HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupplemental Materials - Futures Committee - 08/11/2014 -1
FUTURE ISSUES IMPACTING PARKS
AND RECREATION
CITY COUNCIL FUTURES COMMITTEE
AUGUST 11, 2014
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CHANGES COMING OUR WAY
•Population growth: 155,000 now 250,000 by
2050
•Aging population: 11% (17,000) now 65 or
older, 19% (40,000) will be 65 or older in 2030 but
will decline to 11% by 2060
•Young population: 32% (50,000) now 20 to 34
years old
•More diverse: Nationally Hispanic population
increased four times faster than the general
population from 2000 to 2010
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CHANGES COMING OUR WAY
•Hispanics make up 10% of our population but
this percentage is likely to increase
•The Asian population is also increasing four times
faster than the general population nationally
•Asians make up 3% of our population but this
percentage is likely to increase
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CHANGES COMING OUR WAY
•People with disabilities represent 7% of our
population but this percentage is likely to increase
due to our aging population
•Affluent: Family income in Fort Collins is
$76,000, nationally it’s $65,000
•Poor: 25% of Fort Collins households earn less
than $25,000, transient population on the rise
•Educated: 60% of adults have an associates
degree or higher, nationally it’s 37%
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CHANGES COMING OUR WAY
•Climate Change: May see more flooding,
drought, water shortage, extreme temperatures,
decline in urban forest, insect and disease issues
•Emerald Ash Borer: In Boulder, will be in Fort
Collins within 10 years, kills all untreated ash
trees (8,000 public ash trees up to 80,000 private)
•Technology: hyper-connectivity,
nanotechnology, genetic engineering, longer
lifespans, innovation centers…..
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EMBRACING THE FUTURE
•Build out the park system: 10 new
neighborhood parks and 3 new community parks
funded by capital expansion fees
•Build out the trail system: 31 miles of new trail
with 10 or more underpasses and greater
connectivity to streets, neighborhoods, schools
and businesses
•Build Community/Recreation Centers: One in
the southeast, one at Spring Canyon Park and
one at the future northeast community park, and
complete The Gardens on Spring Creek
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EMBRACING THE FUTURE
•New facilities: special events, regional dog park,
regional sports complex, velo park
•Take care of what we have: focus on
maintenance, repair, renovation of parks, trails
and recreation facilities to keep them in good
shape to handle increasing use
•Improve what we have: listen to our customer’s
changing needs and improve, redesign and
upgrade parks, trails and recreation facilities, e.g.
adventure playgrounds
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•Poudre River: Implement the Downtown River
Plan
•Water conservation: Reduce water use by
increasing native and xeriscaping areas in parks,
upgrading irrigation systems, lining ditches,
utilizing artificial turf, more splash parks
•Water storage: Develop appropriate water
storage to mitigate drought, water shortage
impacts to parks, pools and facilities
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•Utilize Technology: stay current, stay
connected, use social media and its future
iterations, enhance customer experience and
loyalty, upgrade and fully utilize technology for
operational efficiency
•Tailor recreation programs to appeal to distinct
groups: aging, active boomers; singles with kids;
grandparents raising grandkids; minorities
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EMBRACING THE FUTURE
•Focus on wellness: fight obesity, make it easy
to be active and engaged, provide a respite from
hectic, hyper-connected lifestyles
•Access for low-income: use Recreation profit
centers to help subsidize services for low-income
citizens; continue/increase GF subsidies for low-
income programs
•Focus on innovation: idea pods; maker spaces;
explore new technology; connect, share,
collaborate
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•Partnerships: CSU, PSD, Front Range, health
providers, business community, technology
companies, non-profits
•Partnerships: Identify and develop common
interests, equal resource sharing, stop doing if
private sector is meeting the need
•Outsourcing: Outsource to improve service,
reduce cost, lower overhead
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•Park funding: funding to upgrade and improve
existing parks is generally limited to capital
expansion fees from infill development but
additional funding will be needed for the parks to
meet the changing needs of the community and
increased use
•Park funding: funding to maintain, repair and
renovate existing parks will need to increase to
keep the parks in good shape and to deal with
increased use
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•Trail funding: 27 years to build out the trail
system at current funding levels; various options
to increase trail funding have been presented to
Council recently
•KFCG: funds ongoing park maintenance and
recreation services with significant service
reductions if not renewed or replaced
•Donations: donor base is increasing and
diversifying; need to engage donor base to
support key parks and recreation projects
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EMBRACING OUR FUTURE
•STAY NIMBLE: the next 20, 50, 100 years will
bring changes we cannot possibly anticipate but
we can embrace these changes and the
opportunities they present by staying current,
staying connected, and staying nimble