The city of Siloam Springs' focus on parks and public spaces is poised to put the city over the national average for Parks and Recreation departments, according to a level of service analysis earlier this month.
Jon Boles, Parks and Recreation Department manager, gave the report of the state of the city's parks before the first Board of Directors meeting this month. The report comes after the board identified enhancing and maintaining the city's parks as a goal for 2017-18.
"The purpose of the level of service analysis was to determine how well the city of Siloam Springs Parks and Recreation Department is meeting the needs of city residents," Boles said.
Boles compared the city's numbers with those of other departments across the nation that serve a city of a similar size and participate in the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).
The city has 48.2 acres of developed park land, or 3.01 acres per 1,000 people, which places the city well under the national average of 9.5 acres of park land per 1,000 people. However, Boles said, the city has 167 acres of undeveloped land, and projects like the Medical Springs park improvements near the library and the City Lake improvements will boost the acreage of the city's developed parks.
Boles' findings indicated that the city is above the national average in parks per resident and below the national average in staff members per resident and operating expenditures per capita.
The findings put an emphasis on the city's partnerships with different organizations that enable Siloam Springs to offer activities and programming that it could not otherwise. Cooperation with the Boys and Girls Club provides a channel for youth sports, after school and summer programming. Partnerships with the Siloam Springs School District and John Brown University provide access to three playgrounds, basketball courts, football and soccer fields, indoor swimming pools, tennis courts, the newly built Futsal fields and facilities for city events.
Boles noted that the city's trails, which have been another focus of the Board of Directors, were not included in the findings.
General News on 03/22/2017