Parks board launches park-user survey; members to staff intercepts, QR code outreach Aug–Oct

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Aug. 11 agreed to move forward with a park-user survey and to use board members and staff to collect responses at parks and community sites from mid‑August through October.

The survey is a 14-question snapshot that asks which parks residents use most, how often they visit, how they travel there, primary activities and demographic questions; the board added an open-comments field. "This is one of our two annual surveys that we conduct," said Chip, Parks and Recreation staff, who led the presentation and described the survey as a short demographic snapshot rather than a programming needs assessment.

Board members said they will do intercept surveys in parks wearing board shirts, distribute laminated sheets with QR codes and make paper copies available for respondents who prefer them. Chip said QR codes and laminated materials should be ready by the end of the week and will be available for pickup in Jenny's office; he noted the department will also post the survey on the city website and on social media. He asked members to take copies to churches, homeowners associations, chamber contacts and the Saturday farmers market to broaden responses beyond people already at parks.

During discussion members asked for an open-comments prompt for respondents who rarely or never visit parks; the board added that item. Chip said the department will run the survey through October and provide preliminary findings at the Nov. 3 board meeting, though he cautioned the full report may follow later.

Board members and staff identified several outreach sites beyond parks: the recreation center, the farmers market, churches, homeowners associations and chamber mailing lists. The board agreed board members should wear identifying shirts or badges while collecting surveys to avoid confusing or alarming residents.

Directions and next steps recorded at the meeting include: (1) finalize the survey language with the added open-comments item, (2) print laminated QR-code sheets and paper copies (available at Jenny's office), (3) deploy intercepts and online outreach mid‑August through October, and (4) report preliminary results at the November meeting.

For youth sports context raised during public comment, a young resident asked about conditions at Oldsmar's soccer field and recruitment for the Under‑17 program; a staff member noted organized youth soccer is run by Oldsmar Youth Soccer, an independent organization responsible for its own recruitment, league placement and roster decisions.