PERIOD REPORT
DATE: January 9, 2018 Report No. P&R-18-001
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Scott Hartman, Director of Parks and Recreation Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Parks and Recreation Department - 2017 Third Period Report
Body
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Parks and Recreation Services Department from September 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Parks And Facility Services
Parks
• 63 new boulevard trees were planted, 45 boulevard trees were pruned, and 27 old boulevard trees were removed.
• There were 40 tree removal permit applications submitted, 38 permits were approved, 1 is pending a Geo-technical survey, and 1 was denied.
• There were 11 permits approved for tree pruning.
• All Parks catch basins were cleaned out.
• New perennial bed irrigation was installed at Saxe Point Park.
• Climbing Boulder and Spring Toy installed at Lampson Park.
• Peagravel was removed and new Fibar installed at Lampson Park.
• New granite bench installed in the Japanese Garden.
• Landscape improvements completed at the West Bay Walkway.
• New concrete pad and picnic table installed at Saxe Point Park.
• Bookings September - December 2017
o Saxe Point Park - 5 bookings - 4 weddings - 1 event
o Esquimalt Gorge Park - 6 bookings - 6 events
o Memorial Park - 2 bookings - 2 events
o Bullen Park - 69 bookings - 1 event
o L’ecole Brodeur - 41 bookings
o Fleming Beach / Buxton Green - 4 bookings - 2 events
Facilities - Esquimalt Recreation Centre
• Repairs were made to the number 1 Lifestyle pool high rate sand filter and piping attached to the filter.
• Staff are busy with the re-organizing of the workshop area to better utilize the space.
• Door frames, seismic posts and some walls were painted.
• Family changeroom ceiling was repaired.
Facilities - Archie Browning Sports Centre
• Curling Ice was installed September 17-24.
• New automated sliding doors have replaced some of the older doors in the facility and the upstairs washroom doors along with the lounge door has been automated for better accessibility.
• The facility was decorated for the holiday season and exterior holiday lights installed in preparation for Celebration of Lights.
• Planning is in progress for the replacement of the 2 chillers, receiver and piping in the refrigeration room.
• New domestic waterlines were replaced.
2. Recreation Services
Marketing & Registration
• 3,481 course registrations were processed during this period - a third of these were online.
• Online registration continues to be well received with positive feedback being shared on social media. During this period, 1,087 registrations and drop in class reservations were completed by clients online.
• 3,083 membership products were processed; these include passes sold and passes renewed.
• 727 products were sold through the Recreation Centre Shop, these include: googles, swim caps, ear buds, swim diapers, water bottles and umbrellas.
• 7,119 general admission drop-ins were processed.
• To offer a healthy alternative for “trick or treaters”, ‘Trick or Treat’ passes were sold during the month of October. These passes provided a drop in admission for a child or youth during the month of November. 810 passes were sold.
• A ‘Give the Gift of Recreation’ Promotion featured 3 special offers: 5 x Adult Punch Card for $20; 5 x Family Punch Card for $35; Tees/Tanks for $5. 317 of these special offers were sold.
• Esquimalt Parks & Recreation social media platforms continue to engage more followers with 4,290 followers on Twitter, 4,165 on Facebook and 1,063 on Instagram.
• Parks & Recreation e-Newsletters were delivered in October, November and December with a consistent open rate of 40.85%, 41.60% and 40.99% respectively.
Fitness
• Esquimalt was involved in the Island Fitness Conference at PISE and the Victoria Conference Centre in October of 2017. The conference was a great success with delegates attending from all over Vancouver Island.
• Two lunch-hour spin programs to the Drop-in Schedule have been added.
• 163 personal training packages were purchased during this period.
• The Wellness Centre replaced 3 Rowing machines and 4 new Treadmills.
Arts, Culture, Social & Special Interest Programs
• 10 new volunteers were trained to assist with StitchLab, ArtLab and Kids Cooking classes on a weekly basis.
• Program registration increased for all age groups, with 680 total registrations and 113 programs.
• Adult painting and drawing classes increased in popularity with 137 people registered for these classes Sept-Dec 2017 compared to 103 people in 2016.
• Preschool music programs were full with a total of 51 participants.
• New pre-registered programs Sept-Dec 2017 included:
• Preschool - Guitar
• School Aged - ASL, Creative Choreo-Dance
• Adults & Seniors - ArtLab for Adults, Flowers in Watercolour, Perogie Making 101, Essential Oils Health & Beauty Night, Singing in Spanish, Spanish Conversation Hour
• A new pilot program called StitichLab was launched in September due to a United Way creative arts grant for youth. This program took place on Thursdays for 2 hours each week. StitchLab was extremely popular, with 191 drop-ins.
• The ArtLab continued (past the pilot program period). This program took place on Tuesdays for 2 hours each week, with 125 drop-ins.
• 21 weekly drop-in social programs for Seniors continued during this time period. The most popular programs were drop-in Ukulele Club, averaging 28 people each week, drop-in Euchre, averaging 26 people each week and drop-in Knitting, averaging 20 people each week.
Child, Youth & Family Services
• OSC is full with 58 children in after school care and 43 children in before school care.
• Esquimalt Licensed Preschool is full with 16 children on Tuesday/Thursday.
• Our Creative Play program has transitioned to nearly a full time outdoor Preschool utilizing Saxe Point Park.
• The Teen Centre drop-in attendance has steadily increased from 30 youth up to 65 on Friday and Saturday nights. Youth are involved in basketball, crafts, cooking, playing pool or video games and hanging out with staff and friends.
Arena Programs
• We opened the Ice Season this year with a new event called “Kick off to the Ice Season.” We held a free skate sponsored by Coast Capital Skate and had 90 skaters attend.
• A new program “Introduction to Figure Skating” was introduced.
• The Lions Skate with Santa was held on Saturday December 16 and increased from 80 skaters in 2016 to peaking at 180 skaters.
• Skating lessons during this time period had 53 participants compared to 48 in 2016.
Community Development and Events
• The Celebration of Lights Committee held their 6th annual Cars, Rods and Rides on September 9, 2017.
• Esquimalt Recreation participated in a children’s activity area during Rib Fest on Sept 8-10th. Esquimalt Events staff were there assisting with a button making station, operating two bouncy castles, a craft station and a small scavenger hunt. At least 500 families visited this area.
• The 14th Annual Children’s Story Festival was held on Saturday September 30, 2017 in Partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). Attendance was up this year with an estimated 300 children and their parents. This year we expanded to include various storytelling mediums such as songs, poetry, puppets, drama and even a new Story Walk. The Lion’s hosted a BBQ’s and the GVPL hosted the book table where every child received a free, new book to take home with them. We received additional support from Country Grocer for this event.
• The Esquimalt Lions hosted the Halloween Bonfire in the parking lot of Archie Browning Sports Centre. Approximately 500 people enjoyed the bonfire.
• On October 6th, the Tour de Rock Riders were welcomed into Esquimalt outside the Archie Browning Sports Centre by a large crowd.
• Our Annual Senior’s Appreciation Day was held on October 2nd. Approximately 80 people attended the event.
• The Celebration of Lights parade was held on Sunday, December 4, 2017. Similar to last year, the parade started at Canteen Rd and Esquimalt Rd, then headed east on Esquimalt Rd, ending in front of the Archie Browning Sports Centre. After the parade, participants enjoyed a visit with Santa, hot chocolate, hot dogs, and live entertainment. There were approximately 35 entries in the parade and approximately 450 who attended the after parade activities.
• Esquimalt Parks and Recreation hosted the 4th Annual Christmas Tree Village. In total, 34 decorated Christmas Trees were located in the Recreation Centre and the Archie Browning Sports Centre. We moved to online voting only this year through Instagram and Facebook and the number of participants increased 25%. We had a number of first time participants. The people’s choice award went to the AC/BC Chopper Bike Club this year. A big thank you to our sponsors which included: Country Grocer, Used.ca, Platinum Key Properties, Sunnyside Café, and Saxe Point Daycare.
• This year was the inaugural year for the Esquimalt Holiday Light Up Map. Participation was great with 11 submissions. We received a lot of positive feedback and our map was featured in the Victoria News.
• New this year was the provision of two ‘by donation’ photo with Santa opportunities. Santa and Mrs. Claus donated their time and we took over 60 photos raising over $150 for the Rainbow Kitchen.
• The Holiday Celebration Lunch was a huge success with a new local caterer that received rave reviews. The Esquimalt Preschool group performed carols in front of the fireplace.
• The holiday movie experience was changed from a Drive-In Movie to a Holiday Sit-In Movie held in the Jubilee Hall. This was due to the cold temperature. There were over 50 people who attended the movie.
Aquatics
• Private Lessons stayed steady with 123 participants.
• Shore Swim Club continues to offer Masters swimming Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings and has added a school swim team, working with Rockheights school.
• There was an increase in registered waterfit participation from 37 in 2016 up to 46 in 2017.
Facility Bookings and Events
• The Fourth Annual Esquimalt Ribfest occurred on Bullen Park September 8-10th.
• There were five large Bonspiels in the curling arena and lounge during this period:
o Golf and Curling Bonspiel Oct 7th
o Petersen Tax 55+ Bonspiel Oct 16th to 19th
o Ladies Bonspiel Nov 3rd to 5th
o Optimist JR Bonspiel Nov 11th to Nov 13th
o Driftwood Men’s Bonspiel Nov 16th to 19th
• The Esquimalt Farmers Market finished up their Summer Market series on September 14th in Memorial Park. The Fall Pop up Market series started on September 28th and continued every second Thursday until November 9th in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre Atrium. A Special Christmas Market was held on November 12th, bringing in 400+ people.
• The Head of the Gorge Rowing Regatta was held in Esquimalt Gorge Park October 20th-22nd, bringing in many skilled athletes from across the Province and Canada.
• The annual Japanese Cultural Fair was held at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre on October 21st and 22nd with 400 people attending the event.
• A large Halloween Dance was held in the Crowsnest, at the Archie Browning Sports Centre, for approximately 150 international students from Global Village International School on October 27th.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Parks & Recreation Committee met on December 15, 2017.