10. PRSR 08.14.2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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els MEMO city of eagan TO: Ken Vraa,Director of Parks and Recreation CC: Paul Olson, Superintendent of Parks Jeff Asfahl, Superintendent of Recreation Cherryl Mesko, Office Manager FROM: Beth Wielde,Research and Special Projects,Parks & Recreation DATE: June 26,2002 (Revised June 28,2002 to add additional data) SUBJECT: Alternative Funding Sources Survey Findings In May of 2002, staff identified the need to study alternative funding methods as financial support for the Park Site Fund decreases as development slows down. In response to the issues discussed in the May 17 memo, staff distributed a survey to identify how other cities are applying alternative funding sources for their parks and recreation projects/programs. Survey findings are presented in three sections: I. Methodology- discussing who was contacted, and survey return rate. II. Generalized Survey Findings-A summary analysis of the survey returns. Delineates trends in responses and clusters "like"answers for information brevity. III. Individual Results- Each response recorded verbatim or paraphrased. These are important to examine as they discuss individual practices in each municipality. PART I: METHODOLOGY Cities were selected at random based on their proximity to major metropolitan areas, or status of major metropolitan area. Surveys were sent to cities of or surrounding San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Providence, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Washington DC, Boston, Detroit, St. Louis, Newark,New York City, Cleveland, Portland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,Dallas, Forth Worth, Seattle, Milwaukee, Fargo, and New Orleans. Surveys were also distributed to cities surrounding Minneapolis/ St. Paul for a more local viewpoint to alternative funding sources. Cities were contacted for the survey with limited knowledge of their populations, economic base, or primary industry. The intent was to get a sample from a diverse array of populations. Ideas from small towns could be adapted and applied to larger cities, and vise-verse. Parks and Recreation staff were asked to fill in a questionnaire and return the form by late June of 2002. The survey was conducted in two parts, first, looking at alternative funding sources on a national level,then locally. 117 surveys were distributed to cities around the U.S., with 15 respondents, a 12.8% return. 48 surveys were distributed in the Twin Cities metro area. As of June 25, 19 cities had responded, a 39.6%return. Overall,the return rate was 20.6%.