PERIOD REPORT
DATE: January 5, 2016 Report No. P&R-16-001
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Scott Hartman, Director of Parks and Recreation Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Parks and Recreation Department - 2015 Third Period ReportBody
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Parks and Recreation Department from September 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Parks Services
• Initial planning and design for the Fraser Park was completed. An RFP for playground equipment for Fraser Park closed with 4 submitted bids. Public consultation will begin early 2016.
• Two ‘Branch Out’ events were held in Esquimalt Gorge Park and Saxe Point Park for the removal of invasive species, trail construction and tree planting.
• Municipal street tree and park specimen tree inventory was completed for 5,300 trees. This included GPS mapping and individual tree assessments.
• Implementation of TreeKeeper software and related software training completed.
• Urban Forest Management Plan is underway and will be completed early 2016.
• Nursery upgrades were completed.
• Removal and replacement of playgrounds at Esquimalt Gorge Park, Memorial Park, Lugrin, and Paradise was completed.
• There were 28 tree removal permit applications submitted, 12 permits were approved for trees cut, 6 were denied, and 10 were approved for tree pruning.
• Bookings September - December:
o Saxe Point Park - 16 bookings - 13 weddings - 3 events/picnics
o Esquimalt Gorge Park - 13 bookings - 1 wedding - 12 events/picnics
o Memorial Park - 1 booking - 1 event
o Bullen Park - 147 bookings - 1 event
o L’ecole Brodeur - 55 bookings
o Fleming Beach / Buxton Green - 11 bookings - 11 events
o Captain Jacobson’s Park - 1 booking - 1 event
o Esquimalt Town Square - 9 bookings - 9 events
2. Recreation Services
Fitness
• Drop in fitness program numbers remained strong over the fall with just over 1000 visits per month.
• Personal Training continues to grow with 180 Packages sold in 2015, compared to 138 packages in 2014.
• We offered several new registered programs this fall, including two new Yoga classes which filled with waitlists.
Arts, Culture, Social & Special Interest Programs
• New programs for this time period included ballet and aerobicballet for parent & tots, bollywood dance and group guitar classes for school-aged kids.
• Program registration increased substantially this season with 101 programs and 902 people registered for this time period in 2015 compared to 71 programs and 638 people registered in 2014.
• A Coming of Age information session about a new Esquimalt community program took place on September 16th with approximately 30 people in attendance.
• A Town Hall meeting with the BC Seniors Advocate took place on October 15th with approximately 50 people in attendance.
• The Seniors Appreciation Day event on October 1st was sold out with 80 people in attendance. Members of the VicPD and Macaulay Elementary grade 5 students volunteered as servers. The Esquimalt Ukulele Club also performed.
• The Seniors Christmas Luncheon, on December 11th, was sold out with 80 people in attendance. Members of VicPD, Esquimalt Fire Department, and students from Macaulay Elementary School all volunteered as servers. Christmas caroling was led by the Macaulay Elementary School Choir.
• The annual Knitters & Crafters Christmas Sale was hosted on November 13th & 14th.
• A Free Program demonstration week took place Sep 13th-19th with 50 demonstration classes and approximately 800 people attending.
Maintenance
Recreation Centre
• Tile repairs have been completed in the ladies change room, on the pool deck and in some areas inside the 25 meter pool.
• Repairs were made to the swirl pool sand filter and preventive maintenance was completed on one of the lifestyle sand filters.
• New flooring was installed in both of the Constance Cove washrooms.
Archie Browning Sports Centre
• New flooring and stair treads have been installed on the curling rink stairs and new flooring was installed in the curling hallway meeting room.
• The new Zamboni arrived in mid September.
• Maintenance staff decorated the Sports Centre for the Christmas season.
Child, Youth & Family Services
• OSC After Care is full at 58 children and near capacity in Before Care with 33 children.
• Esquimalt Licensed Preschool has remained full for the second year in a row on both Mon/Wed and Tues/Thurs options.
• The Youth Services team co-hosted a Middle School Halloween and a Christmas Dance at RockHeights Middle School. The entire school participated in both dances which increased from the 35 students that attended in 2014.
Arena Programs
• We opened the Ice Season this year with a new event called “Kick off to the Ice Season.” We held a free Coast Capital Skate and saw approximately 85 skaters who also enjoyed the bouncy castle and some time playing hockey with the Victoria Cougars.
• The Lions Skate with Santa was held on Saturday December 12 and had 130 skaters attend this year.
Community Development and Events
• The Celebration of Lights Committee held their 4th annual Car Show in the parking lot behind the Archie Browning Sports Centre on September 12th. This event was a fundraiser for the Celebration of Lights event held in December. There were over 100 classic, new, and specialty cars plus several Harley Davidson motorcycles on display. Additional events included 50/50 draws and bucket draws. Community partners included the Lions Club who provided a small concession. The Celebration of Lights committee also collected gifts for The QFM TLC Fund for the Kids. This was a very successful fundraising event for the Committee.
• Esquimalt Recreation hosted a children’s activity area in partnership with the Rib Fest Committee during the event on Sept 11, 12 & 13th. Activities included arts & crafts tent, face painting, two bouncy castles, bubble station and small carnival games.
• The 13th Annual Children’s Story Festival was held on October 3rd. This event attracted close to 400 people. Participants enjoyed 7 storytellers, live musical entertainment, lunch, and an activity table. Also, every child went home with a new book thanks to the support of the Esquimalt Kiwanis Club. Other community partners supporting this event were Country Grocer, Esquimalt Neighbourhood House, Greater Victoria Public Library and Titanium Tents.
• The Esquimalt Lions once again hosted the Halloween Bonfire in the parking lot of Archie Browning Sports Centre. Approximately 600 people enjoyed the bonfire. The Lions opened their concession serving hot chocolate and hot dogs by donation. Esquimalt Parks and Recreation hosted a craft tent with activities for smaller children.
• Two Drive-In Movies were held between November 27th and December 4th in the back parking lot of the Archie Browning Sports Centre. Over 35 vehicles participated in each event. Movie titles included: Rise of the Guardians and Home Alone. Donations were accepted for the Rainbow Kitchen.
• The Celebration of Lights parade was held on Sunday, December 6. A new parade route was introduced this year. After the parade, participants enjoyed a visit with Santa, hot chocolate, hot dogs, and live entertainment. There were approximately 50 entries in the parade and approximately 500 who attended the after parade activities.
• Esquimalt Parks and Recreation hosted the 2nd Annual Live Christmas Tree Village. In total, 40 live Christmas Trees adorned the Recreation Centre, Sports Centre and Municipal Hall. There were 36 different community groups and businesses that decorated and sponsored the trees which will be planted in Esquimalt’s urban forests after the event is complete. Over 1000 people voted for their favourite tree which, for the second year in a row, was awarded to the Esquimalt Anglers. A big thank you to our sponsors which included: Garden Works, Centric Health LifeMark, Used.ca, Country Grocer, Hidden Harbour Marine Centre, Victoria Buzz, Ocean 98.5FM, Kiss 103.1FM, Saxe Point Daycare, Enchanted Fables Princess Parties, Little Caesar’s Pizza - Esquimalt Plaza, Sunnyside Café and INFOCUS.
• As part of the Christmas Tree Village, 2 Live Musical events were organized. The first event held on December 15th titled: “Pop Goes Christmas” featured music from the Esquimalt Ukulele Club, accompanied by percussionist Masakko Hockey. The second event, held on December 19th, featured holiday jazz singing by Lorraine Nygaard accompanied by musician Louise Rose.
Aquatics
• This fall our swimming lessons saw an increase to 739 children up from 680 in 2014.
• Private lessons increased from 84 in the fall of 2014 to 103 in the fall of 2015.
• We have added two additional school swim teams this fall; Macaulay Elementary school, swimming Monday and Wednesday afternoon with 65 kids each day; and L’ecole Broduer, swimming Tuesday mornings with 54 kids.
• We have continued our partnership with Tyee swim club and their program has grown from 17 kids in the fall of 2014 to 20 kids in the fall of 2015.
• We have added a new registered Waterfit class called Aqua Tabata this fall which is running with 9 participants.
Facility Bookings and Events
• The Third Annual Esquimalt Ribfest occurred on Bullen Park September 11-13th.
• Celebration of Lights Car Show occurred at the Sports Centre September 12th.
• The Archie Browning Sports Centre hosted an “Eves of Destruction” Roller Derby game on September 19th. There were 600 spectators in attendance.
• We hosted the Tour de Rock Riders at the Sports Centre front plaza October 2nd.
• The annual Japanese Cultural Fair was held at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre on October 24th with 400 people attending the event.
• The annual Esquimalt Arts and Craft Fair was held at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre on November 28th. Approximately 400 people attended.
• The Celebration of Lights was held at the Sports Centre on December 6th.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Parks & Recreation Committee met on November 12th.