Parks & Recreation

Department Description
The Parks & Recreation Department meets its mission through the provision of the following services:
 

• Acquire, design and construct of parks and facilities
• Maintain facilities to meet increasing usage
• Repair and maintain parks and recreation facilities and equipment
• Protect park property
• Coordinate reservations and scheduling of parks for public, community, private and special events
• Manage and maintain municipal cemeteries
• Manage and maintain a municipal golf course and programs
• Manage and maintain of Zoo Boise
• Manage and maintain Idaho IceWorld
• Provide and operate youth and adult sports and recreation programs
• Provide and operate youth out-of-school, leadership and empowerment programming
• Provide and operate environmental education programs
• Acquisition, management and maintenance of Foothills open space and Ridge to Rivers trails
  
   

Mission Statement
Parks and Recreation's mission is to enhance Boise's quality of life by working in partnership with the community to foster and support citizen well being and community environments.
 

Strengths

• Strong partnerships
• Strong volunteer base
• Youth program demand
• On-line registration
• Zoo Boise
• Balanced, diverse, responsive and flexible system
• Aligned with mission
• Interdepartmental communication
• Vision and planning
• Experienced, professional, committed, dedicated staff
• Customer orientation
• Top rated parks and recreational programming
• Strong public brand
• As an important Economic development tool
• Availability of impact fees to aid in financing capital facilities
• Appropriate level of cost recovery through user fees consistent with Mayor and City Council adopted policies
   

Weaknesses

• Competing for limited resources
• Competition for aquatics programs
• Aging and declining trees
• Lack of community centers
• Insufficient cemetery perpetual care fund
• Accessibility of services in disinvested neighborhoods
• Inadequate youth scholarship funding
• Limited acreage for zoo
• Weather impact to outdoor programs
• Customer service training
• Long term training
• Lack of marketing funds
• Area of impact needs to grow
• Long term sustainability of donations
• Ability to be a major contributor in delivery of services to disinvested neighborhoods
  
  

Opportunities

• Friends of the Park Foundation
• Preservation of natural resource amenities
• Increase drop-in use to the Boise Depot
• Deliver services to neighborhoods via a mobile recreation program
• Increase scholarship revenues
• African Plains exhibit
• Conservation and green educational and resource protection
• Protect wildlife resources
• Joint marketing with other city departments
• Economic value message
• River Recreation Area
• Esther Simplot Park
• Partnering on facilities and programs
• Partnering with faith-based and non-profit organizations such as the YMCA
• To be a major contributor in the reinvestment in disinvested neighborhoods
• To become a leader in “Green” planning, programming , preservation and education
  
  

Threats

• Inability to develop facilities in areas of impact
• Maintain City facilities & parks to current standards due to increased public use and lack of sufficient O&M dollars
• Competition for recreation dollar
• CDBG refocus
• Regional burden for facilities and programs
• Lack of action by other cities to provide services for their own population
• Elimination of Catch Them While They Are Young program
• Competition by cities to the west
• Loss of adult revenue at Idaho IceWorld
• Diseases to the Zoo’s animal collection
• Competition for charitable dollars
• Succession planning
• Costs of parks capital
• Lack of cooperation between the city and county
• Strong competition & duplication for recreational opportunities
• Growing inability to purchase future park sites due to rising property values