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La Crosse Parks staff report expanded summer programs, stronger online tools and rising Special Olympics participation
Summary
Parks staff described website and payment upgrades, expanded summer camps and aquatics offerings, growing youth sports participation and Special Olympics program expansion during a May 15 Board of Park Commissioners meeting.
La Crosse Parks Department staff on May 15 told the Board of Park Commissioners they have updated customer-facing web pages and payment systems, expanded summer day camps and pool programming, and continue to grow youth sports and Special Olympics participation.
The overview came during the board’s reports section, where Kat (last name not specified), recreation staff supervisor for Black River Beach and South Side Neighborhood Center, described a refreshed parks website and new rental and inventory features in RecTrac, the department’s registration software. “RecTrac is our software that we use for everything, park shelters, activity registrations, and we have had regular meetings with them to improve things on the back end,” Kat said.
Why it matters: staff said the back-end and payment upgrades will speed staff workflows and make reservations and rentals easier for customers. Kat said a recently added rental module will let staff track kayak and canoe inventory and that the department switched to a new credit card processor to lower fees and reduce transaction issues.
Program details: Nikki (last name not specified), who oversees youth programs and aquatics, reviewed recent and upcoming offerings. She said a figure-skating mini session drew about 30 participants and spring track served roughly 160 children. All three city pools will open this summer with lessons at different sites: morning lessons at Erickson and Memorial and evening lessons at Northside. Nikki also said Aquazumba classes are scheduled at all three pools this summer and that several sessions are already filling.
Amy Schmidt, Inclusive Recreation Coordinator, reported on Special Recreation and Special Olympics. “La Crosse is the third largest Special Olympics program in Wisconsin with over a 150 athletes,” Schmidt said, and she added the program had more than 50 athletes this year in spring sports and qualifying opportunities for summer events. Schmidt described athlete leadership work, community fundraisers such as the polar plunge (about 260 registrants and $78,000 raised statewide, she said), and new local initiatives including a Wheelie Awesome Bike Club started through a Special Olympics Wisconsin grant.
Hunter Elson, Recreation Program Coordinator, summarized sports and camps. He said youth soccer reached more than 420 players, up from about 250 in 2021. Day camps include Tiny Tots, Wagon Playgrounds and Nature Day Camp; Nature Day Camp has been expanded to 60 campers per week this year. Pettibone Park rentals will offer card payments this season and three free youth fishing days are planned, one at the annual Youth Outdoor Fest on July 12.
Board reaction and next steps: commissioners thanked staff for program coordination and promotion work. Staff did not request or receive a vote on the overview; the presentations were for information and program planning.
