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Parks director reports high participation, new safety measures and Craighead Forest Park signage/gate plans
Summary
Parks Director Stearns told the committee about a busy spring and early summer—sizable tournaments and community events, new cashless and keyless-entry systems, a $43,000 tree grant for about 140 trees, and a plan to add signage and a rolling gate at Craighead Forest Park to improve safety and visitor tracking.
Parks Director Stearns delivered the department's seasonal update, highlighting recent events and infrastructure work and outlining safety improvements at Craighead Forest Park. "Craighead Forest Park hosted an IOWA children's festival. We estimate about 3,000 people attended that weekend back in May," Stearns said, summarizing large event attendance and several sports tournaments held in late spring.
Stearns provided participation figures for youth sports and recreation: he said the spring season produced roughly 1,550 soccer participants, multiple tournaments drew hundreds of teams and thousands of spectators, pools averaged about 600 participants per week, and the department added six lifeguards for summer staffing (bringing total lifeguards to 32). He reported a $43,000 tree-grant that will fund about 140 new trees to expand the city's canopy in the fall and said grant-funded improvements to the ATV trail at Craighead Forest Park concluded to restore emergency access.
Safety and facilities work: Stearns said the department installed keyless entries at community centers using grant money to tighten access control and will begin training staff on the new systems. He said one remaining shelter installation for transit awaits electrical boring and that MessagePoint Media will begin technology hookups at shelters. On gates and signage at Craighead Forest Park, Stearns said he is seeking bids for a rolling gate (preferred over a swing gate) with the aim of closing the park at 10 p.m.; he also described planned signage with ranger contact information and no-smoking reminders.
Data request and transparency: A committee member asked Stearns to provide comparative figures for this year versus last year for participants and revenues. Stearns said participant counts are available and that soccer participation is up markedly ("we are 100% increased over last year participants" for 3v3 soccer), but that historical spectator counts are incomplete; he said the new ticketing and cashless systems will allow better tracking going forward and committed to sending comparative figures by email.
Next steps: The committee took no action on any parks items during the meeting; Stearns agreed to follow up with requested attendance and revenue comparisons and to continue work on gates, signage, and the trail cleanup.
