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File #: 20-024    Version: 1 Name:
Type: Period Report Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 1/6/2020 In control: Special Committee of the Whole
On agenda: 1/13/2020 Final action:
Title: Parks and Recreation Services Department - 2019 Third Period Report
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PERIOD REPORT

 

DATE:                       January 6, 2019                     Report No. P&R-20-001

TO:                       Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer

FROM:                      Scott Hartman, Director of Parks and Recreation Services

SUBJECT:TITLE Parks and Recreation Services Department - 2019 Third Period Report

Body

 

The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Parks and Recreation Services Department from September 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

 

I.                     DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

 

1.                     Parks Services

 

                     32 new boulevard trees were planted, 30 boulevard trees were pruned, and 23 old boulevard trees were removed.

                     31 applications for private tree removal/pruning permits were submitted, 32 trees were approved for removal, 16 trees were approved for pruning, and 3 trees were denied for removal.

                     A community engagement survey for Hither Green Park had 60 residents participate, providing feedback to guide the playground tendering and design process.

                     All the benches and tables in Captain Jacobson Park were refurbished.

                     A “Branch Out” event was held on October 26th at Gorge Park. 450 trees were planted at the estuary of Gorge Creek.

                     Another “Branch Out” event was held on November 16th at Gorge Park, with a focus on invasive plant removal at Gorge Creek.

                     The Victoria Rhododendron Society donated 30 hybrid Rhododendrons, which were planted in the Rhododendron walk at Gorge Park.

                     Esquimalt Parks assisted in hosting several community events including: slow pitch tournaments, Esquimalt RibFest and the Esquimalt Farmers Market.

                     Park bookings between September - December 2019:

o                     Saxe Point Park - 83

o                     Esquimalt Gorge Park - 10

o                     Bullen Park - 103

o                     L’Ecole Brodeur - 63

o                     Memorial Park - 3

 

2.                     Recreation Services

 

Marketing & Registration

                     4,285 course registrations were processed during this period, increase from 3,918 last year in the same period.

                     Pass sales are continuing to show a trend in preference compared to the purchase of an annual pass.  Totals as follows:

o                     Annual - 451 (compared to 441 in the same period last year)

§                     198 Adult (compared to 180 in the same period last year)

§                     2 Child (equal to same period last year)

§                     20 Family (compared to 25 in the same period last year)

§                     198 Senior (compared to 202 in the same period last year)

§                     24 Student (compared to 21 in the same period last year)

§                     9 Youth (compared to 11 in the same period last year)

o                     6 Month - 128; increase of 18 from same period last year

o                     3 Month - 339; increase of 12 from same period last year

o                     1 Month - 310; increased from 239 during the same period last year

o                     10 Admission - 717; decrease of 761 during the same period last year

o                     25 Admission - 271; decrease of 2 from same period last year

                     For courses running between September to December, 1,894 of 4,285 registrations and drop-in class reservations were completed by clients through our online registration system.

                     Esquimalt Parks & Recreation social media platforms continue to have a strong following; 4,302 followers on Twitter (up from 4,295 last period), 5,364 on Facebook (up from 5,010 last period) and 1,505 on Instagram (up from 1,408 last period).

 

Fitness

                     Registration for Fitness Programs for Children, Youth and Adults in the third period was 550 people; not including Drop-In’s for registered programs which equalled 260 for a total of 810 registrants. This is consistent with numbers from last year during this period.

                     We implemented new reservable Drop-in Fitness Programs where patrons can reserve up to a month in advance for drop-in Yoga and TRX. Total participants from October 2-December 20 was approximately 1100 people.

                     The Wellness Centre reception desk remodel started in December. Removing the old desk will increase much needed space in our very busy Wellness Centre.

 

Arts, Culture, Social & Special Interest Programs

                     4 new contract instructors began teaching during this time period.

                     5 new volunteers assisted with school-aged art, cooking and sewing classes on a weekly basis.

                     2 new auxiliary staff were hired and trained.

                     Overall registration in this area was very strong this season, with 837 total registrations compared to 730 registrations in this time period last year. The age breakdowns were as follows:

o                     Adults/Seniors - 505 registrations (2019) compared to 410 (2018).

o                     Children/Youth - 215 registrations (2019) compared to 191 (2018).

o                     Preschool - 117 registrations (2019) compared to 129 (2018).

                     New registered programs September to December 2019 included:

o                     School Aged - Paint, Ink & Mixed Media classes

o                     Youth - Glee Club super-senior

o                     Adults & Seniors - Chigiri-e, Art Sketchbooks, Gouache, Japanese, Advanced ASL

o                     Multi-generational - Zero Waste sewing series, Violin

                     22 weekly drop-in social programs for seniors continued during this time period.

                     The Ukulele Club performed in the community 5 times during the season.

                     The drop-in Knitters & Crafters held their annual Christmas Sale in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre on November 22nd  - 23rd.

                     The Music Jam drop-in group hosted their 1st annual Christmas Sing-along, December 23 in the Esquimalt Recreation Centre.

                     The StitchLab hosted their 1st Marketplace event in November, at the Esquimalt Farmers Market Christmas Sale. This new youth leadership opportunity had 10 youth participants.

 

Child, Youth & Family Services

                     OSC is full with 78 children in after school care which is up 20 children from this time last year due to our new licensed space.  Our before school care program is also full with 58 children registered, this is consistent with last years numbers.  Waitlists are being maintained for both before and afterschool care.

                     Esquimalt Licensed Preschool Program was full, with 16 kids in our Mon/Wed, Tue/Thur and Fantastic Fridays Program, which is consistent with our numbers from last year. 

                     Our Nature Preschool, Puddle Jumpers, was full with 16 preschoolers in Saxe Point, which is consistent with our numbers from last year. 

                     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 were involved in basketball, crafts, cooking, playing pool or video games and hanging out with staff and friends.

 

Arena Programs

                     The Lions Skate with Santa was held on Saturday December 14.

                     Our Learn to Skate registration was 87 total participants which increased by an additional 8 participants from last season (79) at this time.

                     Our noon hour Drop-In Hockey continues to average 10-14 participants.

 

Community Development and Events

                     The Celebration of Lights Committee held their 9th annual Cars, Rods and Rides, a Fundraising Event for Celebration of Lights in the parking lot of the Archie Browning Sports Centre on September 7th.  In total, there were approximately 170 entries.

                     The first annual Open Garden Day was hosted by the Esquimalt Community Garden Society on September 14th at the Esquimalt Community Garden.

                     Parks and Recreation operated a portion of the children’s activity area during Rib Fest on Sept 6-8th.  At least 500 families visited this area to participate in the craft and bouncy castle area.

                     Our second Zero Waste Living workshop was held on September 17th with 15 people attending.

                     The 15th Annual Children’s Story Festival was held on Saturday September 21st in Partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL). The weather was wonderful, and attendance was excellent with an estimated 200 children and their parents. This year’s theme was “reach for the stars” and each storyteller brought the theme into their storytelling.

                     The Esquimalt Lions hosted the Halloween Bonfire in the parking lot of Archie Browning Sports Centre. Approximately 900 hot dogs and hot chocolates were given out.

                     On October 4th, the Tour de Rock Riders were welcomed into Esquimalt, outside the Archie Browning Sports Centre.

                     Our annual Seniors Appreciation Day event was held on October 1st. Approximately 70 people attended.

                     The Celebration of Lights parade was held on Sunday, December 8th. 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 people attended the after-parade activities.

                     Esquimalt Parks and Recreation hosted the 6th Annual Christmas Tree Village. In total 36 decorated Christmas Trees were located in the Recreation Centre and the Archie Browning Sports Centre.

                     This year was the 3rd annual Esquimalt Holiday Light-Up Map. 7 submissions were received and the map had over 250 views within the first 3 days.

                     We provided photo opportunities with Santa again this year. Approximately 40 children participated.

                     The Holiday Celebration Lunch was held December 5th with 66 people registered.

                     Our 2nd annual Jolly Jingle Story Mingle was held on December 13th. 15 children with their families attended and enjoyed hot chocolate while watching the performance.

                     We brought back a holiday indoor movie for 2019, and after a tight race through an online poll, “The Polar Express” was chosen to be the movie which was shown on December 7th.

 

Aquatics

                     Swimming lesson participation rose from 749 in 2018 to 871 in 2019.

                     For our contracted swim club program we moved from West Shore Aquatics club, which had 24 registrations in 2018 to Pacific Coast Swimming which had 54 registrations in 2019.

                     Bottom Dwellers Free Diving continues to rent space from us to run training programs at our pool with 6 courses run this Fall up from 3 in the Fall 2018.

                     Water Safety part one and Water Safety part two instructor trainer classes were held in September, from which we hired 4 new staff members.

                     A new “Pool Pod” aquatic lift was purchased and installed. This lift allows patrons to access the main pool directly from an aquatic wheelchair or from a standing position.

 

Facility Bookings and Events

                     759 Contracts were issued for rentals occurring September to December, an increase from last period (635) and consistent with the same period last year (761); with the following breakdown:

o                     Rental contracts for parks - 262. This is an increase from 222 last year.

o                     Rental contracts for the Archie Browning Sports Centre - 384 (covering 2757 bookings); increased from 359 (covering 2392 bookings) last year.

o                     Rental contracts for the Esquimalt Recreation Centre - 290 (covering 1112 bookings) decreased from 297 (covering 1103 bookings) last year.

                     The Archie Browning Sports Centre continued to host the Victoria Cougars Hockey games, Victoria minor hockey league and tournament play, curling leagues and bonspiels, roller derby games, and multiple special event rentals including a New Year’s Eve Celebration.

                     The Esquimalt Recreation Centre continued to be host to the Raven District Girl Guides, First Arbutus Cubs and Scouts, and Pacific Coast Swimming, while also being the venue for the Esquimalt Farmer’s Market Pop-up Markets and Christmas Market, and several arts & crafts and cultural shows.

 

Maintenance

Esquimalt Recreation Centre

                     Maintenance Shutdown period for the pool area was the first two weeks of September and included the following:

o                     Replacement of the second Lifestyle pool high rate sand filter;

o                     Painting and maintenance of the change rooms and pool deck areas;

o                     Repairs were made to the tiles on the pool deck and re-grouting of the change rooms was completed;

o                     Repairs were made to 3 pool pumps;

o                     A number of large valves in the filter room were replaced;

o                     The steamer for the steam room was re-furbished;

o                     The remaining lights on the pool deck were replaced with new LED lights.

                     New LED ring lights have been installed in the atrium

                     Replacement of the DDC controls for heating of the facility, water and pools, while reducing our energy consumption was completed.

                     The facility was decorated for the holiday season, in support of Celebration of Lights.

 

Archie Browning Sports Centre

                     The Curling Ice was installed the week of September 17th.

                     Installation of a second library drop box and shelter, at the curling rink entrance, was completed with assistance from the public works department.

                     Replacement of the flat roof over the curling lounge was completed at the end of December.

                     The facility was decorated for the holiday season in support of Celebration of Lights.

                     A brine leak on the hockey rink floor was repaired with assistance from Cimco Refrigeration.

 

II.                     COMMITTEES

 

                     The Parks and Recreation Committee met on November 6, 2019