Consultant Analyzes Community for Open Space Master Plan

By the end of June, an Open Space and Recreation Master Plan will be created to address wants and needs from the community on parks, open space and programs offered by the Parks and Recreation Department.    

An update on information gathered so far to get to that end goal was presented, April 19, at a public meeting held in the Lake Zurich Police Department’s community room.

The meeting was attended by the Parks and Recreation Board, and seven residents, who shared thoughts and gave their input on what direction the final plan will take.

Included in the presentation were results of a recently conducted needs assessment, where information was gathered through community phone surveys, focus groups, benchmark studies and other information gathering initiatives. 

The data was gathered by Norris Design, the firm hired to formulate the plan, and addressed wants and needs voiced by the community and deficits and strengths of current offerings, facilities and amenities.

“We are here to evaluate current and future needs of the community by assessing park and recreation resources, we have also determined what assets are valued by residents,” said Karen Ryan of Norris Design.

Parks Have Many Challenges

There were over a dozen major challenges perceived by the community.  They included (in order of importance) the fact that athletic fields are already at capacity, public access to Lake Zurich needs to be improved, and the high level of maintenance required at the 32 parks in the village.

Older park and recreation facilities, the lack of programs for older children, and the need for a community center and indoor program space were also communicated as concerns from residents.

Norris Design also stated that survey input showed there was a desire for an indoor pool.

“I am perplexed in hearing that the community wants an indoor pool; we have the Foglia YMCA and I just don’t think that particular want is representative of the entire community,” said Maureen Degen, resident.

Another resident agreed that the number and type of programs offered do need a ‘freshen up.’

“My family and I have been involved with programs offered by the Parks and Recreation Department for the last eight years, and we don’t really notice any new options,” said Sue Trackner, resident.

What are valued as strengths by residents were ranked; they consisted of accessibility and connectivity to parks, well run baseball programs, beaches, diversity and location of parks and a strong sense of community.

Lake Zurich itself was listed as a strength, as well as new playgrounds being ‘jewels’ of the community, the fact there is open space and natural areas, as well as Paulus Park, Kids Kingdom and the lake and mature trees in the village.

The survey determined the most used parks are Paulus Park, Breezewald Park and Old Mill Grove Park.

The study determined that the largest percentage of the village population is in the five to 14 year age range and individuals aged 45 to 54.

“The community is growing in the baby boomer range, as well as young children, and those statistics must be considered as we look at program and service trends as we go forward,” said Ryan.

That could mean focusing on improving programs and services aimed at these growing population groups so larger numbers of individuals have sufficient offerings to meet needs and wants.  

“This is a mature community; it is good in a sense because it helps us understand needs, but it is a stagnant tax base, and there is no anticipated substantial growth,” said Ryan.

Partnering with Other Communities

The suggestion put forth by Ryan was for the village to partner with surrounding areas to be able to provide more to those who want to participate in park and recreation programs.

“Looking at forming partnerships or pooling resources with Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Deer Park and even North Barrington may be beneficial to widen the scope of what the department can do,” said Ryan.

“There is more of a demand for services than a willingness to pay for them, so that is why partnerships could be a viable option,” Ryan added.

Norris Design determined the village is a family-based community, with an average household consisting of 3.11 people; 55.2 percent of households have children. More than 50 percent of residents have a bachelors degree or higher. The community was also determined to have an 86 percent usage rate of programs, services and amenities provided by the parks and recreation department, compared to the national average of 28 percent.

“This information confirms the need for more programs and services based on the type of community it is,” said Ryan.

Opportunities identified by the community were to ‘activate’ the lake and the downtown area, and improve maintenance at Old Mill Grove Park.  Other opportunities were to create initiatives to encourage community and volunteer involvement in the parks and recreation programs and the potential for gradual increases in fees to make needed improvements.

Community priorities identified were to have trails in the village better connected, increased communications on the village website, finding a use for abandoned buildings and maintaining cleaner restrooms.

A strong majority of residents, 68 percent, stated they did not want any park land sold to provide funding for future improvements or programs.   

Teens Tell What They Want

The student council at Lake Zurich High School was also approached by Norris Design, to determine what young people wanted to see changed or improved relating to parks and recreation offerings.

“This population has a wide variety of interests in sports and non-sports programs; the most used amenties are the skate park, sledding hill, bike paths and tennis courts at Paulus Park,” said Ryan.

Desired programs for teens included more special events, a climbing wall, disc golf, concerts and videogame tournaments.

New additions desired by 47 percent of the community for all age groups were more special events, followed by adult fitness and wellness and youth programs.

Improvements named included improvement of existing facilities such as restrooms, picnic shelters, and drinking fountains.  The addition of more walking and biking trails was also identified by public input.

Trying to Do More With Less

Taking into account the lack of new funding for additions and improvements, and that close to 70 percent of residents do not want park land sold to find new dollars, Ryan said another question was asked of the community.

“When residents were asked if they would support parks and recreation growth by paying more for programs and services, 41 percent said yes, 23 percent said they were not sure and 35 percent said no.

Benchmarking analysis was also conducted that compared Lake Zurich to other neighboring villages, but a potential lack of comparability was identified by one resident.

“Isn’t it difficult to compare Lake Zurich’s Department of Parks and Recreation to other towns who have a separate park district that is a separate taxing body?” Karen Courtland asked.

Ryan said the study identified as closely as possible how the village ranked to neighboring areas.

The analysis compared park maintenance budgets in Palatine, Wauconda, Vernon Hills, Lake Zurich, Cary, Mundelein and Crystal Lake.

Palatine has the highest maintenance budget, with $3,951 per acre, Wauconda followed closely with $3,912 and Vernon Hills ranked third at $2,282. 

Lake Zurich placed fourth, with $1,412 maintenance dollars devoted per acre of park property, followed by Cary, Mundelein and Crystal Lake (in order).

“There has been a 31 percent decline in funding for the parks and recreation department over the last few years; you are right at that tipping point where you won’t be able to keep providing more with less,” said Ryan.

“We’ve worked very hard to do more with less,” said Mike Perkins, parks and recreation director.

Community input efforts included public forums, focus groups and public meetings, community surveys of users and non-users, youth focus groups and stakeholder interviews with staff, elected officials and advisory board members.

Ryan said the next steps are to develop recommendations by May, and to have a draft master plan and presentation tentatively on May 31.  The final plan and presentation to the village board is expected to be in late June.

“Now we are going to make recommendations and develop an action plan,” said Ryan.

To view the entire presentation made by Norris Design, go to the Parks and Recreation website  and click on Open Space and Recreation Master Plan.