boulder has an actively used tennis facility in the RMTC. This needs to be replaced
with an appropriate Tennis Center.
▪ Let's act like our neighboring cities (Longmont, Arvada, Broomfield) and get some
decent tennis court attention. The city of Boulder needs more courts: build and the
people will come + pay to play!
▪ There is a need for more tennis courts - dream big! An indoor facility with indoor
and outdoor courts with lights so that the tennis community can grow and be active
all year. Pickle ball needs to be separate but also needs courts and some sort of
facility as well.
▪ Please add more tennis courts
▪ All I know is that I play tennis on public courts and would gladly pay extra money via
taxes to ensure these courts are maintained, lights are added and programs are
added to support our youth and persons of color.
▪ Use a public/private financial program to achieve and indoor tennis facility.
▪ There is a long waiting list to become a member of the Meadows Tennis Club.
Obviously there is a need for additional tennis facilities.
▪ Boulder is about to lose courts at RMTC courts and probably also CU south. I hope
this is on your organization readiness radar!!!
▪ Boulder has a thriving and growing tennis community that is being sorely
underserved, both by the scarcity of courts and the poor repair of the ones that
exist.
▪ Build a tennis center with well maintained courts
▪ We need better tennis courts- lighted tennis courts, we need better rec centers
north of town.while hiking trails are great. We need more options for winter time.
▪ The tennis and pickle ball community is very large and growing. This community has
a large senior component, so by providing for tennis court access you are also
helping seniors stay active. The tennis and pickle ball community is very large and
growing. This community has a large senior component, so by providing for tennis
court access you are also helping seniors stay active. Please consider either adding
a removable bubble to existing courts or, even better, plan for the addition of a
tennis center with additional courts and an indoor facility. I began playing tennis
here in 2017, and have seen a tremendous surge in the popularity of tennis and
pickle ball. There is often more demand for courts than supply. This is frustrating.
▪ Please keep the tennis courts in better shape and add lights to outdoor courts to
give more and access to playing in the community.
▪ Adequate budgeting for our facilities. The tennis courts are in great need of
adequate maintenance and repair and we definitely need an indoor tennis court
complex.
▪ Longtime resident of Rocky Mountain tennis center. Concern around tennis center.
▪ Tennis courts have cracks, dangerous and need repair – not meeting the level of
service needed for the community
▪ Sheltered courts during winter – enclosed courts, year round; more return on
investment
▪ Tennis – not even investment, courts in different conditions, some are unusable and
dangerous, improvements needed, accommodate increased use, more driving
necessary to find a court – climate impact,
▪ Centennial – repair has some issues, some dead spots, Boulder High uses them too;
▪ Ensure that contractors guarantee work – follow up on Centennial issues
▪ Millenium Hotel development – new buildings – CU; Rocky Mountain Tennis –
covered on north side, worried about losing
▪ Addition of lighting, solar lights – lengthen play time
▪ More indoor courts – waitlist and expense for other options
▪ Lifetime sport – expand tennis facilities & make them more useable
▪
o Tennis Programs, Processes and Community Benefit
▪ I think you should engage more with the tennis community - its a great social game
and strengthens the use and quality of parks systems.
▪ Playing regular tennis on public courts is one of the best ways I know to build
relationships and a sense of community with other tennis players in Boulder.
▪ Add the tennis community here in Boulder to your initiative
▪ Connections with the community are the only way to meet the community's needs.
Strengthening internal administration, processes, for both short, mid and long terms
needs should be a continual goal of any efficient and caring organization. I have
been a part of the Boulder Valley tennis Community since 1976 and continue to
play, compete and enjoy tennis close to home. The Millenium Hotel facility is
preparing for a redevelopment and our club will more than likely lose a bunch, if not
all courts. where are we supposed to play? On poorly maintained public courts,
none with lights, or I suppose we could get on a wait list for The Meadows or the
Boulder County Club. My recommendation is that the various clubs and tennis
associations be proactively contacted for discussions about the current and future
state of their organization and the members' needs. Tennis is a sport that can be
played at any age, from young to old, providing there are facilities and an
individual's health can handle it.
▪ As a long-term member of the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center, I know that RMTC has
been very important to me in making and keeping friends. This has been a key part
of the social life of me and the rest of my family including my three grandchildren.
Boulder really needs a Tennis Center that will serve the needs of the community.
▪ Tennis! It is a game that can be played at any age and level. It encourages wellness
through being outside as well as social interactions.
▪ I am an avid tennis player. Don't know if Rocky Mt. Tennis will close. We need to
ensure tennis programs and access to public courts.
▪ Have opportunities for our teens/youth to be active and involved in tennis. Team
sports help with socialization and being valued and part of something greater than
yourself. More tennis courts would allow for the space for these programs to
happen.
▪ Tennis in a good way to have teens and youth play a sport. When my daughter was
in high school Boulder high had a no cut program, but there were not enough courts
for all the kids to play at the same time.
▪ Many youth play tennis, which is great. The tennis team from Boulder High has to
practice on the Centennial courts, because the courts at Boulder High are no longer
playable. This is one more reason we need more courts for everyone... also, the
repairs that were performed on the Centennial Courts are already starting to
deteriorate. There are new cracks forming on the courts. Whoever had these
courts re-surfaced a few months ago seemed to have taken the cheap route... Let's
do a better job next time.
▪ Again I will advocate for more tennis/pickleball access for the community.
Affordable tennis programs for the youth is also highly desired
▪ It makes sense to look for all potential sourcing for budget dollars. Perhaps I don't
know much about Parks and Rec volunteer resources, but volunteerism and
experiential service learning programs from our middle and high schools could be a
value and benefit to all - win win! I'll bet that the tennis community would pitch in
some volunteer time to maintain courts and help with building new facilities!!!
▪ Tennis needs to continue to be organized throughout the city so the people have
access to courts and the reservation system
▪ Facilitate booking and online cancellation of tennis courts
▪ Kids would benefit from a youth tennis program.
▪ The RMTC has a great youth program that my three grandchildren have participated
in. This needs to continue and expand in a facility worthy of Boulder.
▪ I play tennis at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center several times a week. I also play
in the RMTC's summer leagues. This is an important component of my keeping
healthy and in physical and mental shape.
▪ Reservation system – Only seniors reserve because they can do it for free so
‘reservation data’ is not full picture (missing most tennis players)
▪ Boulder tennis association – better engagement.
▪
o Reservoir
▪ At this time there is no way to get to the Boulder Reservoir by bus or alternative
family transportation. Even if they have the Free Entry Financial Aid pass... this park
land is out of reach for many.
• Art and Culture
o art programs are awesome
• Overall Maintenance, Cleanliness and Safety
o These are such broad, generic statements that they are essentially meaningless. Please
focus on keeping up the maintenance of quality recreational facilities and maintaining
healthy, outdoor spaces for daytime recreation with nature.
o With low staffing and hiring issues it would be good to make sure What we have and
how we take care of it are a Priority. I saw 2 dirty water stained ceiling titles at the
EBCC and no one has bothered to notice that this makes our building look old and
uncared for. 2 new tiles would be all that is needed. it is a matter of the current
staffing being responsible to take care and really care - like it was your own home.
o All three recreation centers need updating and improvements to allow for meeting the
modern day user's needs for health & wellness. Not functional fitness areas, tight
weight/cardio areas, pools that always seem at capacity.
o Keep it simple: maintain and protect the park facilities.
o Clearly we have some burn out going on when our team just walks by trash without
picking it up in the centers or in the parks. It is an ever lasting issue with unhoused
persons damaging the parks and outdoor facilities and now hanging out in the centers
and making general visitors feel unsafe. This needs to be deal with or we will continue
to have turn over in our team.
o I have been a boulder resident for 49 years. I have used the rec centers and love the
many swimming options we have in this city. That is in the past and it is regrettable. We
still have the facilities but they are dimmed and unpleasant now. However I believe it
doesn't have to be this way. I'd llke to see the parks and rec pay lifeguards a good wage
and hire more of them and reopen to full capacity the rec center pools. I think the result
will be fantastic and improve the health and future of us all.
o For instance, the fire escape at the Pottery Lab building!
o at the reservoir- people put very loud music and smoke cigarettes. for those of us
looking to relax and disconnect this is very disturbing and the staff can not do anything
about it. as you know, people can wear headphones and smoke somewhere else. we
can't even relax to read and we are all exposed to second hand smoking. any chance
these rules can improve so we can all enjoy the outdoors? I find it extremely
disrespectful. thank you. my husband is disabled and has allergies. he almost never
leaves the house and when does in the summer we take him to the reservoir- so this
topic is very important to me.
o I don’t feel safe in the parks at night. They are dark and people who are homeless may
be hanging around.
o
• General
o Community health and wellness would be improved by improving current facilities,
including tennis courts, building new facilities, and meeting the needs of a growing
active & aging community.
o More pool hours and swim team opportunities. Continue tennis camps and lessons.
o It is critical to maintain existing facilities in good condition, particularly when neglecting
this creates a much larger financial burden down the road, in addition to reducing the
availability of adequate facilities for use by the community. I am mostly concerned
about function rather than having the latest-greatest-newest facility. Tennis courts in
particular have been sorely neglected, and now huge expenditures will be required to
bring the city's facilities up to an adequate condition.
o
• Resilience
o Isn't making sure current staff knows how to take care of what you have the most basic
one of this group? That needs to be taken care of first. I chose the final goal as the next
most important because of the Marshall Fire. More than anything, you need to make
sure there is buffer between your land and buildings and manage the water well in case
of fire. That is crucial to take care of what you have given what we just saw happen. I
use East Boulder Rec. more than the other facilities but I would also keep going, no
matter the state of the building, if the programming were relevant, if I understood that
it had to wait for important reasons.
o I think this is the most important group of goals and initiatives. Maintaining and
improving the existing recreation centers is a high priority, as well taking care of existing
ecosystems.
o When replacing anything, choose the most eco option!
o Ensuring all department staff know and understand their jobs is something that should
be part of the job and the organization; this is basic and it should not be a goal that has
to be prioritized.
o Our climate issues are paramount. A significant part of our budget should be concerned
with what can be done to improve our carbon footprints, minimize erosion and trail
damage, mitigate flood plains and curb development. Of course we need to have good
maintenance plans for our existing facilities, and end-of-life upgrades! Installation of
solar for example would help save dollars down the road and also meet some climate
goals. Usage metrics for facilities and other recreational venues could help provide
prioritization for where to allocate budget dollars. Example: Solar lighting should be
installed at outdoor and indoor tennis courts!
o The inheritance we all share provides abundant opportunity for outdoor recreation.
o Climate important
• Funding is necessary
• Take care of what we have – for safety and usage;
• Wonderland Lake – keep it natural (OSMP property)
• Labels on assets – with clear instructions on who to contact for what, QR codes for simple
feedback!
Financial Sustainability
• Equity
o Please treat all city residents equally as far as dispersing available facilities funds.
o Please treat all city residents equally as far as dispersing available facilities funds.
o subsidies for those would cannot afford services
o I support the use of sliding scales for fees.
o educate and remind seniors to check in with Silver Sneakers to increase that source of
funding.
o Please divide the available funding equally across all demographics.
o The different “buckets” of funding create benefits and challenges. Anecdotally, treating
recreation as a quasi enterprise fund is great to spur creativity, but is presented
challenges as more and more financial aid and subsidy is provided to those who need it
(i.e. low-income families, people with disabilities, children, teenagers and youth).
o Outside of boulder housing partners is difficult to get access to programs and financial
aid.
o Would be great if Parks and Rec would look for other parts of the community that need
support outside of housing partners.
o Limit on financial aid is challenging for families:
▪ “the limit for financial aid at the rec center is up to $400 per year. at
$20/gymnastic class, it's really not that high. wondering if that number can
increase so our children can be consistent with any sport throughout the year
and not miss out due to financial limitations”
▪ “I'm also wondering who controls playpass? It's currently $250/year/child and
speaking to many Boulder residents that's very low. could more budget be put
into that thank? thank you!”
o Explore an income tier program – sliding scale! - if you make just a bit more than the
limit then you are left out currently
o
• Staffing
o A majority of budget should go toward programs that enhance community... not more
staff.
o All focus should be on meeting the recreational needs of the people of Boulder. Again,
not protecting a city job.
o Please pay more attention to what the public wants vs. City administrative staff. You
work for us and should listen to our wishes. We pay your salaries with our taxes.
o Find a strategy to hire enough lifeguards. We have this great new facility at Scott
carpenter that could be fully utilized due to the high number of lifeguards required.
Maybe other perks can attract more lifeguards. Maybe we don’t need as many. Maybe
there are other creative solutions.
o The staff of BPR are great, but many seem overworked - especially those that have been
Onsight through the pandemic. From front-line to their supervisors, just seems like they
are the bandaid holding everything together, and without the front desk team's extra
effort
o Paying employees is important and worth it for retention. Important for standard and
non-standard positions.
o Goals A & C were considered a higher priority. In the post-COVID world, a greater focus
on helping those in need and looking for new funding opportunities. We should focus on
these things (while still taking care of what we have), but not focus on new initiatives or
needs that have significant costs.
o
• Funding
o I have recently heard that you intend to develop areas in Eastern Boulder - like Valmont,
the golf course and the reservoir. These are not examples of taking care of what we
have nor is is consistent with climate goals nor a wise use of departme nt or city dollars.
o I would be willing to pay more in property tax and sales tax to support Boulder Parks
and Recreation, although property tax would be preferable since sales tax is regressive.
o Come on, boulder is super rich. We can pay for these things.
o We are a wealthy community that supports our parks and rec and open space. Find the
money !
o I'm not sure where Boulder gets it money to support Parks and Recreation... but if it is
from our taxes, let's figure out a better way to allocate the funds. Let's send out a
survey to folks and ask them to prioritize the different sports opportunities that are
available in Boulder, maybe this would help Park and Rec see where the highest need is.
o Raise prices at rec centers vs. catering to more paying groups. L essen these private
paying groups. Pay lifeguards a whole lot more.
o Make the best use of the funds you have.
o What % of people who play in softball leagues in Boulder actually live in the City of
Boulder? Who decides what sports get funding/support? Competitive cycling is like a
historic landmark- although it's not a building, it is in desperate need of preservation.
o Focus on key resources with a long-term lens.
o Use your resources wisely.
o Focus on Goal A – increase funding resources to meet the needs of the community.
Community is fundamental to what we do. With different funding, this forces us to be
creative and think outside of the box with non-traditional funding sources.
• There was appreciation for the idea of Goal C – focus on the most important work. So much of
this tied to other areas of the Master Plan and would have a profound impact in each of those
key themes.
•
Organizational Readiness
• Customer Experience
o Provide easy to use ONLINE sign up and cancellation (no phone calls) for tennis court
reservations
o Think of engagement in many ways and leverage community learning to build up
community leaders that can train newer participants to further increase capacity.
o Exponentially improve infrastructure to support community
engagement/participation/volunteerism.
▪ Staff enrichment opportunity
▪ Enhance what we currently do
▪ Leverage community and staff passion
▪ Support from community to enhance capacity
• Example, over 100 people may show up for volunteer program
o More robust process and infrastructure for community participation
▪ Fixed infrastructure to mobilize the community around their passions
▪ More proficient and organized program
▪ Training for community, relationship building with staff and community
▪ Quarterly/monthly/weekly workday – regularly paced quarterly workdays
o Little to no cost to build lead volunteers
o Volunteerism helps community understand the challenges and bring new ideas
o Community participation projects help the community see real impacts, develops
increased passion and understanding of issues
o Prepared for ‘black swan’ events and meta changes in the environment cannot be BPR
alone
o Capitalize on the natural and organic support in the community for each other.
o It was better when the PLAY pass staff used to help participants with enrollment.
o Online enrollment is very challenging and often the classes are full by the time folks go
to register.
o Classes are often closed when I go to register for myself or my kids.
o It would be great to have someone at the rec center who could help with program
registration, “a navigator”.
o Web site is not easy
o
• Staffing
o It seems like you are more concerned as a department with your own employees
happiness and the need to make them feel fulfilled. Why not focus on making them feel
proud of their accomplishments of consistently providing quality facilities and park
space? If they want to go be program managers and create new things, there are
different jobs for them.
o These are all important. Keeping the team we have is a value as the history of
experience is a great asset. But as all businesses are trying to find employees that will
stay for more than 3-6 months how does the future after COVID play into this?
o It will be difficult to recruit and keep good employees in a very expensive region with
adequate pay.
o Build first, then organize internally.
o Again, improving internal processes should be an ongoing business goal; it should be
done continuously and consistently and the appropriate measurements should help
drive actual improvements. We need to be forward thinking and innovative with regard
to future states. Emerging technology should be tracked closely and leveraged where
possible to gain efficiencies. Cross training is valuable for all: it helps with retention,
better decision making, new ideas and increases the value of employees and the
organization. Definitely a yes on cross training. A focus on our climate concerns and
innovative ideas to improve our strategies to benefit should be strived for.
o Your staff are the highlight of visiting all of the recreation facilities. They are our direct
interaction with the facilities, not the new technologies. They need to come first.
o Cross Training – organizational readiness, resilient staff and keep staff
o Employees – pay market rate, better staff retention
o Interested in health of personnel based on quality of relationship between and
community.
o There is no Spanish-speaking staff to help or there are only very limited hours when help
in Spanish is available.
o Front desk staff push people to register online instead of assisting in person.
o White teenagers work at the rec center – extend this to other communities – more
effort to hire people of color and teenagers who speak Spanish. Not just put out the
application – collaboration with schools for credits.
o
• Measurement
o Given that you have zero metrics or ways to measure progress I am confident that you
will be able to claim success.
o Business process improvement should be general practice, always
o Cross training is essential
o Measurement and frequent analysis with transparency to the community
o Usage is a big missing measurement – related impacts
o
Survey Exercise Experience
• What do these bureaucratic statements have to do with parks?
• Do you think members of the public care about internal department administration? This
question is meaningless to all but your own administration. And goal 1 is kind of obvious but
there is absolutely no way to say what it actually means either.
• Who wrote these? not very understandable for a community member who wants to be able to
exercise and play sports
• Can such gibberish really be the result of 12 months effort?
• Again, these are such broad, generic statements that they are essentially meaningless. Pleaser
focus on keeping up the maintenance of quality recreational
• Are you seriously asking whether you should do something or study systems to figure out
whether something should be done???
• This is just more bureaucracy speak. Just focus on offering good services. Expand those that are
being used and cut back or change those that aren’t.
• Sorry but this also a ridiculous question. What value do you expect to gain by asking the public
to prioritize this list? Can you only do one or two of these things? Eg create a budget offer no
services? Or provide services but not budget for them? And what is creating a consistent and
clear implementation of department asset management programs? Don’t you see how
ridiculous this sounds?
• I don't have the expertise to prioritize these goals.
• What’s the question? Do the important things first.
• Again, can you only do one of these things? Eg if you try to add more funding can you then not
focus on the most important work? Maybe the city should outsource much of its services.
• You do not determine your funding, so the first two alternatives are moot. The last one would
be laughable in a junior achievement plan!
• I also think this should be commented on by those in a similar field. I don't know which should
take priority.
• Do whatever you need internally to complete your mission. Don’t ask the public how to run your
department.
• Do you really ask if you should build internal processes at the expense of your team? Imaging
you move to another city and get such a survey. How would you answer it? I’m left with the
impression that you only conduct this survey because there is some city mandate that you have
to obtain input from the public. Do you think that the public can give any useful input to any of
the questions asked? I assume the answer is no and that you don’t really care about the
responses anyway. But you can pay yourself on the back that the city listens to the people and
always take their input into consideration. If you really wanted public input you could ask
whether the community is satisfied with the current state of the tennis courts (the answer is
no). Or any other aspect of the faculties. Or you could ask if it makes sense for the city to
employ its own fitness coaches. (My answer is also no.) Or any other question that would
actually be worth asking to help you prioritize the work.
• I'm not sure what you mean by this statement... it does seem to me that many of your
statements in this survey seem to be more philosophical in nature. I think a survey that is more
direct and specific about what programs and facilities the Parks and Rec offer to the public,
would be more useful.
• This seems like a question for your staff only. Not sure why it is on a public survey
• This is a master class in organizational obfuscation! Pure pablum ...
• Don't re-create the wheel...
• City staff need to prioritize some of these, hard for community member to do so