A Walk in the Park Monthly Report - February 2023

A Letter from the Director

I am so excited to serve as the Interim Director of Johnson City Parks & Recreation. I have had the pleasure of being a part of this incredible team for the past year and a half as the Assistant Director overseeing Recreation Services, Senior Services, and Promotions and Special Events. I’m looking forward to working alongside the entire department as we explore new programming opportunities, develop partnerships for creative collaboration and evaluate our community parks and facilities.

The Johnson City Parks & Recreation Department strives to promote passive and active recreational services, parks and facilities that enrich the lives of all residents and promote opportunities for healthy lifestyles for everyone in the community. The Parks & Recreation team takes great pride in providing quality programs and maintaining the best recreation centers, parks and athletic facilities.

It is our privilege to serve the citizens of this beautiful community and hope visitors to our City can also enjoy our wide variety of programs and facilities. We welcome your feedback and input. If you have any information to share or any concerns, please feel free to contact me.

We hope you take the time to enjoy Johnson City’s beautiful parks and facilities and our wide variety of programs. We look forward to seeing you and your family PLAY. ALL. OUT.!!

April Norris, CPRP Interim Director

Johnson City Parks & Recreation

Administration

Staffing Updates:

James Ellis, former Director, retired from Parks and Recreation February 28, 2023. April Norris, former Assistant Director, has been named Interim Parks and Recreation Director until interviews for the permanent Director position are held after the start of the new budget year.

Events:

A Job Fair was held on February 20 at Memorial Park Community Center for upcoming temporary and seasonal positions throughout the department.

Notable Items:

FY24 Budget requests were completed and submitted in preparation for Budget hearings with City Management and Budget departments

Youth Basketball

End of season tournaments finished in late February

700 participants registered

Youth Girls Volleyball

Registration open throughout February

Practices beginning in March

217 participants registered

Youth Spring Soccer

Registration open February 1 - March 4

Practices beginning in March

1100 participants registered in February

Adult Basketball

12 Teams finishing up the season in early March

League Participants

League Teams

Golf

Total Revenue:

February 2022 - $38,137.65

February 2023 - $46,173.04

Total increase in revenue Feb. 2022 vs. Feb. 2023: 21.07%

March Focus:

First Tee Program

Men's Traveling Senior League

Rounds Summary

Park Services

Notable Projects

Winged Deer Park Farmhouse Renovation: Female inmates and Dave Younce's crew have been painting and had new windows installed. The architect provided blueprints to bring the building up to ADA requirements Field lighting and scoreboards were checked for the upcoming season with bulbs being replaced at Winged Deer Park Softball fields and Pete Zannis Tennis Center.

Broken water lines were repaired at Kermit Tipton Stadium, TVA Credit Union Ballpark, and Roller Restrooms. Remaining restrooms that were still winterized were checked for leaks and prepared to be de-winterized

Mowing

No mowing was done in February as grass was still dormant for most of the month.

Volunteer and Inmate Work Hours:

Male inmates worked 8 hours every Wednesday for a total of 32 hours for the month of February

Female inmates worked on painting park restrooms and Winged Deer Park Farmhouse for a total of 128 hours in February.

Highlight of the month:

2 weekend tournaments were successfully prepared for and completed.

Going Forward:

Winged Deer Park Farmhouse: Priority is to finish upstairs offices and restrooms. Additionally, downstairs demolition per ADA blueprints and cosmetic work on the exterior are planned Ball field preparation for opening of the fields to be completed first week of March. Mowing of the fields and common areas are set to begin as well. Cleaning crews will ramp up preparation of bathrooms for opening. Rotary Park: cleaning and freshening for beginning of pavilion rental s and long-term prep for splash pad opening will be completed in March.

Promotions & Events

Special Events

The 2023 Daddy Daughter Dance was held Saturday, February 4 with approximately 750 in attendance The Promotions & Events division partnered with the Memorial Park Recreation and Senior Services team to plan and execute this event. Promotions & Events concentrated on the logistics, marketing, and overall event execution for this dance.

Promotions

Social Media Analytics - Feb. 1-28:

Facebook Posts: 27

Instagram Posts: 25

Twitter Posts: 23

Facebook Events: 2

Top performing posts: Langston Movie Night and Johnson City Spring Break Camp Registration

Facebook and Instagram Reach - Feb. 1-28

Digital February Fun Guide Analytics: Reads: 108

Impressions: 317

Items created in Canva: 81 New connections made: WCYB, Johnson City Schools Monthly Newsletter

Facebook and Instagram Audience - Feb. 1-28

March Focus: Hiring Recreation Generalist position, Summer Camp Guide, Monthly Report, Internal Newsletter, Employee Appreciation Program, Johnson City Day of Service Event.

Senior Services

SeniorServiceshosted2largeeventsinthemonthofFebruary- TheCupid'sShuffleDanceandTheTide Concertwithacombinedattendanceof251forbothevents.

VolunteerNumbers

RegisteredVolunteers:222

ParticipatingVolunteers:107

TotalVolunteerHours:699

TotalFeb 2022VolunteerHours:283

TotalincreaseFeb.2022toFeb.2023=146.9%

TotalPrograms/Events:480

TotalParticipants(Ages50+only):1,699

NewMembers:110

MarchFocus:

SpringForwardforSeniors,PickleballMixersprogramwillprovideanopportunitytogettoknowother pickleballplayers,andconnectionwithETSUNursinginpartnershipforacommunityHealthFair.

Recreation Services - Aquatics

Special Events and Programs

The Aquatics team partnered with the Memorial Park Community Center Recreation Services staff to host a Valentine's Swim and Cookie Making event in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Staffing

With the approach of the spring and summer seasons, the Aquatics team is looking to bring on seasonal and part-time lifeguard staff to cover all aquatics areas with a concentration on Legion Street Pool

Maintenance Paint was ordered to update the Legion Street Outdoor Pool area to be completed before the start of season in May. Plans are being made to fill the pool by early April to make sure there is adequate time to repair any issues that may arise due to heavy freezes over the winter before the start of season

Number of Participants

Recreation Services

Carver Recreation Center

Programs and Events

In February, Carver Recreation Center partnered with Langston Centre to provide the community with multiple programs and events in honor of Black History Month including a Black History & Taste of the Community exhibition which showcased local Black leaders throughout the community. Carver Recreation Center also hosted a Kid's Valentine's Day Party as a special treat for participants of the Afterschool Program.

Programming Participation

4.4%

Recreation Services

Memorial Park Community Center

Special Events

Memorial Park Community Center Recreation Services staff held one of the largest special events of the year in February: The 9th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance. Recreation Services staff partnered with Senior Services staff, Promotions and Events staff, and Aquatics staff to bring this event to life with a total of around 750 in attendance.

Programming

In partnership with the ETSU E-Sports Team, the first ever Mario Kart E-Sports Tournament was hosted at the ETSU Gaming Center This program received lots of positive feedback and requests for additional E-Sports Tournament opportunities in the future. The MPCC Recreation Services team also hosted several new programs including a Glow-in-the-Dark Nerf War, Basics of Bread Making Course, and Basic Coding for Kids.

Therapeutic Recreation

Several events and programs outside of normal Therapeutic Recreation programming were conducted including a Cards and Cookies Valentine's Party and Kid's Cooking Series in partnership with UT Extension Services.

Programming Participation

Recreation Services - Nature

Special Events

Recreation Services Nature department held the annual Nature's Garden Seed Swap and Share event at Memorial Park Community Center. This event includes native, heirloom, and veggie seed swapping, numerous exhibits, and guest speaker, Ashley Kite with the Tennessee Urban and Community Forestry Partnership. The Seed Swap is a partnership between Johnson City Parks and Recreation, Boone Watershed Partnership, Build It Up East TN, Wild Ones, Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, Sierra Club, UT Extension Institute of Agriculture, eBird, HERBalachia, iNaturalist, Tennessee Urban Forestry Council, Tennessee Naturalist, NETMGA, Southern Appalachia Plant Society, Certified Wildlife Habitat, Carver Peace Gardens, ETSU Biosciences, Elizabethton Bird Club, Jacob's Nature Park at Sinking Creek, Friends of Steele Creek Park, TN Department of Agriculture Forestry Division, and Keep Carter County Beautiful.

Programming

In February, the Nature team also hosted Co-Existing with Snakes programming with multiple sessions available for participation at Memorial Park Community Center to aid in the learning and understanding of factual occurrences of snakebites in our region.

Volunteers

Total Volunteer Hours Feb. 2023: 177.5

Recreation Services The Langston Centre

Special Events

The Langston Centre partnered with Carver Recreation Center to provide the community with multiple programs in honor of Black History month. Langston also partnered with The Heritage Alliance of Northeast TN and Southwest VA and ETSU to hold Black History Trivia Night and a Movie & Community Discussion surrounding the movie, American Experience: The Murder of Emmett Till.

Staffing

Lawren Smith, former Office Assistant, was promoted to the open Program Coordinator position.

March Focus:

In March, Langston will focus on bringing increased programming opportunities to the community with a concentration on Women's History Month, and creating Summer Camp theme concepts.

Ridge Runner of the Month

January 2023

Deb Fogle

Senior Services Manager

Deb has kept fitness programs going at Johnson City Senior Center for the past 9 months without a full-time Fitness Coordinator in addition to her duties as manager. She's tireless!

February 2023

Andrea Zanotti

Athletic Coordinator

Andrea doubled up on her duties while her department was minus one full-time employee along with training of new employees, and worked Saturdays and late evenings to help with Athletic programs.