Park District finalizes proposed Recreation Master Plan
In February 2005 the Naperville Park District began the creation of a Recreation Master Plan - a 10-year plan that outlines recommendations for the improvement of current services, identifies community recreation needs, and establishes the necessary steps to meet future needs. The proposed Plan will be presented for adoption at the February 9, 2006 Board Meeting.
The process in developing this document was an open and public one that included soliciting feedback from many different groups and individuals throughout the community. This included the conducting of focus groups involving key leadership from local civic organizations, affiliates representatives, and program users, hosting of public forums, and the creation and implementation of a Community Interest & Opinion Survey that obtained feedback from a random sample of the community. Additionally, a number of previous reports and information were used in the preparation of the Plan, including the District’s 2001 Open Space and Recreation Master Plan, 2001 Indoor Facility Master Plan, 2002 Attitude and Interest Survey, and data from CLASS registration software.
The process to complete the plan involved working on several related initiatives to help us seek the information that would help us construct this 10-year roadmap for the District. These initiatives included:
• Demographic Analysis
• Citizen Needs Assessment
• Recreation Program Analysis
• Analysis of Similar Providers
• Benchmark Analysis
• Partnership Analysis
• Policy Framework Analysis
• Implementation Plan
The main objectives of the entire process, from feedback gathering to the culmination of the plan itself were: to identify the values of the community, provide a District-wide vision for recreation services, and establish strategic direction for delivery of best in class recreation and park services.
The Recreation Master Plan is a living document that gives direction for future decisions regarding programs and facilities, and will be updated as the community and Park District evolve.