Although not always top of mind, parks department flourishes behind scenes

When evaluating the importance of city departments, whether it's for Cape Girardeau or beyond, it can be easy to underestimate the key role the parks and recreation department plays.

On the surface, some may see the department as little more than the provider of playground equipment and children's team leagues.

But a closer look past the monkey bars and baseball diamonds tells a story of a department that encourages community pride, health and wellness and improved economic growth. Parks and recreation director Julia Thompson said the department's contributions may not always be at the forefront of the public's mind compared to public safety departments, for example, but it plays an important part in achieving the city's goal of "making Cape Girardeau one of the best places to live, work and play."

"Of course, that's our moniker: Play Cape," she said. "So I think 'play' maybe sometimes doesn't have the connotation of maybe the relevance of some of your other city services. ... The role that parks, recreation, public green space and our trails play is sometimes understated when you look in comparison."

That being said, Thompson said she knows people love their parks and the department prides itself on providing the best services possible.

Leyton Wulfers plays in an inflatable ball during the Mother/Son Game Night on March 28 at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Growth

Based on event participation and facilities use, it would seem the department is doing pretty well in customer satisfaction. Numbers provided by recreation division manager Penny Williams show the Osage Centre has enjoyed strong attendance over the past five years.

"The Osage Centre has seen a growth pattern each year except for [2011-2012], when we were under construction adding our new fitness room and meeting rooms," she said in an email.

The construction year reduced the weight room area and brought attendance down to 40,998 -- a drop of about 5,000 from the previous year. But in 2012-2013, attendance spiked to 76,471 and continued to grow to 82,973 the following year. Those numbers represent use solely for recreation purposes -- including those who use the space for walking, access to the weight room and gym use -- and does not include main floor events or meeting-room rentals.

City leagues also have done well over the years, particularly in children's sports. Five years ago, the city's recreation department set a goal at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex to exceed the 100-team mark each season. For the past three years, numbers have consistently been at 120 teams.

Beyond sports and exercise, the department also has become host to a number of events families in the area have come to consider a tradition. Many are holiday-themed -- such as Easter egg hunts and haunted houses -- but some of the most popular events simply offer an opportunity for families to spend time together. The annual Father/Daughter Dance and Mother/Son Game Night are two prime examples.

The dance, held in February, has boasted an attendance of more than 900 people in the past three years. Game night hasn't been around quite as long and doesn't draw the same numbers, but has grown every year. Attendance at this year's event, held in March, was 275 people.

Increased event attendance isn't just a boon for the parks and recreation department, Thompson pointed out. It's an economic advantage to the entire city.

"Just look at the Father/Daughter Dance," she said. "Think about what all went into that to get the fathers and daughters looking beautiful. You have corsages, dresses, dads buying ties to match their daughters' dresses. A lot went into that."

All of these events are part of what makes Cape Girardeau a regional hub, Thompson said. With the upcoming sports complex -- the city still is vetting private partners for the venture and the facility's opening is tentatively scheduled for late 2016 -- city officials hope the attraction only continues to grow. The primary goal is to host tournaments that would draw in young athletes and their families, particularly in the economically sluggish winter months.

For now, the city continues to host events at facilities such as the Osage Centre and the Arena Building.

"The cool thing about being a regional attractor is we draw people from Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas -- probably within a good 50-mile radius," Thompson said. "People drive that or further to get here, because they don't have anything in those rural areas."

A community affair

While attendance at facilities and events has continued to swell over the past few years, the department has managed to keep its employment numbers pretty stable. Juggling so many tasks is the result of a departmentwide focus on organization.

"The pretty amazing thing is that we've really, since I've been here, I think we've only added two full-time positions. One is our health and wellness coordinator, the other a senior maintenance worker at Capaha Field," Thompson said. "We've absorbed a lot of additional work, just by reorganizing aspects of the department. We employ a large part-time workforce, probably at its height in the summer, close to 400 part-time employees."

The department has 54 full-time employees.

Besides the part-time and seasonal employees who serve as umpires, lifeguards, concession attendants and customer service staff, the department relies heavily on volunteers.

"We have so many citizen boards and a lot of these folks are people that just give freely of their time, their talent and their treasure, to sit and be those ambassadors in the community. So they're out there speaking with their friends and neighbors," Thompson said. "While we might have good ideas as a staff, it's even better when the ideas come from a citizen because, to me, that's what representative government is all about and we are just the facilitators of what people want to see in the community."

She also said local businesses are to thank in part for the success of many of the department's annual events. Whether it's through donations or willingness to serve in a partnership with the city, Thompson said many businesses make efforts to be engaged with the community.

The department also has benefited from its relationship with Southeast Missouri State University. The university offers majors in parks and recreation administration, nutrition, horticulture and other relevant fields and the city offers an opportunity for hands-on training.

"We have many part-time employees that work for us year-round, but also come back season after season and get training for their real job whenever they graduate high school and college, so we're really proud we're able to train people professionally," Thompson said. "The university is just a key partner."

The University of Missouri Extension has been another partner to parks and recreation. One of their most recent collaborations is the "green thumb" gardening classes offered to the public for free at the Shawnee Park Center. The classes align with the community gardening efforts around the city.

Looking ahead

Thompson said in the time she's been with the city, possibly the greatest contribution she's made to the department is helping it continue its momentum.

Over the next six months, a strong focus will be updating the Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan to prepare for the 2018 voter renewal of the Parks and Recreation and Stormwater tax. The tax has been a crucial funding component for the department, Thompson said, providing revenue for equipment and facilities upgrades.

"The parks and stormwater tax, which was passed in 2008, will come up for renewal in 2018, and if there are sufficient, relevant projects the public would like to see, we're hoping to be able to present that tax again for the public to vote on," she said. "And I think that's probably the most exciting aspect of me coming in about three-and-a-half years ago, to help continue the successful program through its conclusion in 2018."

Inspections and continued maintenance are among the department's biggest areas of concentration, she added. It has more than 600 acres of grounds and trails to maintain and the number of items under its supervision only continues to grow. The ribbon-cutting for the downtown Melvin Gateley Vision 2000 Rose Garden is coming soon; work at Capaha Park -- including the new pavilion and playground equipment -- is visible; and the community gardens and urban orchard should be teeming with life in the coming years. Thompson also said she's looking forward to the expansion of the river walk trail, which will connect the Red Star district and the downtown area, and the new speed slide coming soon to Cape Splash.

Much of this growth began with the passage of the parks and stormwater tax, she said.

"[The tax revenue] provided the equipment necessary to maintain the parks. It also, I think, provided that initiative, I guess you could say, to think about what could happen in Cape," Thompson said. "So when you see Cape Splash built and now we're building an additional slide element -- see how things snowball? When you have the will to make things happen and you can generate that success and support, it's a catalyst for other great things to happen in the community."

For the immediate future, Thompson said the department will continue to work on finding ways to keep annual events fresh and exciting, while keeping in mind the importance of tradition.

"Tradition plays a huge role," she said. "Little daughters look up their sisters and think 'Oh, I can't wait until I can go to the Father/Daughter Dance or I can participate with my older brother in sports.' You kind of create that history and tradition that I don't know you can get anywhere else."

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

---

Attenadance at Parks and Recreation Department facilities and events

Osage attendance

• 2009-2010: 35,218
• 2010-2011: 46,228
• 2011-2012: 40,998 *
• 2012-2013: 76,471
• 2013-2014: 82,973

Numbers include usage for recreation purposes only.

* areas reduced for construction

Mother/Son Game Night

• 2012: 171
• 2013: 194
• 2014: 210
• 2015: 275

Father/Daughter Dance

• 2009: 350
• 2010: 500
• 2011: 588
• 2012: 788
• 2013: 918
• 2014: 952
• 2015: 950

Valentine dance

• 2012: 248
• 2013: 235
• 2014: 231
• 2015: 273

Girls fast-pitch softball

• 2010: 23
• 2011: 23
• 2012: 33
• 2013: 38
• 2014: 38

Smash Volleyball

• 2010: 178
• 2011: 190
• 2012: 220
• 2013: 220
• 2014: 267
• 2015: 328

Fundamentals of Volleyball

• 2010: 59
• 2011: 86
• 2012: 76
• 2013: 75
• 2014: 90
• 2015: 122

source: City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department