Title
Presentation and Possible Approval of the Community Services Department Integrated Master Plan
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve the Community Services Department Integrated Master Plan.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the Community Services Department Integrated Master Plan as presented in Attachment A.
Board, Commission or Committee Recommendation
The CSD Integrated Master Plan was presented to the Library Board for discussion and to the Parks and Recreation Board (PRB) for discussion and recommendation to approve to County Council. PRB by action recommends that County Council approve the Integrated Master Plan as presented.
Body
The Community Services Department (CSD) recognized a need to update the 2005 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and create a plan for deferred maintenance of assets. Since the department oversees multiple divisions that contribute to the physical, mental and economic health of the community, it was very important to look at opportunities to integrate programs, services, and offerings across the department. This integration supports operational excellence through better community communications, providing complimentary services at all offerings, developing a long term maintenance plan, looking at the level of service, and aligning programming with community needs and trends. An additional benefit is CSD has not developed a comprehensive list of maintenance, renovation, or new amenities for prioritizing work, budget development or planning. This plan is recognized as a best practice for agencies and is a key foundation component for the accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).
The contractor started the process with a review of approximately nineteen plans, procedures, assessments, surveys, and Strategic Leadership Plans in the County that directly or indirectly affected the Community Services Department. Key tenets of these plans were used to formulate the survey questions and ultimately the key issues matrix for recommendation development.
The community process began with thirteen focus group meetings, five Board meetings and one summary webinar to distill and verify summary community inputs. The process continued with a statistically valid survey, open source survey, facility condition assessment, level of service, and incorporating the recommendations of the American with Disabilities Act Audit and Transition Plan as inputs. The results of the survey, condition assessment and level of service were shared during a public meeting on July 13, 2022, and a special session of Parks and Recreation Board on July 14, 2022. Staff provided additional opportunities for sharing the summaries on July 20 and 21, 2022.
Development of the plan commenced and draft recommendations from the plan were presented to the community and staff on January 25 and 26, 2023. Up to this point, over 200 community members participated in the meetings.
The Integrated Master Plan presents a 7-10 year plan for improving organizational reach and impact, improvements to programs/services, and improving facilities/amenities. While the list is extensive, using the short-term, mid-term, long-term and ongoing time frames provides guidance for staff to operationalize the findings and provides flexibility for additional items to be added to the list of actions. This document, with the goals, objectives and actions, aligns with many of County Council's strategic priorities including operational excellence, economic vitality, quality of life, and environmental stewardship.
Alternatives
County Council could choose not the approve the plan and provide other direction to the County Manager. If the plan is not approved, the department would not qualify for accreditation.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
The recommendations in the Integrated Master Plan would be considered in the development of the annual budget and 10-year budget forecast.
Attachments
A - Los Alamos Integrated Master Plan Final
B - Los Alamos County NM Recommendations Final