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Home My WebLink About10-01-2007 National accreditation distinguishes South Bend parks o�sou Tx F dx :J b W eFacE � � y� a 1, a2 1865 Office of the Mayor NEWS RELEASE October 1, 2007 National accreditation distinguishes South Bend parks Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications&Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876- 1564, Mark Bradley, Director of Marketing, South Bend Parks &Recreation, 299-4765 A national accrediting body has recognized the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department as one of the top-tier park systems in the United States, the statistical equivalent of a men's basketball team advancing to the NCAA Final Four. Mayor Stephen J. Luecke and park officials gathered today at the O'Brien Recreation Center to celebrate the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department's formal accreditation by the national Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies. Only 73 agencies in the United States have earned this distinction, and just four in Indiana With more than 10,000 such agencies nationwide, the recognition puts South Bend in the top 1 percent of park systems. The department received formal word of the honor Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the National Recreation and Parks Association's national congress, which met last week in Indianapolis. The 25-member board voted unanimously to accredit South Bend on its first application, the culmination ofatwo-year process. "Every day, our citizens use and enjoy our city's parks—from neighborhood parks, golf courses and recreation centers to riverwalks, greenhouses and conservatories, and community jewels like the East Race, the Potawatomi Zoo and Coveleski stadium. This national recognition shows that our city parks' administration and programs are unsurpassed in their operations—a model of good government," Luecke said. "Whether it's fitness programs, camps and youth activities or softball at the Belleville Sports Complex, South Bend Parks and Recreation has enhanced our quality of life and contributed to our community's overall health. I'm proud of the work of the many staff in my administration that made this achievement possible." National accreditation requires park-and-recreation agencies to respond to 155 standards that represent elements of effective and efficient park-and-recreation operations. To become accredited, agencies must demonstrate their ability to meet 36 fundamental standards and 85 percent of all other standards, according to the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, known as CAPRA. "The accreditation process provided us with guidelines and insight to recommend best standards. It has allowed our agency to identify our strength and establish techniques to continue improving our overall operations," said Phil St. Clair, parks superintendent. "We are thrilled with the announcement of our accreditation by CAPRA, yet we realize there is still more to do. We will use our accreditation as a spring board to continue improving all the local parks and recreation programs for our community." The mayor and parks officials invited South Bend residents to come to this weekend's free Rum Village Fall Family Fun Fair, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, to celebrate the achievement with one of the park system's biggest annual events. The parks department has been laying the groundwork for last week's accreditation for more than two years. The process is extensive, requiring a detailed self-assessment after the initial application. Matt Moyers, director of special projects, had been assigned to prepare the 174-page self-assessment report on behalf of the department and to shepherd the application through the process. A national accreditation team, consisting of experienced professionals from accredited park systems, visited South Bend for two days in July to review the report and visit South Bend park facilities firsthand. After CAPRA's review, the accreditation was formally conferred during the NRPA's annual conference. The development in 2004 of a parks department master plan followed by South Bend's development of City Plan, its first comprehensive plan in a generation, proved critical to the accreditation application process, according to Moyers. CAPRA consists of representatives from the National Recreation and Park Association, the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials, the International City/County Managers Association, American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation, the Armed Forces Recreation Society and the Council of State Executive Directors. The 155 standards grow out of 10 broad categories: the park system's role and authority, planning, organization, human resources, fiscal management, programs and services, facility/land use, security and public safety, risk management and evaluative research. "They were very complimentary of our operations in South Bend," St. Clair said. "I would like to thank our Mayor Stephen Luecke for his support, the Board of Park Commissioners for their leadership and the city council for their financial support in these tough times." In 2008, the parks department has a $14.2 million budget, 62 percent of which is funded by property taxes. Current park board members include Robert Henry, president; Robert Goodrich; Dr. Thomas Kelly and Garrett Mullins, while Ann Puzzello chairs the council's Parks committee. For the general public, the benefits of accreditation include the assurance of well- administered services in accord with approved professional practices, external recognition of quality services provided by a government body and the possibility of additional external financial support, according to the NRPA. "Providing benchmarks and standards in public service has never been an easy task for any public entity," St. Clair said. "That's why, when learning of CAPRA, we began the accreditation process two years ago." With the accreditation, the South Bend parks system joins the Parks and Recreation departments in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Franklin and Fort Wayne—the latter which provided significant assistance to South Bend parks staff in navigating the process. This is not the first national honor for South Bend Parks and Recreation. • Earlier this year, South Bend became one of the nation's first We Can! cities designated by the National Institutes of Health to prevent obesity in youth, ages 8-13. • The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the NRPA chose South Bend as one of five pilot cities for its national Hearts N' Parks program, to encourage people to change to a healthier lifestyle with small achievable steps toward better food selections and increased daily activities. • Leeper Park was designated a national treasure by the federal Historic Preservation Commission. • Belleville Softball Complex hosted the U.S. Women's Olympic Gold Medal Softball Team twice and seven American Softball Association national championships. • The East Race Waterway, constructed in 1984 as the first and only manmade white water rapids facility in the North American hemisphere, has hosted U.S. Olympic canoe and kayak trials. • The parks department's website was named the best website for a Class III city (population 75,000-199,999) by the NRPA. • Child Magazine named Potawatomi Zoo one of the top 20 "Kid Friendly"zoos. Potawatomi Zoo, accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1987, is now preparing for more than $1.4 million in work to meet rising standards for renewed accreditation in 2009. But the new accreditation is a first for the whole park system. Within Indiana, the Indiana Parks and Recreation Association since 1997 has given South Bend six state awards for outstanding facilities or park development for Belleville Softball Complex, O'Brien Recreation Center, O'Brien Skate Park, Southeast Park and the Martin Luther King Center at LaSalle Park. The South Bend Parks and Recreation Department has a rich and distinguished tradition going back to 1879 when the City Council passed a local ordinance to establish Howard Park as South Bend's first municipal park. Today, the city's park system consists of 56 local parks, spanning nearly 1,300 acres. They include 16 block parks, 11 neighborhood parks, 22 community parks and seven special parks. Special parks include the East Race, three golf courses, Coveleski Stadium (home of the South Bend Silverhawks, a class A minor league baseball franchise), and Potawatomi Zoo, which started in 1902 and still is the oldest zoo in Indiana. - 30 -