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Parks department reviews 2023 impact report and outlines CORP site-by-site improvements
Summary
Parks staff presented a 2023 impact report showing grants/donations of about $307,000, 12,504 volunteer hours (valued at $389,000), and heavy program use; staff then reviewed a comprehensive outdoor recreation plan update listing site-specific improvements and timelines across neighborhood and regional parks.
Ann Schaffer, the Parks Department’s marketing and fund development coordinator, presented the department’s 2023 impact report and highlighted the role of grants, sponsorships and volunteers in supporting programming and facility operations.
Schaffer said the department received 406 grants and donations totaling roughly $307,000 and credited sponsors for enabling special events and scholarships. She reported 59 department-sponsored events with about 23,000 attendees, 12,504 volunteer hours valued at approximately $389,000, and 38,000 visits to the Pollock Community Waterpark; the waterpark delivered over $10,000 in scholarships to families in need through the community foundation. The Menominee Park Zoo saw roughly 90,000 visitors in 2023, and the senior center recorded about 43,000 visits with 489 new participants.
Following the impact report, staff presented an update to the City’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) and walked the board through park-specific proposals and priorities. Key recurring items across parks include converting park lighting to LED, standardizing park identification signage, improving accessibility (ADA-compliant walkways), resurfacing playgrounds with rubber surfacing, reconstructing tennis and basketball courts, shoreline-restoration allowances where erosion is an issue, and targeted parking-lot repairs.
Staff named specific park work items and approximate timing: Congress Avenue Tot Lot (fencing and lighting), 40 Fourth Parallel Park (tennis reconstruction and additional pickleball courts; accessible walks; a new shelter), Parkside A (a new 3.5-acre neighborhood park slated for a master plan), Pickard Park (neighborhood master planning with CIP funds allocated), Red Arrow Park (development constrained by old landfill and limited excavation options), and South Park (splash pad replacement planned). Staff said they are coordinating with Rettler Corporation on cost estimates and expect a final draft with costs at a future meeting.
Director-level updates noted the Pratt Trail reconstruction opened to traffic before July 4, and staff updates included zoo-path improvements and the relocation of Brews on the Bay to Rainbow Park. Travis reported an ash-tree treatment program (about 30 trees identified; ~40 treated so far), a terrace tree planting signup process for residents, and a Highway 44 island greening project starting the next day that will require short lane closures.
No formal votes were taken on CORP items at this meeting; staff requested continued feedback and said many items will be prioritized against CIP funding and permitting constraints (including DNR permitting where shoreline work is proposed).
