Our Opinion: Parks agency asks users to comment

The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department would like more feedback from the thousands of people who used its facilities last year.

Brad Bates, president of the board that governs the agency, delivered the annual report for a period extending from 2014-15 during a joint meeting with the City Council.

The report, which included numerous statistics, was the basis for Bates' observations about what has been accomplished and what challenges remain.

To address those challenges, Bates invites input from people who used parks' facilities 546,236 times during the period covered in the report.

He offered his own assessment when he said: "I think our Parks Department people do a fantastic job delivering the facilities and programming our citizens want based on the budget we have in place for a relatively small city."

Bates cited progress on the multipurpose center, greenway expansion and acquisition of Green Berry Acres among recent highlights.

But he also acknowledged challenges. "However," he said, "with ever increasing costs of doing business, a continually aging infrastructure, heavy use and stagnant economy, stewardship of our city's many parks and recreation facilities remains a challenge."

City residents have helped the agency meet challenges by approving a dedicated half-cent sales tax. For the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2014, the report listed revenues of $4,874,018 from sales and other user taxes, $1,812,254 in charges for services and $129,406 in investment earnings.

Among expenses are the salaries for 46 full-time and 40-part-time workers who maintain facilities - including a golf course, aquatic center and ice arena - on 1,400-plus acres of property.

In short, the municipal parks agency is a $7 million-plus annual enterprise that maintains recreational facilities and sponsors activities, which touch the lives of nearly every Jefferson City resident in some way.

Agency officials want to hear from you, the parks users and program participants. Help chart the future direction of parks and recreation, which play an integral role in a community's quality of life.