By Logan Harle
Intern
Looking to update the area plans for parks and gardens, New Hanover County and Wilmington are partnering to conduct a comprehensive public survey and gain a better perspective on what residents want in their local parks.
The information used for the updated parks plan will come from two separate surveys. One survey was mailed to 3,750 homes throughout the county at random, in order to gain statistics on current park information. The other survey is more informal and is open to the public to give all residents an opportunity to provide feedback about what types of programs, facilities, and services residents want in their parks system.
County parks and recreation director Tara Duckworth said getting feedback from the public is critical to the process.
“We hope to get as much community input on the plan as we possibly can,” Duckworth said. “What we are trying to do is find out what the community really wants, what their level of satisfaction is, what their needs are, what priorities we should set.”
The open-link survey, available online to the public, consists of questions based on needs and priorities of the community. The survey asks how important certain facilities and programs are to households and how certain facilities and programs meet the needs of the community. Also what programs, activities, and special events do households have a need for, such as athletic leagues or fitness and wellness programs. The survey asks for input on what areas parks and recreation should focus on improving.
“It is a satisfaction survey about what we have in the parks system,” Duckworth said. “The survey asks what does the public feel like we need more of in order to create a better quality of life for the community.”
Both surveys are expected to close a week before the public meeting that is scheduled for March 16 at 6 p.m. at the Executive Development Center in the county library at 1241 Military Cutoff Road The county and city are working with Colorado-based parks and recreational consultant GreenPlay, with survey and data work conducted by RRC Associates. At the meeting, GreenPlay will summarize the responses received from the surveys and inform the community about the process and forward information gained from the surveys.
Duckworth urges households that did receive the mailed survey to complete them so that the county is able to comprise a statistically valid sample of the opinions of residents in both New Hanover County and Wilmington.
“The people that received the survey in the mail that just set it on their kitchen counter thinking they can complete it later, not to worry, it is not too late to mail it in,” Duckworth said. “The more input we have, the better and more accurate the statistics are.”
The open-link survey is available online at www.
newhanoversurvey.org/open.
