By Debby Woodin
dwoodin@joplinglobe.com
Joplin residents who answered a recent survey about city parks listed walking and jogging as the most important activities for them.
Second in importance was places for picnics, swimming, biking and playgrounds.
Full results of the survey will be reviewed at a Monday work session of the Joplin City Council.
“The significance of the survey is to give us some direction of where we want to go with programming and facilities,” said Doug Joyce, director of parks and recreation for Joplin. “It’s basically a snapshot of the way the community feels right now of what facilities they want and what (activities) they’re doing. I think it will be used for what we want to build and what we want to plan.”
Survey results also will help council members and city staff determine what should go into a second phase of construction at the Joplin Athletic Complex. The first phase included tennis courts, soccer fields, a baseball field and a clubhouse. Building softball fields at the complex is another topic for council discussion, as is another round of planning for the future of McClelland Park.
The city also will use survey results to outline plans for parks and stormwater sales tax money if voters are asked to renew the quarter-cent tax, due to expire in 2012.
The survey was taken in October and results were compiled and prioritized by Opinion Research Specialists in Springfield. According to that firm, 504 people turned in complete surveys that were used to draw conclusions about the public’s wishes.
Walking and biking trails that lead to neighborhood parks were rated by respondents as among the important amenities they would like to see. Other priorities were renovating neighborhood parks and playgrounds, increasing the visibility of police at parks, adding water fountains and benches to trails and the golf course, building an indoor swim park and renovating the pool in Schifferdecker Park.
Joyce said city officials can compare the results of this survey with one taken in 2000 to see how they’ve met past expectations. For instance, renovating picnic areas was further down on the new list than last time, indicating that work on those areas in parks is meeting residents’ needs.
About 100 people surveyed reported using the athletic complex — about 60 of those for soccer.
A number of people who wrote comments said they think fees at the athletic complex are too high, particularly for the tennis courts. Several said they wanted the free courts at other parks to be maintained. Joyce said those comments were expected.
“We’ve lowered rates at the complex for tennis and we’re also building up the program during the summer. We will be doing free tennis lessons throughout the community and we will be resurfacing those courts and repainting them and encouraging play,” Joyce said.
Overall, he said: “I think what the survey reflects is that people are becoming more physically fit.”
Meeting notes
The Joplin City Council will discuss the parks survey, a new plan for McClelland Park, and the design of softball fields to be built at the Joplin Athletic Complex during a work session at 5:45 p.m. Monday on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St. Also on the agenda is discussion of pay raises for city employees.
