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Home My WebLink About2015 Parks & Recreation Annual Report1South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 2015 Annual Report www.sbpark.org 18 65 T H E CITYO F S O U THBE N D , I N D IANA PEACE South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 20152 Who we are: Past, Present, and Future We Build Community Through People Parks and Programs Our Mission: Creating Community is more than an action plan for South Bend Parks and Recreation Depart- ment—it is a plan to reposition the diverse profession of parks and recreation for the future. We, the parks and recreation profession, include commercial and for-proft organizations, such as health clubs and equipment vendors; nonproft organizations, such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club; natural re- source agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources and county/state parks; therapeutic recreation agencies, such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers and long-term care facilities; com- munity colleges and universities which prepare our future professionals; adult education providers who offer lifelong learning opportunities; park professionals who preserve the natural environment, enhance safety and protect our valuable resource investment; special districts and local recreation agencies that provide parks and recreation opportunities to local residents; students who are the professionals of the future; citizen volun- teers who provide many direct services; and others. All are part of the vision for the future. To build is to bring into being or to cause. This word emphasizes the active role of parks and recreation in the task of creating community. Community is a sense of belonging, ownership and common purpose that develops among people who live or work together as a social unit. Within parks and recreation, a community may be a city, a hospital ward, a park and recreation district, a senior center, a neighborhood or a for-proft business or nonproft agency. It includes both your co-workers and the people we serve. Parks and recreation often delivers services through people—our staff and volunteers make connections with our clients and residents to improve lives. It is this person-to-person contact that relieves the loneliness of senior citizens, reduces the stress and isolation of working adults, and inspires and teaches youth to become productive community members. Parks and recreation professionals mobilize people to solve community problems—from building trails to coaching sports leagues to tutoring youth-at-risk. We are the essential con- nection to people and their needs in the communities and settings that we serve. As a profession, we are known for our parks and open space. They create a green infrastructure that is essential to our area’s economy—from the regional attractions to a pocket park in the midst of our neighbor- hood. We provide relief from urban development, preserve the environment and provide opportunities for recreation through our facilities. In addition to parks, we provide many types of facilities today to meet the needs of our customers—water spray splash pads, ftness centers, wilderness areas, skate parks, community centers, etc. In the vision statement the word “parks” can be interpreted as any facility provided by parks and recreation to meet needs. Programs can be recreation activities, services or organizational structures designed to produce specifc out- comes or benefts to our clients. Historically, our programs have also been an important means of connecting with clients and creating community. As such, these programs must be acknowledged in our vision statement. We are entering 2016 ready for a new beginning. We wish the best to our past Executive Director, Phil St. Clair, and are thankful for all the great accomplishments during his 24 year tenure. He changed, realigned, and repurposed the department to become a recognized national leader in what we do. We welcome new Executive Director, Aaron Perri, and look to build on these strengths and strive for: Excellence Accountability Innovation Inclusion Empowerment 3South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 City of South Bend Parks & Recreation Program Participation 2015 O’Brien Fitness Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86,779 Youth Classes & Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,140 Golf (Erskine/Elbel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,376 Golf (Studebaker). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,153 Special Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,253 Martin Luther King Recreation Center . . . 42,943 Charles Black Recreation Center . . . . . . . . 42,379 Adult Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,653 Aquatics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,514 Youth Leagues and Programs . . . . . . . . . . 23,573 Howard Park Ice Rink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,400 Logan Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,619 Rentals (Center Halls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,805 Skate Park (open use, est.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920 Program Participation 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . 427,507 Pavilion Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,344 Picnic Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,600 Rentals 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,944 Estimated instances of open use of parks, trails, and non-programmed features . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500,000 Estimated park use 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,968,451 South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 20154 City of South Bend Parks & Recreation South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Revenues and Expenses for All Funds For the Twelve Months Ending December 31, 2015 Park Special Recreation East Race Coveleski Zoo REVENUES:Revenue Fund Nonreverting Nonreverting Nonreverting Endowment 201 Operating Fund 203 Fund 271 Capital Fund 401 Fund 403 Tax Revenue$8,153,779$0$0$0$0 Other Revenue 2,878,162 1,008,138 21 42,103 284 TOTAL REVENUE$11,031,941$1,008,138$21$42,103$284 EXPENSES: Personal Services 6,875,781$506,540$0$0$0 Supplies 982,762 241,911 3,998 0 0 Services 2,754,589 248,342 0 0 0 Capital 0 0 0 0 0 Other Uses 0 3,550 0 0 0 TOTAL EXPENSE$10,613,131$1,000,343$3,998$0$0 OVER (UNDER)$418,809$7,795($3,977)$42,103$284 EXPENSE FUND BALANCE$793,970$166,676$270$16,721$10,015 AVAILABLE Park City Cemetery REVENUES:Nonreverting Trust Capital Fund 405 Fund 730 Total Tax Revenue$0$0$8,153,779 Other Revenue 14,372 164$3,943,244 TOTAL REVENUE$14,372$164$12,097,023 EXPENSES: Personal Services$0$0$7,382,321 Supplies 33,541 0 1,262,212 Services 9,772 0 3,012,703 Capital 22,499 0 22,499 Other Uses 0 0 3,550 TOTAL EXPENSE$65,812$0$11,683,285 OVER (UNDER)($51,440)$164$413,738 EXPENSE FUND BALANCE$95,142$5,781$1,088,576 AVAILABLE 5South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 City of South Bend Parks & Recreation Maintenance & Operations Maintenance Division responsibilities: Bowman & City Cemetery, Central Mowing, East Race & Plaza Maintenance, Fleet Management, Forestry, Graftti, Grounds & Athletics, Howard Park Ice Rink, Pools, Skilled trades Maintained 1,300 acres of park land, 600,000+ square feet of facilities, and the 107,789 city trees City events: I.S.C. Softball Tournament, facility maintenance; South Bend Country Fest; Celtic Fest; Kids’ Traiathlon Locaton Hours Notes Kelly Park 77.25 Installed, playground tmbers and multple pieces of playground equipment Boland 113.25 Removed dated playground equipment and added 4 new pieces Pinhook, Exterior 145 Painted and repaired the walkway, added landscaping and new LED lights Potawatomi Restrooms 105 Painted interior, installed new sinks, toilets, hardware. Leeper Tennis Concessions 703.5 Renovated storage room into new concessions. New cabinets, HVAC, paintng, and lightng Charles Black 264.75 Painted both restrooms, installed new parttons, counter tops, sinks, and LED lightng Riverwalk 196 Installed LED lightng at Memorial shelter and boat launch, Riverwalk, Plaza park, and on Northside Blvd. Highlighted Projects South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 20156 In conjunction with the Mayor’s Administration and City Council’s input, the 2015 $5 Million Dol- lar Park Bond was designated to be split between park UP- GRADES, DEFERRED MAIN- TENANCE, and the CHARLES BLACK CENTER GYM ADDI- TION. To the right is the current approved and budgeted project list. Upgrades Location Asset Cost Fremont Splash Pad $85,875.00 Fremont Basketball Court $15,000.00 Miracle Park Special needs baseball field $100,000.00 MLK Center Gym AC $90,000.00 General Pavilion $100,000.00 Voorde Irrigated Soccer Fields $38,000.00 Kennedy Basketball Court $15,000.00 Kennedy Playground $36,575.00 Kelly Park Entire Project $44,000.00 Kennedy Pavilion $22,000.00 Walker Field Splash Pad $85,875.00 Walker Field Pavilion $24,000.00 South East Splash Pad $35,000.00 Total: $691,325.00 Deferred Maintenance Location Asset Cost Pinhook Roof $27,500.00 Pinhook New Boiler $30,000.00 King Center New Boiler $25,000.00 Greenhouse Glass Repairs $20,000.00 Potawatomi Playground Resurfacing $100,000.00 Rum Village Roof $70,000.00 General Playground wood surfacing $19,633.00 General Grills $26,028.00 General Trash Barrels $10,000.00 General Tables $30,500.00 General Drinking Fountains $7,500.00 General Benches, Portable $14,000.00 General Parking Lot Resurfacing $75,000.00 General Fencing Replacement $40,000.00 General Playground Repairs $200,000.00 Rec. Centers Misc. Repairs $40,000.00 TOTAL: $735,161.00 Park Bond Projects While the funding was not of- fcially released until August, we were able to start on three se- lected Park Bond Projects. Kelly Park, Kennedy Basketball Court, and the Voorde Irrigation project all are under construction and will be fnished by the 2nd quarter of 2016. By doing a portion of the work in house we have saved over $12,000 alone in 2015. Ad- ditionally we estimate we can save more than $15,000 on the Voorde project in 2016. 2015 Park Bond Expenditures Purchase Order # Park Project Options: Choose One Cost PB01 Kelly Playground Timbers Upgrades $ 768.00 PB02 Kennedy Basketball Court Upgrades $ 32,900.00 PB03 Kelly Pavilion Upgrades $ 12,801.00 PB04 City Wide Playground Mulch Deferred $ 19,820.00 PB05 City Wide Drinking Fountains Deferred $ 7,730.00 PB06 Kelly Excavation Upgrades $ 5,000.00 PB07 Kelly Basketball Court Upgrades $ - PB08 Kelly Concrete for Playground Upgrades $ 2,350.00 PB09 Kelly Concrete Phase 1 Upgrades $ 2,600.00 PB10 Kelly Fence Upgrades $ 2,790.00 PB11 Kelly Macro fiber for concrete Upgrades $ 430.00 PB 12 Voorde Irrigation Upgrades $ 12,937.59 Remaining Balances Items Budgeted Remaining Balance Percentage Items Total Budget Expenditure Upgrades $ 691,325.00 $631,686.00 91 Upgrades $59,639.00 Deferred Maintenance $ 735,161.00 $707,611.00 96 Deferred Maintenance $27,550.00 Charles Black Center $ 3,541,799.00 $3,541,799.00 100 Charles Black Center $0.00 TOTAL $ 4,968,285.00 $4,881,096.00 98.2% $87,189.00 Maintenance & Operations 7South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 Kennedy Basketball Court The result of a private public partnership between residents, the Rotary Club, and Parks has resulted in a brand new concrete basketball court. Grounds Maintenance Heavy Equipment Operators saved the project over $5,000 in excavation fees by doing the subgrade work in house with a total of 96.5 hours worked on the project. In the 2nd quarter of 2016, the Rotary Club will be donating and installing a rubberized surface for the court, painting it, adding a logo, and installing player benches. Kelly Park Started in 2014, the Kelly Park project suffered a serious setback when its private funding fell apart. However with a renewed private effort lead by the neighborhood, new Park Bond funding, and Parks Skilled Trades labor, Kelly Park’s reconstruction is moving forward. Skilled Trades has installed the donated playground equipment and we are on track to add a pavilion, basketball courts, and other infrastructure in the 2nd quarter of 2016. CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY! Maintenance & Operations South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 20158 Maintenance & Operations Responsible for over 53 Parks, 1,300 Acres, 140 Street Islands, 100+ trash cans, and 104 outdoor athletic surfaces the Parks grounds crews perform a wide variety of services for the City. Staff duties go beyond park property, working directly with the residents and being the backbone of every special event from SB150 to weekend pavilion rentals. From grounds management to landscape construction, Grounds & Athletics does it all. Snow City, 167.5, 1% Leaves City, 235, 1% Special Events, 581.25, 2% Misc, 1206.25, 4% Island Maint, 1256, 4% Restrooms/Fuel Truck, 1349.75, 5% Custodial Maint, 1387.25, 5% Leaves Parks, 1664.5, 6% Snow Parks, 1712, 6% Trash Truck, 1940.5, 7% Mower Maint, 3131.75, 11% Athletics, 3162.25, 11% General Park Maint, 5235.25, 18% Park Mowing, 5286.25, 19% HOURLY BREAKDOWNS & WORK PERCENTAGES With 1,728 work orders and a 99.3% completion rate in 2015, the Skill Trades Division performs tasks critical to the 8,751 identified assets in the park system. They are responsible for the repair and installation over 600,000 Sq. Ft. of facility infrastructure, and must consistently balance custom designing parts at the 52 year old Potawatomi pool, to modern green solutions like energy efficient LED lighting along our 11 miles of river walks. In house installations of HVAC units, electrical work for the IT department, custom painting, plumbing, masonry, welding and carpentry allowed the Parks Department to save over $28,000 in contractor fees in 2015. 114 916 1576 1625 2254 4456 Prev. Maintenance HVAC Painting Electrical Plumbing Carpentry/Repair On The Job Hours OLD VS NEW With only a $10,000 Capital Construction budget it is important to stretch every dollar. Skilled Trades let us capitalize on partnerships and donations with organizations like Bike the Bend. We were able to remove the aged lumber on the East Race Head Gates and replace it with new composite decking. A donation of $5,000 in materials alone. 9South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 The Parks Forestry Division is responsible for the 107,789 estimated trees within the City limits. Forestry has been crucial to maintaining South Bend’s “Arbor City” award for the past 17 straight years. Using GIS technology, Forestry has logged 292 hours in 2015 creating a detailed Tree Inventory Map which maps out the location of a tree, as well as its species, size, and past work records. Tree Removals Parks 559#, 2,676.5hrs , 21% Tree Trimming Parks 2,267#, 2,456hrs, 20% Contractual Time Off 1,038.75hrs 8% Storm Damage Locations 506#, 889hrs, 7% Tree Removal Street 166#, 859.5hrs, 7% Vacation Hrs 728hrs 6% Holiday Hrs 480hrs 4% Equip Vehicle repair 473.75hrs 4% Hauling 482#, 437.25hrs,. 3% PL Hours 367.75hrs 3% Brush Removal 172.5#, 311.5hrs, 2% Nursery Work 515#, 295hrs, 2% Tree Planting 83#, 218.5hrs, 2% Tree Watering 2,930#, 301hrs, 0 2% Tree Trimming Streets 151#, 171hrs, 2% Stump Removal 596#, 300.25hrs, 2% Miscellaneous Work 220.25hrs 1%Training 54#, 149hrs,,1 1% Fueling 320#, 108hrs, 1%Tree Repair / Cabled/ Inspection 42#, 47hrs, 0% South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201510 With over 394,000 gallons of combined water, the Potawatomi and Kennedy Pools operate for 3 months out of the year. In 2015 we were forced to close Potawatomi main Pool for 5 days and the Wading Pool for 3 days, giving us an 87% rate of being open vs mechanical failures. At the Kennedy Pool we maintained a solid 100%. Please see a separate report for further Pool information. Pool Accomplishments Potawatomi Painting of water features & building Kennedy Installation of new impeller in the main pool pump Potawatomi Installation of new diving board Kennedy Installation of new doors for the basement and chemical room With over 16,400 feet of pipe, our 60 year old ice rink has doubled the normal life expectancy. Below is a cross section of an 8” return line showing what 60 years of use looks like. Coming in 2016 the Mayor’s Office and the Re-development Commission have dedicated $1,550,000 in River-East TIF funds for the design and construction of a new Howard Park Ice Rink. entory report 1019 228 Grounds & Athletics Skilled Trades Ice RInk Hours 11South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 Funded completely by the Department of Code Enforcement and Community Investment, the Centralized Mowing Program is responsible for the mowing of all residential properties found to be in violation of the City’s 9” grass ordinance. Additionally they maintained 598 properties for the City of South Bend. These properties range from Ignition Park to tree lawns on Hill & Colfax. 1827 911 1832 Total Number of Cuts: 4,570 Total Acres Mowed: 1974 City Owned Continious Enforcement Citations Highlights Installing new composite decking on the Head Gates walkway. Donated by Bike the Bend Painting the mechanical boxes of the Head Gates. Donated by Bike the Bend Hauled 256 flatbed loads of snow out of the plaza The maintenace staff was on hand to work 10 weekends and 11 Raceway events At the heart of downtown, the Plaza and East Race Waterway has yearlong maintenance needs. From local shops who need plowing in the winter to flowers and mowing along the race way in the summer. 388 822.25 1504.25 1618.25 Leaves Snow Trash/Clean Up Grass East Race & Plaza Hourly Breakdown South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201512 Recreation Division Some of the many accomplishments of the divi- sion/department this past year have included: * The SB150 Celebration was held May 23rd & 24th. Our department played a major role in this celebration. Our division was responsible for 3 major venues. The Children’s area which included; The Children’s Stage with 24 different acts, The Climbing Wall, Eight of our Bounce Houses and numerous games for families to participate in. Lines were formed from the time we opened until the time we closed. The Gus Macker Tournament which our staff organized and implemented and there were 116 teams in the tournament with several hundred spectators. The East Race Waterway was opened for this special celebration before our normal season and we had 748 rafters that weekend. Key staff assisted in some of the pre-planning of this year- long celebration. * City Wellness Program: Our division played an integral role in developing and implementing the Employee City Wellness Program. This included: over 384 employees being edu- cated through Lunch & Learns 284 employees entering Employee Contests 511 employees joining the O’Brien Fitness Cen- ter with Memberships 2,417 employee visits utilizing the ftness center 381 employees participating in O’Brien Group Fitness Classes The City added the spouses as an addition in 2014. There were 102 employee spouses who joined the O’Brien Fitness Center in 2015 with mem- berships; 866 employee spouses who utilized the ftness center; and 254 employee spouses who participated in O’Brien Group Fitness Classes. * The City of South Bend through our wellness program was awarded the 4 Star AchieveWELL Award from the Wellness council of Indiana. * The City of South Bend was the frst city in Indiana to achieve gold medals in all 5 catego- ries in the Let’s Move City initiative. South Bend Parks and Recreation Department sat on the committee and were integral in achieving these 5 standards. Volunteer Program and Numbers The South Bend Parks and Recreation Depart- ment Volunteer program is utilized for programs, special events, park improvement and by park centers throughout the year. For 2015 the Recreation Division utilized both individuals and groups for over 13,078.50 hours this is worth an equivalent of $284,185.77 in labor. These hours and the dollar value include both layperson and professional labor as volunteer hours. 13South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 Recreation Division * At the 2015 IPRA Annual Conference the Recreation Division received the Award of Excellence in Programming for the 55+ Fitness classes that are a collaboration with St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. * At the 2015 IPRA Annual Conference the City of South Bend/South Bend Parks and Recreation Department received the Award of Excellence – Good to Great for CityVoice for Parks. * The success of the “Made Men” program ran through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center turned into 2 full time program coordinator positions. * The success of the young adult intern program which provides 25 young adults jobs, 15 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center and 10 at the Charles Black Sr., Center became a permanent part of the centers budgets * Implementation of the frst International Softball Congress (ISC) World Fastball Tournament in South Bend was held August 8th – 15th. This eight day tournament had 53 team’s participant, 795 players and 14,000 spectators. The Economic Impact was $832,165 The Charles Black Sr. Recreation Center and LaSalle Park • Located on South Bend’s far west side at 3419 W. Washington Ave. The annual attendance for 2015 was 42,379. • We introduced three summer programs that were sponsored by South Bend Parks and Recreation and The Mayor’s Offce. A summer basketball league for kids called Hoopfest, a girls (Powder Puff) and boy’s fag football league. These summer programs targeted ages 5 to 12 years old. • Special events for 2015 include P.J. Fashionista Just for Girls, Birthday Party Packages, Lavender Tea Party for Senior Women, Charles Black Scholarship Fundraising Campaign, Mother & Daughter Canvas Luncheon, and Father’s Day Cook-off Weekend, Back to School Tailgater, Halloween Party, Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Party. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center The annual attendance for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center was 42,943. This includes adult pro- grams such as full and half-court basketball, ftness center, weight lifting, ladies walking club, and a variety of special events. The Seabe Gavin, Sr. Softball Field had its second season of usage. King Center is the home of the Soldiers basketball teams. Programs for elementary students include both an after school program and a Summer Camp that focuses on academic enrichment, youth sports, and life leadership awareness classes for youth for free. Intermediate and high school students are offered basketball programs, game room activities, computer lab, movies and other special events. The Made Men programs continued in two area high schools. This program focuses on self-im- provement, life skills, leadership skills, fnancial independence, building productive relationships, and living “alive and free”. South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201514 Customer Service Satisfaction In 2015, the Recreation Division collected 2,356 program and facility evaluations. The overall cus- tomer satisfaction index resulting from these evaluations was 4.78. The index number is a weighted average score derived from evaluations on a 1-5 scale; with one being the lowest score, and fve being the highest. A second method used to obtain customer feedback is the South Bend Parks and Recreation Face- book page. This service has enabled the public to express appreciation and matters of concern to our staff. All private messages that were considered “areas of concern” were corrected within a 24 hour period. O’Brien Fitness Center Numbers 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 New Memberships 1,976 2,089 1,600 849 1,325 766 1,244 1,388 1,355 Fitness members center use 59,353 70,198 74,324 60,118 67,408 61,002 67,166 67,428 64,547 Fitness Classes 9,852 11,391 15,085 16,302 15,727 16,527 18,035 22,195 22,208 Massages 77 56 84 75 102 70 11 0 0 City Wellness Program In 2015 the Parks and Recreation Department continued to coordinate Lunch ‘N Learns, contests, and other programs for the City Wellness Program. Each month there was a contest to encourage healthy habits such as eating more fsh, making half your grains whole, and no fast food. There were 284 employees who participated. 384 employees attended Lunch N’ Learns throughout the year learning about different wellness topics such as cold and fu prevention, taking care of an el- derly parent, fnancial wellness, healthy cooking and preventing injuries. The City was also able to provide ftness trackers and desk cycles to employees at a discounted rate. County Wellness Program 2015 was the third year that St. Joseph County continued their membership with the O’Brien Fit- ness Center for their employee Wellness Program. This includes: 254 county employees joining the O’Brien Fitness Center with memberships, with 3,762 county employee visits utilizing the ftness cen- ter (which is refected in the total visits for the O’Brien Fitness Center); and 736 county employees participated in O’Brien Group Fitness Classes. Silver Sneakers Program The Silver Sneakers Program continued in 2015 at the O’Brien Fitness Center. This is a wellness program for people who have Medicare and have a Medicare supplement from AARP, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Harmony Health Plan of Illinois or Humana. There were 180 memberships to the O’Brien Fitness Center processed with 4,397 visits utilizing the O’Brien Fitness Center. Recreation Division 15South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 Recreation Division Lifeguard Classes / Water Awareness Program We held four lifeguard classes at various locations in the county with a total of 41 students. There were also two, fve week Water Safety Programs held at the University of Notre Dame for Holy Cross and Holy Family grade schools. Instruction was provided by the South Bend Parks and Recreation, South Bend Fire Department, Penn Township Fire Department, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Approximately 59 students participated. Kennedy Water Playground and Potawatomi Pool Kennedy Water Playground was open from June 8th to August 7th with an attendance of 5,188. Potawatomi Pool was open from June 11th to August 13th with an attendance of 5,931. Potawatomi had 255 in attendance in rentals before the pool was open to the public. We continued testing the lifeguard readiness with Red Ball Drills, internal and external audits. Children’s Learn to Swim Program Lessons were offered in the Spring and Summer at Riley and Clay High Schools. Overall participation for Learn to Swim was 386 in 2015. Gone Fishing This program had a one day FREE Fishing Day for 7 to 17 year olds held at Pinhook Park. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources had different departments come out to help teach boating safety and fshing techniques on this cold and rainy day. Breakfast was provided by Invision Eye Center and lunch was provided by the South Bend Cubs and the Park Foundation. There were a total of 62 participants and 120 spectators. Aqua Aerobics We offer year round water ftness. We have Spring and Fall classes at Clay and Riley High Schools. There were a total of 63 participants in 2015. In the summer we have daily classes at Potawatomi Pool and had 386 participants. South Bend Swim Club The South Bend Swim Club had a total of 268 members in 2015. SBSC had swimmers participate in Senior State, Speedo sectionals, Age Group State; as well as host the NCISC championship meet. SBSC is a USA Swimming’s Level 1 Club and a USA Swimming Bronze Medal for Club Excellence. The swimmers set 41 new individual and 12 new relay records in the 2015 Summer Season and has set 16 individual team and 10 relay records in this Fall Season. Abby Kirkpatrick participated in 2015 Junior Nationals in San Antonio, TX. The South Bend Swim Club was honored to host another the Fitter and Faster Clinic for the Michiana area, this one was led by national team members Tom Jaeger and Megan Romano. The South Bend Swim Club is the only local club to place in the top 25 in both the short course and long course state meets which consist of Age Group State (14 and under) and Senior State (15 and over). Aquatics Programs East Race Waterway The raceway was open for special hours during the SB150 birthday celebration and had 748 people raft that weekend. It then opened for public use on June 6th and closed August 9th. We were open Saturdays from noon to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. We hosted corporate rafting events with 2,830 participants. In 2015, East Race attendance was 7,450. South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201516 Marketing Division Marketing Division 2015 Highlights • The Marketing Division has re-activated the Activity Brochure, on behalf of the department. There will be a total of 8,000 copies printed three times annually: Winter/Spring; Summer; Fall/Win- ter. These will then be distributed throughout the community at South Bend Parks and Recreation Department facilities, City of South Bend Departments, St. Joseph County and Mishawaka Public Library locations, and South Bend/Mishawaka parochial schools, as well as on line. • The email based weekly bulletin titled “What’s Up in South Bend Parks?” continues to be an important promotional medium. The overall outreach is currently over 11,000 email subscribers. The bulletin features information on programs, events, projects, little known facts, and many other de- partmental tidbits. The bulletin has resulted in a number of positive media reports, and unexpected partnerships with organizations that receive the piece. • Our department continues to play a leadership role in the community’s health and wellness efforts. These partnerships connect the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department to health and activity concerns for children in our community. This initiative continues to be a powerful partner- ship of interested stakeholders in childhood development and community involvement. South Bend Parks and Recreation Department is involved in South Bend’s Let’s Move city initiative, Reducing Obesity Coalition of the St. Joseph County Health Department, and the county’s Health Improvement Alliance. • In 2015 we saw a substantial increase in connection with the com- munity by the utilization of social media. The frequent uploading of event pictures, commentary, and communication with followers, has resulted in the increase of our brand’s reach to our targeted market. The department is able to boast a total of 45,982 followers; post reach of 220,879; and engagements of 19,381. • Work on the Master Plan and Community Assessment Committee was instrumental in achiev- ing a $5 million park bond for renovations and improvements. This is the frst park bond for the department in almost 40 years. • The division/department played a prominent role in the success of SB150 birthday weekend. • The Marketing and Development Division worked closely with staff to achieve 2,356 complet ed program and facility evaluations. In total, overall customer satisfaction of 4.78 out of a possible 5. 17South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 • Continual involvement in the IPRA, and the NRPA Na- tional Conference, has resulted in the department receiving the following awards: * Family Passport to Play • The division participated in over 50 community meet- ings this year. Our involvement has given us input and feedback from neighborhood associations and citizen groups on various associated topics. More specifcally, the feedback gave us insight into bicycle use on our streets, trail devel- opment, and afterschool programs among other important health and wellness, as well as environmental issues. Spe- cifc community groups include: Green Ribbon Commission, River Access Committee, Bike South Bend, and Indiana Trails. • In 2015, we experienced the following website activity: o 630,946 Page views; increase of 8,188 o 220,549 Sessions (Visits); increase of 14,893 o 150,067 Users (Unique Visitors); increase of 20,062 Marketing Division South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201518 Golf Division Overall Key Performance Indicators For 2015, there was an increased emphasis and focus on enhanced service levels in the golf entire golf operation. A primary area was improving both the level and consistency of service in all areas, especially outside operations. Annual rounds played at Elbel Park totaled 22,626 was a decrease of 2% over our 2014 rounds played fgure of 23,189. Erskine annual rounds played total 25,750, down a minor amount from the previous year total of 25,861. Green Fees / Membership It was a very hard year. The drop in rounds played in 2015 resulted in a decrease in green fee rev- enue at Elbel of $7,754 under 2014. This was due primarily to the uncertainty of pending sale. Merchandising For 2015, a number of initiatives were put in place to increase sales and proftability of the merchan- dising program. One key initiative was a cooperative effort with the local high schools and univer- sities. This would include providing uniforms and bags for their golf reams. Also re-evaluating the product assortment and establishing more competitive price points; sales techniques like encourag- ing add on sales when a member or guest registered to play or made a purchase. The end result at Elbel was 416,366 increase in merchandise from $58,364 to $74,730, which increased our Sales per round from 42.51 to $3.30. Staffng The golf division for 2015 staffed 64 seasonal employees for Elbel, Erskine and Studebaker. All though we work as one department, budgets and staffng are broken down to eight divisions. Elbel Pro Shop, Elbel Concessions, Elbel Maintenance, Erskine Pro Shop, Erskine Concessions, Erskine Maintenance, Studebaker Pro Shop and Studebaker Maintenance. Listed below is a breakdown of employees, work hours and payroll totals. 19South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 2015 Park Rangers The South Bend Parks and Recreation Department Security Division had eight employees, consist- ing of one full time park ranger supervisor, two full time park rangers and fve part time park rangers. The Security Division works from 6:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. seven days a week. The Park Rangers logged over 50,000 miles on our feet of four trucks while preforming our duties. One of the duties of the Park Ranger is daily patrol of the city parks. While on patrol Park Rangers try to assist park patrons with questions or issues they may have with the city parks. The Park Rang- ers had over 5600 self-initiated or park patrons approached contacts while on patrol for this year. Patron approached calls are some of the most common: “where is an opened picnic spot?”; “can you tell me where my picnic spot is?”; “where can I park?”, “this splash pad is not working!”; “where can I fnd this?” The South Bend Park Security Division has over 275 South Bend Police Dispatched calls for the 2015 year. Some of these calls consist of parking violations, picnic area disputes, burglar alarms, fre alarms, suspicions persons in the park and trees down by storm damage. Another duty of the Park Rangers is providing security as needed at special park department events. In the past year the park rangers have worked over 500 hour of time in special events including providing 24 hour a day security. The Park Rangers perform daily bank deposit pick up from all park locations requiring a bank deposit. This is done in conjunction with daily patrols. New for 2015 the Park Rangers instituted a park inspection program in conjunction with park patrols. The goal is to inspect each park once every fve weeks. Rangers are looking for any signs of dam- age, trash in the park, the height of grass and the area if any that need trimming, weeds/weed con- trol, safety of playground & playground equipment, and other issues within that park. With this new inspection the park rangers have brought several key issues and problems to the parks department attention for a quicker repair time and less complaint from the public. Since the start of this program park ranger have performed over 350 park inspections. Another duty of the South Bend Park Department is opening and closing of gates, restrooms and facility’s as needed. The park rangers are very good at multi-tasking and time management as this is another duty done while on routine patrol. Park Rangers also assist the city forester with storm dam- age by scouting out damage calls and moving small debris to the curb line. All full time park rangers attended a chain saw class and became certifed to operate a chain saw. Park Rangers are responsible for responding as key holders to burglar and fre alarms 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The park ranger supervisor takes all after hours calls, with the exception of 10 days the past year. In 2015 there were 938 phone calls from the security company, 603 of these calls after hours. Of the 938 calls 109 were actual alarm calls, 86 of these were after hours for the park ranger supervisor. Of the 109 alarm calls, 67 were responded to by park rangers on duty. Of the 109 alarm calls 92 were burglar, 17 fre alarm calls. Of the 92 burglar alarm calls 89 were false alarms. The three true alarms came from Studebaker golf course, two of the three were actual burglaries or vandalism. Of the 17 fre alarms all were false alarms 10 were while a park ranger was working and 7 were after hours. In this entire alarm calls park rangers have over 300 hours of time invested. South Bend Parks & Recreation Department Annual Report 201520