PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA PACKET 02082024

Page 2 of 3 upcoming onboarding meetings are scheduled. During this meeting, the Ambassador Handbook will be reviewed (see Attachment 1), and staff will go over the program, responsibilities, rules, issues to report, how to report issues using the City’s MaintStar service request portal, dos and don'ts, and how to report volunteer hours. Ambassadors will also be provided a tool kit that will include a vest with a logo, bucket, and litter grabber. The initial concept for the pilot program would be to solicit a small group of volunteers to adopt a park in their neighborhood, take part in the Ambassador onboarding, and begin volunteering in their assigned park. Staff recommends the initial pilot volunteer group be the Parks and Recreation Commission members, and potentially expand from there depending upon the success of the pilot program. Success will be measured through tracking of issues reported in MaintStar and feedback from the pilot participants. The proposed Park Ambassador program could provide many benefits to the City’s parks and the community. The benefits include reporting hazardous conditions and maintenance issues, removing litter, and keeping a watchful eye on the park in general. It will also provide an opportunity for volunteerism in an informal and at-your-own-pace format. The impacts of a full-scale program would largely be on staff time. The initial staff time required can be divided into the creation of the program, which would include getting the literature finalized, webpage created, program responsibilities delegated, community outreach, and Ambassador onboarding. Once the program is running, depending on the number of volunteers, additional staff time could be required to process additional work requests, request investigations if the issues reported are not clear or already known, and follow-up communications. In our discussion with LARPD, staff cited benefits that include: providing an opportunity for citizens to get involved in the parks and community, having another person on the parks team, as well as having a group of volunteers to solicit for larger volunteer projects. They noted that their program is fairly informal and impacts on the staff are not overly burdensome. LARPD staff does respond to every Ambassador question and/or request. Their program was developed based on community feedback to provide volunteer opportunities, and not due to a lack of park maintenance. LARPD indicated that participation in the program can vary and is typically in the ten-to-twenty-person range. EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY Not applicable, as this item is an administrative matter of City business. OUTREACH None at this time. STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT This action advances the following Citywide goals and strategies: