Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Parks & Recreation Department

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Fred DeVictor, Director of Parks & Recreation

 

CC:

Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

 

DATE:

November 30, 2006

 

RE:

P.L.A.Y. Feasibility Study and Needs Assessment Project Update

 

 

During the month of November the consultants have been collecting data on the needs of the athletic community.  On November 8th a stakeholders meeting was held at Central Junior High School.  Over 20 people participated in a three-hour meeting.  Each participant was asked to respond to the following questions:

  1. What venues do you use for practice and competition?
  2. Do you have enough fields/courts to play on THIS YEAR?  If not, number of additional needed for THIS YEAR.
  3. Please rate the condition of the sports venues your organization utilizes.
  4. What improvements are needed at each venue?

 

In addition to the above, additional questions concerning management of facilities, funding facilities, sharing of facilities, and other topics were discussed.  Each participating group was asked to provide data on their specific group to include the number of participants, waiting lists, and budgets.

 

In addition to the stakeholders meeting, a public meeting was held on November 20th at the Lawrence Arts Center.  Approximately 90 people attended the meeting.  Those in attendance completed 68 questionnaires.  The results of these questionnaires indicated the following:

§      91% of the respondents were residents of Lawrence.

§      53% of the respondents live north of 15th street, 37% lived south, and 10% did not respond.

§      30 of the respondents indicated they were a recreational sports participant, 23 of the respondents indicated they were a competitive sports participant, 48 of the respondents indicated they were a parent of a sports participant, and 57 of the respondents indicated they were a athletic supporter.

§      71% of the respondents indicated they would support a sales tax to finance new or renovated facilities, and 76% of the respondents indicated they would support a bond issue to finance new or renovated facilities.

§      Haskell was rated as the most important sports venue, and YSI was rated second.

 

The next step in the needs assessment process will be to conduct a community survey.  This survey will be a random survey of the community, which will get a statistical +/- 4.9% accuracy of the opinions within the community.  The survey will be completed during January, 2007. 

 

Following the needs collection we will, with the oversight of the PLAY committee, develop a priority list of needs and venues to further study.  An economic impact analysis will be developed for these needs.  Possible solutions will be developed, which will provide options that will meet the needs of the entire community, the School District, and the City of Lawrence. This assessment work is expected in February and we anticipate having a draft of the needs assessment and feasibility study sometime in March.