Parkland staff report rising event attendance, expand volunteer and teen outreach

Parks & Recreation staff told the advisory board the department’s events and programs have grown and described new volunteer pathways for teens and other residents.

“ We host 42 events a year,” Felicia Trainer, assistant director of Parks and Recreation, told the board as she reviewed a calendar of recent and upcoming events. Staff cited several recent attendance figures: a family fun festival that drew about 15,000 people after the event moved to the Equestrian Center; farmers market attendance figures in the thousands across several dates; and single‑event turnouts ranging from several hundred to several thousand depending on the activity.

Trainer and Christine Garcia, senior director of operational services and projects, asked advisory board members to act as community ambassadors: share event information with neighbors, judge Parkland Day contests, and report back on on‑the‑ground improvements. Parkland Day is scheduled for Saturday, March 8 (Parkland Day judging arrival 9:30 a.m.; volunteer lunch at noon), and staff said shirts for sale and parade judging are organized through the department.

Volunteer and teen outreach

Staff described new volunteer recruitment steps aimed at teens, including a volunteer application path that now lists “teen volunteers for recreation” on the city HR page. “We actually just started having some teens come in, and then help with after school tutoring, as well as with any of our recreation programming,” Trainer said. Staff said they will add the volunteer link to the Parks & Recreation webpages to increase visibility and coordinate with local schools and student organizations that require volunteer hours.

Programs and senior services

Corey (Corina) Keane, recreation coordinator, reviewed program sessions, aftercare and school‑break camps. Summer camp registration opens March 18 and spring break camp is scheduled for March 24–28; staff gave projected participation figures for summer programming (roughly 150–200 participants in various camp tracks).

Senior programming numbers: staff said over 250 seniors are registered in the formal senior program (residency and demographic paperwork completed for registration), with trip attendance averaging in the eighties for larger trips and breakfast programs averaging around 15 attendees. Staff said some popular classes are capacity‑limited by instructor or facility size.

Athletics and sports updates

Ryan Mariano, athletics manager, provided participation and league data across sports. Highlights included larger travel‑program rosters and a sustained adult coed softball league at capacity (12 teams). He listed several year‑over‑year participant changes the department has tracked (as presented): Buddy Sports soccer grew from 290 to 300; travel soccer was reported as rising from 535 to 655 participants; travel baseball and lacrosse also showed increases in the period reported. Mariano said the department is near capacity for available field space and noted scheduling constraints when leagues expand.

Background checks and coach requirements

Mariano said new requirements implemented in January require Level‑2 background screenings for volunteer coaches and trainers; so far he reported roughly 675 background checks completed for coaches, volunteers and trainers.

Staff requests and next steps

Staff asked advisory board members to help publicize events and volunteer recruitment, assist with judging for Parkland Day and other contests, and surface community feedback that could improve event operations. Trainer and Garcia asked the board to forward suggestions about programming, parking or other operational issues to staff for follow‑up.

Ending

Staff said they will return with additional year‑over‑year comparisons for events and sports metrics at future meetings and will add the volunteer application link to the Parks & Recreation pages.