Tigard Park System Master Plan - City of Tigard

TIGARD PARK SYSTEM MASTER PLAN UPDATEInitiating a Recreation ProgramThe primary recommendation is to start small and grow the programbased on existing providers in the community. City-developed classes andprograms should be used to fill in gaps only where a willing instructor orexisting provider cannot be found. During the plan update process, theconsultant team interviewed directors of six park and recreation agencieswith small but effective recreation programs.In nearly every case of an agency setting out to establish a recreationprogram, the first step is to fill one staff position for the coordination ofthe program. This position ideally would attract a recreation professionalwith 1-2 years of experience. The first task of the recreation coordinatorwould be to gather information about the existing programs offered by orsupported by the City and consolidate the marketing information for eachinto a regularly published (sometimes twice a year but most oftenquarterly) recreation guide. To make the best use of limited resources, thecoordinator should use online services and existing City distribution ofmaterials, such as the newsletter, rather than printing a new stand-alonepublication. The coordinator should also move quickly to centralize theregistration and payment for participants in order to make the process assmooth as possible.Once a registration system (either in-house or one of a variety ofcontracted online solutions) and publishing cycle has been established,the recreation coordinator can begin to expand on the existing offeringsby bringing outside providers into the recreation guide. In exchange formarketing and registration services for their classes, these providers wouldagree to conform to the standard policies of the recreation program and a20%-30% registration fee for these services. These providers could rangefrom an environmental day-camp for two weeks in a city park to arecurring yoga class offered at a private studio or public building.Typically, if the necessary facilities are provided by the instructor and theprogram requires little City assistance, the registration fee will be at thelower end of this scale. In cases where the City assists the provider infinding space, or furnishes space in park facilities, the registration feepercentage would increase.City developed and sponsored programs, particularly those that requirethe City to hire paid part-time or full-time staff, should be carefullyexamined prior to authorization to ensure the program meets an identifiedneed and can provide a measurable benefit that is in line with the visionand goals of the park and recreation system. Because some programs arenot able to recover the entire cost of providing them, clear expectations80 CHAPTER 7 IMPLEMENTATION