Overview

"Our primary goal at the Hamilton County Park District is to improve lives by connecting people to nature. We provide parks and activities to experience nature through education and recreation. We are the pathway to the Great Outdoors in Greater Cincinnati!"

Why strategic planning?

A strategic plan serves as a road map to the future. It will bring direction and focus to the Park District for the next five years as we pursue our mission, vision, goals, key strategies and actions. It is a concise plan developed by all levels of staff. In recent history, the Park District has completed three strategic planning processes: 1998 – 2002, 2004 – 2009 and the current 2011 – 2016 comprehensive plan.

Download Strategic Plan

Objective 1

“To understand our customer base, the Park District will continually measure
the loyalty and satisfaction of supporters, park guests, county residents and
visitors to the region. Through increased awareness, the Park District will be
recognized as the region’s primary resource for conservation, outdoor
education and recreation.”

Strategies

- Benchmark customer base and public awareness.
- Develop or strengthen brand equity.
- Develop and implement comprehensive marketing plan.
- Restructure planning and coordination of all park projects, programs, events
  and activities to achieve awareness and organization-based goals.

Updates

- In the fall of 2012, the Objective One team interviewed branding agencies to assist in the   process of reaching our markets and increasing Park District awareness. Topic Design was   selected.
- Staff received an invitation and submitted their ideas for review concerning a possible name   change for the Hamilton County Park District.
- The team worked with Topic Design to review and analyze UC surveys, Park user surveys as   well as market research and other feedback to determine the next steps to build park   awareness and reach.
- By December 2012, after several discussions and debates, the Objective One team   presented its recommendation to the Park Board of Commissioners for the next step in   building Park District awareness. Our recommendation? An improved brand that will change   the face of the Park District – a brand that's carefully crafted and developed.
- At the annual staff Kickoff event for 2013, the new brand was presented and announced it   would be ready for an official launch in June 2013.

Objective 2

“The Park District will be a recognized contributor to the community’s economy
and culture and will be an excellent steward of financial resources, stretching
the Park District’s tax revenue and earned income through increased
contributions, partnerships, sponsorships, and volunteer involvement.”

Strategies

- Strengthen Foundation.
- Expand use of volunteers to enhance services and strengthen relationships with the
  corporate sector.
- Increase contributions, endowments, partnerships and sponsorships.
- Expand community outreach to build a broader network of support.

Updates

- The Hamilton County Parks Foundation continued implementing a capital campaign to fund   construction of the Simmonds Family Dog Park at Miami Whitewater Forest, raising a total of   $685,000 by the end of 2012.
- The Foundation continued to secure funds for its featured programs, including Legacy Trees,   Adopt-A-Bench, Scholarships and Corporate Volunteers.
- Foundation promotional efforts have been successful – the Foundation received almost 500   more contributions in 2012 than it did in 2011, and non-dog park contributions during 2012   were up $107,000 over non-dog park contributions in 2011.
- The Corporate Volunteer Program continues to provide valuable volunteer service as well as   financial support to the Foundation. Corporate groups contributed 1,414 hours of service   $14,400 to the Park District through the Foundation in 2012. The program also welcomed   four new corporate partners – Half Price Books, Hyde Park Landscaping, Banfield Pet   Hospital and REI. REI also granted $10,000 to the Foundation for a community based   stewardship project which took place at Farbach Werner Nature Preserve.
- Thanks to a new partnership with Kroger, shoppers can now support the Foundation through   the Kroger Community Rewards Program with qualifying purchases.

Objective 3

“The Park District will be recognized as a sustainably-oriented agency by
demonstrating a significant reduction in our ecological footprint, as well as
serving as a model for how sustainable practices in land use, energy, and
waste can enhance livability in the region.”

Strategies

- Assemble team to develop, coordinate, implement and evaluate initiatives.
- Adopt appropriate sustainability model including principles for management of waste,
  energy, environmental systems, and education/outreach.
- Create support for sustainability initiatives in the plan.
- Communicate and Educate program benefits.

Updates

- The Green Team has divided into four subgroups to more specifically focus on sustainability   initiatives and to increase involvement by additional key staff. These groups include   Education, Energy, Land Use/Environmental Systems and Waste.
- The Education group is evaluating current and future programming efforts to prioritize the   sustainability message and continues to publish regular Gazette articles.
- The Energy group is has developed five key areas of focus – fuel consumption reduction,   idling reduction, water consumption reduction, benchmarking and lighting.
- The Land Use group was successful in securing a $40,000 Ohio EPA grant for storm water   improvements at the Winton Centre parking lots. This spring 2013 project includes   installation of permeable pavers, rain gardens, and a bio-filtration swale. The project will   make Kestrel Pond and Winton Lake a cleaner place for wildlife and recreation.
- The Waste group is working on expanding recycling efforts through increased awareness,   waste audits and acquiring additional recycling containers.
- The green effort is beginning to pick up momentum thanks to the ingenuity of individual   employees and volunteers. Each is coming up with their own initiatives such as the   installation of high efficiency bulbs, reuse of grocery bags to collect pet waste and being   mindful of fuel consumption. Bigger things are expected, but even more impressive will be   the cumulative effect of all the smaller yet important accomplishments.