PERIOD REPORT
DATE: January 8, 2019 Report No. P&R-19-001
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Scott Hartman, Director of Parks and Recreation Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Parks and Recreation Services Department - 2018 Third Period Report
Body
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Parks and Recreation Services Department from September 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Parks Services
• 49 new boulevard trees were planted, 39 boulevard trees were pruned, 77 young trees were trained, and 28 old boulevard trees were removed.
• There were 23 tree removal/pruning permit applications submitted, 20 permits were approved for trees cut, 3 approved for pruning.
• A new swing set was installed at Anderson Park.
• The outbuildings on Bullen Park were painted.
• Broom, Blackberry, Lupine, Laurel, and Ivy was cut and removed in Macaulay Park.
• A new playground was built at Lampson Park including new playground equipment, landscaping, new shade trees, irrigation and picnic area.
• A new fence, storage shed, material storage area, and pathway were installed at the Community Garden in Anderson Park.
• Bookings September - December:
o Saxe Point Park - 83 bookings - 7 weddings - 1 picnic
o Esquimalt Gorge Park - 8 bookings - 3 weddings - 3 picnics - 3 events - 1 filming
o Memorial Park - 4 bookings - 1 picnic - 3 events
o Bullen Park - 78 bookings - 2 events
o L’Ecole Brodeur - 90 bookings
o High Rock Park - 1 booking - 1 filming
2. Recreation Services
Marketing & Registration
• 5,232 Program registrations (course and drop in reservations) were processed during this period which is similar to the same time frame in 2017.
• 2,086 membership products were purchased during this period (same as last year). These include: passes and drop in punch cards sold and renewed, specialized passed for personal training services, and childminding.
• 529 products were sold through the Recreation Centre Shop during this period which is consistent with quantities of products sold last year. These include goggles, swim caps, swim diapers, etc.
• There were 23,698 drop in admissions during this period versus 27,564 during the same period last year. This change is due to the annual pool maintenance closure taking place December 2-16 in 2018 versus the late spring/early summer in 2017.
• There were 3,949 registrations for courses running within this period versus 3,042 over the same period last year.
• 1,574 registrations for courses starting during this period were completed online, accounting for 39% of the total course registrations. By comparison, 717 registrations accounting for 23% of this total occurred during the same period last year.
• Esquimalt Parks & Recreation social media platforms continue to be a strong tool to connect with clients:
o 1,233 followers on Instagram - up from 1,164 last period;
o 4,277 followers on Twitter - up from 4,270 followers last period and;
o 4,476 followers on Facebook - up from 4,308 last period.
Fitness
• Registration for Fitness Programs for Children, Youth and Adults in the third period was 546 people; not including Drop-In’s for registered programs which equaled 284 for a total of 830 registrants; up by just over 300 registrants from the Second Period.
• Personal Training Sales continued to be strong with just under $14,500 in revenue. An increase of $3,500 since the second period.
• 5 new Keiser Spin bikes arrived for Spin classes at the Sports Centre.
Arts, Culture, Social & Special Interest Programs
• 55 new contract instructors were brought on-board during this time period.
• A contract was established with the Silver Bow Studio. This new studio is located on Colville Rd. We will be offering 7 new programs in this space in the New Year.
• Adult dance class participation increased with 143 adult dance registrations this period compared to 41 in 2017.
• The volume of programs and the number of registrations increased across all age groups this period in 2019 compared to 2017:
o Adults/Seniors - 410 registrations in 69 programs in 2018, up from 385 registrations in 62 programs in 2017.
o Children - 155 registrations in 37 programs in 2018, up from 138 registrations in 26 programs in 2017.
o Preschool - 129 registrations in 20 programs in 2018, up from 125 registrations in 20 programs in 2017.
o Youth - 36 registrations in 20 programs in 2018, up from 28 registrations in 8 programs in 2017.
• New Programs created include:
o Preschool - Baby Mandarin Seeds and Super Mandarin Seeds, which are Preschool Language Classes.
o School Aged - Machine Sewing 101 and Make Your Own Stocking.
o Adults & Seniors - vegetarian cooking, glass mosaics, an art, wine & cheese workshop, Hawaiian Hula, a seasonal gift making workshop and various sewing workshops.
• 21 weekly drop-in social programs for Seniors continued during this time period.
Child, Youth & Family Services
• OSC is full with 58 children in after school care and 56 children in before school care, up from 48 last year.
• Esquimalt Licensed Preschool Program is full, with 16 children in our Mon/Wed, Tue/Thur and Fantastic Fridays Program.
• Our Nature Preschool, Puddle Jumpers, is full with 16 preschoolers and has completely transitioned to an outdoor nature program. This Preschool is utilizing Saxe Point Park, only venturing inside when extreme inclement weather strikes.
• Our Youth Services (Teen Centre) program averages 30-35 youth on Thursday nights, 80-100 youth on Friday and 50-60 youth on Saturdays. Youth are involved in activities such as basketball, crafts, cooking, playing pool or video games.
Arena Programs
• The Lions Skate with Santa was held on Saturday December 15th with 180 Skaters.
• School group rentals have increased to 27 school sessions, compared to 19 in 2017.
• Learn to Skate registration was up an additional 10 participants from last season.
• Noon hour Drop-In Hockey has grown from 4-6 participants to 10-14.
Community Development and Events
• The Celebration of Lights Committee held their 7th annual Cars, Rods and Rides, a Fundraising Event for Celebration of Lights in the back parking lot of the Sports Centre on September 8th.
• Parks and Recreation staffed a portion of the children’s activity area during Rib Fest on Sept 7-9th. The children’s activity area was hosted in partnership with the Rib Fest Committee. Over 500 families visited this area and stopped by the newly designed Esquimalt Promotional Tent.
• The 14th Annual Children’s Story Festival was held on Saturday September 22nd at Memorial Park in partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). Attendance was up this year with an estimated 350 children and their parents compared to 300 in 2017. This year we incorporated the theme of “diversity” to our event and brought in storytellers that would teach the children and their parents not only about the important role that storytelling plays in other cultures, but about other cultures as knowledge in and of itself.
• Our Annual Senior’s Appreciation Day was held on October 1st. Approximately 40 people attended the event.
• On October 5th, the Tour de Rock Riders were welcomed into Esquimalt, at the Sports Centre plaza, by a large crowd including local school children, community members, members of Council and Victoria Police.
• The Esquimalt Lions hosted the annual Halloween Bonfire in the parking lot of the Sports Centre. Approximately 400 people attended.
• The Celebration of Lights parade was held on Sunday, December 2nd. There were approximately 35 entries in the parade and approximately 450 who attended the after parade activities.
• Esquimalt Parks and Recreation hosted the 5th Annual Christmas Tree Village. In total, 40 decorated Christmas Trees were located in the Recreation Centre and the Sports Centre compared to 33 trees in 2017. We moved to online voting this year through our website, and had a number of first time participants. The people’s choice award went to the BC and Alberta Guide Dog Association.
• This was the second year for the Esquimalt Holiday Light Up Map. Participation included 7 submissions. We received a lot of positive feedback.
• We provided two ‘by donation’ photo opportunities with Santa this year, including one just for pets. Santa donated his time and we took over 60 photos and collected food for the Rainbow Kitchen.
• The Holiday Celebration Lunch was held December 6th. The Esquimalt Ukulele Group and Macaulay School Choir performed carols during the event.
• New this year was the Jolly Jingle Story Mingle held on December 14th. This was an interactive holiday experience involving engaging storytelling and painting done by performers. Thirteen people attended and enjoyed hot chocolate while watching the performance.
Aquatics
• Private Lessons increased to 139 from 123 participants in 2017.
• Adult Lesson registration increased to 18 from 9 in 2017.
• A new contract waterpolo program was added this Fall through Saanich Water Polo.
• The Aquatic Supervisor, took the lead in creating the GVAC’s inter-municipal waterfit training program. We ran two pilots of the program, over 2018, and produced over 30 successful waterfit instructors who are now teaching at pools around the city. The course was finalized this fall and is ready for use by all GVAC pools.
• We hosted our first annual Dog Swim on Sunday December 2nd with positive reviews. We initially planned for two sessions, with 20 dogs per session, but due to the high demand we ended up running four sessions and having 75 dogs participate in the swim.
Facility Bookings and Events
• The Fourth Annual Esquimalt Ribfest occurred on Bullen Park September 8-10th.
• The Esquimalt Farmers Market finished up their Summer Market series on September 13th in Memorial Park. The indoor Fall Pop Up Market series started on September 2th and continued every second Thursday until November 1st in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre Atrium.
• The Farmers Market also held their first large scale Christmas market in the Recreation Centre on November 18th.
• The Head of the Gorge Rowing Regatta was held in Esquimalt Gorge Park October 19th to Oct 21st, bringing in many skilled athletes from across the province and Canada to compete.
Maintenance
Esquimalt Recreation Centre
• Maintenance Shutdown period for the pool area was the first two weeks of December and included the following:
o Replacement of the Lifestyle pool high rate sand filter.
o The 25 meter pool filter was treated with an epoxy product and the sand and gravel was replaced with a new product.
o Painting and maintenance of the change rooms and pool deck areas.
o Repairs were made to the tiles on the pool deck walls in the steam room and the on-deck shower.
o Repairs were made to the east wall of the pool deck, diving board, and the floor of the pool deck storage room.
o Replacement of the sauna benches was completed and a new sauna heater was installed.
o The main facility washrooms had floors replaced with epoxy, as well as a fresh coat of paint.
o Two new LED lights were installed over the lifestyle pool.
Archie Browning Sports Centre
• This is the first ice season since replacing the old chillers and brine pumps with new more efficient chillers and pumps. We have noticed a reduction in the run time of compressors, better quality ice for users, and faster freezing of water after ice cleans in the hockey rink. Changing to this new chiller style has allowed us to reduce our ammonia charge from 1,700 pounds down to 400 pounds.
• Curling ice was installed from September 16th-22nd.
• The facility was decorated for the holiday season, including additional lights outside of the facility with support from Celebration of Lights.
• New exit doors were installed at the North West corner of the hockey rink, replacing the old original wood doors.
• On November 28th the facility held an ammonia evacuation drill utilizing the new ammonia alarm system installed this past summer.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Parks & Recreation Committee met on October 18th.