Boise Parks and Recreation unveils 3–5 year strategic plan focused on access, stewardship and belonging

Boise — Sarah Arkel, superintendent of Boise Parks and Recreation, presented the department’s new strategic plan to the Parks and Recreation Commission on July 17, describing goals intended to guide the department for the next three to five years.

"Where Boise belongs" is the department's unifying tagline, Arkel said, and the plan emphasizes four guiding principles: welcoming, dedicated, resourceful and fun. The plan sets department-wide goals including the 10-minute walk access target, inclusive and accessible park amenities and programming, stewardship of natural and developed assets, and workforce development.

Arkel gave several operational facts to frame the plan: the department has about 185 full-time employees (and a substantially larger seasonal payroll), more than 100 developed park sites and about 113 park properties including open-space reserves, approximately 5,000 acres of open space, and an operating budget she described as "over $50,000,000" with a broader budget of about $65,000,000 when additional funds are included. She said the department recently ranked 19th nationally in the Trust for Public Land (TPL) ParkScore among the 100 largest U.S. cities.

Division-level priorities in the plan include:

- Administration: maintain balanced budgets, improve customer satisfaction and support events and reservations. - Communications and marketing: improve public access to information and tell the parks' story. - Recreation: expand inclusive programming that fosters belonging and generates revenue to support operations. - Foothills and open space: improve trail access, stewardship and climate resilience. - Parks resources: ensure equitable access, high maintenance standards and connected pathways. - Special facilities and Zoo Boise: maintain facilities and prioritize animal welfare and conservation at Zoo Boise (Arkel noted about 300 animals are housed there).

Arkel said the department will now establish key performance indicators and publish a story map and dashboard on the department website to make progress and performance public. She said that some targets (like the 10-minute walk metric, which she reported currently covers about 74% of residents) are straightforward to measure, while others — such as stewardship and service-level impacts from growth — will require more complex performance measures.

Commissioners asked questions about the Whitewater Park, its phases and funding; Arkel and staff said phase work continues and that the project has required substantial permitting and private philanthropy in the past. Several commissioners thanked department staff and emphasized the need to track and publicly report performance measures; Arkel offered to return with updates.

The commission did not take formal action on the plan during the July 17 meeting.