The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Strategic Master Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary Introduction ............................................................................ 1 The City of Alexandria ............................................................ 2 Open Space ........................................................................... 3–4 Parks ..................................................................................... 5-6 Recreation Facilities .............................................................. 6-8 Recreation Programs ............................................................. 8-10 Capital Improvement Needs .................................................. 10 Summary of Recommendations ............................................. 11

Introduction Introduction and Process ........................................................ 12-13

Finding & Observations PHASE I: Review of Existing Conditions Data Collections ..................................................................... 14 Public Involvement ................................................................. 15 Organizational Input & Analysis ............................................ 15 Community Survey ................................................................. 16-17 Land Acquisition and Open Space-Key Community Issues ........ 17 Land Acquisition and Open Space –Consultants Observations & Findings ............................................................................. 18 Parks – Key Community Issues ............................................. 18 Parks – Consultants Observations & Findings ...................... 19 Recreation Facilities – Key Community Issues ....................... 19 Recreation Facilities – Consultants Observations & Findings ...... 19-20 Recreation Programs – Key Community Issues ..................... 20 Recreation Programs – Consultants Observations & Findings ...... 20-22 Marketing – Key Community Issues ....................................... 22 Marketing – Consultants Observations & Findings ................. 23 Volunteerism - Key Community Issues .................................. 23 Volunteerism – Consultants Observations & Findings ............. 24

Standards and Mapping Standards and Mapping Introduction ...................................... 25 Planning District Map ............................................................. 26 Bike Trails Map ...................................................................... 27 Existing Parks Map ................................................................ 28 Existing Trees and Woodland Area Map ................................ 29

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan | I Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Strategic Master Plan

Existing Open Space Map ........................................................... 30 Potomac River Waterfront Plan Map .......................................... 31 Stream Valleys and Environmentally Sensitive Area Map ............ 32 Open Space Concept Plan Map ................................................. 33 Public Schools Open Space Area Map ....................................... 34 Streetscapes and Gateways Map .............................................. 35 Service Area Map Review .......................................................... 36 Neighborhood and Community Parks Map ................................. 37 Recreation Center Density Service Area Map ............................ 38 Sports Fields Density Service Area Map .................................... 39 Neighborhood Parks Service Area Map ...................................... 40

Vision Statement PHASE II Vision Chart ................................................................................ 41 Vision Statement ......................................................................... 42-44

Implementation & Vision Matrix PHASE III Strategic Planning Process ......................................................... 45 Implementation ............................................................................ 46 Implementation Vision Matrix ....................................................... 47 Vision Matrix ................................................................................ 48-70

Capital Improvements Introduction .................................................................................. 71 Park Facility Capital Improvement ............................................... 72 Recommended Projects and Estimated Cost Chart .................... 73-74

Funding Strategies Funding Strategy and Implementation ........................................ 75 Funding Source Summary ........................................................... 76-83 Grant Funding Sources & Strategies for Land Acquisition .......... 84-86 Institutional Grants ...................................................................... 86 Conclusion ................................................................................... 87-90

PART II

Appendix

Focus Group and Public Forum Summary Analysis Focus Group Summary ............................................................... 1 - 23 Public Forum Summary ............................................................... 24

Parks and Recreation Citizen Survey Overview of the Methodology ..................................................... 25

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Strategic Master Plan Surveys ............................................................................ 26 - 53

Demographics Demographic Analysis Report ....................................... 54 - 56 City of Alexandria Population ....................................... 57 - 59 Census Tracts –City of Alexandria ............................... 60 - 61 Population by Race –City of Alexandria ....................... 62 Population by Age –City of Alexandria ......................... 63 Household Income –City of Alexandria ........................ 64 Household Income by Age –City of Alexandria ............. 65 Planning Area I –Total Population ............................... 66 Household Income by Age –Planning Area I ................ 67 Number of Households by Income –Planning Area I ..... 68 Total Population – Planning Area II ............................. 69 Household Income by Age –Planning Area II ............... 70 Number of Households by Income- Planning Area II ..... 71 Total Population – Planning Area III ............................ 72 Household Income by Age – Planning Area III ............. 73 Number of Household by Income- Planning Area III ..... 74 Planning Districts Map ................................................. 75

Benchmark Analysis Benchmark Analysis Report ......................................... 76 - 77 Population and Acreage of the Locations Studied ......... 78 - 79 Park Types and Reported Acreage .............................. 80 Number of Neighborhood Parks .................................. 81 Number of School Parks .............................................. 82 Cooperative use of Facilities........................................ 83 Outdoor Facilities ........................................................ 84 Outdoor Facilities graph .............................................. 85 Indoor Sports Facilities ................................................ 86 Indoor Recreation Facilities ......................................... 87 Specialty Facilities ...................................................... 88 Recreation Centers by Volume .................................... 89 Funding of Agency budgets ......................................... 90 Annual Operating Budgets ........................................... 91 Sources of Revenues for Capital Development ............. 92 Capital Improvement Budget ....................................... 93 Number of Full Time Employees .................................. 94 Number of Part Time Permanent ................................. 95 Number of Part Time Seasonal ................................... 96 Program Information .................................................... 97 Program Philosophy and Strategies ............................. 98 Program Makeup and Cancellations ............................. 99 Percentage of the Recovery of Direct Costs Comparisons 100 Cooperative Arrangements in the Community ............... 101

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan ........................................................... III Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Strategic Master Plan

Citizens Advisory Committees …………………………………… 102 Leagues and Fees ………………………………………………… 103-105

Recreation Facility/Parks Analysis Summary Report Introduction Process ……………………………………………… 106 Charles Barrett Recreation Center ……………………………… 107 Chinquapin Recreation Center …………………………………… 108 Doctor Oswald Durant Memorial Recreation Center………… 109 Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center …………………………… 109 Patrick Henry Recreation Center ………………………………… 109 Charles Houston Recreation Center ……………………………… 110 Cora Kelly Recreation Center …………………………………… 111 Lee Center …………………………………………………………… 112 Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center …………………… 113 Mount Vernon Recreation Center ………………………………… 114 William Ramsay Recreation Center ……………………………… 115

PARK FACILITIES Charles Barrett Park………………………………………………… 115 Armistead Boothe Park……………………………………………… 116 Braddock Field ……………………………………………………… 116 Ben Brenman Park ………………………………………………… 117 Brook Valley Park ………………………………………………… 117 Chinquapin Park …………………………………………………… 117-118 Fort Ward Fields …………………………………………………… 118 Four Mile Run Park ………………………………………………… 118 Hammond Middle School ………………………………………… 119 Patrick Henry ………………………………………………………… 119 Hensley Park ………………………………………………………… 119 Minnie Howard ……………………………………………………… 120 Nannie J. Lee ………………………………………………………… 120 Luckett Field ………………………………………………………… 121 George Mason Field ………………………………………………… 121 Maury Field ………………………………………………………… 122 Mt. Vernon Softball Field ………………………………………… 122 Potomac Yards ……………………………………………………… 122 Ramsay ……………………………………………………………… 123 Simpson Stadium …………………………………………………… 123

AFTER SCHOOL CENTERS John Adams After School Center ………………………………… 123 Francis Hammond After School Center ………………………… 124 Minnie Howard ……………………………………………………… 124 MacArthur After School Center …………………………………… 124

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Strategic Master Plan George Mason After School Center ....................................... 125 Maury After School Center ................................................ 125 George Washington After School Program ............................ 125 -126

Recreation Program Analysis Report Introduction Process ........................................................... 127 Adult Sports ..................................................................... 128 After School, Playground and Summer Camps ...................... 129 Aquatics ........................................................................... 129 Contract Classes ............................................................... 130 Cultural Arts/Performing Arts ............................................. 131 Family Programs ............................................................... 132 Senior Programs ................................................................ 133 Special Events ................................................................... 133 Therapeutic Recreation ...................................................... 134 Volunteers ......................................................................... 135 Wellness and Fitness ......................................................... 135 Youth Sports ..................................................................... 136

Volunteer Operations Analysis Report Process ............................................................................. 137 Key Findings .. .................................................................. 138 Staff Focus Group Meeting Report ..................................... 139 - 143 Volunteer Focus Group Meeting Report .............................. 144 – 147

Marketing Analysis Report Process ............................................................................. 148 Key Findings ..................................................................... 148-153

Capital Improvement Process Report Introduction Process ........................................................... 154 Recreation Facilities ........................................................... 154 Recommendations .............................................................. 155 Park Facilities ................................................................... 156 Recommendations .............................................................. 156-157

Open Space and Park Land Classification

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan

Acknowledgments

City Council

Mayor Kerry J. Donley Vice Mayor William C. Cleveland Councilwoman Claire M. Eberwein Councilman William D. Euille Councilwoman Redella S. Pepper Councilman David G. Speck Councilwoman Joyce Woodson

Parks and Recreation Commission

Judy Guse-Noritake, Chair Henry Brooks William Conkey Bruce Dwyer Kirk Fedder Kenneth Foran Ellen Murray Fabian Robitaille, Jr. Jessica Schneller Francesca Schneller

Planning Commission

Eric R. Wagner, Chair Donna Fossum Ludwig Gaines John Komoroske Richard Leibach J. Lawrence Robinson

Environmental Policy Commission

Cynthia Chambers, Chair Susan Anderson

Kevin Debell Cynthia Degrood Lisa Edouard Danielle Fidler Robin Hays Kenyon Larsen Jessie Morales Paula Potoczak Heather Shriner Molly Theobald

Open Space Steering Committee

Cynthia Degrood Bruce Dwyer Richard Leibach Judy Guse-Noritake Larry Robinson Tom Tyler Eric Wagner

Needs Assessment Steering Committee

John Curran Ludwig Gaines Jane Harrington John Komoroske Erin Lee Judy Guse-Noritake Steve Nearman Ethel S. Underwood

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan

Acknowledgments

Open Space Planning Firm Rhodeside & Harwell, Incorporated

Strategic Master Plan for Open Space, Parks & Recreation Leon Younger & Pros

City Staff Philip Sunderland, City Manager Mark Jinks, Assistant City Manager Sandra Whitmore, Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Kirk Kincannon, Deputy Director, Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Janet Barnett, Deputy Director, Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning and Zoning Barbara Ross, Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Richard Baier, Director of Transportation and Environmental Services William Skrabak, Division Chief, Transportation and Environmental Services Jean Federico, Director, Office of Historic Alexandria Jay Johnson, Assistant Superintendent, Alexandria City Public Schools

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the Strategic Master Plan for Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is to provide a broad policy and management framework to guide decision-making to meet current and future land use and recreational needs of Alexandria residents for the next 10 years. The recommended vision, policies, and actions are intended to further the city’s comprehensive planning approach for the recreational needs for residents, the existing work force, and visitors to Alexandria.

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The Strategic Master Plan is comprehensive and incorporates two separate planning processes. In 2001, the city commissioned Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. a land use and open space planning firm to conduct the open space plan. The land use and open space plan focused on existing parks and open space and identified available lands that could be suited for parks or preserved for open space. In addition, the open space plan addressed linkages of where greenways and streambeds could be used to connect the parks and recreation system through a series of trails through out the city.

Leon Younger & PROS was commissioned in late 2001 to develop a Recreation Needs Assessment for the remaining components of the Strategic Plan. Both studies had high levels of community input. The Recreation Needs Assessment included a recreation programs and facilities analysis, a community survey, citizen focus groups, a demographics review, park maintenance analysis, open space analysis, administrative policies analysis for marketing, volunteer development, capital improvement needs, and governance issues.

The Strategic Plan, while looking at the next 10 years of needs, specifically identifies key milestones to be achieved over the first five years and creates action plans through which the organization can guide its efforts.

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The Strategic Master Plan is a living document that will require annual review of the work accomplished and the outcomes achieved. At a minimum, this plan should be updated every five years to keep pace with Alexandria’s changing environment. This plan will require the support of many other city departments to achieve the community’s vision that is desired. The departments that must embrace this plan include the Police and Fire Departments, the Planning Department, the Transportation and Environmental Services Department, and the Department of Human Services. The recommendations in this plan are achievable and must be followed for the city to continue its efforts to achieve maximum livability and a balance with economic development and population growth.

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Executive Summary

THE CITY

The City of Alexandria is the tenth most densely populated city in America which is comparable to the density levels of Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland and some boroughs of New York. Parkland is scarce and the city has had ample catching up to do over the past 52 years since its first park was developed. Currently the City maintains 127 park sites totaling approximately 840 acres.

Providing for the general public's recreational needs is one of the greatest challenges facing Alexandria governing bodies today. The challenge is complicated by ever-changing demands and expectations caused by increasing population growth and shifting community demographic profiles. To meet these needs the mission of the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department is the following:

"The Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department will provide the highest levels of quality services to meet citizens expectations. We will create safe and desirable environments for users in all parks and recreation facilities through high levels of maintenance and security services. Our programs and facilities will meet diverse population needs and enhance all citizens quality of life. We will help define the community by being champions for the protection and advancement of open space and natural resource areas."

Over the Strategic Master Plan's 10 year horizon, Alexandria's population is expected to grow to another 5,000 to 7,000. As development continues, opportunities to secure park sites diminish because of escalating land costs and the inability of the city to compete with private sector developers.

In 1990, Alexandria had 7.5 acres of active and passive open space per 1,000 residents, based upon 111,000 population. Between 1990-2000 the city added 125 acres of open space, and 17,000 residents. In 2000, Alexandria remained at 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents despite adding the 125 acres of parkland. In 2012, with a projected population of 142,000, the city will be required to add 100 acres of open space to maintain 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents.

Through the citizen survey, the community as a whole indicated their most important needs are for the city to acquire land for trails, neighborhood parks, and land for preservation purposes. This should be a major goal of the city leadership before it is too late and the available land becomes unavailable.

Geographic equity of park access is also an important consideration to provide short-distance access and service to all city residents. Park site acquisitions should be balanced and proportional to service populations in all areas of the city. The equity and open space maps clearly demonstrate where the land and park inequities are occurring. (Please refer to the Neighborhood Park Service Areas map found on page 40.) In addition, the open space maps also demonstrate the scarcity of land for park purposes. Even though there are slim resources, the city still has opportunities it should pursue. These opportunities are outlined in the Open Space Plan.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Executive Summary

OPEN SPACE

Open space - Where is Alexandria now?

The City has just completed an comprehensive study of Open Space in Alexandria and this document will become a part of the City’s Master Plan. Because open space is so crucial to the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department (RPCA), we have included the pieces of the Open Space Plan that relate directly to the operation of this Department. We recognize that all initiatives in meeting the Open Space goals will take the cooperation of many city departments and in no way is the soul responsibility of this Department.

In 1990, Alexandria was ranked the eleventh most densely populated city in the United States. Today, it is the tenth most densely populated city. Over the past decade, the density level has increased from eleven persons per acre in 1990, to 12.7 persons per acre in the year 2000. This is a 15 percent increase.

On a regional level, at 8,145 persons per square mile, the City of Alexandria is denser than either of its immediate neighbors. Arlington County has 7,315 persons per square mile and Fairfax County has a mere 2,385 persons per square mile.

Open Space - What are our needs in terms of open space?

Through a series of public input processes, the following citizen needs for open space were discussed. The City’s overall needs are documented in the Open Space Plan, the following needs are directly related to the Department of RPCA:

• The need for achieving continuous public open space corridor along the Potomac River

• The need to create open space connections throughout the city through pedestrian friendly streets, trails, and enhanced streetscape corridors.

• The need to protect and enhance the city’s stream valleys and other natural areas.

• The need to maximize the use and visual quality of all open space.

• The need to protect existing parkland from development.

• The need to preserve areas of significant tree cover.

• The need to seek acquisition of open space for park purposes in sections of the city where there is a need. (e.g. the west end and northeast portions of the city.)

• The need to provide additional multi-purpose fields.

• The need to identify and enforce all existing public easements, which could serve as trail linkages.

• The need to minimize surface parking lots in park land.

• The need to define and develop attractive greenways to the city.

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

• The need to make better use of open space areas around school properties for habitats, gardens, educational and community opportunities.

Goals for the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities to Achieve the Community’s Needs for Open Space.

The following goals have been established for the department to meet citizens’ needs. In many instances it will take the cooperation of this department along with other city departments to meet the goals. (Refer to matrix on page 47 for specific tactics and time line to achieve the goals).

1. Assist in the development of an Alexandria Open Space Public/Private Advocacy Group. An additional 100 acres of open space should be acquired in the next ten years to ensure the current 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents is maintained.
2. Connect the community through an effective trails system by developing fifteen miles of new trails in the next ten years.
3. Establish equal opportunity/proximity to parks, recreation facilities and programs, citywide. Parks and a recreation facility are needed in the far west end of the city.
4. Assist in developing innovative opportunities for creating additional open space with other city departments and citizens.
5. Protect and enhance the urban forest and beautification of the city.
6. Protect and enrich existing parks.
7. Provide the highest level of safety in parks and recreation facilities.
8. Assist in the implementation and completion of the Potomac River Waterfront Plan as it relates to public park land.
9. Assist in protecting and expanding stream valleys and other environmentally sensitive areas.
10. Assist in maximizing use of public school open space areas to satisfy local needs.
11. Assist in enhancing streetscapes and gateways.
12. Continue to explore funding options for acquisitions and protection of properties.

“A nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Parks

Parks - Where are we now?

The City of Alexandria currently has 127 parks and open space areas that total 964 acres. It was not until 1958, nearly 200 years after the founding of Alexandria, the city recreation department planned to build its first official park. Therefore, it was not until the later half of the 20th century that Alexandria began to establish its system of public parks. The city continues to struggle against history whereby it was perceived that land was too valuable of a commodity to be used as open space or parks. While the city has come a long way in creating a livable, green community for its residents, it must resist the trends of history and provide ample open space for future generations.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

The unique features of the city, as well as the quality of services that the city provides, molds the image that the city projects. Quality open spaces, parks, schools, and responsive safety measures collectively create a sense of a well balanced community.

Through citizen input in the resident survey, 66% of Alexandrians had visited a city park last year. This is below average in comparison to many cities the consulting team has been involved with in developing Strategic Master Plans. Currently, 27% of the citizens rate the physical condition of city-operated parks they visited as ‘excellent’ and 52% as ‘good’. The survey indicates 90% of the city residents say ‘yes’ when asked if parks enhance their property value. Of the residents surveyed, 78% indicated that parks provide economic benefits to the city. With these strong percentages, the citizens are saying they believe parks are a high priority in Alexandria.

Parks - What are the Alexandria park needs?

Citizens interviewed in focus groups, public forums and through the citizen household survey, indicated the following park needs should be addressed:

• Additional and better-maintained athletic fields are needed for both youth and adults.
• Several areas in the city are not adequately served by neighborhood parks and sports fields. Particularly in the west end of the City.
• Park infrastructure needs improvement especially the turf areas.
• Many parks are too small for the neighborhoods that use them.
• Upgrading of maintenance standards in many of the parks is needed.
• The city is over-scheduling park facilities.

Goals to Achieve the Community’s Needs for Parks

The city needs to create a balance of spending between recreation services and park infrastructure and maintenance. There are always more users of parks than recreation services in a city. It is imperative the city focus on maintaining park property that is currently owned and invest in the parks infrastructure and maintenance so property values are maintained. Additionally, the parks should support the level of use they receive.

The city needs to strive to meet the following goals:

1. Provide the highest level of safety in parks by creating maintenance standards for all assets within the parks and recreation system.
2. Develop design standards and guidelines for renovation and the development of new parks and facilities based on actual and emerging user demands.
3. Acquire more land for game fields for both adults and youth.
4. Manage existing capacity of fields.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Executive Summary

5. Seek more user investment to offset maintenance costs of fields when user groups want higher levels of maintenance above what the city is currently providing.

6. Acquire land for parks in under served areas of the city for neighborhood parks, especially in the west end of the city.

7. Encourage private sector acknowledgment of their role in providing more parks in high-density areas.

8. Enhance open space requirements for new developments.

9. Curtail granting of encroachments in RPA’s and adjacent areas.

10. Increase partnership teams with schools, private institutions and the city to design solutions for new and renovated properties.

11. Improve infrastructure of some parks by investing $10,000 per acre for lighting, drainage, parking, irrigation and fencing.

12. Enhance existing park maintenance partnerships.

13. Create a dedicated funding source for capital improvements, and land acquisition.

Recreation Facilities

Recreation Facilities – Where are we now?

The City of Alexandria has ten indoor recreation facilities. The majority of the recreation centers are small in size. (8,000 to 18,000 square feet). These facilities serve one or two neighborhoods. Only Chinquapin Recreation Center truly serves a community-wide audience. The total amount of programmable square footage space available is 170,682. This is above the national average for indoor space but the key issue is how the space is used. The majority of recreation centers are served by youth and have minimal adult usage. This is due to the space being utilized for school purposes, as well as, after school, weekend, and summer programs.

The city has one indoor pool, which is located at Chinquapin Recreation Center and is heavily used by youth and adults. The majority of the city’s three outdoor swimming pools are very small in size and again have little adult market appeal. These pools are also used for summer day camp activities.

Many of the recreation centers need infrastructure improvements and have outdated equipment. Of the households responding to the resident survey, only 29% have used recreation facilities provided by the city in the past two years. The overall satisfaction with recreation facilities in the city was 34% of citizens being ‘very satisfied’ and 34% being ‘somewhat satisfied’. These survey percentages are below normal compared to other recreation surveys from other cities according to the consulting team who has conducted various Strategic Master Plans.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

Recreation Facilities – What are the facility needs?

The community of Alexandria has indicated through focus groups, public forums and a residential citizen survey their most important recreation facilities needs. These are listed in order of priority.

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• Walking and biking trails
• Neighborhood parks
• Playgrounds
• Indoor swimming centers
• Community recreation centers
• Dog parks
• Tennis facilities
• Sports fields

Additionally, the majority of respondents (66% from the citizen survey) believe the city should develop indoor recreation programming space that supports a multi-generational indoor recreation center that can serve all ages as a priority. This far exceeds the development of a special teen center (31%) or a special senior center (26%) to be used by only seniors or teens.

The city needs to renovate the infrastructure of the current recreation centers, especially at Charles Houston and Patrick Henry Recreation Centers.

There is also a need for adding one additional neighborhood center in the western portion of the city where density levels are high.

Overall, the city needs to increase programs targeted for adults and to increase the availability of recreation facilities for all citizens.

Goals to Achieve the Community’s Needs for Recreation Facilities

Meeting the residents’ recreational facility needs will take careful planning by citizens and staff. Feasibility studies for facilities need to be accomplished well in advance of any new building or renovation plans. The following goals have been established by staff and consultants to meet the recreations facility needs in the next ten years.

1. Explore the feasibility of enlarging Chinquapin Recreation Center to become the multi-generational center the residents desire.
2. Begin planning for the renovation of Patrick Henry and Charles Houston Recreation Center.
3. Explore the feasibility of acquiring property and constructing a new neighborhood recreation center on the city’s west side to support its population density.
4. Develop feasibility studies and business plans for each new or renovated recreation facility. This will achieve the maximum usage and productivity of each center. These studies will match program needs of the neighborhoods served by the facility.

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

5. Create design standards for indoor and outdoor recreation facilities to maximize its resources used by the greatest number of users.

6. Through effective partnerships with schools and other public and private agencies, the city could increase recreation space both indoor and outdoor to support the recreation needs of youth and adults. This will require all partners be involved in the planning process of new or renovated indoor and outdoor recreation space.

7. Where appropriate, develop a free or subsidized recreation rider program to support user access to all recreation centers in the city to support greater access and usage.

RECREATION PROGRAMS

Recreation programs – Where are we now?

The consulting team evaluated the recreation programs and gathered public input from focus groups, public forums, and from a resident survey. The level of survey respondents who participated in recreation programs over the past twelve months, is 42%. This number is low for a city with ten recreation facilities currently in operation. The recreation programs most participated in were festivals and special events (48%), swimming (22%), fitness and aerobics (16%), tennis (11%), dance/music (10%), and sports activities (5%). Residents rated the quality of the city’s recreation programs in which they had participated in as ‘excellent’ at 28% and ‘good’ at 60%. This demonstrates the community recognizes the value and quality of their experience in city-sponsored programs.

Overall, there is not a clear understanding by the staff and the community on what the city should be providing in core and non-core services.

Core services are services that are represented by five key principles. These include:

1. The program service is offered three out of four planning seasons.
2. There is dedicated full-time staff to support the program.
3. There are dedicated facilities designated to support the program.
4. The core recreation program consumes a large amount of the budget.
5. The core program has a deep history with wide demographic appeal.

Currently, the majority of users of the city recreation programs are youth and many age groups do not take advantage of programs offered. This is a marketing issue, as well as a program availability issue.

In addition to not having a clear understanding of core progress the city does not know the true cost to produce a recreation service to establish the cost benefit in providing the service. The recreation program pricing is inconsistent across the city and program prices do not reflect the level of benefits received.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

Recreation programs – What are the program needs? The recreation program needs of the residents and staff begins with a clear understanding of how large the programs market is and what programs the citizens are interested in attending in order for the city to maximize its resources the Department should:

• Develop business plans for core services to establish a clear understanding of who is being served and who is not being served. Additionally, the city should understand who is under served within the City of Alexandria.
• Establish program standards for core services so these services are provided consistently across the city. This applies to pricing and management of recreation services where inconsistencies are prevalent.
• Enhance program partnerships in the city regarding public/public partnerships and public/ not-for-profit partnerships. Many of the partnerships are not equitable and the city is supporting the partnerships at a higher level than necessary.
• Provide more adult and senior services within the city to create lifetime users of city's services. With the large amount of adult population versus youth population in the city, these age groups should be represented with much more adult participation in recreation programs than what currently exists.

Goals to Achieve the Community’s Needs for Recreation Programming

The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities staff works extremely hard to meet all the needs of the citizens participating in their programs. Staff needs to evaluate program offering and offer consistent core programs for all ages throughout the city and offer specialty programs only where citizen needs exist. The following goals have been established.

1. Establish Core and Non-Core programs The staff must set consistent standards for how programs are delivered and define methods they will use for evaluating user satisfaction for the services provided.
2. Create a pricing philosophy and standards for all departmental programs and services, city wide. To accomplish this, staff needs to review the true costs of services in terms of benefits received. This will require the city to update its pricing policy as well as to seek new earned income opportunities to offset operation costs. This may require the city to partner with the private or not-for-profit sector to assist in delivering programs while maintaining low user fees. A grant writer would assist the department in additional funding opportunities.
3. Establish customer service standards for all operations.
4. Establish citywide communication standards to encourage participation in programs and events for all age groups.
5. Enhance evaluation methods and maintain statistical records to support programming opportunities.

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS 9

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Executive Summary

6. Enhance partnership opportunities to assist in offering recreation opportunities to a broader range of citizens

Administrative Goals to assist in the implementation of the Strategic Plan.

In order for the open space, parks, facilities and program goals to be met it is necessary to have strong administrative procedures in place. The following will assist each of the areas as they move forward to achieve the defined outcomes:

1. Review and update all department policies every five years to support the goals of the department and to maximize public access to services.
2. Develop technology standards that provide for efficiency of operations and service delivery.
3. Provide volunteer opportunities in the department that provide lifetime experiences for members of the community when they volunteer their services. A dedicated staff person should oversee the volunteer opportunities.
4. Enhance human resource standards through licensing, accreditation, certification and training of personnel.
5. Enhance private or not-for-profit partnerships that provide services beyond the city's capability and/or for efficiency purposes.
6. Enhance and support the role of commissions, committees and advisory groups to maintain a constant flow of information both into and out of the Department.

Capital Improvement Needs

The capital improvement needs for implementing the Strategic Master Plan will require $18 million dollars based on 2003 costs for general recreation facility improvements. An additional $9 million is needed for general park maintenance improvements, and a minimum $50 million is needed for land acquisition and the purchasing of easements. This will total $77 million over the next ten years. Should the city move forward on trail improvements, it would cost approximately $500,000 per mile. Should the city decide to develop a west side recreation center and a multi-generational center, it will cost approximately $170.00 per square foot based on 2002 dollars. Detailed costs can be found on pages 72-73.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Executive Summary

Summary of Key Recommendations

The Strategic Master Plan addresses several key issues that the city must act on over the next ten years. The most important recommendations include developing fifteen miles of new trails to connect the parks system and provide a greater ease of access for citizens to move about the city. An additional 100 acres of open space should be acquired to provide greater equity of access to parks. Additional recommendations are to develop a new multi-generational center in the center of the city, renovate both Charles Houston and Patrick Henry Recreation Centers, develop a new neighborhood recreation center in the western part of the city, add additional sports fields, and create new funding sources to support operational costs, capital costs and open space acquisition. The city should consider developing effective partnerships, enhance the urban forest, make the necessary capital improvements to existing recreation centers and parks, and develop greater marketing efforts to increase the community’s awareness of the services provided and provide strong staff training and development. This Strategic Master Plan was developed by the citizens of Alexandria to detail what they want the Parks and Recreation Department to deliver for the next ten years. The vision was developed by focusing on community values, past history, key trends in parks and recreation management, park design, and program services.

Leon Younger and PROS and Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. have completed their work and have delivered the final reports. The key leadership of the City, the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, the Planning Department, the Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Services and Department of Human Services must now use the data, recommendations, and processes collected to implement this plan. It will be necessary to consistently monitor trends that affect the recommendations and act accordingly. It will be equally important to continually gain community input.

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS 11

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Introduction and Process

INTRODUCTION AND PROCESS

The Strategic Master Plan was developed in three separate formats and processes over the course of two years. The processes included the findings and observation phase, the vision and recommendation phase, and an implementation phase. Each phase has consisted of data collection along with key findings, recommendations, and strategies. From the beginning of the Strategic Master Plan for Open Space, Parks and Recreation planning process, goal setting has been a critical component to ensure the success of the plan. The intent was to seek much public input into the planning process at the beginning. This will ensure support and advocacy for meeting the public's needs for the future for open space, parks, recreation facilities, and program services. The overall strategy involved in the planning process is to plan for the future and not focus on the past.

The consulting teams worked very closely with the community through two separate Needs Assessment and Open Space Steering Committees, made up of citizens who were interested in open space and the recreation needs of the community. The entire process can be viewed as a consensus-building exercise to address key issues and to create strategies to implement changes in how the department manages itself for the future. Development or redevelopment of new and existing parks, recreation facilities, and programs need to occur to create the preferred future identified by the citizens of Alexandria.

The Strategic Master Plan strategies are written as a direct reflection of findings and observations identified from the research conducted by the consulting teams. This research provided a fresh look at the core services that the city is providing and helps define the areas where the city needs to concentrate future resources in the future. Policies and actions were developed from these strategies to help in the implementation of the Strategic Master Plan. They reflect the immediate activity required of the department to accomplish the desired outcomes and to assert a positive direction towards meeting the community's vision.

The Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities staff, is very proud and committed to achieving a high quality of life for its residents and visitors in Alexandria. This plan will require a tremendous amount of commitment and effort to achieve the vision and goals defined for the residents. The Strategic Master Plan is a reflection of that commitment. The Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department has the talent to be one of the premier park systems in the United States if it can deliver on this plan and move the department forward by implementing the recommendations outlined. This will take political will on the part of elected officials to help the City achieve the goals and recommendations outlined.

To help focus effort and energy in this planning process, a framework for planning was adopted. The three-step strategic and comprehensive planning process included three major components:

Phase One – Data Collection/Findings and Observations Phase Two – Vision and Recommendations Phase Three – Implementation

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Introduction and Process

“Past case studies suggest that open spaces, even good ones, cannot be just designed and forgotten. They need to be evaluated and redesigned over time to address changing user needs. Ongoing evaluation and redesign are critical to the life of any open space.”

-Mark Francis User Needs and Conflicts in Urban Open Space: An Issue Based Case Study, 2001

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Findings & Observations

DATA COLLECTIONS

The Data Collection phase focuses on key issues that need to be addressed and the summary of results from all the data collected from the two consulting teams work. The strategies used are as follows:

Needs Assessment Study Planning Process

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 14 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Findings & Observations

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

It is imperative that the Strategic Master Plan reflects the input of the citizens of Alexandria. The community of the future is built with present day planning. Tomorrow’s promises are built on dedicated efforts to include the thinking of the citizens who will be served by the department in the future. To assure the voices of the residents of Alexandria were heard in this process, extensive public involvement was encouraged.

Public input was gathered through:

• Focus group meetings with special interest groups, ethnic groups, partners, seniors, users, and neighborhood leaders.
• Stakeholder interviews with elected officials, key city Department Directors, the City Manager, and park and recreation staff.
• A series of public forums were conducted for both the open space study and the recreation needs assessment study.
• A mailed citizen survey randomly distributed within the City of Alexandria.

In order for organizational department leaders of the city and Park and Recreation staff to participate and engage in future change; it is critical to involve them in the change process. To assure there was buy-in from these leaders and staff members, a series of focus groups were conducted to gain their insight and to address key issues.

ORGANIZATIONAL INPUT AND ANALYSIS

• The consulting teams conducted recreation programs, parks and recreation facility audits. Audits were completed through on-site visitations and staff interviews.
• Interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in and outside the organization, including department staff, agency heads, elected officials, community leaders, and recreation groups.
• An organizational policy review was conducted for partnerships, earned income review, systems analysis, pricing of services, organizational alignment, and efficiency.
• Mapping was conducted on land use for recreational facilities, game fields, recreation centers, passive parks, natural resources and historic areas.

The growing popularity and demand for open space, parks and recreation opportunities are in proportion to the constant growth and development in Alexandria. Numerous community issues regarding parks and recreation were identified through the public outreach process. These key issues have been grouped by function and provide the basis for recommended visions, policies, and actions.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

COMMUNITY SURVEY

The City of Alexandria conducted a community attitude and interest survey during March and April of 2002 to help determine citizen usage, satisfaction, needs, and priorities for the parks and recreation system. The survey was designed to obtain statistically valid results from households throughout the City of Alexandria.

Leisure Vision/ETC Institute worked extensively with City of Alexandria officials and Leon Younger and Pros in the development of the survey questionnaire. This work allowed the survey to be tailored to issues of strategic importance to effectively plan the future system.

The goal was to obtain at least 600 completed surveys. This goal was more than accomplished, with 731 surveys being completed, including at least 200 completed surveys from each of the three Parks and Recreation Planning Districts. The results of the random sample of 731 households have a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/-3.6%. The entire survey can be found on page 53a in the appendix.

Citizen Survey Findings

• Walking and biking trials (55%) had the highest percentage of respondent households rate it as one of their four most important facilities. Neighborhood parks followed at 40%.
• Multi-purpose trails (52%) had, by a wide margin, the highest percentage of respondents indicate it as one of the four new parks/ facilities they would be most willing to support with their tax dollars. This was followed by an indoor wellness and fitness facility at 27% and acquiring properties for developing new parks at 27%.
• Nearly half (44%) of respondents indicated that open space should be acquired and dedicated for natural resource purposes. This was followed by the desire that open space be acquired for both passive and active uses at (42%).
• Nearly three-fourths of respondents were either very supportive (28%) or somewhat supportive (44%) of having users of recreation programs and special events pay user fees.
• Two-thirds (66%) of respondents indicated that the City of Alexandria should develop a multi-generational indoor center that serves all ages. This far exceeded the city developing a teen center at 31% or a senior center 26%.
• Nearly 90% of respondents rated the programs as either excellent (28%) or good (60%)
• The most common reason that kept respondents from using parks and recreation facilities and programs more often was “we are too busy or not interested.”
• Flyers/brochures (48%) were the most frequent way that respondents learned about the city’s parks and recreation programs.
• Two-thirds (66%) of respondent households indicated they had visited a city-operated park in the last year.
• Over three-fourths (79%) of respondents rated the physical condition of city-operated parks they had visited as either excellent (27%) or good (52%).

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

• Festival/ special events were the programs that had the highest percentage of respondents indicating being either very satisfied (44%) or somewhat satisfied (42%) with them.
• The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department (45%) is the organization used by the highest percentage of respondent households.
• Over half (57%) of respondents indicated that there are enough parks, trails, and recreational facilities near their home.
• Nearly all (90%) respondents indicated that well maintained parks do enhance the property value of surrounding homes.
• Over three-fourths (78%) of respondents indicated that parks do provide economic benefit to the City of Alexandria.
• Multi-purpose trails had the highest percentage of respondents rate it as either very important (63%) or somewhat important (29%). Acquiring properties for developing new parks was 88%, and acquiring and developing multi-purpose youth and adult athletic fields were 82%.

LAND ACQUISITION AND OPEN SPACE- KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

The key issues and findings that were defined by the community and the consulting teams are as follows:

• Citizens are particularly interested in seeing the City find solutions to the lack of open space and park space.
• There is a lack of open space continuity and connection throughout the city.
• The diminished availability of open space is due to over-development of the city.
• There is a need for more walking, jogging and bicycling trails.
• There is a lack of equity of access to neighborhood parks and open spaces within the city.
• The need for open space stewardship and protection of land that is remaining is needed particularly with regard to natural areas.
• The city needs to complete the implementation of the Potomac River Waterfront Plan.
• The city needs to protect and expand stream valleys and other environmentally sensitive areas.
• The city needs to institute developer fees as a dedicated funding source for open space acquisition.
• Stronger zoning requirements are needed to establish significant preservation areas and more discretionary review of future development proposals are needed.
• Stricter streetscape design guidelines are needed for developers.
• Additional zoning mechanisms are needed to address the problem of infill development and the large loss of open space as a result of home additions and individual land use decisions.
• The city needs to enhance its streetscapes and gateways to expand the citywide street tree program and protect existing trees and woodland areas.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

LAND ACQUISITION AND OPEN SPACE - CONSULTANTS OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

• The department currently maintains 127 parks totaling approximately 964 acres.
• On a regional level, the City of Alexandria has 8,145 persons per square mile and is more dense than Arlington County at 7,315 persons per square mile. Fairfax County is a mere 2,385 persons per square mile.
• The city offers 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents, which is on par with highly dense cities. This compares with Baltimore at 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents, Chicago 4.3 acres per 1,000 residents, Los Angeles at 8.5 acres per 1,000 residents, new York and Philadelphia at 7.2 acres per 1,000 residents and San Francisco at 10.3 Acres per 1,000 residents.
• Planning District 1 contains perhaps the greatest number of citywide parks serving active space.
• While many of the city parks are in outstanding condition, maintenance issues were noted in a number of instances. These include: old, worn play equipment, overused turf areas (particularly on athletic fields), overgrown trails and stream banks, cracked pavement areas, and in more natural areas, the removal of invasive plants.

PARKS - KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

The community of Alexandria would like the Parks, Recreation and Open Strategic Plan to address the following issues.

• Design parks to meet community needs and separate active sport areas from passive leisure activities.
• Develop a balanced approach to design that allows for passive, self-directed uses as well as active use.
• Develop a funding source to acquire land.
• Allow for customizing of parks during redevelopment to match the demographics of the neighborhood.
• Develop new park and open space guidelines for the Strategic Master Plan and for the city to follow.
• Develop multi-use paths to link and connect park facilities and open space to ease movement through the city.
• Address the lack of parking at recreation facilities and parks.
• More sports field space is needed to support the needs of youth and adults.
• Funding operational and capital needs is a major issue that needs to be addressed among all the other city priorities.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

PARKS – CONSULTANTS OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

• Place a high priority on protecting and enhancing the city's stream valleys and other natural resource areas. This includes the creation of clean stream channels--"less engineered' stream banks.
• Enhance existing streetscapes so they become a secondary park system.
• Identify and enforce all existing public easements; these could become important trail linkages and small open space areas.
• Minimize surface parking lots; locating parking underground where possible and using the surface areas as open space and park opportunities.
• Define and develop gateways to the city, along streets, highways, and trails.
• Make better use of open space areas around school properties for habitats, gardens, and educational and community opportunities.
• Create a new zoning classification: a horticultural zone.
• More dollars are needed from developers for open space to support higher density development that what the city is getting currently.
• Create a continuous open space along the Potomac River waterfront.
• The creation of significant public open space in the Eisenhower Avenue corridor is needed.
• Create new open space opportunities in the west end and the northeast portion of Old Town.
• Develop Park Master Plan for each of the city's existing parks to guide short term and long term needs.
• Develop a significant forestry program.

RECREATION FACILITIES - KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

• Continually retrofit and improve existing parks to new design standards
• Add to existing facilities where appropriate to maximize space and use.
• Update existing facilities to year 2003 standards and design to create operational revenues to offset operating costs.
• Update color schemes and image of many recreation facilities.
• Lack of storage, parking, weight room space and program space needs to be addressed.
• Acceptable level of maintenance is needed at all facilities.

RECREATION FACILITIES – CONSULTANTS OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

• Maintenance levels of recreation facilities and parks need to be enhanced
• The city needs to address the changing demographics of the community as it applies to recreation programs, parks and recreation facilities.
• More athletic facilities are needed.
• The city needs to involve the business community and other partners in solving key issues.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

• More programs for youth and seniors are needed.
• School facilities need to be used as community assets.
• The city needs to find creative ways to adapt the re-use of facilities that receive little use.
• The city needs to find a balance between active and passive park space.
• Position the system to tap into new sources of funding, while providing inclusion for all who want to participate.
• Deal with the perceived need for more dog parks.
• Allow for the provision of new types of recreation amenities such as skate parks, trails, and connectivity to places of public value.
• Work with developers to create more public spaces and appropriate land uses, and to provide public amenities.
• Find strategies to keep teens engaged in productive activities beyond the early teens.
• Address the increased demand for organized sports programs.
• Serve the special needs of people with disabilities.
• Provide adequate space for seniors.
• Effectively deal with the before and after-school needs of young people.

RECREATION PROGRAMS – KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

• Identify and establish achievable levels of service rather than trying to be all things to all people.
• Beautification of the city needs to be a priority.
• Adequately fund the park and recreation system.
• Find appropriate partners who can help the city deliver services.
• Stay current with citizens’ needs and finding effective methods to meet those needs.
• Better coordination with the school system is needed.
• Develop larger recreation facilities that address the multi-generational make-up of the community.
• Manage the aging infrastructure.

RECREATION PROGRAMS – CONSULTANTS OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

• Fees for programs are low or non-existent for the value received.
• A cost recovery system needs to be established that provides for a reasonable Return On Investment, balanced against the need to provide core services at minimal or not costs.
• The department needs a better method of tracking participation in its programs.
• Consistent standards between programs need to be developed.
• The department is inconsistent in how it addresses policies and procedures in its programs.
• The department lacks a strategy on how to replace worn out or broken equipment.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

• The department needs to provide more training to key staff members on benefits based marketing, program evaluation, basic accounting, and program tracking.
• Development of additional equitable partnerships with other service providers is needed.
• Development of an equitable and consistent city/school use agreement is needed.
• Create more practice field space to keep game fields in good condition.
• The city does not differentiate between the city's core recreation services and non-core services.
• A transportation plan is needed to get people to recreation facilities.
• More enhancements of programs are needed for people with disabilities.
• There appears to be several safety issues with the mechanical areas of the aquatic facilities.
• Facility space for contract classes is limited because of a lack of program space.
• There appears to be inconsistency between contract classes that are fee based and similar free programs offered at recreation centers.
• Arts Programs are heavily subsidized.
• There are great opportunities for sponsorships and other revenue enhancing activities for the Arts Programs.
• Fees for room rentals are below market price for the value of the space.
• Senior programs have high levels of tax subsidy for the value of the experience.
• Senior Centers and program offerings are geographically concentrated on the east side of Alexandria.
• Special Events are heavily subsidized with no revenue return to the department.
• Youth Sports programs are limited by field and facility availability.
• The youth sports programs are heavily subsidized.
• Core programs consisted of Adult Sports, After-School Programs, Playground and Summer Camp, Aquatics, Contract Classes, Cultural Arts/Performing Arts, Facility Rentals, Family Programs, Senior Programs, Special Events, Therapeutic Recreation Programs, Volunteers, Wellness and Fitness and Youth Sports.
• There is a lack of adequate sized fields for coed and men's softball.
• There is a lack of lighted fields for evening use.
• Parking at recreation facilities is inadequate.
• There are few gymnasiums available for use by adults.
• Fees for adult sports are designed to cover program costs.
• The city has a procedure for charging non-residents a higher fee.
• Several of the after-school and summer camp programs are licensed.
• The department has a great opportunity to capture a large portion of the summer program market by adding activities such as adventure programs and non-traditional sports programs targeted at teens.
• There is a good partnership with the use of schools to help host programs.
• A comprehensive fee schedule has been developed for the Aquatic facilities.
• Operating costs for the four seasonal mini-pools appear to be high.
• The department has developed a pool of qualified staff to support aquatics.
• There is a demand for aquatic services that is more then the present pools can provide.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

• A variety of courses and programs are offered and serve a wide demographic group.
• Program offerings are limited by facility size and availability.
• Contract classes had over 3,500 registrations in 2001, which is below average for the size of Alexandria. More indoor space is needed to increase this level of participation.
• The cancellation rate is low at 10% for contract classes.
• The Cultural Arts and Performing Arts programs have participation rates of between 7,000 to 130,000 people.
• The Arts Programs provide a positive economic impact for the city.
• Rentals at Lee Center are at maximum capacity.
• Special events provide an untapped opportunity for revenue development and promoting the department.
• The therapeutic program is nearly 100% subsidized while in other community’s subsidy levels are 80% - 90%.
• There appears the opportunity to partner with many agencies on therapeutic services.
• Fitness programs are very popular and the demand outstrips capacity.
• Fees for fitness facilities are inconsistent.

MARKETING – KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

• Coordination between divisions and recreation centers needs to be developed between promotions and program services.
• The department does not have an assigned marketing person for marketing the services provided which creates a lot of inconsistencies in how information gets distributed to the community.
• The department needs to centralize the marketing function and operations to increase effectiveness and consistency.
• The department is very reactionary in its approach to marketing versus proactive.
• Cross promotions have not been explored in-house or with outside agencies.
• Marketing strategies are not fully developed or implemented.
• Promotional distribution materials need to be expanded beyond just the schools.
• The budget for marketing is very limited for the number of programs and services provided.
• There is little market research done as it applies to customer feedback from programs and events.
• Sponsorships are not pursued even though there are great opportunities to attract sponsors to underwrite programs and events.
• The staff is stretched to their limits in trying to manage multiple operations outside of their expertise and experience in regards to marketing.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Findings & Observations

MARKETING – CONSULTANTS OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS

• The staff could be better equipped with the appropriate technology to produce their own in-house publications that go beyond the basic flyer. For example, this could include newsletters and quarterly brochures.
• Staff understands the purpose of having a good image, but it is difficult to develop image improvements, such as a unique logo, due to limited time and resources.
• The staffs have to work through a PIO officer at city hall that selects programs or events for publication.
• There is little time to track the effectiveness of any promotions.
• No paid advertising is used to help support promotional costs.
• Although the staff is in the process of creating a marketing plan for the department, there is not a current one available. Most of the marketing efforts are reactionary rather than planned.

VOLUNTEERISM - KEY COMMUNITY ISSUES

• There are many areas in the system where volunteers could be used more.
• The organization of volunteer operations is not coordinated or managed by a specific division or person, which creates inconsistencies.
• There is an issue with communicating to the volunteers. Volunteers would like to have something more directed for them in information and opportunities.
• Tracking of volunteer hours is not coordinated and each division has its own method for collecting the information, or it is not collected at all.
• Training is not offered to volunteers in all cases.
• There is no standard orientation process for new volunteers.
• The department does not have a system-wide volunteer recognition program that allows all volunteers from each program area the opportunity to understand the diversity of volunteer accomplishment throughout the parks and recreation department.
• The department does not have standardized forms and procedures to streamline operations and reduce staff workload regarding volunteer recruitment and management.
• The liability waivers are an issue in that there is conflicting information about the types necessary for each area.
• Most areas do not have volunteer job descriptions so that both staff and volunteers understand the skills needed, the expectations, and purpose of each job.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Findings & Observations

VOLUNTEERISM – CONSULTANT OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS

• A volunteer manual and guidelines is not in place to guide staff in volunteerism.
• There is no comprehensive listing of long and short-term volunteer opportunities.
• The department is lacking volunteer policies and staff training on managing volunteers.
• The department does not have a work-alone policy in place. This policy states constant supervision should be in place when volunteers are working or two or more volunteers must work in a group versus working alone. This is for safety purposes.
• With the exception of youth sport programs, screening of volunteers is done on a limited basis. There is no standard orientation for volunteers and training needs to be enhanced.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Standards and Mapping

STANDARDS AND MAPPING INTRODUCTION

Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. developed the Open Space Plan for the City of Alexandria. The Open Space Plan was developed in conjunction with the Recreation Needs Assessment developed by Leon Younger and PROS. T hrough efforts of these two firms a parks and facility needs analysis was developed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) program to develop a series of maps depicting where open space opportunities exists in Alexandria and where trail and greenway linkages could be created to connect the park system. In addition, recreation facility maps were created that outlined where game fields and recreation facilities were located to demonstrate how equitable access currently is in the city. These provided the consulting teams information to make better decisions on where parks, recreation facilities, and programs services need to be provided to create a more balanced parks and recreation system. Additional maps can be found in the Open Space Plan.

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The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Park Planning Districts I, II, and III

Legend

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 26 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Link and Expand Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trail System

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Protect and Enrich Existing Parks

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

Legend

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Expand Citywide Street Tree Program and Protect Existing Trees and Woodland Areas

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 29 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Develop Innovative Opportunities for Creating Additional Public Open

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

Legend

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Complete Implementation of the Potomac River Waterfront Plan

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Protect and Expand Stream Valleys and Other Environmentally Sensitive Areas

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

Legend

• Green Crescent
• Green Connector
• Open Space Conservation Areas
• Parks

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Open Space Concept Plan

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Maximize Use of Public School Open Space Areas to Satisfy Local Needs

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 34 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Open Space Map Review

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Enhance Streetscapes and Gateways

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 35 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

SERVICE AREA MAP REVIEW

The service area based on density depicts an approximation of the number of people served in the community by that facility or complex.

Recreation Center Density Service Area

The recreation center service area is based on one square foot per person. The sites shown are indicated as stand alone sites. Citywide centers and aftercare sites locations are shown with no service area due to specialized influence on community.

Sports Fields Density Service Area

Classified into four groups for density service areas analysis. The sites included baseball, soccer, softball and multi-use fields. The site densities have not been adjusted to account for the consolidated programming of a user group site. The following densities were used for the specified grouping:

• Single fields – service area 1 per 3,000 people
• Two fields – 1 per 5,000 people
• Three fields – 1 per 7,000 people

Four or more fields – 1 per 10,000 people

New Neighborhood Park Target Area

The map identifies target area for potential sites for Neighborhood Parks. Mini parks are considered less than 2 acres; neighborhood parks are 2 to 8 acres; and community parks are greater than 8 acres. The influence a community park has on an area as a neighborhood park was determined by that community park's portion classified as passive*. The service area around these facilities was determined by averaging the population contained within the designated distance from the park site. The average was calculated to be 1 acre of neighborhood/mini park per 1100 people.

The map shows the current park locations; estimated service area around neighborhood and mini parks; estimated service area for community parks influence as a neighborhood parks; vacant land or opportunities for vacant land/open space development**; and population density. Overlaying these components identified potential target locations for future neighborhood park site.

Note:

• Definition indicated by Rhodeside-Harwell Inc. - Open Space plan for City of Alexandria ** Areas identified as vacant or potential opportunities determined by created by Rhodeside & Harwell Inc. - Open Space Plan for City of Alexandria

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 37 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 38 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

Alexandria Sports Fields

Density Service Area

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Four or More Field Sites

Three Field Sites

Two Field Sites

Single Field Sites

Density Service Area

Streets

2000 Census Density 0 - 122 123 - 351 352 - 769 770 - 1803 1804 - 4025

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 39 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Standards and Mapping

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 40 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Vision Statement

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 41 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Vision Statement

PHASE TWO: VISION

The second phase in the Strategic Master Plan planning process is the Vision Phase. Once the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department systems and operations are researched and the key issues and findings are identified, summary statements are written that describe the observations and findings for each researched area. Key findings are developed and various strategies, policies, and actions are offered as possible solutions to address shortcomings and weaknesses in the system and organization. The first Step of the Vision Phase is the creation of the Vision Statement, which serves as a catalyst and guide for the creation of the recommendations. Through a series of visioning sessions, the consulting team and department staff created the recommendations that can be implemented to improve the system in the future. The Community Values Model was created along with key value statements and goals to serve as the main catalyst for achievements over the next ten years.

The staff and consulting team held a vision workshop to analyze all findings and observation reports. From this information workshop a new vision was developed to guide the organization for the future. The vision statement states what the Department wants to be known for, is as follows:

“The City of Alexandria will provide Recreational services of the highest quality to our citizens. We will create safe and desirable environments in all our parks and recreation facilities through high levels of maintenance and services. Our programs and facilities will meet the needs of our diverse population and enhance our citizens’ quality of life. We will help define the community by being responsible for the protection and enhancement of the City’s natural resources and open spaces.”

Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department mission is to support the vision through the following mission statement.

Our Mission is to be a vibrant, safe and attractive city of opportunity through the development of effective and efficient recreation programs, facilities and parks for all citizens and visitors to enjoy.”

Attractive parks and open space play a role in attracting businesses to Alexandria. Parks and recreation services help to create a positive economic market through attracting people to live in the city and come to the many special events provided by the city. The Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department has worked very hard over the last 10 years to make parks and recreation services a central part of quality of life for all citizens. Recreation programs have been expanded over the years, but the lack of parkland and facilities is the key issue that the department has struggled with in meeting community needs.

Growing popularity and demand for parks and recreational opportunities has been consistent with the growth of the city especially as it applies to youth and young adults. The need for more park facilities is a common theme in Alexandria. Numerous community issues regarding the need for open space, additional neighborhood parks and recreation facilities have been identified through the Needs Assessment Study and transformed into the Strategic Master Plan.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Vision Statement

The Strategic Master Plan will require resources and staff energy to fulfill all the goals and recommendations. However, the parks and recreation needs are not all the responsibility of the public sector. The private sector needs to acknowledge their role in providing more parks in high density housing areas and assist the city in developing and integrated multi-use path system.

Associated with the development of the vision, the consulting team evaluated the demographics of Alexandria and conducted a benchmark analysis that compared Alexandria to five other cities of comparable size and demographics. These two analysis reports help to shape the Community Values Model for the department.

The Community Values Model was developed to create the framework or organization of a Strategic Master Plan that is customized to Alexandria and founded in community values. Using this framework, goals, strategies, and actions are defined to fulfill the respective community value. The Strategic Master Plan takes form as a Vision Strategy Matrix, which allows the staff to incorporate results and demonstrate to the key leadership the outcomes of their work. This matrix will serve as a living document and strategy implementation tool for the length of the Strategic Master Plan.

There were five community values identified. Those community values recognize what the city must address in managing open space, parks and recreation services.

These include knowing and implementing the community mandates for open space, parks and recreation facilities.

The city must establish standards of care for parks, recreation facilities, and program services. These standards should be adequately funded.

The city needs to develop tiered levels of parks and recreation programs to meet the needs of all citizens and create lifetime users.

The city needs to establish new sources of revenue to help offset operational costs and capital costs.

The city needs to create effective partnerships with public partners such as schools, not-for-profit, and private partners in the delivery of services and facilities.

The Community Values Model for Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department creates a balanced, sustainable approach to guide decisions and allocation of resources. Within this Community Values Model, a clear definition of community mandates is provided; allowing the departments to more effectively manage its resources. Consistent standards are established so that a baseline of services and quality exists throughout the system. Tiered facilities and programs allow for the development of lifetime users and to increase capacity of users. With a baseline established, appropriate resources can be applied to developing new sources of funding, including facilities and programs that are sustainable through self-generated revenue to offset and /or recover operating and maintenance costs. Equitable partnerships provide the ability to leverage the city’s investment and resources to help deliver park facilities and program services at all levels.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Vision Statement

The growing popularity and demand for parks and recreational opportunities are in proportion to the constant growth and development in Alexandria. The need for more open space, parks, recreational facilities, and programs has been identified. To address these issues, goals, vision statements and recommendations have been identified and outlined in the vision matrix found in this report on pages 47-70.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS PHASE III

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 45 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

PHASE THREE: IMPLEMENTATION

Once the vision and recommendations are developed and adopted, the final phase of the planning process is the Implementations Phase. Key vision statements, recommendations, policies and tactics are summarized and prioritized. These are summarized into a working matrix attached to the body of this Strategic Master Plan report, outlined as Implementation and Funding Strategies. Future energies and efforts of the department will focus on these initiatives by level of priority. Strong links between results from Phase One and Two are recognized in the Implementation Phase. The Implementation Phase also focuses on capital improvement costs to implement the recommendations as well, as funding sources to support operations and maintenance costs associated with each recommendation and policy action. Wide acceptance of these results is one of the goals of the consulting team and staff in creating the vision, key value statements, and tactics. As a result, this shared vision helps the organization progress to a changed environment driven by advancing the public's vision for parks and recreation services.

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The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

IMPLEMENTATION – VISION MATRIX

The framework for meeting the Alexandria community’s values is outlined in the following vision matrix. The vision matrix creates strategies for addressing key issues regarding land acquisition, capital improvements, recreation service delivery, partnership development, policies and procedural changes, and financial and funding strategies.

The vision matrix illustrates the specific actions related to each of the key goals statements. The planning team developed these actions as specific implementation measures that will help the city realize the citizen’s vision. The department needs to evaluate progress on the list of actions on a semi-annual or annual basis. This is a dynamic list of actions that should be examined and re-evaluated at least every two years. Adding and deleting actions respond to changing priorities and conditions. It will be critical that the department retain the five key goals as a constant framework toward which all actions relate.

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VISIONING MATRIX

GOAL 1: AGGRESSIVELY PROTECT, RESTORE, ENHANCE AND CONNECT OPEN SPACE AND ASSOCIATED NATURAL, RECREATION, AND HISTORIC RESOURCES.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

VISIONING MATRIX

Goal 2: Create the highest level of programs, maintenance, and security standards for all areas.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

VISIONING MATRIX

GOAL 3: Create a lifetime customer

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Implementation & Vision Matrix

VISIONING MATRIX

GOAL 5: Develop Partnerships

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Implementation & Vision Matrix

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Capital Improvement Plan

INTRODUCTION

The Strategic Master Plan is based upon a review of the entire community, an analysis of the existing parks system, the identification of user needs, the development of customized recreation standards, and focus on land acquisition and open space needs regarding parks, trails and recreation spaces. The plan is intended to be action-oriented. It is design to provide framework from which the city can enhance its parks and recreation system.

Instrumental to implementation of the study, is the identification of adequate funding at a time when balancing municipal budgets has become difficult. Even though funding options are limited at this stage, it does not appear to reflect upon the high value Alexandrians place on parks and recreation facilities and services.

Implementing the Strategic Master Plan will result in meeting the future needs for parks, open space and recreation services. The department operates a variety of parks and recreation facilities throughout the city. Many of these facilities and parks require upgrades to support the future needs of the community. In order to ascertain the productivity and condition of these facilities, a facilities analysis was conducted. All of Alexandria’s eleven recreation centers, three of the school based after-school centers, and twenty of the 127 parks were evaluated. The recreation centers were assessed in order to identify the current condition of each facility, the overall level of use the facility is receiving, and to generate potential renovation and re-use options to enhance the productivity of the facility. General improvement recommendations for each site were developed and cost estimates were formulated to identify the impact of effecting such improvements. The after-school sites were assessed and ideas for consideration regarding enhancing productivity were assimilated. No capital improvement cost estimates were developed for these school owned sites.

A cross section of parks were evaluated in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the park system condition and the necessary improvements that would be required to meet current demands of the community. The capital improvement costs for enhancing parks is estimated at $9 Million amortized over ten years. The Capital improvement cost for recreation facilities is approximately $19,000,000. Details of the individual projects are on page.

The open space acquisition costs and trail development costs need to be developed and with funding strategies. The open space acquisition costs averages $3,000,000 per acre, currently in several areas of Alexandria. A consistent funding source is needed to support the needs for trail development and connections. It is estimated that $50 Million is needed to support the land acquisition needs outlined in this plan.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Capital Improvement Plan

PARK FACILITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT

A sampling of park facilities enabled the consultant to draw general conclusions regarding the entire park system.

The parks in Alexandria are generally well maintained, although they contain many amenities that are near the end of their useful life.

Most parks are currently being maintained to a level three, on a rating system of one being the most intense maintenance and five being the least intense.

There is an inconsistent image regarding parks and facilities. The lack of a consistent graphics program and color scheme makes the facilities appear less than optimal.

Many facilities are in need of renovation, and infrastructure rehabilitation.

Most facilities do not have adequate parking.

The athletic facilities are somewhat scattered throughout the park system, and a consolidation through adaptive re-use of facilities could prove to enhance site productivity.

There appears to be over use of the athletic facilities, possibly a result of extensive team sport practices.

Recommendations

The assessment of park improvements focused on needs that would enhance infrastructure improvements in parks. The site assessment for capital improvement needs evaluated turf, site amenities, lighting, parking and safety problems.

In order to elevate the condition of the park system from a level three to a level two, it is estimated that related costs will be in the neighborhoods of $10,000 per acre in capital improvement investments. The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities currently maintains 964 acres of parkland. This estimate equates to an infusion of approximately $9,640,000.

Improvements might include such items as tennis court renovations, ball field renovations, new sports lighting systems, playground replacements, stand alone restroom renovation and replacements, and parking improvements and other related site work. Consolidation of similar athletic venues and better scheduling of practice times will result in considerable improvements to game fields.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Capital Improvement Plan

City of Alexandria - Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities

Recommended Projects and Estimated Costs

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 73 Leon Younger and PROS

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Capital Improvement Plan

Summary

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

Funding Strategy and Implementation

A significant challenge for the City of Alexandria Parks and Recreation Department in meeting public recreational demands is funding. Significant financial investment is necessary for physical development, land acquisition and for maintaining on-going resources for park management. This includes programming, operational maintenance, and public safety assistance. Implementing the recommended policies and action strategies hinge on the ability to secure funding from multiple sources and responding with effective management of parks and recreation facilities and programs. Several potential funding mechanisms are outlined in the Strategic Master Plan.

The major impediment to the implementation of this study is the lack of adequate dedicated funding sources for both capital improvements and land acquisitions and for ongoing park management. Currently significant funding deficiency exists Strategies could be pursued by the city to meet the needs of the park and recreation system.

Estimated capital improvement and maintenance improvement costs are outlined at $26,827,000. This figure does not include land acquisition costs or trail improvement costs. Additionally, no one funding source can reasonably be expected to generate the level of funding required to implement this study. Currently in several areas of the city, land acquisition costs $500,000 per acre. Land acquisition funding methods will require several alternatives to meet the goal of adding additional land for parks.

Currently, there is a need for additional operational and maintenance dollars to support existing system infrastructure needs to continue providing the level of service that Alexandrians desire. The park system maintenance standards are maintained at a level three. This is based on a rating scale of ‘one’ being the most intense maintenance and ‘five’ being the least.

There are parks and facilities image inconsistencies. The lack of a consistent graphics program and color schemes makes the facilities appear less than optional. The city should attempt to move maintenance standards to a level two from a level three.

Throughout the United States many cities have turned to creative methods to develop earned income to help offset operational and capital costs. Alexandria has the ability to implement these revenue development options, should the city choose to do so.

The following funding sources are a comprehensive listing of funding options the city should consider.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

Funding Source Summary

The funding options listed below provide the city with alternatives to consider that other park systems across the United States use to help fund their systems. The most important funding options the City of Alexandria should consider are listed below.

Corporate Sponsorships This revenue-funding source allows corporations to invest in the development or enhancement of new or existing facilities in park systems. Sponsorships are also highly used for programs and events.

Partnerships Partnerships are joint development funding sources or operational funding sources between two separate agencies, such as two government entities, a non-profit and a City department, or a private business and a City agency. Two partners jointly develop revenue producing park and recreation facilities and share risk, operational costs, responsibilities, and asset management based on the strengths and weaknesses of each partner.

Dedication/Development Fees These fees are assessed for the development of residential and/or commercial properties with the proceeds to be used for parks and recreation purposes, such as open space acquisition, community park site development, neighborhood parks development, regional parks development, etc.

Foundation/Gifts These dollars are raised from tax-exempt, non-profit organizations established with private donations in promotion of specific causes, activities, or issues. They offer a variety of means to fund capital projects, including capital campaigns, gifts catalogs, fundraisers, endowments, sales of items, etc.

Recreation Service Fees This is a dedicated user fee, which can be established by a local ordinance or other governmental procedures. Its purpose is for constructing and maintaining recreation facilities. The fee can apply to all organized activities, which require a reservation of some type, or other purposes as defined by the local government. Examples of such activities include adult basketball, volleyball, and softball leagues, youth baseball, soccer, and softball leagues, and special interest classes. The fee allows participants an opportunity to contribute toward the upkeep of the facilities being used.

Fees/Charges The plan has documented that the Department is far undervalued and must position its fees and charges to be market-driven and based on both public and private facilities. The potential outcome of revenue generation is consistent with national trends relating to public park and recreation agencies, which generate an average 35% to 50% of operating expenditures.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

Dog Park Fees These fees are attached to kennel clubs for the right for their club to have their own dog park facilities for their exclusive use. Fees are on the dogs themselves and on people who take care of people’s dogs.

Trail Fee These fees are used for access to golf course trails and bike trails to support operational costs. Trail fees for golf carts are typically $200.00 a year and for bike trails $35.00 to $50.00 a year.

Lighting Fees Some cities charge additional fees for the lighting charges as it applies to leagues, special use sites, and signature type facilities that require lighting above a recreational level.

Program Contractor Fees Cities and counties receive a percentage of gross contractor fees for program held on City or county facilities. The percentages range from 25% to 40% depending on space, volume, and the amount of marketing the City does for the contractor.

Signage Fees This revenue source taxes citizens and businesses with signage fees at key locations with high visibility for short term events. Signage fees range in price from $25.00 per signs up to $100.00 per sign based on the size of the sign and location.

Cost Avoidance The Department must take a position of not being everything for everyone. It must be driven by the market and stay with the Department’s core businesses. By shifting its role as direct provider, the City will experience savings by deciding whether or not to provide that facility or program. This is a cost avoidance. The estimated savings listed could be realized through partnering, outsourcing, or deferring to another provider in the provision of a service and/or facility.

Intermodal Transportation and Efficiency Act This funding program, commonly called TEA-21 Grants was authorized by the Federal Government in 1991. Funds are distributed through the state. There are several million dollars in enhancement revenues available for transportation related projects, including bicycle and pedestrian trails, rail depot rehabilitation, landscaping, and beautification projects.

Land and Water Conservation Fund These funds are awarded for acquisition and development of parks, recreation and supporting facilities through the National Park Service and State Park System.

General Obligation Bonds Bonded indebtedness issued with the approval of the electorate for capital improvements and general public improvements.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Funding Strategy Report

Grants A variety of special grants either currently exist through the Federal and State governmental systems or will be established through the life of current and proposed facilities.

Special Improvement District/Benefit District Taxing districts established to provide funds for certain types of improvements that benefit a specific group of affected properties. Improvements may include landscaping, the erection of fountains, and acquisition of art, and supplemental services for improvement and promotion, including recreation and cultural enhancements.

Annual Appropriation/Leasehold Financing This is a more complex financing structure which requires use of a third party to act as issuer of the bonds, construct the facility and retain title until the bonds are retired. The City enters into a lease agreement with the third party, with annual lease payments equal to the debt service requirements. The bonds issued by the third party are considered less secure than general obligation bonds of the City, and therefore more costly. Since a separate corporation issues these bonds, they do not impact the City’s debt limitations and do not require a vote. However, they also do not entitle the City to levy property taxes to service the debt. The annual lease payments must be appropriated from existing revenues.

Interlocal Agreements Contractual relationships entered into between two or more local units of government and/or between a local unit of government and a non-profit organization for the joint usage/development of sports fields, regional parks, or other facilities.

Revenue Bonds Bonds used for capital projects that will generate revenue for debt service where fees can be set aside to support repayment of the bond.

Private Concessionaires Contract with a private business to provide and operate desirable recreational activities financed, constructed, and operated by the private sector with additional compensation paid to the City.

Real Estate Transfer Fees As cities and counties expand, the need for infrastructure improvements continues to grow. Since parks add value to neighborhoods and communities, some cities and counties have turned to real estate transfer fees to help pay for needed renovations. Usually transfer fees amount to ¼% to ½% on the total sale of the property.

Land Trust Many counties have developed land trusts to help secure and fund the cost for acquiring land and conservation easements that needs to be preserved and protected for greenway purposes. This could be a good source to look to for acquisition of future lands.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

Naming Rights Many cities and counties have turned to selling the naming rights for new buildings or renovation of existing buildings and parks for the development cost associated with the improvement. This opportunity exists in the City.

Rental Car Tax This tax is designated for land acquisition purposes. Some cities and counties have used a percentage of rental car taxes to support land acquisition or improvements in parks.

Cell Towers Cell towers attached to existing light poles in game field complexes is another source of revenue the City could seek in helping support the system.

Private Developers These developers lease space from City-owned land through a subordinate lease that pays out a set dollar amount plus a percentage of gross dollars for recreation enhancements. These could include restaurants, driving ranges, sports complexes, and recreation centers.

Benefit Assessment Act of 1982 (Government Code section 54703 et seq.) This statute provides a uniform procedure for the enactment of benefit assessments to finance the maintenance and operation costs of drainage, flood control, and street light services and the cost of installation and improvement of drainage or flood control facilities. Under legislation approved in 1989 (SB 975, Chapter 1449), this authority is expanded to include the maintenance of streets, roads, and highways. As with most other assessment acts, cities, counties, and special districts that are otherwise authorized to provide such services may use it.

Facilities Benefit Assessment The FBA ordinance establishes areas of benefit to be assessed for needed improvements in newly developing areas. Each parcel within an area of benefit is apportioned its share of the total assessment for all improvements (including those required for later development phases) which is then recorded on the assessment roll. Assessments are liens on private property as with the state assessment acts. Upon application for a building permit the owner of the parcel must pay the entire assessment (the payment is pro rated if only a portion of the parcel is being developed at one time). Payment releases the City's lien on the property. The funds that are collected are placed in separate accounts to be used for the needed improvements and do not exceed the actual cost of the improvements plus incidental administrative costs.

The Mello-Roos Act The 1982 Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act (Government Code Sections 53311 et seq.) enables cities, counties, special districts, and school districts to establish community facilities districts (CFDs) and to levy special taxes to fund a wide variety of facilities and services. The proceeds of a Mello-Roos tax can be used for direct funding and, in the case of capital facilities,

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

to pay off bonds. Mello-Roos financing has similarities to special taxes and special assessments, and in some situations, it has advantages over both.

Sales Tax The revenue source is very popular for funding park and recreation agencies either partially or fully. The normal sales tax rate is 1cent for operations and one half cent for capital. This tax is very popular in high traffic tourism type cities and with counties and state parks.

Merchandising Sales This revenue source comes from the public or private sector on resale items from gift shops and pro shops for either all of the sales or a set gross percentage.

Concession Management Concession management is from retail sales or rentals of soft goods, hard goods, or consumable items. The City either contracts for the service or receives a set of the gross percentage or the full revenue dollars that incorporates a profit after expenses.

Friends Associations These groups are formed to raise money typically for a single focus purpose that could include a park facility or program that will better the community as a whole and their special interest.

Advertising Sales This revenue source is for the sale of tasteful and appropriate advertising on park and recreation related items such as in the City’s program guide, on scoreboards, dasher boards and other visible products or services that are consumable or permanent that exposes the product or service to many people.

Subordinate Easements – Recreation / Natural Area Easements This revenue source is available when the City allows utility companies, businesses or individuals to develop some type of an improvement above ground or below ground on their property for a set period of time and a set dollar amount to be received by the City on a annual basis.

Irrevocable Remainder Trusts These trusts are set up with individuals who typically have more than a million dollars in wealth. They will leave a portion of their wealth to the City in a trust fund that allows the fund to grow over a period of time and is available for the City to use a portion of the interest to support specific park and recreation facilities or programs that are designated by the trustee.

Life Estates This source of money is available when someone wants to leave their property to the City in exchange for them to live on their property until their death. The City usually can use a portion of the property for park purposes and then all of it after the person’s death. This revenue source is very popular for individuals who have a lot of wealth and their estate will be highly taxed at their death and their children have to sell of their property because of probate costs. This allows

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report the person to receive a good tax deduction yearly on their property while leaving a life estate. It is good for the City because they do not have to pay for the land.

Permits These special permits allow individuals to use specific park property for financial gain. The City either receives a set amount of money or a percentage of the gross service that is being provided.

Reservations This revenue source comes from the right to reserve specific public property for a set amount of time. The reservation rates are usually set and apply to group picnic shelters, meeting rooms for weddings, reunions and outings or other type of facilities for a special activity.

Catering Permits and Services This is a license to allow caterers to work in the park system on a permit basis with a set fee or a percentage of food sales returning to the City. Also many cities have their own catering service and receive a percentage of dollars off the sale of their food.

Volunteerism The revenue source is an indirect revenue source in that persons donate time to assist the department in providing a product or service on an hourly basis. This reduces the City’s cost in providing the service plus it builds advocacy into the system.

Integrated Financing Act This legislation creates an alternate method for collecting assessments levied under the Landscaping and Lighting Act, the Vehicle Parking District Law and the Park and Playground Act. This act applies to all local agencies. This act can be used to pay the cost of planning, designing, and constructing capital facilities authorized by the applicable financing act, pay for all or part of the principle and interest on debt incurred pursuant to the applicable financing act and to reimburse a private investor in the project. It serves two unique properties: (1) it can levy an assessment which is contingent upon future land development and payable upon approval of a subdivision map or zone change or the receipt of building permits; (2) it allows the local agency to enter into an agreement with a private investor whereby the investor will be reimbursed for funds advance to the agency for the project being financed.

Parking Fees This fee applies to parking at selected destination facilities such as beach parking areas, major stadiums and other attractions to help offset capital and operational cost.

Equipment Rental The revenue source is available on the rental of equipment such as tables, chairs, tents, stages, bicycles, roller blades, boogie boards, etc. that are used for recreation purposes.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Funding Strategy Report

Special Fundraisers Many park and recreation agencies have special fundraisers on an annual basis to help cover specific programs and capital projects.

Utility Roundup Programs Some park and recreation agencies have worked with their local utilities on a round up program whereby a consumer can pay the difference between their bill up to the even dollar amount and they then pay the department the difference. Ideally, these monies are used to support utility improvements such as sports lighting, irrigation cost and HVAC costs.

Franchise Fee on Cable This allows cities to add a franchise fee on cable to be designated for parks. The normal fee is $1.00 a month or $12.00 a year per household. Fees are usually designated for open space acquisition or capital improvements.

Earnings Fee This fee taxes communities who have high population of workers who do not live in the City but work in the City. The employees pay ½% of their total salary earned to the City to cover safety forces, streets, and public works services.

Room Over Rides on Hotels for Sports Tournaments and Special Events Cities have begun to keep a percentage of hotel rooms that are booked when the City hosts a major sports tournament or special event. The overrides are usually $5.00 to $10.00 depending on what type of room. Monies collected help offset operational costs for the City in hosting the events.

Leasebacks on Recreational Facilities Can Produce Revenue Many cities do not have capital dollars to build revenue-producing facilities but they will hire a private investor to build the facility according to the specifications they want and the investment company will finance the project and the City will lease it back from them over 20 years. This can be reversed where by the City builds the facility and leases to private management to operate it for a % of gross dollars to pay off the construction loans through a subordinate lease.

Family Tree Program Many cities have worked with local hospitals to provide cash to the parks system to buy and plant a tree in honor of every new born in the City. The hospitals invest $250.00 to $300.00 and receive the credit. The parks system purchases quality trees.

Gift Catalogs Gift catalogs provide organizations the opportunity to let the community know on a yearly basis what their needs are.

Maintenance Endowments Maintenance Endowments are set up for organizations and individuals to invest in ongoing maintenance improvements and infrastructure needs. Endowments retain money from user

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Funding Strategy Report

fees, individual gifts, impact fees, development rights, partnerships, conservation easements, and for wetland mitigations.

Subordinate Development Rights Some cities and counties rent their development rights below park ground or along trails to fiber optic companies or utilities. The park agency collects a yearly fee on a linear foot basis.

Booth Lease Space In some urban cities, the city sells booth space to sidewalk vendors in parks or during special events. For a flat rate based on volume received. The booth space can also apply to farmers’ markets, art schools, and antique type fairs.

Reverse Sponsorships This revenue source allows agencies to receive indirect revenue from cross promoting their current sponsors with professional sporting events such as in racing with card and drivers and significant sports heroes. Indirect sponsorships provide up to 15% of the sponsorship value back to the City for linking their parks and recreation sponsors with professional sports.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Funding Strategy Report

Grant Funding Sources & Strategies for Land Acquisition

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants The federal government through the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service disburses North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants. Grant funds support acquisition, restoration, and enhancement projects involving wetland and wetland-associated uplands. Begun in 1989, the program provides matching grants to private or public organizations or to individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Funds for the grant have been increasing gradually almost every year since its inception. In 2001, $40 million was allocated for N.A.W.C.A. grants. Most of this money was matched on a 2:1 basis. A few were matched at 1:1. The N.A.W.C.A. small grant program provides funding up to $50,000. An average small grant amounts to just under $40,000. The N.A.W.C.A. large grant program provides between $50,000 and $1 million.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund supports environmental education and action-oriented conservation and restoration projects within Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay watershed. The fund earns revenue by selling license plates with Chesapeake Bay designs on them. It disperses its earning through grants to state and local governments, as well as nonprofit entities. In 2001, the fund awarded more than $450,000 in grants to some 75 different projects.

Recreation Trails Program (Virginia Recreation Trails Fund) This is a small, competitive grant program that distributes monies from the ISTEA/TEA21 program. It is intended to aid the construction and rehabilitation of recreational trails. The funding, which is administered by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), is not restricted to non-motorized trails, but they are its focus. Grant monies cannot be used for planning, or for construction of “incomplete” trails (i.e., those that are designed to be a part of a future system.) Stand-alone trails, as well as connector trails, are the focuses of this funding. This is an 80/20 matching fund grant, with 20 percent of the total project costs required of the local organization. Grants range from $10,000 to $150,000, with typical grants amounting to $50,000 to $60,000. Total funds available in 2001 are $800,000 (2000 funding totaled about $1 million.) The grant is funded at least through 2003 and, if renewed at that time, would be funded for an additional six years. The W&OD trail in Northern Virginia has been a recipient of these funds in the past.

Virginia Land Conservation Fund The Virginia Land Conservation Fund (VLCF) has been set up to provide matching grants to localities, public bodies, and nonprofit organizations for purchasing fee simple title to and interest in real property for land conservation purposes. Grant categories are:

• Open Spaces and Parks
• Natural Area Protection

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Funding Strategy Report

• Historic Area Preservation
• Farmlands and Forest Preservation

In the past, grants have been used to help the Nature Conservancy acquire 458 acres of land adjacent to the Commonwealth’s Cleveland Barrens Natural Areas Preserve, to help Fairfax County acquire 2.9 acres of easement at three sites in Vienna and Oakton, and to help York County acquire nine easements on the York River beach to provide a continuous pedestrian linkage/trail along the riverfront.

Historically, VLCF grants have ranged in value from $30,000 to $1 million, with an average gift of $140,000. However, the Virginia State Assembly appropriated no funding for the VLCF in 2001, and the VCLF does not expect any new funding in 2002. The fund has suspended acceptance of applications for the time being.

Certified Local Government Grants

The Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant program establishes a partnership between local governments, the federal historic preservation program, and a state’s Department of Historic Resources (DHR). The program allows state DHR’s, to recommend for certification local governments that have put key elements of a sound local preservation program in place in their communities. Designation as CLGs gives local governments a way to participate more formally in the state and national historic preservation programs. The City of Alexandria qualifies for CLG grants, as it is one of 24 CLG’s in Virginia.

Because CLG grants use federally appropriated funds, the de-funding of CLG’s is less likely than the de-funding of grants supported by the state General Assembly. Typically, Virginia’s CLG budget is $85,000. Awards range in size from $5,000 to $25,000, with an average award of $15,000. Generally, there is a match of some sort, but no match is required. CLG grants may be used for surveys of architectural or archaeological resources and historic preservation planning, among other things.

Historic Preservation Project Grant

In 2001, the General Assembly in the State of Virginia did not appropriate funds for Historic Preservation Project Grants. In the past, these grants were used to preserve/restore local historic sites and natural areas. In a “normal” year, the state legislature would award up to 75 grants ranging in value from $5,000 to $100,000.

Partners for Fish and Wildlife

These grants, administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, are primarily given for voluntary habitat restoration projects, as they are geared more toward restoration than toward acquisition. Most recipients are private landowners. Projects are extremely varied in nature, but can include restoration, planting, dam removal, outreach, habitat preservation and easements. This agency funds relatively few projects in urban areas. All grants are matching, and the ratio of federal to other funds ranges from 1:3 to 3:1, depending on the project and the number of partners involved. Total annual distributions range from $1 to $1.5 million, and the typical grant is $50,000 to $100,000.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Funding Strategy Report

Community Development Block Grants (CBDG) Funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered at the local level. Focus is mainly in providing affordable housing for low and moderate-income families. Can be used for the development of recreational facilities and open space; however, since the city is dedicated to affordable housing, its limited funding available through CBDG is unlikely to be utilized for open space initiatives.

Urban and Community Forestry Grants The U.S. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture administers these grants. The funds promote improvements to urban areas and communities through the provision of forestry resources.

INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS

The Virginia Land Endowment:

The Virginia Land Endowment is an institutional grantor that uses its capital to encourage pollution prevention, open space conservation, and environmental education. In 2001, the endowment supported The Land Conservation Fund in Arlington, VA with a $100,000 matching grant.

The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust:

The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust was original established to promote open space preservation in Fairfax County. It has now expanded its geographical coverage and has undertaken projects in the inner and outer suburban counties and cities of Northern Virginia. Activities include providing grants to support partners in land acquisition and purchase of easements, advocacy and education.

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Conclusion

CONCLUSION

To achieve the community’s vision for parks and open space, the departments of planning, environmental quality, and recreation parks cultured activities are prepared to implement the recommendations outlined in the Strategic Master Plan.

The following goals have been established:

Open Space:

1. Assist in the development of an Alexandria Open Space Public/Private Advocacy Group. An additional 100 acres of open space should be acquired in the next ten years to ensure the current 7.5 acres per 1,000 residents is maintained.
2. Connect the community through an effective trails system by developing fifteen miles of new trails in the next ten years.
3. Establish equal opportunity/proximity to parks, recreation facilities and programs, citywide. Parks and a recreation facility are needed in the far west end of the city.
4. Assist in developing innovative opportunities for creating additional open space with other city departments and citizens.
5. Protect and enhance the urban forest and beautification of the city.
6. Protect and enrich existing parks.
7. Provide the highest level of safety in parks and recreation facilities.
8. Assist in the implementation and completion of the Potomac River Waterfront Plan as it relates to public park land.
9. Assist in protecting and expanding stream valleys and other environmentally sensitive areas.
10. Assist in maximizing use of public school open space areas to satisfy local needs.
11. Assist in enhancing streetscapes and gateways.
12. Continue to explore funding options for acquisitions and protection of properties.

Parks:

1. Provide the highest level of safety in parks by creating maintenance standards for all assets within the parks and recreation system.
2. Develop design standards and guidelines for renovation and the development of new parks and facilities based on actual and emerging user demands.
3. Acquire more land for game fields for both adults and youth.
4. Manage existing capacity of fields.

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5. Seek more user investment to offset maintenance costs of fields when user groups want higher levels of maintenance above what the city is currently providing.
6. Acquire land for parks in under served areas of the city for neighborhood parks, especially in the west end of the city.
7. Encourage private sector acknowledgment of their role in providing more parks in high-density areas.
8. Enhance open space requirements for new developments.
9. Curtail granting of encroachments in RPA’s and adjacent areas.
10. Increase partnership teams with schools, private institutions and the city to design solutions for new and renovated properties.
11. Improve infrastructure of some parks by investing $10,000 per acre for lighting, drainage, parking, irrigation and fencing.
12. Enhance existing park maintenance partnerships.
13. Create a dedicated funding source for capital improvements, and land acquisition.

Recreation Facilities:

1. Explore the feasibility of enlarging Chinquapin Recreation Center to become the multi-generational center the residents desire.
2. Begin planning for the renovation of Patrick Henry and Charles Houston Recreation Center.
3. Explore the feasibility of acquiring property and constructing a new neighborhood recreation center on the city’s west side to support its population density.
4. Develop feasibility studies and business plans for each new or renovated recreation facility. This will achieve the maximum usage and productivity of each center. These studies will match program needs of the neighborhoods served by the facility.
5. Create design standards for indoor and outdoor recreation facilities to maximize its resources used by the greatest number of users.
6. Through effective partnerships with schools and other public and private agencies, the city could increase recreation space both indoor and outdoor to support the recreation needs of youth and adults. This will require all partners be involved in the planning process of new or renovated indoor and outdoor recreation space.
7. Where appropriate, develop a free or subsidized recreation rider program to support user access to all recreation centers in the city to support greater access and usage.

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Conclusion

Recreation Programs:

1. Establish Core and Non-Core programs The staff must set consistent standards for how programs are delivered and define methods they will use for evaluating user satisfaction for the services provided.
2. Create a pricing philosophy and standards for all departmental programs and services, city wide. To accomplish this, staff needs to review the true costs of services in terms of benefits received. This will require the city to update its pricing policy as well as to seek new earned income opportunities to offset operation costs. This may require the city to partner with the private or not-for-profit sector to assist in delivering programs while maintaining low user fees. A grant writer would assist the department in additional funding opportunities.
3. Establish customer service standards for all operations.
4. Establish citywide communication standards to encourage participation in programs and events for all age groups.
5. Enhance evaluation methods and maintain statistical records to support programming opportunities.
6. Enhance partnership opportunities to assist in offering recreation opportunities to a broader range of citizens

Administrative:

1. Review and update all department policies every five years to support the goals of the department and to maximize public access to services.
2. Develop technology standards that provide for efficiency of operations and service delivery.
3. Provide volunteer opportunities in the department that provide lifetime experiences for members of the community when they volunteer their services. A dedicated staff person should oversee the volunteer opportunities.
4. Enhance human resource standards through licensing, accreditation, certification and training of personnel.
5. Enhance private or not-for-profit partnerships that provide services beyond the city’s capability and/or for efficiency purposes.
6. Enhance and support the role of commissions, committees and advisory groups to maintain a constant flow of information both into and out of the Department.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Conclusion

Many operating policies need to be updated regarding the goals outlined in the Community Values Model and Vision Matrix. These policies are outlined throughout the Strategic Master Plan through land acquisition, purchasing changes, pricing of service changes, design of parks and facility changes, development of facility and program standards, holding staff accountable to meet those standards, and organizational design changes to hire the right employee for the right job. These policy changes need to be adopted as part of the Strategic master Plan Study to maximize the desired outcomes.

Performance measures have been established in the development of this plan. Quarterly performance measures update need to be tracked. These results must be communicated to the City Manager and to the City Council regarding the staff's efforts to implement the recommendations. Many of the recommendations and strategies will require additional staff training to accomplish the desired impact.

Leon Younger & PROS and Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. have appreciated the opportunity to develop the Strategic Plan for Open Space, Parks and Recreation services. The plan is implemental however; the City must act now to achieve the goals and vision of the community. This will require time, money, energy, and political will to make this Strategic Master Plan a reality.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

FOCUS GROUP SUMMARY

Introduction to Process

One of the most successful approaches toward attaining a qualitative assessment of an organization is to conduct small focus group meetings with key community stakeholders. This approach allows the consultant to glean from a cross section of citizens the strengths, weaknesses and perceived opportunities with regard to the current and future operations of the organization. This method of soliciting input has been used in a variety of settings with a multitude of public and private sector agencies.

The staff of the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities created a list of key community stakeholders to invite to the focus group sessions. Typically, key community stakeholders are defined as anyone having a vested interest in the outcome of the agency's mission. A broad list of stakeholders was developed and personal invitations were sent from the Mayor to each stakeholder requesting their participation in the process.

Methodology

Key stakeholder focus group meetings were conducted on six separate days during October, November, December 2001, and February 2002. A total of twenty-three separate focus group interviews were conducted, involving 204 individuals. These interviews were conducted with various staff, community leaders, City Council members, Steering Committee members and interested citizens in Alexandria. The purpose of the focus group meetings was to identify the key issues to be resolved in the Recreation Needs Assessment and to develop an understanding of community perceptions regarding the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.

These meetings were typically conducted in groups of ten to twelve people. There were a few occasions where the groups were smaller in number. The interviewers asked all groups the same set of questions, which were designed to cover a variety of topics representing all facets of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural activities.

The findings from these interviews served as a foundation for the development of the Public Opinion Survey, which was distributed in March 2002.

Summary

In general, the community is pleased with the department and the level of service provided. The staff is recognized as supportive and professional. Facilities are clean, and the recent attention given to renovations and facility upgrades is recognized as a key attribute of the park system. The community acknowledges the department's efforts to be responsive to citizens' needs. The community recognizes that the department is attempting to satisfy a variety of divergent interest groups. It was acknowledged that the department should establish achievable levels of service instead of trying to be all things to all people. There is significant interest in having the department identify a variety of new ways to fund capital development and operations. There is also an expectation that the department identify and develop new partnerships to help solve

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Appendix

existing and emerging issues. It is expected that some of these new partnerships could provide additional methods for funding capital development and operations.

Citizens were particularly interested in seeing the department find solutions to the lack of open space and park space. They expect the department to adequately project the emerging needs of the community and to position the delivery of future services accordingly.

There is much interest in identifying the appropriate configuration of indoor programming space for senior citizens and teens. The increased demand for facilities to accommodate organized sports has put a unique burden on an already heavily developed park system, and citizens are interested in solving the demand issue without jeopardizing existing open spaces.

Key Findings

The key issues to be resolved in the plan include:

• Maintenance of existing facilities.
• Addressing the changing demographics of the community.
• How to Manage with the limited park space available while addressing a growing demand for facilities and park space.
• The lack of parking at existing facilities.
• The need to create more designated space for athletic facilities.
• How to involve the business community and other partners in solving key park and recreation issues.
• Transportation access for youth.
• The need for programs and facilities for youth and seniors.
• Use of school facilities as community assets.
• Providing more after-school programs.
• Adaptive re-use of facilities that receive little use, such as swimming pools.
• Managing the amount of cultural and special events held every year in the city.
• Finding a balance between active and passive park space.
• Positioning the park and recreation system to tap into new sources of funding while providing inclusion for all who want to participate.
• Addressing the needs of the single adult population.
• How to deal with the perceived need for more dog parks.
• How to manage the provision of new types of recreation such as skate parks, trails, and connectivity to places of public value.
• Ensuring the safety of young people at recreation facilities.
• How to fund operational and capital needs.
• Working with developers to create public spaces, appropriate land uses, and to provide public amenities.
• The need to protect existing open space in the city.

The greatest recreation program needs were identified as:

• Finding strategies to keep teens engaged in productive activities beyond the early teens.
• Addressing the increased demand for organized sports programs.
• Aquatic programs that meet the needs of all age groups.
• Nature-based programs.

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• Serving the special needs of people with disabilities.
• Providing adequate space and programs for senior citizens.
• Providing arts and festival programs.
• Effectively dealing with the before and after-school needs of young people.

The greatest facility needs were identified as:

• Managing an aging infrastructure.
• Finding more open space and park space.
• Elevating maintenance standards at some locations.
• Providing new types of facilities as demands emerge.
• Development of indoor facilities that address the multi-generational make up of the community.

There was a broad perspective of perceived mandates in the community. The key themes included:

• Identifying and establishing achievable levels of service versus trying to be all things for all people.
• Achieving acceptable levels of maintenance at all facilities.
• Development of more trails.
• Beautification of the city.
• Water and stream cleanup.
• Adequately funding the park and recreation system.
• Finding appropriate partners.
• Staying current with citizens’ needs and finding effective methods to meet those needs.
• Better care of the environment.
• Creating relationships with other service providers and parks agencies.
• Better coordination with the school system.

The vision for the future includes:

• A well-balanced agency that commands respect from the community.
• An agency that is proactive to the needs of citizens.
• Solving the open space and park space needs of the community.
• Demonstrating the value of recreation to citizens.
• A Department that is adequately funded and provides well-developed and maintained facilities.
• An agency that acts as exceptional stewards of the natural environment, providing equitable services and facilities for all residents.

The following is a listing of the questions and responses from the focus groups

1. What are the most pressing issues that should be addressed in this plan?

• Keep up existing facilities.
• Respond to needs of populations.
• Resolve children playing on properties
• Keep up with feeder programs and changing sports demand
• Limited amount of space versus growing interest in team sports.
• Do you focus on demand or supply?

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• How do you involve business community?
• Be sure you have a wide variety of activities, especially for kids.
• How to get diverse population serviced.
• Distribution of the space, i.e., Kids need to be in their neighborhood, e.g., skateboarding, need a place to have the activity that is legal, and appropriate.
• Youth accessibility to programs and facilities.
• Transportation
• Recreation center for the Cameron Station, area is highly concentrated with people without cars or transportation, (Southport is ideal location), may need more cooperation with Dash, school system accessibility
• Trails connectivity, cost needs to be a consideration. Swimming at Chinquapin is expensive for some families and should be affordable for all through discounts, sliding scales or some other way to include them.
• Some parks are compartmentalized, e.g., Landover Park is disconnected from the pool – should be better connected to make them useable
• Concept of anchors – pools, libraries, parks, ball fields, use them as anchors and connect everything between them together – maybe with trails: should reduce maintenance cost, could affect how you program for different ages at different times also, important to use facilities more fully
• Need a drop-in program for youth, Look to be able to meet the needs of the future
• Need cross-cultural programs; the prime emphasis is now on traditional American sports.
• Take appropriate advantage of technology and other leisure opportunities.
• Availability of outdoors space and indoors space; use indoor as efficiently as possible. The location of the facility determines the type of programs offered, and the hours of operation, etc.
• Need to look at additional space in the schools; find a way to enhance the offerings in schools to be used as recreation centers.
• Look at enlarging the geographic areas for program delivery and plan together with schools.
• Need in the George Mason area for more time and space
• No track on west end now and they need one. Transportation is a concern and the city should be able to make an arrangement with private schools for track and additional field space.
• Need for better maintenance on existing facilities, such as tennis courts; some tennis courts are being used for other activities such as soccer and roller hockey.
• We need to address the facilities we are losing.
• We need to decide who we are – urban, suburban, etc. and then have the community recognize who we are.
• The amount of cultural events is huge – we need not be so insular.
• Our school system is an untapped resource. This needs to be addressed.
• We don’t have the luxury of having activities in every neighborhood, therefore transportation to facilities is an issue
• Fees need to be addressed; we should establish a baseline of services and build fees around the baseline while ensuring inclusion.
• Identify and meet the requests of the community. Need to be determine how to meet the program and infrastructure needs of the community.

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 4 Leon Younger and PROS

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• Maintain existing facilities to an acceptable standard.
• Need to find a balance with active and passive areas, the natural and developed areas.
• Is the city getting sufficient space for recreation?
• The next priority is how to use that space.
• Management of the open space. How to use that land?
• Dog parks and soccer fields.
• Be very specific on the land uses regarding parks.
• Build in more active recreation space.
• The city is at the crossroads on the key decisions.
• Want to be a key friendly city.
• The council will follow the plan if we identify the key issues and we provide them the road map for them to follow.
• Manage the future, not the immediate.
• Can we be forward looking, looking toward twenty years from now?
• Seniors need to be addressed.
• Young people who are not involved in a sport
• Are the recreation centers not providing the right programs?
• Multi-generational center is needed.
• Pack in what is not offered in the other centers.
• An Olympic size pool is needed
• Seniors are going to Fairfax as their outlet.
• A dog park is a key issue that needs to be addressed.
• Bike trails review.
• Multi-purpose game fields are needed.
• Field use policies need to be addressed.
• Teens needs should be addressed, especially the possibility of a roller rink.
• A skate park is needed.
• More small neighborhood gathering places that are passive.
• Identify common space for neighborhoods.
• More parks that are passive versus active.
• Lobby groups that advocate for single use.
• A lot of racial polarization of activities.
• Find ways to provide programs and facilities that demonstrate fairness and move away from entitlement.
• Pulling away from a traditional population and the needs are different. The worker population is changing and they are so constrained for staff.
• Mounting demands for parks needs to be managed. They don’t do a lot for workers in the city.
• What do they have to serve them?
• Multi-generational facility on the west end; yes or no, and how to manage for the future.
• Recreation centers have catered to specific segment of the population; should we move away from that and move toward a more general use? Political and cultural issues related to the current use.
• Recreation centers that need some work and what to do with them. What do they need to have the recreation center look like, i.e., Patrick Henry?
• More fields, yes or no?

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• Evaluation of who is being served.
• Recreation Department in general and how it is managed and financed.
• A lot of internal politics in the recreation center.
• Need to accelerate change in the department. It needs to move to a new level.
• The after-school programs in the recreation centers.
• Would like to see that the existing recreation facilities have enough operational and capital monies to keep them updated.
• Recreation centers should evaluate the staff loads versus the number of people who use the centers.
• Evaluate staff deployment.
• School age populations, age banding from to K-5, and after-school vendors: the competition with private enterprise needs to be addressed. What are the areas that are amenable to fees and how to deal with free or subsidized programs and people?
• Phase timeline and recommendations need to be included.
• Geography and equity of recommendations need to be addressed.
• Make programs more inclusive rather than single focused.
• Make the recreation centers more specialized and use more of a magnet approach.
• Evaluate the demographics of the area as we make decisions.
• The adult population that is single needs to be addressed in this community; early morning and weekend programs for this age group.
• The centers sit quite empty during the day: how effectively are they deploying the resources in the recreation centers?
• Weekend offerings are geared toward the youth versus single adults.
• The competition between other service providers and the city needs to be evaluated regarding fitness facilities.

2. What are the key policy issues that need to be addressed in this plan?

• Fees and how they are applied to levels of service, somehow we need user fees to support infrastructure.
• The use of development impact fees, open space requirements and other tools to spread the responsibility to more members of the community.
• Need to look at sponsorships to "adopt a space".
• Initial capital and ongoing maintenance needs to be addressed.
• Youth participation in decision-making.
• Funding.
• Day care v. recreation centers.
• Senior programs, what is the balance, i.e., costs v. services?
• What restrictions should we (the city) put on private developers when they develop?
• Need no net loss policy on open space; what incentives can you build in for private landowners to create more open space?
• Developers should be required to provide recreational amenities as a part of development, such as dog parks, playgrounds; should have integrated effort-requiring developers to work together when they develop new sites.
• Adopt policy that links recreation with health; involve schools with that initiative.
• Adults should be able to pay for their recreation; not feasible to expect parents to pay for all recreation – should have subsidies, scholarships.
• Inclusion is important – need equity in charging for access to facilities.

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• Quality of life should be included in the health aspect.
• Wider demographic appeal – facility is targeted to minority kids.
• Basketball is the most diverse program in the city.
• Middle school nights has been the most successful program.
• The lost segment is the high school children that need attention.
• Acquire land set-asides from developers.
• Public easements will be a key acquisition strategy for the city to focus on.
• A large tract of land – should that be the center of recreation complex?
• Like complexes versus families traveling all over the city.
• The long-term strategy is most important; they need to look for the long term in the city.
• Facility buildings versus land development.
• Patrick Henry facility needs to be expanded.
• Improve the facilities you have first.
• School partnerships need to focus first on the fact that this is a public building.
• School parks.
• More after-school programs in school are needed; keep in mind safety and security issues.
• More structure at after-school programs to help them on schoolwork, etc.
• New urbanism is well entrenched here.
• School park designation is okay; it should be established and designated for priority of use by schools and city as needed.
• Chinquapin High School renovation is critical.
• Dog parks versus kids are a big issue.
• The council gets a bad rap on land preservation that is unwarranted because of their efforts to develop and preserve space.
• Multi-generational centers are a concern financially.
• More trails; trails are costly but needed.
• The bike plan is good.
• Too focused on citizen input.
• Field schedules.
• Non-residents rates.
• Get a list of the policies.
• Park maintenance standards.
• Funding for parks maintenance is a problem.
• Active areas need a lot of maintenance.
• Off-leash dog areas are needed versus having dogs on soccer fields.
• After-school policies need to be addressed in the plan.
• Standards for program needs to be addressed.
• Beautification in the city and the quality of the fields is a problem. Are they getting their money’s worth?
• Recreation programs are significantly segregated and this is a problem.
• Evaluate recreation program
• 13 and older can’t be in recreation centers until 6pm.
• Are we doing a good job dealing with youth?
• What are other programs could be created to attract teens?
• Rotation of staff in centers.

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• Certification of staff is a good thing even if staff is resistant.
• What is the appropriate training for staff to make them more marketable?
• More staff who can speak Spanish is needed.
• Watering and maintenance of soccer fields is needed.
• Sustainability is an issue on fields; match what they can reasonably handle and the study needs to have a basis to say no.

3) What is your perspective on the competition for open space? Active vs. passive?

• Open space is essential.
• We will have to look at it differently and creatively; there are other ways to provide open space through things like easements.
• When redeveloping land we need to give careful consideration on how to preserve open space; proper planning is the key.
• In the long term we need to look at areas such as rooftops, highways, buildings, planters, etc.
• Public buildings landscape should encourage usage, not be sterile.
• Better, more comprehensive management.
• Incorporate sustainability, four mile run is more than drainage, it’s also wildlife habitat. Cannot lose anymore open space, tie together to maximize for total benefit, more tracks.
• More interactive open space.
• Need bigger fields.
• More lighted fields.
• They must have sources of revenue to acquire and maintain land.
• School parks need to be developed and maintained for recreation use.
• They are a land-locked city and have competing problems for land.
• How do you deal with the land that is left?
• 40% of city residents are singles.
• A real estate transfer is needed.
• Save areas that can’t be developed like the waterways.
• More passive areas are needed in the multi-family areas.
• Managed regional partnerships need to be established.
• It will not work in the city to provide more natural areas.
• Fencing of dog parks has created the problem.
• Standards need to be developed for all parks.
• Do you feel the city needs to establish acreage guidelines for population and land?
• Be very protective of what land is left.
• Waterfront access and open space is needed.

4) What are your feelings regarding a teen center, senior center, multi-generational center?

• Likes the multi-generational center idea.
• Likes the idea of stand-alone center – but the program will really drive the success; e.g., if teen center is just a hang out, then trouble will follow; needs to be comprehensive and well planned; more in favor of multi-generational center – should also have good programming for seniors.
• Transportation is an issue for many seniors.
• Do not need a designated teen center.

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• Predominately needs to be in the neighborhood for seniors.
• Prefer multi-generational center over a stand-alone teen center.
• Need to reach into the community – diverse, low number of youth, many single, transient people who need recreational opportunities, the constantly changing dynamic of the community makes it a challenge.
• No real sense of equity issues like there used to be regarding the east and west end of the cities.
• Teen center is an interesting concept.
• They have to demonstrate that safety issues are addressed.
• 12, 13, and 14-year-old children need to have a safe environment.
• Stand-alone for teens.
• They should use the facilities they already have rather than build new.
• They have not taken advantage of the design alternatives that could create more cooperation.
• A renovating approach to T.C. Williams for teens is needed.
• Senior population growth is flat. A center west of town is needed.
• The department has a severe lack of open space, and they feel they tend to build mediocre facilities instead of building a great space.
• Make smaller centers specialty centers.
• The city should work with malls for senior walking.

5. What are the greatest recreation program needs in Alexandria?

• Teens (middle school).
• Senior citizens.
• More sports than are offered at high schools.
• Basketball is of high interest.
• Health, wellness, dietary.
• Computers for the children.
• A balance in programs is needed for seniors and activities that are not based around sports.
• After-school programs need to be developed.
• Computers labs and roller hockey.
• Programs for teens and seniors need to be addressed.
• Create festivals for young people.
• The arts are very important for the department.
• Concerts are very supported by the community.
• Children, teenagers, and young children are the biggest need.
• The city's programs need to be in concert with school programs.
• Service the needs of people with disabilities.
• Environmental education, nature based programs.
• Swimming.

6. What are the greatest recreation facility needs in Alexandria?

• Golf courses.
• Swimming pools.
• Teen centers.
• Sports complexes.

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• Better use of schools.
• Ice rink.
• Facilities for youth, seniors, physically challenged.
• Flexibility of design for accommodation of many uses.
• Outdoor spaces need to be multi-use.
• Need off-road / safe places to ride bikes.
• Recreation facility needs for the future.
• The city and the YMCA have some disconnects in working together.
• Expand the pool at Chinquapin.
• Multiuse outdoor surface complex.
• Soccer, roller hockey, and basketball.
• Diversify the sports; lacrosse for instance.
• Field Hockey: can they develop these facilities?
• Expand into non-traditional sports.
• Women and sports.
• Girl's softball and volleyball are very important.
• More variety at the high school.
• Skateboard parks.
• A multi-generational is not needed and we need to cover this in our recommendations.
• Chinquapin needs to be redeveloped to hold swim meets.
• Use existing facilities by renovating them to address senior citizens.
• Computer labs in recreation centers.
• Irrigate all playing fields.
• Re-use of existing space.
• Charles Houston and Patrick Henry need to be updated.
• Indoor track is needed.
• Ice rink needed.
• Regional facilities shared and developed are a good idea.
• Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority needs to work with the city on development of facilities.
• National Park Service management with city needs to be established to meet on strategies for regional issues – maybe a regional planning retreat on updating facilities.

7) What are the community mandates in Alexandria?

• More places for off-leash dogs.
• Services must be accessible.
• Non-discrimination.
• Care of the environment.
• Removal of exotic and non-native plants.
• Stream bank restoration
• Wildlife habitat protection and enhancement.
• Children want their own teen center, access to school space, more recreation centers with Internet access.
• Does not think the community has an understanding of what parks and recreation is all about.
• Communication with the community.

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• Better coordination with the school system.
• Some people were for a center in the west end in the past.
• Need to link with other parks and recreation service providers such as Fairfax County.
• Expect facilities that are truly recreational offerings; we don't have them in our part of the city.
• Number of fields and inability to rotate them; enhance the condition of fields and increase the number of them; involve the users in the maintenance.
• Mandate to improve the department by the council.
• Maintenance mandate is in plan.
• Pick up and improve the place, especially the after-school space.
• Operation and recreation staff issues are in place.
• Integrated uses need to be addressed.
• More open space, park issue.
• All needs to be met by the community expectations.
• More teen activities.
• More soccer fields.
• Do not take away what they have, but maintenance is very poor.
• Don't try to be all things for all people.
• Develop partnerships with other service providers.

8) Who are the potential partners for Parks and Recreation?

• Clubs.
• Service organizations.
• Create outreach opportunities for service clubs.
• Shopping malls.
• Retailers – use their facilities such as parking lots on weekends when they are not in use.
• Federal agencies such as the National Park Service, e.g., Huntley Meadows, schools, corporate neighbors use their open space.
• Private schools.
• Need to integrate with the NPS for use of properties (Dangerfield Island).
• Parking lots at Malls.
• YMCA, hospitals.
• Health Department.
• Extension service.
• Better relationship with the Y.
• Would like to see trying a partnership with use of fields on private schools.
• Funding partners should include more funding for capital and operations.
• They do not have a good relationship in the private sector with businesses and foundations.
• Park foundations and not-for-profit partnerships.
• Fee based for adult sports is okay for effective prices.
• Partnerships with youth organizations are good and need to keep going.
• Partnership with the department and the minority community needs to be better.
• Business community partnerships need to be developed.
• YMCA partnerships, hospitals.

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• Sea Port Foundation.
• Police boys and girls camp.
• 4-H extension program.
• Senior partnerships.
• Transportation is needed for youth.
• Torpedo Factory is a partnership that could be developed and the art league.
• Civic stations need to be looked at.
• They don't ask community organizations to be a part of the solution.

9. What are your feelings about adaptive use of existing parks to meet the citizens changing recreation needs?

• Adaptive reuses are okay.
• Removal of community use needs to be done.
• It will take a lot of good statistical data to convince the public.
• Are we short of gym facilities?
• What are we short in?
• Yes, that is important and they need to be better at this.
• Respond to the activity changes.
• Skateboard parks are needed.
• Establish standards for use that demonstrate a need to decline in the plan.
• Not confident that the Council will follow the recommendations from the plan.
• School parks need to be made adaptive.
• Add benches to school parks.

10. What is your vision for the next ten-years?

• A well-balanced agency with a vision, goals, and responsibilities that commands respect.
• More education about the value of parks and recreation needs to occur in the community.
• The city having more input regarding how property gets used.
• Continue to grow and work with other agencies to put out the best product.
• Respect from citizens regarding department operations.
• Recognize department as proactive in meeting the needs of the community.
• Innovative approaches in solving open space needs.
• Demonstrating the value of recreation and open space.
• More partnerships and broader relationships with other service providers.
• Upgraded facilities and program opportunities.

11. Are there any other issues?

• Need to get Alexandria residents to use regional parks we pay to support.
• Need a way to attract more grant money?
• Recreation Department needs to decide its primary role or core business.
• Safety of people using recreation centers; children are getting hit by cars in the roads out in front of the building; need speed control devices.
• Parking is inadequate at some centers.
• Better coordination between recreation centers.
• Need transportation coordination with the DASH bus company.
• Need better transportation in general to all recreation facilities by existing bus system.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

• Need to make more use of volunteers.
• Evaluate a process to do it right. It seems that everything is an issue.
• Sell the strategies and the fact that quality of life contributes to economic development.
• Highlight the amount of turnover of residents to marketing in order to get the public to know the city and recruit them to your sites. How do we evaluate our success in recreation?
• Ask amount of recognition of residents for programs.
• What degree do we build in as part of marketing strategies?

The Following Questions and Responses are from the Focus Group Meetings with City Council, City Manager and the Mayor

1. What are the most pressing issues that should be addressed in this plan?

• Up to date technology needs to be in place.
• Training of staff is needed.
• Equipment needs should be assessed.
• Staffing levels and pay should be assessed.
• Addressing seniors’ needs is necessary.
• Young people who are not involved in a sport need to be addressed.
• The need to evaluate the demographics of the area as we make decisions.
• The adult population that is single needs to be addressed in this community.
• The goals and objectives need to be followed tightly rather than following them to a point until there is a special project that pulls the attention away from what is being accomplished or worked toward. This takes away from the standards in the city and things don’t get done efficiently.
• Standards for space management
• What are the areas that are amenable to fees and how should we deal with free or subsidized programs and people?
• Maintenance facilities need to be addressed.
• Volunteers need to be addressed in the city and an appreciation event needs to be held.
• Lack of a labor pool for tree contractors needs to be addressed.
• Play equipment replacement scheduled needs to be in place.
• Recruiting efforts need to be more efficient – finding staff with the qualifications within the range of salary offered.
• There are 48 to 50 employees in park maintenance; there need to be more.
• The nature center staffing needs to be reviewed and increased if necessary.
• The pressing issue for the city is getting sufficient space for recreation. The next priority is how to use that space?
• Management of the open space is needed. Ask on the survey how to use that land?
• Diversity issues as well as political and cultural problems need to be addressed.
• A strong school partnership is needed.
• The department has a severe lack of open space and they feel they tend to build mediocre facilities versus great space.

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2) What policies need to be addressed?

• Practice space is an issue versus game fields.
• There is a need to build in more active recreation space.
• Lack of written policy is a problem.
• There are field use policies that need to be addressed.
• Vandalism problems exist.
• Enforcing park policies is a problem with police.
• Create park rangers to cover park issues.
• Include in the survey issues of safety and citation problems in parks.
• The centers sit pretty empty during the day and how effectively are they deploying the resources in the recreations centers.
• Weekend offerings are geared toward the youth versus single adults.
• The competition between other service providers and the city needs to be evaluated as it applies to fitness facilities.
• Be very specific on the land uses as it applies to parks.
• Mounting demands for parks needs to be managed. They don’t do a lot for workers in the city.
• Continue to review staffing levels in relationship to participants.
• The after school programs need to be addressed in relationship to licensing.
• Are they getting the right bang for the dollars?
• Rotation of staff in centers is needed.
• Certification of staff desirable

3) What is your expectation of the outcomes that are desired from this Master Plan?

• The Master Plan will pull together the vision, planning, organizations, and recommendations.
• There is a feeling that the department will sit on the plan.
• The Master Plan will assist in long term capital improvement plan.
• An assessment of the recreation department in general and how it is managed and financed is needed.
• A phase timeline and recommendations over time needs to be included in our recommendations.
• Beautification in the city and the quality of the fields need to be addressed.
• Sustainability is an issue on fields and match what they can reasonably handle and the study needs to have a basis to say no.
• Plan recreation facility needs for the future.

4) What do you think the mandates are?

• It will establish the level of service that can be expected.
• Maintenance of fields will be priority.
• Keep trash out of parks.
• Mow parks.
• Respond to every call within 24 hours.
• Clean facilities.
• A certain level of recreation programs will be provided.
• Bike trials and multi-use trails will be promoted more.

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• The parks and recreation facilities will serve all citizens equitably.
• Funding for parks maintenance is a problem.
• The beautification of the city will be a high priority.

5) What is your vision for the next 10 years?

• The Department will be a well balance agency with a vision, goals and responsibilities that has a lot of respect.
• Patrick Henry facility needs to be expanded.
• To manage the future, is there a need for a multi-generational facility on the west end.
• The staff feels that the city and residents view the park and recreation department as low level service and more educational efforts are needed. (Ask this on a survey).
• Off leash dog areas is needed versus having dogs on soccer fields.
• We need to continue to grow and work with other departments to put out the best product.
• There will be a respect from the citizens toward for the Department staff.
• Acquire land set-asides in the development game from developers.
• Public easements will be a key acquisition strategy for the city to focus on.
• They will have a vision and more proactive versus reactive to what parks and recreation and be recognized as a fighter for open space.
• More parks that are passive versus active are needed.
• There is a need for lobby groups that advocate for single use such as open space issues.
• There is a need to find ways to provide programs and facilities that demonstrate fairness and move away from entitlement.
• A multi-generational center is needed.
• An Olympic size pool is needed.
• The Dog parks are key issues that need to be addressed.
• Bike trails review is needed.
• Game fields that are multi-purpose are needed.
• Market the agency to the public.
• The City missed the boat on open space and now needs to do some innovative things to develop open space.
• We need to change the perspective on the value of recreation and make it an investment for people.
• As more commercial development grows, what kind of space needs to be provided and how many more partnerships are needed?
• Environmental issues are adequately prioritized and funded.
• There is a need to make the recreation centers more specialized and create a more magnet approach.
• Administrative staff be funded to the level that is required.
• We will need to upgrade the resources and add more manpower.

6) What do you think that people value?

• Open space.
• Game fields.
• Beautification and high standards.
• Natural environment.

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• Neighborhood Parks – develop equity maps.
• Facilities, and programs that are provided by the Recreation Department.
• Safety
• Equity
• Responsiveness
• Tree canopy's that are left
• Waterfront.

7) Most pressing recreation needs

• Baseball, softball, and soccer fields are needed.
• Play grounds
• Hard Surface Trails
• Dog parks
• Pools
• ADA compliance
• Nature based programs
• There is a need for early morning and weekend programs for the adult singles.
• More staff that can speak Spanish is needed.
• Expand pool at chinquapin
• Multiuse surface complex that is outdoor is needed.
• Women and sports are important.
• Use existing facilities by renovating them to address senior citizens.
• All playing fields need irrigation.

8) What is the most important program needs of this city pertaining to youth, teens and adults?

• A balance in program needs for seniors and other activities that are not based around sports are needed.
• After school programs need to be developed.
• Computers labs and roller hockey are needed.
• Programs for teens and seniors need to be addressed.
• Create festivals for young people.
• The arts are very important for the department.
• Concerts are very supported by the community.
• Children, teenagers and young children are the biggest need.
• The cities programs need to be in sync with school programs.

9) Are there partnerships outside of the school district the city should be developing that are not in place?

• We need a better relationship with the Y and the Boys and Girls club.
• Would like to see the Department try partnerships with use of fields at private schools.
• Funding partners should include more funding for capital and operational costs.
• Park foundations and not for profit partnerships are needed.

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• Business community partnerships need to be developed.
• Sea Port Foundation partnership is needed.
• Transportation is needed for youth.

The Following Questions and Responses are from the Park and Recreation Commission Interviews

1. Needs Assessment:

• More soccer fields and open space land are needed.
• Facilities that can accommodate the older generation especially the older senior generation are needed.
• Adult soccer fields are lacking as well and practice spaces.
• There are a lot of single adults in the city that need to be served.
• The field space needs are the most pressing league issue.
• The teen's needs are high in the community.
• Skateboard parks are needed.
• High school rugby and girls football are growing sports.
• We need to tie recreation to health issues in the city.
• More women sports are needed in the city.
• Trails, pools, indoor tracks are needed.
• Transportation is needed for middle school aged children.
• Adult sports needs are high as well as youth.
• Safety of the children is a major concern in recreation centers.
• User fees should apply to adults and the youth should be subsidized.
• User fees are a major issue and should be put in effect and utilized.
• The commission needs to have a workshop on fees and charges.
• Ice Rink may need to be tested in the survey.

2. What is your expectation of the Master Plan/ Needs Assessment?

• They need to resolve the use recreation facilities.
• Recreation Centers need to be called community centers.
• What lines of businesses should we be in?
• What are our mandates, what standards should we abide by.
• How much are we willing to pay for maintenance levels.
• Public restrooms in parks are needed.
• Spray pools need to replace small pools in the city.
• Visioning is needed in the city.
• There is a huge lack of trust with the city.
• Use regional park authority and partner with them on services.
• What are the other trend amenities and programs that are missing in the city that we should address?

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The Following Questions and Responses are from the Meeting With Arts Commission, Environmental Policy Committee, Waterfront Committee.

1. Areas to be resolved:

• How do we support a performing arts area at the Patient and Trade office?
• The parks and recreation department needs to provide neighborhood events and make them more proactive.
• The department needs to provide more structure in the arts.
• Specialty Arts Centers have become the most successful spaces for arts to work in the centers.
• Drama, dance, and music, as well as fine arts, need to be a part of the recreation department.
• Marketing of the arts needs to be developed.
• More arts venues need to be provided by the city.
• The arts need a strategic plan
• 1% or 2% arts commitment by developers need to be perused by the city.
• The name of the Department should be changed to the Department of Parks, Cultural Services and Recreation.
• The city and the Arts Commission need to have a larger staff and a partnership agreement.
• The city should reclaim underutilized facilities and redeveloped them into arts facilities.
• We need to ask questions on the survey that focus on: How often do you attend an arts event? How is important is the arts to you and your family? How well do you think that Alexandria serves the community?
• Martial arts are non-existent in the city and needs to be a part of the community.
• Advocacy seems to be a major issue with the arts commission.
• Arts education is needed in the city.

The Following Responses are from the Department Head Meeting.

• The areas for children to play are a problem that needs to be addressed especially west of 395.
• The economically disadvantaged need more than the people can afford.
• Substance abuse is an issue that needs to address.
• Very few families have a parent at home after school.
• Some space for mixing groups with various age segments is needed.
• Multi-dimensional space is really needed to support programs.
• The small area plans of the city do not address parks and recreation.
• Cross communication and cross marketing needs are prevalent.
• There is a need for recreation for people with disabilities.
• Women and girls sports drop out rates are high – 11 to 14.
• What is the total amount of money spent on children in the city?
• Space changes need to be made in order to serve youth between 5 to 14 years of age.
• Most people can't pay to use facilities and the space needs to be dedicated per various user groups.
• A tiered level of fees is very difficult to obtain.

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• There should be an incentive program for collection of fees.
• The department needs 501-C-3 organizations including friends groups.
• Does the department need to have working relationships?
• Levels of ground maintenance standards need to be communicated.
• The arborist gets pulled in many directions.
• The Parks and Recreation image is difficult to put your arms around.
• The department does not have enough staff.
• The department needs to include other departments in the planning processes.
• The 11 to 15 age groups need the most focus.
• There is a need for development of Regional facilities with Arlington and Fairfax County.
• Is the city into too many businesses?
• Rational allocation may not be acceptable in this political mindset.
• Diversity issues need to be addressed.
• Tree trimming is a tough issue here. Two-thirds are on contract and staff does one-third.
• A tree fund needs to be developed.
• After school care at the recreation centers is needed.
• Lack of supervision at day camps and after school programs needs to be addressed.
• Standards need to be in place.
• Computer centers and the city involvement need to be coordinated.

Responses From Seniors and Other Service Providers In the City

• Limited space is a tough problem.
• Low-income seniors need transportation to recreation events.
• Not a lot of support for seniors exists.
• Transportation for children is needed.
• More teen activities are needed.
• A skateboard park is needed.
• There is a need for benches in Old Town.
• Chinquapin should be a senior center because of where they live.
• More programs for children and teens are needed.
• The city's priorities for funding are in youth, people with disabilities, immigrants, and families.
• Summer is the problem for the seniors because of youth services.
• Comfortable space, food, places for music, and card rooms are needed.
• Chinquapin should be redesigned to accommodate seniors.
• Programming that stimulates the mind is needed.
• Senior Clubs need space where they can gather.
• The option of assistance in club development needs to be available.
• Marketing for seniors is an issue.
• Chinquapin prices should be freer for seniors.
• A review of fee schedules is needed.
• Look at mind, body and spirit in the broad sense, and look at what site-specific policy approaches are needed.

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• There are playground equity issues in the city and an evaluation of the playgrounds is needed.
• Program equity needs evaluation in the city.
• Every program for seniors is free. This should not always be the case.
• The Seaport Foundation provides opportunities for seniors and youth for people to experience the resources as it applies to Potomac River.
• The city staff needs to be more involved in environmental programs and education.
• Parks and recreation staff should be mitigating some of the stream cover.
• The not-for profit organizations need a plan on how to work together.
• The city should take a lead on how not-for-profits are developed and how to manage duplication.
• Alexandria does not have a place for children to hang out.
• The Prime Time Page for seniors in the Gazette needs to have more programs that offer more stuff over the cable TV.
• The city needs to have a senior cable show that is dedicated to senior living and issues that seniors face.
• Partnerships are improving over the last five years in parks and recreation.
• Collaboration between the city and Campagna center for day camps and after school programs is needed.
• The need for drop in programs is no longer needed.
• T.C high school partners well.
• Partnering summits are needed and teaching people how to partner is key.
• Developing more uniform standards for partnerships is needed.
• The city does not use Federal Parks for recreation purposes.
• The city needs to have chess ands checkers boards in city parks.

The Following Questions and Responses are from the Meeting Notes with the Alexandria Program Staff

1. The current core businesses for the city are?

• After School programs/camps.
• Teens.
• Seniors.
• Aquatic.
• Sports.
• Cultural activities.

2. What are the key-issues that you are faced with in doing your jobs?

• Revenue producing programs at Chinquapin are hard to predict.
• City needs to support the recreational use of the parks even if they are in residential neighborhoods.
• The environment is politically charged but the staff has to uphold the policies and procedures.
• The city manager, director and city council need to support the policies in place.
• The squeaky wheel still gets what it wants.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

• One indoor aquatic facility causes too much conflict between competitive and recreational use.
• Parking is a problem in many facilities and there is little consideration for parking in the design of the parks.
• Teens need to be involved in planning the activities they are involved in.
• Cyber cafés and designated space is needed for teens.
• Older age teens are hard to attract to existing centers.
• The staff feels they are understaffed.
• Lack of meeting space is a problem.
• A marketing division is needed to track feedback from users.

3) What do you measure?

• We measure numbers and attendance.
• We track budget costs.
• We measure customer satisfaction.
• We measure post evaluations and pre-evaluations.
• We send out surveys to the community.
• Not all staff evaluate the programs.
• We do program goals and activity goals.
• Program standards are inconsistent and not all written.
• Chinquapin is expected to recoup 80% of expenses of direct costs.
• Adult sports are responsible for recovery of 100% of direct cost.
• Admission fees cannot be changed or discounted.

4) Residents and non-residents use.

• We rely on non-residents to fill out teams.
• Pricing decisions on programs are inconsistent across the city.
• We are not charging for therapeutic services.

5) What earned income opportunities do you create?

• There is no incentive for going after earned income and they can't keep it in the programs.
• We have some base line programs but no tiered programs in place.
• Revenue Philosophy needs to be consistent across the city.
• Although we have advisory councils that can raise money, we really don’t utilize this very much.
• Customer service plans and business plans are not in place.

6) What are your training needs?

• Customer service needs to be ongoing.
• Computer training in Activities Based Costing is needed.
• Evaluation and customer feedback is needed.
• Communication training is needed.
• Business plan training is needed.
• Training in human interaction and conflict with youth development and how to positively deal with youth is needed.

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• Volunteer training is warranted but they do not have a system for training.

7. What is your vision for the future for the recreation program section of this department?

• Therapeutic section should incorporate a wider demographic of people.
• There is a need for more staff and resources to address therapeutic needs.
• Youth sports diversity is needed
• Need more space for youth sports.
• More recreation facilities – both indoors and outdoors – are needed.
• A weight room for Core Kelly and small pool and tennis court are needed.
• There is a need for a master plan of action for participants who use the services and for staff to plan for what they need to do.
• There is a need for more trust in the department.
• There is a need to ensure the lower income people don’t get left behind in the economic engine of the city.
• The department staff has a significant role and holds an understanding of what people do in the department. The race issue has been addressed in the department.
• The balance between the free and pay programs is needed.
• The recreation department should be the informal education piece of people’s lives.
• Invest in excellence as it applies to processes and systems. We need to plan our work and work our plan.
• We would like to see the department prosper and that the staff understands what each other does.
• Space for programs in the department is needed.
• Training for staffing at all levels in the department is needed.
• More Hispanic programs in the centers are needed.
• The expectation of the plan is that it will be accessible and usable for all staff and the plan gets instituted into the system.
• There is a need for the cultural arts to be integrated into the department at a higher level.
• There is a need for more money for the arts to grow and more contracting of staff to do the programming in the city.
• Better ways to address special diversity needs and blend them into programs developed is needed.
• Re-structure our operational procedures to bring comprehensive focus to specific areas such as a marketing section. A program section, for teens, special events, and adults is needed.
• Core businesses are defined.
• A visionary environment is needed.
• We need to re-evaluate our policy and procedures and make them less restricted. We need to have fewer forms.
• There is a need for better partnerships with the schools on use of facilities.
• Be more involved in corporate America as it applies to delivery services.

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The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

PUBLIC FORUM SUMMARY

PROS facilitated four public forum meetings in the City of Alexandria focusing on each planning area of the city. Approximately, 80 residents in total attended the four workshops. PROS asked all attendees the same set of questions. PROS opened each public forum by introducing the Master Plan process and discussed the key issues to be addressed in the Master Plan.

The key issues the public felt relevant and to address in the Master Plan are as follows.

• Better communication needed with citizens regarding park maintenance and development.
• Police presence is needed within parks.
• More funding is required for land acquisition and park improvements.
• A community technology center is needed to better serve citizens and to provide training for the workforce and for youth after school programs.
• Partner with schools for facility development.
• Correct the litter problem within the city and educate the public regarding recycling and keeping the city cleaner.
• Multi-lingual signage communicating littering is needed.
• There is a need for more city trails. Survey the public for their interest in foot and bike trails.
• Conduct community forums to resolve conflicts between competing interest in parks and trails.
• Recreation departments and area businesses should partner together to move the city through the re-development transition.
• The city needs to place economic value on preserving natural areas and promoting more programming focusing on nature and education.
• The community needs additional indoor swimming facilities.
• Create balance between the development of dog parks and its turf care.
• When developing new trails, determine the various trail users and their needs.
• Create more recreational services in the realm of special events, programs for youth and seniors.
• Equity of access to parks and programs is required.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

PARKS AND RECREATION CITIZENS SURVEY

Overview of the Methodology

The City of Alexandria conducted a community attitude and interest survey during March and April of 2002 to help determine citizen usage, satisfaction, needs, and priorities for the parks and recreation system. The survey was designed to obtain statistically valid results from households throughout the City of Alexandria.

Leisure Vision/ETC Institute worked extensively with City of Alexandria officials and Leon Younger and Pros in the development of the survey questionnaire. This work allowed the survey to be tailored to issues of strategic importance to effectively plan the future system.

The goal was to obtain at least 600 completed surveys. This goal was more than accomplished, with 731 surveys being completed, including at least 200 completed surveys from each of the three Parks and Recreation Planning Districts. The results of the random sample of 731 households have a 95% level of confidence with a precision of at least +/-3.6%.

The following pages summarize major survey findings:

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

Participation in Recreation Programs or Special Events

Respondents were asked if they or members of their household had participated in any recreation programs or special events offered by the City’s Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department during the past 12 months. The following summarizes key findings:

Forty-two percent (42%) of respondent households indicated they had participated in recreation programs offered by the City of Alexandria during the past 12 months, and the other 58% had not participated.

Q3. Have Respondent Households Participated in any Recreation Programs or Special Events Offered by the City of Alexandria During the Past 12 Months

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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How Citizens Learned About Parks and Recreation Programs

Household respondents who had participated in City of Alexandria recreation programs during the past 12 months were asked where they learned about the City’s parks and recreation programs. The following summarizes key findings:

Flyers/brochures (48%) was the most frequent way that respondents learned about the City’s parks and recreation programs. Other frequently mentioned methods of learning about parks and programs included word of mouth (36%) and newspaper (32%).

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Quality of Recreational Programs

Household respondents who had participated in City of Alexandria recreation programs during the past 12 months were asked how they would rate the quality of the City programs they had participated in. The following summarizes key findings:

Nearly 90% of respondents rated the programs as either excellent (28%) or good (60%). An additional 9% of respondents rated the programs as fair, and just 1% rated them as poor. The remaining 2% indicated “don’t know”.

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Visitation of City Operated Parks

Respondents were asked if they or members of their household had visited any City operated parks in the City of Alexandria during the past year. The following summarizes key findings:

Two-thirds (66%) of respondent households indicated they had visited a City operated park in the City of Alexandria during the past year. In addition, 21% indicated they have not visited a City operated park in the City of Alexandria during the past year, but they do know where parks are located in the City of Alexandria. Thirteen percent (13%) indicated they have not visited a City operate park and they do not know where any parks in the City of Alexandria are located.

⬚ figure

Q4. Have Respondent Households Visited Any City Operated Parks in the City of Alexandria During the Past Year

by percentage of respondents

Q4a. Parks in Alexandria Visited Most Often Fort Ward Park, Chinquapin Park, Jones Point Park

Yes 66%

No, but I know where parks in 21% Alexandria are located

No, because I do not know where 13% parks in Alexandria are located

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Overall Physical Condition of Parks

Households respondents who had visited a City operated park in the City of Alexandria during the past year were asked how they would rate the physical condition of all the City operated parks they had visited in the City of Alexandria. The following summarizes key findings:

Over three-fourths (79%) of respondents rated the physical condition of City operated parks they had visited in the City of Alexandria as either excellent (27%) or good (52%). An additional 19% of respondents rated the parks as fair, and just 2% rated them as poor.

Q4b. How Respondent Households Rate the Physical Condition of ALL the City Operated Parks they Have Visited in the City of Alexandria

by percentage of respondents who have visited City operated parks during the past year

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Satisfaction with Various Recreational Programs

Based on a list of 24 various recreational programs offered by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with each one. The following summarizes key findings:

Festivals/special events is the program that had the highest percentage of respondents indicate being either very satisfied (44%) or somewhat satisfied (42%) with it. There are three other programs that over two-thirds of respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with. They are: walking/jogging (79%); swimming (71%); and biking (68%).

Q5. Overall Satisfaction with Various Recreational Programs Offered by the City of Alexandria

by percentage of respondents (excluding "don't knows")

⬚ figure

[ ] Very Satisfied [ ] Somew hat Satisfied [ ] Neutral [ ] Somew hat Dissatisfied [ ] Very Dissatisfied

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Participation in Various Recreational Programs

From the list of 24 various recreational programs offered by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, respondents were asked to indicate which ones they or members of their household had participated in during the past two years. The following summarizes key findings:

Festivals/special events (48%) was the program that the highest percentage of respondent households had participated in during the past two years. Other programs that a high percentage of respondent households had participated in during the past two years include: walking/jogging (44%); swimming (22%); biking (19%); exercising dogs (17%); and fitness/aerobics (16%).

⬚ figure

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Most Important Recreational Programs

From the list of 24 various recreational programs offered by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, respondents were asked to indicate the four that are most important to them and their household. The following summarizes key findings:

Walking/jogging (50%) had the highest percentage of respondent households rate it as one of their top four most important programs. There are three other programs that had at least 20% of respondent households rate it as one of their top four, including: festivals/special events (42%); swimming (22%); biking (21%); and fitness/aerobics (20%). It should also be noted that walking/jogging received by a wide margin the most first choices as the most important program.

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Reasons For Not Using Parks, Facilities and Programs More Often

From a list of 15 options, respondents were asked to indicate all of the reasons that keep them or members of their household from using parks and recreational facilities and programs in the City of Alexandria more often. The following summarizes key findings:

The most common reason that kept respondent households from using parks and recreational facilities and programs more often was ? we are too busy or not interested" (41%). Other reasons that kept a high percentage of respondent households from using parks and recreational facilities and programs more often included: "I do not know what is being offered" (25%); and "I do not know locations of parks/facilities" (19%). It should also be noted that only 4% indicated "poor customer service by staff" as a reason they don't use parks and recreational facilities and programs more often, and only 6% indicated "lack of quality programs."

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Organizations Used for Recreation and Parks Programs and Facilities

From a list of 10 organizations within the City of Alexandria, respondent households were asked to indicate all of the ones they use for recreation and parks programs and facilities. The following summarizes key findings:

The City of Alexandria Parks and Recreation Department (45%) is the organization used by the highest percentage of respondent households. There are five other organizations that at least one-fourth of respondent households use, including: National Parks (40%); churches (31%); Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Parks (25%); neighborhood association/apt. condominium (25%); and private clubs (25%).

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Organizations Whose Programs and Facilities Respondents Use the Most

From the list of 10 organizations within the City of Alexandria, respondent households were asked to indicate which one they use the most for recreation and parks programs and facilities. The following summarizes key findings:

The City of Alexandria Parks and Recreation Department (22%) is the organization that the highest percentage of respondent households indicated as the one they use the most. There are two other organizations that at least 10% of respondent households indicated as the one they use the most. They are National Parks (10%) and private clubs (10%).

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Satisfaction with the Number of Parks, Trails, and Recreation Facilities

Respondents were asked if they thought there were enough parks, trails, and recreational facilities near their household. The following summarizes key findings:

Over half (57%) of respondents indicated that there are enough parks, trails, and recreational facilities near their home. Twenty-four percent (24%) indicated there are not enough parks, trails, and recreational facilities, and the remaining 19% indicated “don’t know”.

Q10. Are There Enough Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Near Respondent Households?

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Well Maintained Park’s Enhancement on the Property Value of Homes

Respondents were asked if they thought that well maintained parks enhance the property value of surrounding homes. The following summarizes key findings:

Nearly all (90%) respondents indicated that well maintained parks do enhance the property value of surrounding homes. Only 2% indicated they do not enhance property value, and the remaining 8% indicated “don’t know”.

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Satisfaction with Various Recreational Facilities

Based on a list of 19 various recreational facilities offered by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities, respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with each one. The following summarizes key findings:

Walking and biking trails is the facility that had the highest percentage of respondents indicate they are either very satisfied (38%) or somewhat satisfied (44%) with it. There are six other facilities that over two-thirds of respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with. They are: neighborhood parks (74%); natural resource parks (69%); multi use parks (69%); playgrounds for children (69%); indoor swimming centers (68%); and community recreation centers (67%).

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Usage of Various Recreational Facilities

From the list of 19 various recreational facilities offered by the City of Alexandria's Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, respondent were asked to indicate which ones they or members of their household had used during the past two years. The following summarizes key findings:

Walking and biking trails (61%) is the facility that the highest percentage of respondent households had used during the past two years. There are three other facilities that over one-third of respondent households had used during the past two years. They are: neighborhood parks (54%); picnic facilities/shelters (36%); and multi use parks (34%).

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan Leon Younger and PROS 39

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Most Important Recreational Facilities

From the list of 19 various recreational facilities offered by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities, respondents were asked to indicate the four that are most important to them and their household. The following summarizes key findings:

Walking and biking trails (55%) had the highest percentage of respondent households rate it as one of their top four most important facilities. There are four other facilities that at least 20% of respondent households rated as one of their top four, including: neighborhood parks (40%); playgrounds for children (20%); picnic facilities (20%); and multi use parks (20%). It should also be noted that walking and biking trails received by a wide margin the most first choices as the most important facility.

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Various Options for Acquiring and Developing Open Space

Based on a list of 7 various options regarding acquiring and developing open space for parks and recreation purposes, respondents were asked which two options they and members of their household would support the most. The following summarizes key findings:

Nearly half (44%) of respondents indicated that open space should be acquired and dedicated for natural resource purposes. Other open space options that a high percentage of respondent households indicated as one of the two they would most support include: open space should be acquired and developed for both passive and active uses (42%); and open space should be acquired and developed for passive usage (36%).

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Do Parks Provide Economic Benefits to the City of Alexandria

Respondents were asked if they thought that parks provide economic benefits to the City of Alexandria. The following summarizes key findings:

Over three-fourths (78%) of respondents indicated that parks do provide economic benefit to the City of Alexandria. Only 7% indicated that parks do not provide economic benefit, and the remaining 15% indicated “don’t know”.

Q15. Do Parks Provide Economic Benefits to the City of Alexandria?

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Support for Users of Recreation Programs Paying User Fees

Respondents were asked how supportive they would be of having users of recreation programs and special events pay user fees to help support the costs to offer and operate these programs and events. The following summarizes key findings:

Nearly three-fourths of respondents were either very supportive (28%) or somewhat supportive (44%) of having users of recreation programs and special events pay user fees. Thirteen percent (13%) were not supportive, and the remaining 15% indicated “don't know”.

Q16. Support for Having Users of Recreation Programs and Special Events Pay User Fees to Help Support the Costs to Offer and Operate these Programs

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Importance of Developing Various New Parks and Recreational Facilities

Based on a list of 16 various new parks and recreational facilities that the City of Alexandria could develop and maintain, respondents were asked to rate the importance of each one. The following summarizes key findings:

Multipurpose trails had the highest percentage of respondents rate it as either very important (63%) or somewhat important (29%) to develop and maintain. There are five other new parks and facilities that over 80% of respondents indicated as being either very important or somewhat important to develop and maintain. They are: acquire properties for developing new parks (88%); multipurpose youth/adult athletic fields (82%); acquire & enhance historical areas and facilities (82%); indoor wellness and fitness facility (82%);and indoor recreation activity space (81%).

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 44 Leon Younger and PROS

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New Parks and Facilities Respondents Would Use Most

Based on the list of 16 various new parks and recreation facilities that the City of Alexandria could develop and maintain, respondents were asked to indicate which four they and members of their household would use most. The following summarizes key findings:

Multipurpose trails (57%) had by a wide margin the highest percentage of respondents indicate it as one of the four new parks/facilities that they and members of their household would use most. Other parks/facilities that a high percentage of respondent households indicated they would use most include: indoor wellness and fitness facility (31%); acquire properties for developing new parks (24%); nature/environmental center (24%); indoor running/walking track (23%); and acquire and enhance historical areas and facilities (23%). It should also be noted that multipurpose trails received by a wide margin the most first choices as the park/facility that respondent households would use most.

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 45 Leon Younger and PROS

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New Parks and Facilities Most Willing to Support with Tax Dollars

Based on the list of 16 various new parks and recreation facilities that the City of Alexandria could develop and maintain, respondents were asked to indicate which four they would be most willing to support with their tax dollars. The following summarizes key findings:

Multipurpose trails (52%) had by a wide margin the highest percentage of respondents indicate it as one of the four new parks/facilities they would be most willing to support with their tax dollars. Other parks/facilities that a high percentage of respondents indicated they would support with tax dollars include: indoor wellness and fitness facility (27%); acquire properties for developing new parks (27%); acquire and enhance historical areas and facilities (24%); and nature/environmental center (23%). It should also be noted that multipurpose trails received by a wide margin the most first choices as the park/facility that respondents would be most willing to support with their tax dollars.

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The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 46 Leon Younger and PROS

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Best Ways to Develop Indoor Recreation Programming Space

Based on a list of 4 options, respondents were asked which two they thought best described the way the City of Alexandria should develop indoor recreation programming space to serve youth, teens, families, seniors, and individuals. The following summarizes key findings:

Two-thirds (66%) of respondents indicated that the City of Alexandria should develop a multi-generational indoor center that serves all ages. Thirty-one percent (31%) indicated that the City should develop a special Teen Center to be used only by teens, and 26% indicated that the City should develop a special Senior Center to be used only by seniors. Twenty percent (20%) indicated that no new indoor recreation programming spaces are needed in the City of Alexandria.

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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DEMOGRAPHICS

Q1. Demographics: Number of People in Household

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

Q2. Demographics: Ages of People in Household

by percentage of household occupants

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Q21. Demographics: Zip Code

by percentage of respondents

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

Q23. Demographics: Age

by percentage of respondents

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Q24. Demographics: Gender

by percentage of respondents

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

Q25. Demographics: Years Lived in Alexandria

by percentage of respondents

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Q26. Demographics: Do Respondents have a Dog in their Household

by percentage of respondents

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Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

Q27. Demographics: Are Members of Household of Hispanic, Latino, or other Spanish Ancestry

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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Q28. Demographics: Total Annual Household Income

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

Q29. Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

by percentage of respondents

⬚ figure

Source: Leisure Vision/ETC Institute (July, 2002)

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DEMOGRAPHICS ANALYSIS REPORT

Introduction to process

Understanding the demographic environment of a community is important for a variety of reasons. First, it enables you to understand the market area being served and to distinguish between the different customer groups. It also enables you to determine changes that are occurring in the area in order to make proactive decisions to accommodate these shifts. This provides for an agency to achieve flexibility as citizen’s wants and needs change as they age. Additionally, this information equips the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities to consider their own objectives and resources in relationship to their demographic makeup.

Methodology

The US Census Bureau provides the population data for 1990 and 2000. The demographic projections for 2001 and 2006 is provided by Claritas, Inc. a national firm specializing in population projections and market trends reports. For this project, the areas analyzed were the City of Alexandria and the three planning areas in which the city has been divided. The raw projection data is supplied by Claritas. We then put it into tables, charts and graphs to clarify the market segments and recognize shifts. Claritas’s is unsurpassed in the reliability of their demographic projections. Claritas draws on the largest number of post-census population and household data sources in the industry to create its annual current year update estimates and five-year projections. Contributing data comes from the Bureau of the Census and other federal agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, city and regional planning agencies as well as private sources. They contact about 1,600 organizations to acquire data for use in their projections. Claritas’ estimates are grounded in the most authoritative localized sources that can be found. Ultimately, the Claritas’ multi-step, multi-source methodology is the incorporation of the most accurate input at all levels of geography.

Key Issues and Findings

• The population is steadily increasing. The City of Alexandria 1990 population was at 111,183. Census 2000 has the population at 128,283. The estimated 2001 population is 129,339 and projected to increase to 135,748 by the year 2006. This is an increase of approximately 15.4% from the 1990 to 2000 Census. The increase from the 2001 estimate to 2006 is 5%, which is estimated to be 6,409 persons over the next 5-year period.

• All planning areas are projected to increase in population. Planning Area III is to increase the most with a 6.9% jump from the 2001 estimate to 2006. Planning Area I will increase 3.4% from 2001 through 2006, and Planning Area II will increase 1.9% from 2001 to 2006.

• By the year 2006, Planning Area III will contain the highest percentage of the Alexandria population at 58%. Planning Area II and I are estimated to contain 29% and 13% respectively.

• From 2001 to 2006, the highest percentage increases in the overall

• Alexandria population are occurring in the age groups of 15-17 at 42.6%, 55-59 at 37%, and 60-64 at 22.2%. American Demographics magazine states that Generation Y, also known

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as the Echo Boomers born between 1977 and 1994, has been heralded as the next big generation. The aging of the baby boomers, who account for the highest amount of the American population, impact the growth in the older age groups. According to the 2000 Census, the Washington-Baltimore CMSA has the second greatest population share (32%) of Baby Boomers and Post Baby Boomers among 102 metros with populations greater than 400,000.

• In Planning Area I, from 2001 to 2006, the highest percentage increases in the population are occurring in the age groups of 55-59 at 29.2%, 15-17 at 28.7%, and 60-64 at 19.0%.

• In Planning Area II, from 2001 to 2006, the highest percentage increases in the population are occurring in the age groups of 55-59 at 34.7%, 15-17 at 30.1%, and 65-69 at 26.3%.

• In Planning Area III, from 2001 to 2006, the highest percentage increases in the population are occurring in the age groups of 15-17 at 53.6%, 55-59 at 40.5%, and 60-64 at 21.5%.

• The median age of the area is increasing from 34.4 (Census 2000) to 39.2 (2006 projection).

• Alexandria is an affluent community. The median household income is estimated at $86,721 and the per capita income is $52,218 for 2006. Almost half of the census tracts have median incomes greater than $100,000.

The three highest income levels have changed considerably since the 1990 Census. The household incomes are projected to continue to increase. By 2006, the $50,000-$74,999 income level will be mostly comprised of 25-34 year olds. The $75,000-$99,999 will be comprised of 35-44 year olds. The $100,000 or more will be mostly comprised of 45-54 year olds.

*Planning Area Map can be found on Page 75 of the appendix.

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• Based on household incomes by planning areas, Area I is projected to have the higher income levels of $100,000 and above (56%). Area III is projected to have a higher percentage of households with incomes less than $35,000 (14.8%).

• The City of Alexandria is rated as the third highest area for single affluent women age 25-34 and second for single affluent men ages 25-34, according to data from Easy Analytical Software, Inc.

• The Alexandria population is a racially diverse community, one of the most diverse jurisdictions in the Northern Virginia region. Since the 1990 Census, the white population has decreased from 64% to a projected 52% in 2006. Black/African Americans (as categorized by the Census Bureau) have been slowly increasing from 22% in 1990 to 24% by 2006. The Hispanic population is expected to continue to increase, from 10% in 1990 to 16% by 2006. Asians have also been increasing from 4% in 1990 to 7% by 2006. The rest of the city is comprised of a mixture of other races that is projected to remain stable at 1%.

• By 2006, Planning Area III is projected to be the most diverse in its racial makeup whereas Planning Area I is projected to be the least diverse with 80% of the population being comprised of whites.

• The size of households is stabilized. The average household size remained the same from 1990 to 2000 at 2.04 people per household. It is projected that Alexandria's household sizes will slightly increase to 2.07 people per household from 2001 through 2006.

• The number of households is increasing. Alexandria is projected to have the number of households increase from a 2001 estimate of 61,357 to 64,363 by the year 2006. This is an increase of about 5%. The 2000 Census indicates that the 64,251 housing units are categorized as follows:

  • 32% are single family or townhouses
  • 22% are condominiums
  • 46.2% are rental apartments

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Full Findings Report

City of Alexandria Population

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Total Population 1990 Census – Census 2000 – 2001 Estimate - 2006 Projected

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Alexandria Population by Age Groups

1990 Census

⬚ figure

2001 Estimate

⬚ figure

2006 Projected

⬚ figure

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*These figures are rounded up.

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Median Household Income: Average of the total money received in the stated calendar year by all household members that are 15 years of age or older.

Per Capita Income: Average amount of income per person in a population, regardless of age.

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1990 Racial Population

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2001Racial Population

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2006 Projected Racial Population

⬚ figure

*These figures are rounded up.

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Population by Ages for Alexandria1990 – 2000 – 2001 –2006

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Number of Households by Income for Alexandria

2006 Projected

⬚ figure

Income Data by Households for Alexandria

1990 Census - 2001 Estimated - 2006 Projected

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Household Income by Age for Alexandria

2006 Projected

⬚ figure

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PLANNING AREA I – TOTAL POPULATION

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HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY AGE OF HOUSEHOLD PLANNING AREA 1

2006 PROJECTED

⬚ figure

Age [ ] 15 - 24 [ ] 25 - 34 [ ] 35 - 44 [ ] 45 - 54 [ ] 55 - 64 [ ] 65 - 74 [ ] 75 +

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NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME PLANNING AREA 1 2006 PROJECTED

⬚ figure

2006 PROJECTED RACIAL POPULATION

⬚ figure

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 68 Leon Younger and PROS

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PLANNING AREA II – TOTAL POPULATION

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HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY AGE OF HOUSEHOLD

2006 PROJECTED –PLANNING DISTRICT 2

⬚ figure

Age

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NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME

2006 PROJECTED-PLANNING DISTRICT 2

⬚ figure

2006 PROJECTED RACIAL POPULATION-PLANNING DISTRICT

⬚ figure

The City of Alexandria Strategic Master Plan 71 Leon Younger and PROS

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PLANNING AREA III – TOTAL POPULATION

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HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY AGE OF HOUSEHOLD

2006 PROJECTED –PLANNING DISTRICT 3

⬚ figure

Age [ ] 15 - 24 [ ] 25 - 34 [ ] 35 - 44 [ ] 45 - 54 [ ] 55 - 64 [ ] 65 - 74 [ ] 75 +

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NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME

2006 PROJECTED-PLANNING DISTRICT 3

⬚ figure

2006 PROJECTED RACIAL POPULATION- PLANNING DISTRICT 3

⬚ figure

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Planning District Area Map

⬚ figure

Park Planning Districts I, II, and III

Legend District Boundaries Existing Parks and Open Space

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BENCHMARK ANALYSIS REPORT

Introduction to Process

In the development of the Recreation Needs Assessment for the City of Alexandria, Leon Younger & PROS studied four cities other than Alexandria (pop. 128,293) and incorporated their data into the benchmark analysis. Each city was picked for their similarities in size and demographics. A benchmark analysis serves as a study that compares services, policies, parks, and facilities of cities that share similar characteristics. The geographic regions are diverse because of the limited number of cities that are similar in size and the limited number of extraordinary park and recreation systems from which to compare. Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Administrators agreed with the four cities that were selected in this comparison.

Methodology

The study was initiated by sending a twelve (12)-page survey to the park and recreation departments of these cities with the intent to draw comparisons of services, philosophy, and practice between the agencies. The survey was comprised of Parks and Facility Standards, Recreation Facilities, Cost Recovery Programs and Strategies, Budget and Staffing, Capital Improvement Programs, Non-traditional Recreation Functions, Program Information, and Sports Programs for Adults and Youth. Surveys were sent to the following locations: Arlington Heights, IL (pop. 78,549), Arlington, VA (pop. 189,453), Tempe, AZ (pop. 158,625), and San Mateo, CA (pop. 95,000). The primary objective of the Benchmark Analysis was to determine how Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities compared to the other cities surveyed.

Key Issues and Findings

This benchmark study was conducted comparing the similarities and differences of the five cities; the mean population (130,463) of the five cities is just over Alexandria’s reported population of 128,283. The average number of acres managed by the five organizations is 895.59. Alexandria manages 768.9 acres. Combining neighborhood parks with school parks allows Alexandria to be second to other studied agencies in terms of number of acres of neighborhood parks for the community (348.63 acres). Alexandria ranks first in acres per capita (368).

All organizations studied have a cooperative use agreement with the schools. The types of facilities and activities shared with schools include use of athletic fields, classrooms for after school programs, pools, tracks, playgrounds and gyms. Alexandria is competitive in the diversity of outdoor facilities when compared to the other organizations. However, they rank lowest in the total number of outdoor facilities that are offered to the community per capita.

Alexandria (23) ranks third among cities reporting indoor facilities. Arlington, VA (34) ranks first, Arlington Heights (27) ranks second. Arlington Heights ranks first (1: 2,909) when considering the number of indoor facilities per capita. Alexandria is second (1: 5,577).

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While Alexandria has the most pools in their park and recreation system (7), four are small neighborhood pools that are not open to all public patrons, only youngsters. Two other pools are small 25-yard community pools and there is one indoor pool. Arlington Heights ranks first with one pool per 13,091 people. Alexandria is below standard and ranks second to last with one pool per 42,761 people. Only three pools are considered when calculating this factor as the four small pools are not accessible to the general public.

Alexandria ranks third in the number of recreation centers with one center for every 12,828 residents. They offer one center for the Performing Arts, one Nature Center and eight recreation centers ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to over 25,000 square feet.

The diversity of funding provides an idea of the latitude an organization has to generate operating funds for the agency. There is potential for operational vulnerability when the sources of revenue are less diversified. This is experienced particularly when a budget crisis occurs. The greatest diversity was reflected in reports from the Arlington Heights Park District. This is likely due to the unique nature of the makeup of the organization. 42% of the agency funding comes from fees and charges or enterprise funds. Alexandria and Arlington, VA are next with 15-17% of funding coming from fees and charges.

Alexandria has the highest number of Part-time Permanent staff with 116 and the highest ratio per capita of permanent Part-time employees to citizens with one for every 1,106 residents. San Mateo is second with 70 Part-time Permanent employees.

Most of the cities studied are attempting to recover the direct costs for operating programs. Alexandria attempts cost recovery on adult programs. Classes in the Chinquapin Recreation Center attempt to recover the costs of the instructors and 85% of operating costs.

The following analysis is the detail of the benchmark study.

Full Findings Report

When benchmarked against the aforementioned cities, Alexandria’s population is in the center. The mean population (130,463) of the five cities is just over Alexandria’s reported population of 128,283. Of the cities that reported the total number of acres that they manage, Alexandria (768.9) is considerably lower by comparison to Tempe, AZ (1505.4) and Arlington, VA (1166.75) but is ahead of Arlington Heights, IL (633.61) and San Mateo, CA.(403.72).

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Population and Acreage of the Locations Studied

The average number of acres managed by the five organizations is 895.59. Tempe (1505.4) is responsible for the largest number of acres. San Mateo is smallest with 403.72 acres. Alexandria manages 768.9 acres. Tempe is also larger by size of service area (40 square miles) than the other reported agencies. Arlington, VA (25.7) is second largest in size. Alexandria is the most compact in size (15.75) when comparing the square miles of the organization and population of the community. Arlington Heights and Tempe each have golf facilities that account for much of the acreage they manage.

The National Recreation and Parks Association guidelines used for determining parks sizes and service radius suggests the following sizes and distance relationships for community members.

• Mini Parks (1-acre) – ¼ mile
• Neighborhood and School Park (5 acres or less) – ½ mile
• Urban Park (5-40) - 2.5 miles
• Community Parks (40-200 acres) – 1 mile
• Regional and Natural Preserve (200+ acres) – 7 miles

Arlington, VA (368.83) surpasses the other cities when comparing acreage for neighborhood parks. Tempe (229) is second largest. However, when comparing the number of acres of neighborhood parks per capita, Arlington Heights offers residents one acre per 400 people. Arlington, VA is second with one acre per 520 people. Not withstanding the school park properties, Alexandria parks appear to under-serve the community with city owned park properties. However, there are 17 school parks that total 191.93 acres in the system. When combined with city owned parks the total acreage improves the average acres when considered with the benchmark communities.

When using the scale illustrated above and combining neighborhood parks with school parks, Alexandria would move to second position (348.63 acres) or one acre for every 368 residents. This ratio would rank Alexandria first in acres per capita.

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The park system also offers a good representation of dog parks and mini parks. Mini parks and dog parks by the nature of their size will influence maintenance costs due to the portal-to-portal travel time and the short time it takes to complete maintenance in the park. Alexandria is short of the National Recreation and Park Association recommended standard for acreage per 1,000 people. The national standard for parks is 12 to 15 acres per 1,000 people. Alexandria is 50% of the desired standard.

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Park Types and Reported Acreage

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NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the number of neighborhood parks acres and purple represents the total acres of neighborhood parks.

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NUMBER OF SCHOOL PARKS

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the number of neighborhood parks acres and purple represents the total acres of school parks.

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Cooperative Use of Facilities

All organizations studied have a cooperative use agreement with the schools. The types of facilities and activities shared with schools include use of athletic fields, the use of classrooms or, as in the case of Alexandria, the use of schools for after school programs, and pools, tracks, playgrounds and gyms. Arlington Heights has worked with schools to create the equity construction of gymnasiums. Such development allows each entity to reduce the cost of construction and reduce conflict when the issue of use surfaces. The conflict is reduced because each entity has equally invested in the equity of the facility, thus guaranteeing use.

Outdoor Facilities

Alexandria is competitive when comparing the diversity of outdoor facilities with the other organizations. However they rank lowest in the number of outdoor facilities that are offered to the community. The city appears to be doing a good job providing facilities for activities such as soccer, baseball, basketball and tennis. While the quality of playgrounds has not been examined in any of the agencies, there appears to be enough playgrounds provided for the youth.

When comparing the number of facilities against the other cities, Alexandria ranks next to last (182) in outdoor sport facilities and playgrounds. Arlington Heights, IL (211), Tempe, AZ (226) and Arlington, VA (277) lead in the number of athletic facilities offered to the community. When comparing the per capita ratio of those agencies that reported, Arlington Heights (1:372) ranks first. Arlington, VA (1: 692) Tempe (1:700) and Alexandria (1:704) were very close to each other when offering outdoor recreation facilities to the community.

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OUTDOOR FACILITIES

*Baseball is played on 49 fields. Six of these are baseball only. The rest are both baseball and softball or used for other sports out of season. **These are considered multipurpose rectangular fields. All 47 accommodate some kind of soccer activity such as games, pick-up, or practice. Of the 47, 6 are currently being used for football, 3 for field hockey, 4 for lacrosse, and 1 for rugby. ***Softball is played on 29 fields. Six of these fields are used for softball only. The remainder are either used for baseball and softball or used for other sports out of the baseball or softball season. ****These fields are used for a combination of sporting events such as soccer, football, baseball and softball.

OUTDOOR RECREATION FACILITIES

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OUTDOOR RECREATION FACILITIES

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the number of outdoor recreation facilities in the community.

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Indoor Sports Facilities Alexandria (23) ranks third among cities reporting indoor facilities. Arlington, VA (34) ranks first, Arlington Heights (27) ranks second and San Mateo (0) is last. San Mateo and Tempe are communities that depend on excellent climates and don't have the same requirements for indoor facilities. Arlington Heights also ranks first (1: 2,909) when considering the number of indoor facilities per capita and Alexandria is second (1: 5,577).

INDOOR SPORTS FACILITIES

INDOOR SPORTS FACILITIES

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INDOOR RECREATION FACILITIES

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the number of outdoor recreation facilities in the community.

Pools While Alexandria has the most pools in their park and recreation system (7), four are small neighborhood pools that are not open to all public patrons, only youngsters. Two others are small 25-yard community pools and there is one indoor pool. They rank second to last with one pool per 42,761 people. This factor is being used, as the four small pools are not accessible to the general public. Arlington, VA has one outdoor pool within its boundaries that is owned and operated by the county. Arlington Heights ranks first with one pool per 13,091 people.

INDOOR/OUTDOOR POOLS

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Specialty Facility Fees - Pools

Costs for admission to outdoor pools were diverse and ranged from free (Alexandria) to kids under 6 and Seniors over 55 to a high of $4.00 for residents and $7.00 to non-residents (Arlington Heights). Tempe was next low with a fee of $.75 to youngsters and $1.25 to adults over 18 years of age. San Mateo ranged from $1.50 to $3.25 for daily admissions to the pools. Family season passes are sold in most agencies that offer outdoor pools with Alexandria the only city not having a season pass. Family passes range in cost from $124 (Arlington Heights) to $100 in other reporting cities.

Indoor pool annual family passes are offered in all of the reporting cities except Arlington, VA with Alexandria being high ($828), Tempe and San Mateo offer quarterly passes for $169 ($676 annually) second high and Arlington Heights offers a rate ($144) for residents that is lowest. All organizations reported they offer season pass sales for age groups. Tempe, Arlington, VA, San Mateo, and Arlington Heights, IL offer such a pass on a quarterly basis.

RECREATION CENTERS

Arlington Heights ranks first with one center for every 9,818 residents. Five of these centers are neighborhood facilities, one is an older adult facility, and two are gymnasiums the agency built with the school district. Arlington, VA ranks second with one center for every 11,991 residents. Alexandria ranks third with one center for every 12,828 residents. They offer one center for the Performing Arts, one Nature Center and eight recreation centers ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to over 25,000 square feet. Tempe offers three new state of the art multi-generational facilities that offer opportunities for all ages in the community.

FACILITIES PER CAPITA

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RECREATION CENTERS BY VOLUME

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the number of recreation centers in the community.

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FUNDING OF AGENCY BUDGETS

COST RECOVERY

Total Operating Budget

The total operating budgets ranged from $6.2 million (Tempe) to $23 million (Arlington ,VA). Alexandria is $14 million. The estimated revenues for fiscal year 1999 – 2000 ranged from the lowest of $2,000,000 (Alexandria) to $3.9 million (Arlington, VA). When compared to per capita investment, Arlington Heights is first ($227.93) and San Mateo, CA ranks second ($126.58),

The findings indicate that cities depend on the General Fund, Enterprise Funds, fees and charges and impact fees to support their budgets. Alexandria indicates no enterprise funds however they operate a revenue facility. Alexandria uses fees and charges and the General Fund for revenue support. Two agencies reported the use golf courses as a means to increase annual revenues that augment operating budgets.

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ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET

Agency Funding

The percentage of funding will provide an idea of the potential diversity an organization uses to generate operating funds for the agency. There is potential for operational vulnerability when the sources of revenue are less diversified. This is experienced particularly when a budget crisis occurs. Each agency was asked to give an approximate percentage of where funds are generated to support the costs of managing the organization.

The greatest diversity was reflected in reports from the Arlington Heights Park District. This is likely due to the unique nature of the makeup of the organization. 42% of the agency funding comes from fees and charges or enterprise funds. Alexandria and Arlington, VA are next with 15-17% of funding coming from fees and charges.

Capital Improvement Budget

When considering the amount of investment each community has made toward Capital Improvement Programs over the last six years Arlington Heights ($9,681,164) has the highest average per year. Arlington, VA ($7,705,333) is second highest and Tempe ($4,171,837) is third. If the FY 98-99 ($31,269,235) from Arlington Heights is removed from the averages, They would switch positions with Arlington, VA, with an average of $5,364,396 the numbers tend to be more closely aligned with the other benchmark cities.

All of the reporting cities indicated the funds for capital improvements were generated from General Obligation Funds. Only Arlington Heights indicated the use of Revenue Bonds and Enterprise Funds as a means for generating funds for capital development. Tempe and Alexandria use grants and Alexandria uses transfers from other funds.

Sources of Revenues for Capital Development

The organizations that were studied were asked to prioritize the types of funding that has been used to generate revenues for capital development programs. The following chart reflects the responses to this question. As was discussed in the sources of funding (page 11), there is potential for the lack of facility development when the sources of funds are less diversified. Once again, there is vulnerability to Capital Development funds when a budget crisis occurs. From the responses, the special district has greater flexibility as they indicate the potential for Capital Development funds in several categories. Enterprise funds and Impact Fees are among these choices. Most organizations depend on G. O. Bonds as a source of Capital Development funds.

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Sources of Revenues for Capital Development

Average Yearly Capital Improvement Budget

The ⬚ figure following graph reflects the six-year average of Capital Investment of each city as illustrated in the chart above. It also reflects the Per-Capita Investment experienced in each city.

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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET – AVERAGED OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the six year average of capital improvement in thousands and the purple superimposed number represents the six year average per-capita expense of Capital Budgets in the community.

Number of Employees Arlington Heights has the lowest number of full-time employees with 103. Arlington, VA has the most full time employees with 242. Alexandria is in the middle of the reporting cities with 128 employees.

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

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FULL TIME EMPLOYEES

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the total number of full time employees in the community.

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Part-time Permanent Alexandria has the highest number of Part-time Permanent staff with 116 and the highest ratio per capita of permanent Part-time employees to citizens with one for every 1,106 residents. San Mateo is second with 70 Part-time Permanent employees and with it’s ratio per capita with one for every 1,357 residents. Arlington Heights is high with 784 part-time seasonal employees and Alexandria is second with 242 part-time seasonal employees.

⬚ figure

Blue is equal to the total number of part time permanent employees in the community.

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PART-TIME SEASONAL

Contractual Few contractual employees are reported by the agencies. San Mateo has a sizeable contractual employee group with 125 in recreation programming and 6 in park staff.

Trail Miles Arlington, VA has the highest number of miles of trails with 38. Alexandra is second with 20 miles of trails. Arlington Heights and Tempe report just over 15 miles each.

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Other Parks and Recreation Functions All of the responding cities had some “other” parks and recreation maintenance functions. The most common were beautification, mowing, and tree maintenance.

Program Information Registration

All cities had a registration software/application in place.

All required pre-registration with payment for programs. Arlington, VA reported that from time to time there are programs or trips where participants can just show up and pay at that time.

All of the cities reported that they have a satisfaction guaranteed program. Only Tempe indicated they did not have a non-resident fee policy. Alexandria has a surcharge of $20.00 for non-residents; Arlington, VA has a surcharge of $10 to 50% of the cost to non-residents. Other fees vary from 100% to 140% depending on the program and the age of the participant. All reporting cities indicated they use waiting lists for registration, and scholarship programs are offered at 100% of the cost of the program. Tempe offers scholarships at 90%.

Arlington, VA reported that they offer fee reductions. Fee reductions are based on Section 8 income scales. They offer 25, 50 or 75 percent off depending on how they fall on economic standard charts. They will go as high as 90 percent in extreme situations. For instance, Section 8 definitions are correlated as such: Extremely Low Income is our 25% discount; Very Low Income is our 75% discount; The 50% threshold is an interpolation of these other two; They used to have a much more graduated scale but they reported that it was a mess trying to use.

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PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGIES

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Program Makeup and Cancellations Tempe shows the highest cancellation rate for programs at 20%. Arlington Heights (6%) is the lowest and Alexandria (10%) is in the middle of the reporting agencies. The typical length of programs is 8-week sessions.

Cost Recovery Most of the cities studied are attempting to recover the direct costs for operating programs. Alexandria attempts cost recovery on adult programs. Classes in the Chinquapin Recreation Center attempt to recover the costs of the instructors and 85% of operating costs. Other reporting organizations indicate the desire to recover costs between 0 and 140% depending on the group that is influenced by the fees. Many report the use of enterprise concepts as a means to recover costs in programs such as golf and tennis.

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PERCENTAGE OF THE RECOVERY OF DIRECT COSTS COMPARISONS

Community Advisory Committees

Alexandria utilizes the benefits of Community Advisory Committees and cooperative relationships extensively. These “community connections” provide a tremendous opportunity to allow the staff and elected officials to get close to the community with park and recreation related issues and extend resources beyond what are immediately available to the department through organization staff and capital assets.

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COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY

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CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Adult Men’s League Fees and Number of Games (Gms) Key Gms = Games Res Fee = Resident Fees NR Fee = Non Resident Fees Tm = Team P = People All fee numbers are in terms of Dollars $ All game numbers are in terms of games played NA = The activity is not conducted by the park and recreation agency. In many cases the activity is conducted by another organization in the community.

• = No activity reported

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ADULT WOMEN’S LEAGUE FEES AND NUMBER OF GAMES GMS)

ADULT CO-RECREATIONAL LEAGUE FEES AND NUMBER OF GAMES (GMS)

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BOYS LEAGUE PROGRAM FEES AND NUMBER OF GAMES (GMS)

*Program run by another organization in the community

Girls League Program Fees and Number of Games (Gms)

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Boys and Girls Co-Recreational League Program Fees and Number of Games (Gms)

*Program run by another organization in the community

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RECREATION FACILITY ANALYSIS SUMMARY REPORT

Introduction to Process

This section contains a physical assessment of existing recreation and park facilities operated by the City of Alexandria, Virginia, Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities. The assessment was conducted to determine the physical condition, programs offered, productivity of the site and capital improvements needed.

Methodology

Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities personnel and the assessment team, comprised of Leon Younger & Pros and Woolpert personnel, toured the City facilities during October and November 2001, and February and March 2002. The main goals were to observe the current state of the facilities; identify current and planned program activities; and identify significant facility issues and opportunities for improvement.

Key Issues and Findings

This document includes a general assessment of each facility identified. Ideas for consideration are listed at the end of each facility review. Specific facility improvement recommendations are listed in Appendix (x). This document contains three sections, Recreation Facilities, Park Facilities and After School Centers.

The specific findings and issues are identified below.

RECREATION FACILITIES

In general the recreation facilities can be characterized as follows:

• The facilities are well maintained by City staff
• Most of the issues noted are due to the age of the facility, size of the facility, and outdated design
• The facilities are not standard in finishes, equipment or interior signage
• The entrance/ID signs are standard for all facilities of the department, but need updating
• Lack of storage, parking, weight room space, and other program space is common to many facilities
• The facilities appear to conform overall to the most current standards for disabled access with a few exceptions
• The Department has several ongoing projects that should be considered during the assessment.

• Doctor Oswald Durant Memorial Recreation Center renovation and addition project
• Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center renovation and addition
• Lee Center signage and security projects
• William Ramsay Recreation Center driveway and parking projects

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Appendix

Observations of recreation facility conditions include information provided by Department staff during the site visits.

Charles Barrett Recreation Center

1115 Martha Custis Drive

Summary This small center connected to Charles Barrett School contains a game room, two small offices, weight room, multipurpose room, kitchen, and shared gymnasium. The facility holds after-school and teen programs. The area within the recently constructed addition is warm and inviting, but the multi-purpose room needs to be renovated. The weight room has a storage cage that consumes approximately 20% of the program space. The facility is staffed with two full-time, four part-time, and seven seasonal employees. The school occupies most of the program space during the day, resulting in limited hours of operation to the general public. The center is open approximately 58 hours per week.

Observations/Evaluation

• Site drains to low point near entrance
• Roof leaks at the entrance vestibule
• Carpeting shows wear and is contracted to be replaced
• HVAC system functions well, especially at weight room
• Offices are small and irregularly shaped
• Triangular storage room was converted to third staff office and is utilized inefficiently
• Storage is inefficient; bulk supplies take up needed space in weight room cage
• Multipurpose room
  • Was not renovated during most recent construction project
  • Kitchen cabinets need to be repaired
  • Wall mirrors are in poor condition
  • Base is in poor condition
  • Contains school’s data closet that is not a candidate for center’s storage use
• Toilet rooms are in good condition
• Mechanical closet is used as a janitor’s closet
• Gym has sound baffles and works well for activities; divider curtain is utilized regularly, and acoustics are generally acceptable
• Weight room has dated equipment

Ideas for Consideration

• Refinish multipurpose room, renovate kitchen area and include tall wall cabinets and full-height cabinets for maximum storage
• Reconfigure use of oddly-shaped staff room for more efficient storage and staff functions
• Install tall shelving at small storage closet (original office) adjacent to multipurpose room
• Relocate stored materials at weight room elsewhere (possibly locating bulk storage off-site), remove cage and expand weight room area
• Confirm code requirement for mechanical closet and correct any misuse
• Grade earth at entrance area for drainage away from building, install drain tile and possibly drains at low areas
• Install new landscaping, walkway and graphics at building entrance
• Expand the footprint of the building to enhance the programming capabilities

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Chinquapin Park Recreation Center

3210 King Street

Summary

This is a 17-year-old, well-maintained facility with an indoor pool, multipurpose room, fitness room, racquetball courts, and offices. Though in a good location, the building does not adequately serve users. This is considered the Department’s premier revenue producing facility. It is currently recovering approximately 78% of its operating costs through revenue generation. The building is open approximately 104 hours per week. Areas such as the racquetball courts and the fitness room are considered marginally productive. The snack bar’s operating costs exceed the associated revenues. Storage space is limited and has encroached into program areas. Office space is inadequate, and space dedicated for generating revenue is also limited. The facility requires renovation to correct layout problems; initial assessment indicates that there is room on the site to expand the facility.

Observations/Evaluation

• The reception/control point is located away from the two entrances and elevator
• Offices
  • Spaces are small and inadequate
  • Staff members are divided among three areas, including a converted racquetball court and former daycare space
• Pool
  • Length is 25 yards instead of regulation 25 meters
  • Air is warm and stagnant, and is an ongoing problem
  • Water temperature of 83°F is a compromise by two main user groups and is displeasing to both
• Locker rooms
  • Spaces are in average condition, and lack ADA compliant lavatories
  • Multiple doors at the entrances are difficult for users to maneuver
• HVAC
  • The system does not function to provide comfortable airflow throughout the building
  • Possible loose bearing is heard in pump
• Exterior doors are heavy and difficult to open
• Fitness room is too small for the number of users, and the equipment is outdated
• Storage space is inadequate
• Site lacks an adequate number of parking spaces
• Site lacks an exterior lighted sign

Ideas for Consideration

• Revisit schematic designs previously completed in 1989 and study addition/renovation options
• Find adaptive reuse opportunities for two of the existing racquetball courts, including building second floor for added square footage
• Maintain this pool at an acceptable temperature for a specific user group and build indoor Olympic-sized pool elsewhere, possibly on site
• Secure one set of entrance doors and relocate reception desk near other doors and elevator, or revise entrance sequence for secure plan in addition/renovation

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Appendix

• If the snack bar is replaced with vending machines, locate them on opposite side of stairs and use space for offices
• Install power-assisted hardware at exterior doors
• Add parking adjacent to existing parking area
• Install an exterior lighted sign
• Place more emphasis on expanding and updating revenue facilities including fitness room and classrooms

Doctor Oswald Durant Memorial Recreation Center

1605 Cameron Street

This is an historic building adjacent to Jefferson Houston School. It is currently unoccupied and awaiting complete renovation and construction of a small addition.

Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center

5700 Sanger Avenue

This is an outdated and poorly maintained facility connected to school on the opposite side of the William Ramsay Recreation Center (see below). Its renovation is currently in design phase. Plan should be reviewed in context of site master plan to resolve parking and access issues.

Patrick Henry Recreation Center

4643 Taney Avenue

Summary This small and outdated facility houses a busy after school program. The facility is open approximately 30.5 hours per week. The building contains a gymnasium, game room, multipurpose room, kitchen, arts & crafts room, office, and break room. The overall condition of the facility is poor and the plan is dysfunctional. The space behind the center appears to be ample for an addition. The weight room was changed to a multipurpose room but still contains dangerous equipment.

Observations/Evaluation

• The building feels crowded and appears too small for the number of children in attendance
• Ceiling at entrance shows evidence of roof leakage
• Plan is awkward, as children must travel through game room and arts & crafts room to exit to playground
• All spaces are too small for use
• Gymnasium is not regulation size
• Storage space is inadequate
• Finishes are outdated and in poor condition
• Lighting needs to be replaced
• Weight room equipment is no longer used but dangerously occupies lounge space used by children

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Ideas for Consideration

• Relocate weight room equipment
• Design addition to facility and reconfigure existing layout, possibly adding a regulation-sized gym and reconfiguring existing gymnasium
• Incorporate a new graphics package and color scheme at the facility

Charles Houston Recreation Center

901 Wythe Street

Summary

This outdated facility contains game room, gymnasium, preschool program rooms, weight room, boxing room, computer lab, meeting rooms, kitchen, senior center room, outdoor pool and playground. The facility is open approximately 82.5 hours per week. The overall condition of the facility is poor, and the building needs to be renovated. It appears there is room on the site to expand the facility.

Observations/Evaluation

• Gymnasium
  • Floor needs to be replaced
  • Moisture sometimes condenses on gym ceiling
  • Adjacent toilet rooms are used for storage
  • Needs more storage
  • Acoustics are not good
  • Gymnasium space does not have bleachers
• Weight room is small and serves as a hallway between gymnasium and boxing room
• Boxing room
  • Existing rink is in process of being replaced
  • Ventilation is inadequate
  • Shower needs updating
• HVAC system is adequate
• Kiln in copier room lacks cage
• Interior finishes are in poor condition, except at senior center where carpeting is new
• Lighting is outdated
• Sprinkler room is used for janitor’s storage
• Small commercial kitchen needs updating
• Fence at playground is in poor condition
• Outdoor pool is susceptible to “drive-by trash” through unattractive chain link fence

Ideas for Consideration

• Plan to renovate interior completely with new finishes, lighting, plumbing fixtures, casework, and kitchen equipment
• Schematic design/code studies may reveal opportunity to convert gymnasium toilet rooms to storage or game room space
• Investigate setback requirements north of building for potential addition
• Investigate possibilities of vertical expansion
• Enclose or remove pool
• Relocate boxing room for use as weight room, convert weight room to gym storage
• Replace gym floor
• Incorporate a graphics package with a consistent color scheme at the facility

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Cora Kelly Recreation Center

25 West Reed Avenue

Summary This is a bright 11-year-old facility adjacent to Cora Kelly Elementary School containing a game room, offices, weight room, racquetball court, computer lab, two contiguous meeting rooms, teen room, daycare room, dance studio, ceramics room, photo lab, classroom, and gymnasium. The building design presents a variety of unique angles in several of the program areas, often limiting available program space. The facility is open approximately 77 hours per week. The school uses the gymnasium during the day. This facility houses a thriving after school program that often brings to capacity all available program space. The building is in good condition but requires some improvements.

Observations/Evaluation

• Entire facility was painted three years ago; carpet is new
• Reception desk is away from entrance door, creating a security problem
• Gymnasium
  • Urethane gym floor shows wear and needs to be repainted
  • Four banks of manually-operated wood bleachers are difficult to maintain and not up to standard
  • VCT floor in hallway shows damage by doors prior to being repaired
  • The rolls of floor covering are stored in hallway between gymnasium and school, and partially block egress door
• The operable partition between conference rooms A and B is in disrepair and needs to be replaced
• Roof leaks at front desk during hard and continuous rain
• HVAC system is adequate and is separate from school HVAC system
• Weight room
  • Small for usage
  • Equipment is outdated
  • Contains only door to racquetball court and creates a dangerous situation for children having to walk through the room
• Wood floors at dance studio and racquetball court are in good condition
• Exterior storage is possible, though lack of storage is not evident
• Casework in teen room, kitchen and daycare room is in disrepair
• Some wood doors show wear
• Parking lot is dysfunctional and small for its heavy use; spacious pedestrian landscaping at entrance is wasted since loitering is prohibited at the facility
• Site is fully utilized, and there appears to be no opportunity for expansion other than by building a second floor

Ideas for Consideration

• Redesign parking lot, capturing area in front of building
• Relocate reception desk to entrance, increase game room area by removing current desk
• Consider reconfiguring entryway corridor to increase program space
• Determine source of leak at front desk and repair
• Repaint gymnasium floor

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• Replace existing bleachers with new electronically-operated bleachers
• Replace existing casework at all locations
• Renovate commercial kitchen
• Relocate racquetball court door to enter from gym
• Replace weight room equipment, considering pieces with multiple functions to occupy less space
• Replace VCT at hallway area
• Refinish or replace wood doors
• Replace operable partition at community room
• Install exterior storage unit in alleyway between center and school
• Consider implementing a consistent graphics package and color scheme at the building.

Lee Center

1108 Jefferson Street

Summary

This facility occupies most of a former school building and is dedicated to the administrative functions of the Department. The center contains offices, meeting rooms, auditorium, and exhibit hall. The facility appears to be in overall good condition but requires some renovation to improve function.

Observations/Evaluation

• Security station inadequately serves as makeshift reception desk and is located away from two entrances and elevator
• Double height lobby space appears to be oversized and underutilized
• Signage is poor or nonexistent throughout building
• Storage space is adequate
• Carpet is worn and scheduled to be replaced
• Interior needs to be repainted
• Conference room #14 has poor layout and is poorly lighted for its use
• HVAC
  • First floor space requires use of portable radiators, while a nearby room is always hot
  • Possible loose bearing heard in pump
  • Rattling is heard in dance room
• Column enclosure in dance room is damaged
• Exhibit hall
  • It was renovated and is in good condition
  • Rubber base in some locations needs to be replaced
• All toilet rooms were recently renovated
  • Second floor toilet room door needs to be readjusted
  • Second floor water fountain requires guards to be ADA compliant
• Phone networking equipment is in first floor janitor's closet

Ideas for Consideration

• Review work under contracts that includes signage, new carpeting, and security system
• Balance and repair HVAC system as required
• Paint interior
• Make minor repairs to finishes

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• Install guards at water fountain
• Extend second floor over existing double-height entrance space
• Improve reception by adding desk at each entrance or using signage
• Change dysfunctional conference room #14 to an office space

Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center

1108 Jefferson Street

Summary

This facility is housed in the east section of the former school building. The center contains a game room, exercise room, multipurpose room, kitchen/break room, weight room and gymnasium. Facility appears to be in overall good condition, but gymnasium requires major renovation to improve function. The facility is open approximately 77 hours per week.

Observations/Evaluation

• Reception/office area is crowded for number of people who use the space
• Ceiling tiles are in poor condition, and VCT is in average condition at older area
• Multipurpose room
  • Cage requires maintenance, is not secure, and may be unnecessary
  • Kitchen casework and computer counter need to be replaced
• Break room kitchen is in good condition
• Weight room
  • Ventilation is poor
  • Space is not large enough for number of users
• Exercise room
  • Cages are acceptable
  • Rubber tile flooring is outdated but in fair condition
• Toilet rooms need to have ADA compliant lavatories installed
• Gymnasium
  • It is not regulation size
  • Staff cannot locate switches to fans
  • Space lacks a functioning public address system
  • Divider curtain wheels do not align properly
  • Scoreboard has a short in it and needs to be replaced
  • Floor shows old damage caused by leaks in roof
  • Windows leak and need to be resealed
  • Bleachers are insufficient for crowds, especially as sight lines are blocked by wing walls

Ideas for Consideration

• Install shelving for reception area/office to reclaim needed desk space
• Remove cage and replace casework at multipurpose room
• Replace ceiling tiles and lighting
• Install exhaust fan at weight room
• Install ADA compliant lavatories at toilet rooms
• Renovate gymnasium
• Create a consistent signage program throughout the facility

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Mount Vernon Recreation Center

2601 Mount Vernon Avenue

Summary This center is connected to Mount Vernon School and contains a game room, office, computer lab, two contiguous meeting rooms, dance room, ceramics room and a shared gymnasium. The school’s use of the gymnasium limits the program capabilities during school hours. The facility is open approximately 77 hours per week. This building incorporates an inviting color scheme and has an open foyer made of brick and glass. The facility appears to be in overall good condition but requires some repairs.

Observations/Evaluation

• New vestibule is best example among facilities, as it is welcoming and safe with its recessed mat
• Storage at the end of the gymnasium is ample
• Air temperature is often uncomfortable for users, as school controls HVAC system
• Ceiling tile is missing in computer room
• Game room VCT floor is cracked and buckled, apparently where old and new construction meet
• Evidence of leaking above ceiling is observed in meeting room “1”
• Leaking is an ongoing problem above janitor’s closet
• Closet across from janitor’s closet may violate code as used for storage
• Gymnasium
  • Was expanded during the recent addition project, and roof leaks have been an ongoing problem
  • Fasteners for baffles are visible on all walls, but the baffles are missing (possibly relocated to Barrett gymnasium) and poor acoustics preclude maximum utilization of space
  • Multipurpose floor is in good condition except at location of leak
  • Base is separating from wall in at least one location
• Cracking is visible in hallway CMU wall near ceramics room

Ideas for Consideration

• Confirm that the school is planning to replace the roof
• Determine source of leak above ceiling at two locations and replace ceiling tiles
• Replace missing ceiling tile at computer room
• Replace missing sound baffles
• Repair game room floor
• Investigate splitting HVAC system
• Identify solution to lack of adequate parking

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

William Ramsay Recreation Center

5650 Sanger Avenue

Summary This newly opened facility contains a game room, computer lab, arts & crafts room, dance studio, fitness room and shared gymnasium. Other than on-street parking, there is no dedicated parking for this facility. The use of masonry and glass gives this building an exciting, energetic feel. The building is in excellent condition.

Observations/Evaluation

• Parking is an ongoing problem at this location and is currently under design; driveway is to be reconfigured soon
• The center and school share the alarm system; false alarms have created a problem on weekends as the alarm can only be deactivated from within the school building
• The shared use of the gymnasium creates limited programming opportunities during the school day
• The concourse is open and inviting, however is not capable of sustaining program activities, which limits overall program space

Ideas for Consideration

• Review master plan of site, including design for parking and Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center (see above)
• Investigate possibility of adding another panel inside center

PARK FACILITIES

In general the parks can be characterized as follows:

• Most parks have standardized ID signs, although they are outdated
• Two parks have modernized signage and graphics throughout the facility
• Most available park land has been developed, reflecting an emphasis on athletic facilities
• The parks are generally well maintained
• The parks contain many structures that are near the end of their life cycle
• Many facilities are due for renovation
• Most parks do not have adequate parking
• The parks observed are presented in alphabetical order.

Charles Barrett

1115 Martha Custis Drive

Summary This facility is adjacent to the Charles Barrett Recreation Center. The park area contains two acres. Street access to the site is good, although there is no dedicated parking. This site contains one softball field that is used for t-ball and coach pitch. It has a soccer field overlaid and both are used for league play.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

Observations/Evaluation

• The ballfield lacks a backstop, guard rail fences, and bleachers
• The turf is in fair condition
• This facility is experiencing an overuse of athletic activity

Ideas for Consideration

• Consider installing a backstop, bleachers, and guard rail fences
• Install irrigation
• Consider relocating the soccer field to another site
• Create designated parking for the facility

Armistead Boothe

520 Cameron Station Blvd

Summary This facility contains one adult softball field and is designed to also accommodate league soccer. Other amenities include a playground, tennis courts, basketball court, restroom and picnic pavilion. Parking at the site is nominal. New low spill sports lights have been installed at the ballfield. The facility is in good condition considering the level of use it receives.

Observations/Evaluation

• The playground receives significant use and is at capacity during the school day.

Ideas for Consideration

• Consider updating the site amenities to reflect the recent investment in the sports lights
• Consider relocating the soccer field to another site
• Consider making this site a 90 ft baseball/softball multi-use field

Braddock Field

1005 Mount Vernon Ave

Summary This 6.6 acre site is located adjacent to George Washington Middle School. The facility contains three softball fields, overlaid with one large athletic field. There are also three lighted tennis courts adjacent to this facility. The athletic fields are not irrigated and there is evidence of significant activity at this site.

Observations/Evaluation

• The fields appear to be over programmed. The lack of irrigation exacerbates the impact of the over use. All turf areas are under stress and in need of renovation.

Ideas for Consideration

• Consider installing irrigation to the entire site.
• Renovate all turf areas
• Consider re-design of the athletic area to accommodate the athletic demands identified in the needs assessment.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

Ben Brenman 5000 Duke Street

Summary This is one of the city's newest parks. It contains one little league field with grass infield, one dedicated soccer field, and one combination softball/ soccer field. All of these fields are irrigated. Additional amenities include connecting trails, three sand volleyball courts, and one picnic pavilion. The vinyl- bonded fencing creates an inviting atmosphere at this site. Well-planned and easy to read graphics are present.

Observations/Evaluation

• Non-sodden areas should be top dressed and seeded. There appear to be drainage problems at the site in the vicinity of B Street.

Ideas for Consideration

• Explore the idea of adding a playground and an additional athletic field to this site if the demand is identified in the needs assessment.

Brook Valley 5400 Holmes Run Parkway

Summary This linear park provides a trail opportunity along a roadway and Holmes Run. It offers play areas for younger children. The paths are in good condition. The entire area is maintained to an acceptable standard.

Observations/Evaluation

• This facility attracts users from the adjacent residential areas, while trail users come from throughout the community. There is an interest in developing soccer fields in the limited flat open space areas of this linear park. The addition of soccer fields would be difficult to justify in this environment.

Idea for Consideration

• The existing multi- use trail should be widened to current standards of ASHTO.

Chinquapin 3210 King Street

Summary This 21-acre park is located adjacent to T C Williams High School and the Chinquapin Recreation Center. It contains an athletic field for High School team practice, five additional football/soccer fields, basketball courts, a large picnic pavilion, playground, restrooms, trails, tennis courts, and volleyball courts.

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Appendix

Observations/Evaluations

• The park receives heavy use by a variety of different users. The turf is showing signs of stress from over use. Lack of adequate parking appears to be an issue. There also appears to be a problem with vehicles cruising through the park.

Ideas for Consideration

• Consider renovating the turf on all athletic fields and throughout the general park area
• Develop traffic calming devices on the park road to discourage cruising through the facility
• Update the signage and graphics throughout the park
• Upgrade all site amenities