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Community Input Sought Through Needs Assessment Process
Posted: 6/15/2010
During the month of June, Lindenhurst Park District will formally be seeking public input about future programming and added facilities through a Needs Assessment Survey and, during the summer, periodic announced in advance, informal gatherings to discuss and meet with Park District staff and Park Board Members. The last time a formal survey was done by the Park District was 2004.
Leisure Vision of Olathe, Kansas, will administer the survey through a combination of mail and phone. They will complete a sampling of 400 households with 300 of the completed surveys being from residents of Lindenhurst Park District and 100 from outside of the Park District.
Overall results for the entire sampling of 400 households will have a 95% level of confidence with a margin of error of +/- 10% overall.
Approximately 10 days after the surveys are mailed out, extensive phone follow-up is conducted either to encourage completion of the mailed survey or to administer the survey by phone. This approach allows the Park District to target specific demographic groups that may not have responded to the mailed survey to ensure that the demographic distribution of the sample matches the actual composition of the community.
The main reasons for doing this is that time and people change, and the Park District is currently in the last year of its Five (5) Year Master Plan for Parks, Recreation and Open Space. Soon, the process of developing a new Five (5) Year Master Plan (2011-2015) will be implemented and public input is essential!
The biggest reason for public input is that Park District officials are contemplating constructing Phase III of the Community Center, minus the proposed aquatic facility portion.
Phase III would include additional programming and rental space and improving existing programming amenities.
Public input to determine the type of programming and needs is essential if the Park District is to move forward with this expansion.
Funding for this would be through alternate revenue, such as through programs and rentals. That is why public input is essential so that the Park District program offerings are what people want and to fill program space consistently.
Other alternate revenue is through various grants. Also, the Park District would like to take advantage of financing this Phase III through federally funded ?Build America Bonds?. The program allows local governments to issue debt and receive an interest subsidy from the Treasury that equals 35% of the interest cost. By applying the 35% subsidy to the debt payment, it results in a savings to the Park District. However, this program only remains in effect through the end of 2010.
It is the Park District?s hope to take advantage of the lower cost of building, the low municipal interest rate environment along with the savings achieved under the ARRA Build American Program, to complete the expansion (Phase III) of our Community Center.
This project will not be funded through referendum, rather alternate revenue as mentioned previously.
Phase III of the Community Center could include those programming rooms mentioned and planned for years. It would include, and not limited to, a larger senior/adult multi-purpose room with adjacent full kitchen for enhanced programming and rentals, additional dance space, before and after school space, complete gymnasium level
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2009 Community Service Award presented to State Bank of The Lakes
Posted: 3/15/2010
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