Roseville Review I Parks and recreation survey hits the streets Page 1 of 2
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<br /> Tuesday,April 26,2011
<br /> Parks and recreation survey hits the streets
<br /> Alex Holmquist
<br /> Review staff
<br /> Tuesday,April 26,2011
<br /> The city of Roseville needs your help to determine the future of its parks and recreation system.
<br /> A statistically valid community survey is currently being conducted to gauge support for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and to establish priorities
<br /> for future improvement of community parks and recreation facilities, programs and services.
<br /> The survey was sent out to 1,500 randomly selected Roseville residents,who would have likely received it sometime last week. It only takes between
<br /> 10 and 15 minutes to complete,said Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Jason Etten, and he encouraged residents to fill it out and send it back.
<br /> "It will be crucial to how we move forward with the implementation process,"Etten said.
<br /> The total cost for the survey is$21,000 to be paid for out of the$50,000 master plan implementation budget that was approved by the city council in
<br /> January.
<br /> At the April 18 city council meeting, Etten gave an overview of the survey,which is being conducted through a market research firm called Leisure
<br /> Vision.
<br /> Leisure Vision tested the survey on a small group of Roseville residents by phone before it was mailed out to make sure there didn't seem to be any
<br /> problems with it.
<br /> As part of the survey,the city was divided into four sectors,with Snelling Avenue serving at the east/west divider line and Hwy.36 serving at the
<br /> north/south divider line. Leisure Vision has guaranteed 600 responses, and will make followup phone calls if necessary to ensure that the four sectors
<br /> are equally represented.
<br /> Etten said preliminary results of the survey will be received by May 9,just in time for the May 11 community implementation team meeting to be held at
<br /> 7 p.m. in the Rose Room of the Roseville Skating Center.At that meeting, the preliminary results of the survey will be announced, and future plans for
<br /> the implementation process will be discussed.
<br /> Etten said he expects more finalized results of the survey to be announced in June.
<br /> A much-needed update
<br /> Roseville's original Parks and Recreation Master Plan was written more than 50 years ago, and much of the city's current parks and recreation system
<br /> was constructed soon after. Now,the system is in need of changes.
<br /> In November, the Roseville City Council adopted the new Parks and Recreation Master Plan,which provides a framework for the long-term future of
<br /> Roseville's parks, recreation programs and facilities. The plan guides investments in the parks and recreation system for the next 20 years, and even
<br /> provides direction for the system after that.
<br /> Today, at least 280,000 people are involved in more than 1,860 parks and recreation programs,services and events each year, and that number will
<br /> likely continue to grow.The new,fully comprehensive plan will allow Roseville to maintain many of its programs and services. Roseville currently has
<br /> 679 acres of parkland, 30 parks, numerous facilities and many other opportunities for recreation.
<br /> Now, city officials and citizens are working together on the implementation process.
<br /> Etten and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Randall Doneen provided an update on the Master Plan implementation process at the April 18 city
<br /> council meeting.
<br /> The implementation team,which currently consist of of about 100 citizens, is broken down into five work groups:financing and communications, natural
<br /> resources and trails, implementation partners, constellation representatives, and community organizations and facilities.
<br /> This month,the groups are meeting individually to familiarize themselves with the new Master Plan and gather information on their group's particular
<br /> focus.
<br /> Doneen,who leads the natural resources and trails work group,said his team aims to communicate effectively with the community and develop
<br /> priorities for Roseville's natural resources and trails.They're off to a great start, he added.
<br /> "I was really impressed with the interest,experience and expertise of the citizen members in the natural resource work group,"Doneen said.
<br /> Parks and Recreation Director Lonnie Brokke also addressed the council at the April 18 meeting, and said he'd like to thank Etten and everyone else
<br /> who has been involved in the Master Plan updating process.
<br /> http://rosevillereview.com/print.asp?ArticleID=5893&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=295 4/28/2011
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