The Olympia Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) heard presentations from the city’s Parks, Arts & Recreation Department (PARD) staff about performance measures and the city’s new data analysis software program during the committee’s April 18 meeting.
Before these presentations, the committee -- including newly appointed members -- watched a training video about the Open Public Meetings Act.
Parks, Arts & Recreation Director Paul Simmons presented the department’s performance measures, including the history of the measures, the 21 categories measured, the purpose of these figures, and how 2023 compared against recent years. “When people are paying extra taxes for parks and recreation, we need to make sure we are communicating how we’re using those funds,” he explained.
“The purpose of the performance measures,” Simmons explained, “is to enable us to make data-driven decisions, to tell our story [of parks, arts and recreation in Olympia], and to demonstrate progress toward the community’s vision” for the parks. “It’s not just data for the sake of data, but why should the public care? Why should we care? How does this make any difference?” Accordingly, these statistics quantify PARD’s progress for the benefit of the city and its residents.
The 21 measurements are grouped into six categories: Arts and Events, Community Facilities, Park Maintenance and Stewardship, Planning and Design, and Recreation. Following are highlights of these benchmarks from the presentation.
In the Arts and Events section, “annual participation in arts program” took a hit because of COVID shutdowns. In 2019, 51,666 people participated; that figure plummeted to 6,064 in 2020. While still not back to pre-lockdown levels, participation increased to 34,808 in 2023.
Community Facilities metrics include a number of sports games on city fields, which likewise has not yet returned to pre-lockdown measures -- although it has been increasing. The games played were 2,030 in 2019, 742 in 2020, 1,452 in 2021, 1,585 in 2022, and 1,834 in 2023.
Park Maintenance and Stewardship benchmarks help PARD staff quantify maintenance-related issues. For instance, the city obtained three new parks in one year a few years but was short-staffed in PARD Maintenance; not all maintenance work could happen as it should. This category helps in calculating maintenance staffing needs, as well as maintenance and operations cost per acre.
The Planning and Design category includes benchmarks for acreage of parklands per 1,000 residents, completion rates of capital projects, and ratio of developed versus undeveloped park acres. Simmons explained that development does not mean that the entire property would be paved or otherwise transformed from its natural setting. Trails through wooded land, for instance, qualify as developed space. The target is 100% developed parkland. Simmons explained, “For many years, Olympia prioritized the acquisition of park land over the development of park spaces. With the most recent Parks Plan, more park development is occurring.”
The percentage of capital projects completed ties closely to the PARD Parks Plan, which is updated on a six-year cycle as per grants requirements for funding. The target is to reach 85% completion by the end of the cycle. The previous cycle ended in 2021 with 88% completion. The current cycle began with the 2022 plan.
One benchmark in the Planning and Design category stood out prominently in the presentation and discussion: the Facility Condition Index (FCI) Rating. “The FCI shows what percentage of park infrastructure needs maintenance,” Simmons explained. Unlike the maintenance category, the FCI refers to large-scale projects costing over $5,000; these projects are bid out. It factors the projected cost of the maintenance backlog ($8.3 million), the necessity of the repair or replacement, and the safety issues involved.
Capital maintenance projects in 2023 “included backstop, dugouts, and field renovation at LBA Field #2, as well as replacement of Yauger Park Field #4’s irrigation system. The recession of 2008 impacted capital maintenance projects in ways still being felt today. Little was spent on renovations and repairs, and park facilities continued to deteriorate. “We’re still playing catch-up,” Simmons noted.
Recreation benchmarks include factors like revenue, quality ratings, and recreation cost recovery.
These recreation measures generated considerable discussion. Simmons explained that it is important to balance cost recovery with keeping the programs affordable for residents. While PARD does need the revenues from recreation registration to help fund its programs, it does not need to show a profit. Simmons noted that PARD doesn’t want to leave out families who cannot afford participation fees.
Committee member Daniel Farber asked if there is a scholarship or fee waiver for low-income families, to which Simmons responded that the volunteer-donations fund is Ina’s Fund.
Farber commented that he would like to see strategies for greater accessibility to the programs, and council member Caroline Mellor added that she would like to see reduced-cost options for low-income families.
Recreation programs are in high demand. “Some programs fill up within the first half hour of registration opening. We’d love to expand and grow, but we also need to make sure we have adequate quality staff, facilities, and transportation,” Simmons stated.
PRAC next meets next on May 16 at 6 p.m. in room 207 of the Olympia City Hall.
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