A survey designed to provide guidance and direction for City of Yakima parks facilities and recreation programs over the next decade will be officially closed on Friday, September 30th. That will be the last day community members will have the opportunity to fill out the surveys that were sent to their homes and mail them back to the City’s Parks & Recreation Division office.
A printed version of the 2016 Yakima Parks & Recreation Community Survey was sent to 4500 randomly-selected households throughout the city earlier this summer. The results of the survey are part of the information that will ultimately be used to update the Parks and Recreation Division’s Comprehensive Plan.
“The comprehensive plan helps us determine how best to use our resources to provide the kinds of facilities and programs that the community wants most,” said Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkinson. “The survey is an excellent way to gather feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, that will lead us to craft a plan that will serve us well for the next ten years,” said Wilkinson.
The survey includes approximately 50 questions and, according to Wilkinson, should take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. The four-page survey asks participants to provide information ranging from basic demographic data to when, why, and how they use City parks. The survey also provides the opportunity for parks facilities and recreation programs to be rated, for Parks and Recreation Division customer service to be evaluated, and for new ideas to be shared.
“We’re confident that the survey will give us a broad perspective about how the community feels when it comes to parks and recreation,” said Wilkinson. “That’s information that is absolutely invaluable to us and we make decisions that will affect how we spend taxpayer dollars in the next decade.”
An online version of the survey, which can be found by clicking on the following link – https://yakimaparks.com/2016-community-survey/2016-community-survey, will be available until the end of this year. The information gathered through the online version of the survey will factor into the planning process for future parks facilities and recreation programs, but will not be referenced in a report the Parks & Recreation Division will make to the community.
Wilkinson expects work on revising the Parks and Recreation Division Comprehensive Plan to be completed early next year.