Innovation

An idea submitted in March 2020 to install solar panels on the landscaping trailer was selected in 2021 and incorporated into the 2022 budget. These panels will help charge batteries that will allow the District to move away from gas powered landscaping tools and switch entirely to an electric fleet with a sustainable, eco-friendly power source.

This project was completed in 2022 and staff are using the solar panels on the landscape trailer to recharge the battery powered landscape equipment being used to maintain the parks.

Customer and Community Focus: To engage the community

The Park District sought a way to engage the public in the parks with activities and games to make recreation accessible to all.

During the Alliance for Innovation Transforming Local Government Conference, staff learned about the engagement van project from Goodyear, AZ. The Park District launched the Pop-Up-Bike program in the summer of 2019 where staff engage park patrons with new recreation activities every week.

Customer and Community Focus: To anticipate future needs

The Park District sought to refurbish all historic memorial name plates.

A few years ago, the Park District refurbished the Peace Triumphant Memorial at Scolville Park. As part of its innovation program, staff expanded the program to refurbish name plates at Field Park, Andersen Park, Stevenson Park, Carroll Park and Longfellow Park. The Park District also created a new social media campaign to build awareness about the project.

In a response to rising water costs, a desire to conserve this natural resource, and the recognition of the energy consumed in pumping and treating water from Lake Michigan, the Park District recognized the opportunity to collect water for use in parks & facilities.

Three below ground water cisterns have been installed and are collecting water from the splash pad and being repurposed into the irrigation system:

3 below ground water cisterns have been installed and are collecting water from the splash pad and being repurposed into the irrigation system.

Organizational Excellence: To strive for innovative operational excellence.

Based on feedback given by both staff and the public in prior studies and plans, the Park District recognized that there was a desire to proactively support and share innovative ideas for improving Park District operations and programs, parks, and services provided to the community. As part of these efforts, an innovation leader and team was designated and goals were developed. One of these goals included finding a way to allow staff to identify, share, and fund new ideas at the Park District.

Organizational Excellence: To strive for innovative operational excellence.

The Park District sought a way to measure performance, providing an objective and quantifiable way to see successes and areas in need of improvement. The Park District performance management program allows us to:

• Communicate priorities internally among employees, as well as externally to the Board of Commissioners, citizen committees, and the public;
• Learn how the Park District’s present state relates to past performance and future plans;
• Demonstrate progress towards meeting its mission, goals, and objectives;
• Determine which policies, programs, facilities, and services most effectively serve the community’s needs;
• Provide direction for allocation of funds, staff, and other resources, and;
• Offer transparency and accountability to the public.

To add to the Park District’s increasing Smart Parks efforts, the Park District placed standalone solar-powered units designed to charge phones and monitor park conditions in 4 parks including Scoville Park, Lindberg Park, Taylor Park, and Mills Park. Called Soofa Cores. The devices allowed park users to charge their phones while also giving the Park District a better understanding of how people use the parks by counting the number of wi-fi devices that pass by the units.

The Park District installed the solar stations in 2016. We also built a new dashboard estimating the total number of people visiting Scoville Park, Lindberg Park, Taylor Park, and Mills Park and number of charging sessions. Working with a Soofa data scientist, the Park District examined how to leverage the data including determining how many people are in the parks after hours and what level of usage leads to maintenance concerns. Ultimately, we determined there wasn’t enough clear return on investment to continue investing in Soofa. While the phone chargers are still active, the Park District discontinued its subscription.

Not Successful

Overall, the Park District has collected a great amount of feedback from program participants through surveys distributed during and after the completion of recreation programs. However, collecting this same type of feedback from park & facility visitors is more challenging because as public facilities, the Park District has less information regarding about who uses our parks and facilities versus our programs that require pre-registration.

In an effort to gain new feedback from customers about their experiences in our parks and facilities, the Park District has placed tablets in 3 facilities – Ridgeland Common Recreation Complex, the Gymnastics & Recreation Center, and the Oak Park Conservatory – that allow visitors to complete a brief survey about their visit. Responses to the surveys are automatically integrated into the overall park & facility visit survey results available to staff through the Park District’s dashboards. Functionality was also added to the kiosks prior to launch that would allow visitors to sign up for Park District e-newsletters and browse Park District recreation programs online.

Care was taken to select hardware and software that indicated that it could hold up to use (and possible abuse) by the general public and remain secure when nearby customer service desks were closed.

Unfortunately, we did not receive many survey comments. Another problem was the tablets were used inappropriately. As a result, we have taken down the tablets and instituted a new process where all full-time staff visit a park/facility every month to engage patrons. The results of this change have led to over 500 surveys taken annually.

Not Successful