Laserfiche WebLink
CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK <br /> passionate about what they do so sometimes they have to just sit down and think about all of those <br /> things. That has been really important for us. <br /> He continued, We finished the five (5) year strategic plan and have brought in over $2.1 million <br /> in private fundraising. We had the second(2nd) Best. Week. Ever. and it had 2,000 attendees. The <br /> program was actually awarded the most innovative program by the Indiana Parks and Recreation <br /> Association. My SB Parks and Trails actually got awarded earlier this ye as the most inclusive <br /> program of excellence. The data that fed into that program and the amount of community feedback <br /> on that program was deemed to be extremely inclusive. So much so that we received that award. <br /> The Capital Re-accreditation Process was initiated this year. This will be our third (3rd) <br /> accreditation and it is up every five (5) years. We received a favorable review. They were here in <br /> June. We received it and it is scheduled to be awarded at the National Association Conference <br /> which is in Indianapolis in September. The final stages is an interview with the Executive Director <br /> and as long as I don't screw it up,they shake my hand and say congratulations. <br /> He went on, This (referencing a slide in the presentation which is available in the City Clerk's <br /> Office) has been the first (1st) full year of the Ecological Advocacy Committee in its full impact. <br /> They unveiled this year the Natural Resources Management Plan.That is a set of guiding principles <br /> for how we treat some of our more ecologically diverse properties. In terms of cost recovery, for <br /> the most part, everything VPA does is free. About eighty percent (80%) of the things we do are <br /> free but then there are things we do start to charge money for. It is kind of a pyramid and I won't <br /> go into the whole methodology of it but some things we just try to recover a little bit of the cost, <br /> others we try to break even on and other things we actually try to make money on such as our <br /> concessions. Our target is to get our cost recovery up to forty percent (40%). I hope I can tell you <br /> next ,year that we are there but it might be one (1) more year. It has been a tough process but we <br /> are doing it the right way. <br /> He continued,A new safety program went into effect this year in terms of the way we inspect our <br /> playgrounds and all our fiscal properties. If you come by any of our facilities you will notice all <br /> the doors labeled for public safety. All of our staff is in the process of being trained in Active <br /> Shooter policies and procedures as well. River City Basketball saw increased attendance this,year. <br /> We also introduced Spark the Mascot. It is a lightening bug which was recently deemed our State <br /> insect. We are using spark as a term throughout all of our things. It is also one (1) of the only <br /> female mascots you will encounter by the way. The female lighting bugs are the ones that usually <br /> light up to attract the males.Talk about inclusivity,right?Our Sky Diggs Soldiers Basketball Team <br /> were the Midwest regional Champions. That is affiliated with the Jr. WNBA. Coach Mo Scott was <br /> able to take this team for a free trip all the way down to Orlando and Disney World to compete in <br /> the National competition. We finished amongst the top teams but did not win the tournament. <br /> He went on, So to speak on some highlights for 2019, we will continue unpacking all of the My <br /> SB Parks and Trails Capital improvements. These things are all funded from previous years. I just <br /> want to show you a couple of highlights for that project. This was funded by one third (1/3) of <br /> private money,one third(1/3)of Redevelopment funds and then one third(1/3)by the Parks Bond. <br /> There will be fifty (50) different project sites throughout the City. We ran into a little bit of delay <br /> due to the flood damage. That took a lot of resources and it made us rethink some of the plans <br /> because of the new data set we have associated with it all. The team is working hard with <br /> Engineering,FEMA and Admin and Finance to recoup some insurance money and possibly some <br /> National Disaster Fund relief. So some of the things we hoped would be underway are not quite <br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT <br /> 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 If 574.235.9173 ITM574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov <br /> 12 <br />