2010-252A (11) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Comprehensive Plan Recreation and Open Space Element the need for new recreational programs, the Recreation Department should conduct a survey of the existing recreation facility users, as well as a random survey of the entire unincorporated county population, by 2011. The results of this survey should be used to plan future capital projects and recreation programs. In Indian River County, there are some user groups that utilize county park and recreational facilities on a long-term basis. Currently, there are no formalized agreements with most of those long term user groups. While many of these user groups provide programs important to the community, there is a potential for some small groups to obtain exclusive use of park areas at certain times, thereby limiting public use of those areas. To better serve the county's population, the county should establish a new policy requiring that the recreation department enter into multi-year contracts with the long term user groups utilizing the county's park and recreational facilities. Currently, the recreation department's reservation system requires clients signing up for recreation programs or reserving park facilities to make reservations in person at the recreation department or at the park office. By developing a web based automated system which allows users to reserve park facilities or to sign up for recreational programs online, the recreation department could increase the efficiency of the parks and recreation program reservation system. For that reason, a new policy, requiring development of the web based reservation and recreation program sign up system, should be adopted. Within the county, there are some special events that impact more than one jurisdiction. Consequently, a new policy should be established to require that the county, when appropriate, enter into agreements with municipalities for county -wide programs and for special events that impact other jurisdictions. Adequate Facilities Generally, park areas should consist of facilities that are appropriate for the intended population to be served. As a guide, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has established park and recreation standards to be used as: • a national expression of minimum acceptable facilities for the citizens of urban and rural communities • guidance to determine land requirements for various kinds of parkland recreation areas and facilities • a basis for relating recreational needs to spatial analysis within a community -wide system of parks and open space areas • a means to justify the need for parks and open space within the overall land -use pattern of a region or community The purpose of these guidelines is to present park and recreation space standards that are applicable nationwide for planning, acquiring, and developing park, recreation, and open space lands. These standards should be viewed as guidelines and should be interpreted according to the particular situation to which they are applied and specific local needs. Since each locality has different Community Development Department Indian River County 38