Parks director reports strong July 4 weekend, proposes 'Campfire Concierge' campsite pilot

Patrick Murphy, McLean County’s director of parks and recreation, told the Property Committee on July 7 that the county saw strong usage over the Fourth of July holiday, with "our receipts for recreation services" totaling $8,716 during a three-day period — the highest level since he took the role.

Murphy credited improvements to the boat-concession operations and said one pontoon will receive a new motor, and that weather-related cancellations reduced peak occupancy by roughly half a dozen reservations. He also previewed a July 18 "Take a Kid Fishing" event and said donated fishing gear will allow the county to provide poles to participants.

On programming, Murphy proposed a Campfire Concierge pilot aimed at younger campers who may not own camping gear. He described a Monday–Thursday service in which staff would set up sites and provide cots or lawn chairs; he said the county is considering charging about $44 for weekdays and $55 for Friday–Sunday nights. "We could just make it easy for them to kind of parachute into a campsite," Murphy said, adding that he expects tents and sleeping gear to arrive within a week and hopes to roll out the pilot before the end of the camping season.

Committee members praised staff outreach and noted the parks team has begun an Instagram account managed by recreation programs manager Noelle Bass to broaden engagement. Murphy said the parks team intends to post five to six times per week and that the social-media effort is new and growing.