PERIOD REPORT
DATE: May 2, 2016 Report No. P&R-16-003
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Scott Hartman, Director of Parks and Recreation Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Department - 2016 First Period ReportBody
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Parks and Recreation Services Department from January 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Parks Services
• There were 33 tree removal or pruning permit applications submitted. Of these, 31 permits were approved and 2 permits were denied.
• Successful branch out events were held at Highrock Park, Gorge Park and Macaulay Park, with over 100 volunteers assisting in the removal of invasive plants.
• Over 1000 students attended the 4th annual Earth Day event at Highrock Park. Activities included invasive pulling of English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberry, trail building, Garry Oak planting, native plant understory planting, a scavenger hunt, the presence of eleven hungry goats that fed on the invasive plants and ten exhibitors with valuable ecological information.
• A new sidewalk was installed at Memorial Park near the playground.
• Signage was installed around the Gorge Creek estuary as a wildlife protection measure.
• Fraser Park landscape, playgrounds, water spray park and change room designs were completed.
• The Ball fields at Bullen Park are prepped and ready for the season.
• Park Bookings:
o Saxe Point Park - 4 weddings, 2 picnics
o Esquimalt Gorge Park - 2 events, 1 wedding, 2 picnics
o Bullen Park - 91 bookings
o L’Ecole Brodeur - 39 bookings
o Town Square - 1 booking, 1 event
2. Recreation Services
Pass Sales
Membership is up by 144 people over same time period in 2015.
Fitness and Sports
• Personal Training sales are up with 52 packages sold in 2016 from 50 sold in the same time period in 2015.
• A new Fitness Challenge Program was introduced in January called ‘The 60 Day Challenge’. 50 people registered in this small group personal training program.
• Registered Fitness classes continue to show higher registration numbers, registrations grew to 600 this year, up from 349 in the same period in 2015.
• The 2016 Esquimalt 5K held on April 9th was a huge success, with 580 registered in the 5K (up from 516 in 2015) and 135 Kids registered in the 1K Kids Run (up from 80 in 2015)
• We now offer a total of 24 dry land drop-in fitness programs, with 3529 drop-ins during this period.
Aquatics
• Our new water polo program ran with 6 registered participants and two regular drop in participants.
• This Spring break we offered registered private lessons in the morning and afternoon which were all at capacity.
Maintenance
• Painting of doors and frames, family change room and lifeguard station was completed at the Recreation Centre.
• Repairs to lights in the family change room of the Recreation Centre were completed.
• Cleaning of both the hockey and curling barrel roofs was completed.
• Curling ice was removed March 17th after the last bonspiel.
• Hockey ice was removed April 11th after the Cyclone Taylor Cup.
Marketing
• 6,000 Winter/Spring Guides, featuring programs and events for January to June, were distributed throughout our facilities and the community.
• 10,000 Summer Camp Flyers were recently distributed throughout our facilities and the community, including a mail out to residents.
• The online guide copy has seen 13,017 impressions to date.
• Our Twitter profile currently has 3,989 followers (increase of 609 from same time last year). Our Facebook profile currently has 3,299 (increase of 862 from same time last year).
• Esquimalt Parks & Recreation is continuing to expand into other social media platforms including Instagram (640 followers at esqparksandrec - increase of 412 from the same time last year) and You Tube (user/EsquimaltRec).
• The Pool Schedule continues to be the most viewed page on the Municipal Website (apart from homepage) with 24,442 views this year.
• Digital signage has been installed at the Recreation Centre, Sports Centre and Municipal Hall as a promotional and communications tool.
Preschool, Children and Youth Services
• Registration for Out of School Care, for the 2016/17 school year, opened April 11 and was full with a waitlist on day one.
• This Spring Break we offered 2 additional Spring Break Playground Camps, modeled after our Summer Playground camps. They were full running at capacity with 20 kids in each camp plus our Licensed OSC Camp with another 20 kids. In all we were able to provide camps for 60 children.
• Youth Services programs are seeing an average of 19 youth participating in After School “Ravens Club” for Grades 6-8 (at Rockheights School) and 28 youth in Teen Night (at the Recreation Centre) for Grades 9-12.
Arts, Culture, Social & Special Interest Programs
• Our 4th annual Open House, held on January 9, grew in popularity again this year. Demo classes averaged 12 people per class compared to 6 per class in 2015. We received 81 registrations during the event compared to 62 in 2015. The event’s overall atmosphere was friendly & energetic, providing an inviting first impression for new patrons and an excellent venue for instructors, staff and patrons to connect.
• The Gigantic Garage Sale was held on April 23 and sold 120 booths compared to 108 booths in 2015. The Esquimalt Lions Club set up a fundraising concession for the third year in a row. Several other community groups rented booth space to utilize this event as a fundraising opportunity.
• The Creative Arts, Social & Special interest portfolio experienced 770 registrations with 95 courses running during this time period. Some areas of growth to note are:
o Music class participation for the pre-school age group had 62 registrations in 2016 compared to 42 in 2015.
o Creative Arts class participation for school-aged children had 172 registrations in 2016 compared to 125 in 2015.
o Adult Art class participation had 91 registrations in 2016 compared to 63 registrations in 2015.
Community Development and Events
• An estimated 1,000 people attended “Esquimalt Parks & Recreation Family Day” on Saturday, February 6th. This free community event included a bouncy castle, balloons, face painting, crafts, kids carnival games, free dance demo, photo booth, give-aways and swimming. Community partners included the Esquimalt Lions Club who hosted a BBQ by donation; The Ocean 98.5FM; and the Esquimalt Anglers who donated their winnings from the Christmas Tree Village Competition to a free family swim during Family Day.
• The Free Community Tax Clinics, a program developed by the Canada Revenue Agency and run by 3 community volunteers, saw 240 returns this year compared to 198 in 2015.
• The annual Esquimalt Photography Club Spring Photo Show was displayed in the Recreation Centre Atrium during the month of April.
• A Volunteer Appreciation Tea was held on Wednesday April 13 to celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Approximately 50 program and community event volunteers attended the tea which was held in the atrium of the Recreation Centre. Volunteers were treated to free coffee/tea, a light lunch, live music and door prizes.
• The Annual Esquimalt Lions’ Easter Egg Hunt occurred on Sunday March 27. Approximately 800 people participated in an Easter egg hunt, crafts, face painting, balloon twisting and kid’s races.
Archie Browning Sports Centre
• The Archie Browning Sports Centre hosted 7 adult curling bonspiels during this time period.
• The Racquet Club Skating Club hosted their bi-annual Ice Show at Archie Browning Sports Centre on March 19 - 20. We saw approximately 900 people in the building over the two days.
• The “Galactic Roller Disco” was held in the Archie Browning Sports Centre Curling Rink on March 26. There was a sellout crowd of 350 people for this first time private event.
• The Michael Dunahee Keep the Hope Alive Dance was held in the curling rink on April 1. 800 people attended this fundraiser for Child Find BC.
• Gorge Soccer Association held their annual awards banquet in the Curling rink on April 14 with 450 soccer players and their families in attendance.
Arena Programs
• For the first time in many years we were able to provide a series of School Skating Lessons for the entire Selkirk Montessori School. It was a series of 6 weeks seeing over 100 students.
• The Coast Capital Free Skate and Spring Thaw took place on Saturday April 2 with 86 people dropping in to say good-bye to the ice until August.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee did not meet during the First Period.