The Owensboro Parks and Recreation Department garnered a relatively high level of favorability from the public in a Master Plan survey, but residents expressed a desire for more programming for all ages, more trails, and more ways to connect with the department.
The survey was conducted in partnership with BerryDunn, with 284 people submitting answers. Participants were a mix of randomly selected households, sourced from a third party, and open polling from community members.
Teresa Jackson and Elsa Fischer from BerryDunn said that the overall satisfaction of the parks is 4.1 out of 5, while programs and operations is a 3.4.
Those surveyed indicated that over the next 5-10 years the parks should improve on the amount of walking trails and pathways (74% of some support), accessibility for ADA pathways and trails within parks (63%), and adding more greenspaces (61%).
They indicated the Parkes Department should increase programs for older residents (78%), fitness and wellness programs (74%), and sports and recreation programs for kids (65%).
Fischer noted that while the youth (ages 6-12) make up 24.8% of the population, they account for 94% of the targeted programming.
“If you recall the survey responses, the top type of program that people were looking for the department to provide is more senior programs,” Fischer said.
In 2022-23, the department hosted 134 programs across the board with 54% of the programs being focused around ice, 30% around aquatics, 7% on sports, 7% on camps, and 2% on golf. They reported that enrollment for all the programs amounted to 2,086 people, broken down as follows:
- 48% sports
- 22% camps
- 21% ice
- 7% aquatics
- 2% golf
Poll takers were also asked to show how would they split the funding if they had $100 to allocate across different programming. Fischer reported that the most “money” was allocated to building trails and pathways in parks and developing the Adkisson Greenbelt — averaging $13.15.
“[That was] followed by pickleball. We know there are a lot of players in the community that are very interested in pickleball, and you can see on the open survey that the pickleball players certainly participated and made it known that that was a high priority for them when it comes to making improvements,” Fischer said.
When it came to the areas that the department could grow in, Fischer reported that 54% of those surveyed said improved communication. In second and third place were additional facilities and amenities (49%) and additional lighting within parks, trails, and facilities (43%).
Regarding the functional use of the properties in Owensboro, Jackson said there are no facilities or amenities that they recommend be removed. Fischer added that the community indicated they content with the parks, but the trail has opportunities for improvement.
“That trail piece keeps rising to the top, whether we ask them about how they want to spend money, or we ask them about the importance, the trail piece keeps surfacing,” she said. “You do have a number of miles of trails in the system, so I just think that speaks to your community appreciates those, maybe more so since COVID, and they want to see that continue to grow.”
