FY 23 Budget Q&A #011: Can you provide the fiscal impact of the park improvement projects that were requested but not proposed for funding?
Budget Question # 011: Can you provide the fiscal impact of the park improvement projects that were requested but not proposed for funding? Additionally, can you provide the estimated fiscal impact of the recommendations from the City’s approved park improvement plans that remain unfunded? (Mayor Wilson)
Response:
In 2012, the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA) began developing Park Plans by park typology. This planning process breaks out the City's open spaces into groups based on their size and uses, allowing staff to develop plans for parks that share similar characteristics and improvement needs. In 2014, the City completed a community process to create the Citywide Parks Improvement Plan, which developed recommendations for six of the City’s regional parks ranging from 10 to 50 acres. The community process for the Neighborhood Parks Improvement Plan concluded in 2015. This effort created recommendations for 17 neighborhood serving parks ranging from half an acre to ten acres with a service area of half a mile. In 2020, the Pocket Parks Improvement Plan established recommendations for the City’s 25 pocket parks. Pocket Parks are defined as sites under half an acre with a service area of up to half a mile.
The Park Plan community process generated 436 park improvements plan recommendations across the three documents (Citywide; Neighborhood; & Pocket Park plans). RPCA uses the park plans to help inform and guide park investments in the 10-year capital improvement program. The park improvements plans may be found by visiting Alexandria Typology Park Plans.
Investments over the last eight years have implemented 18% of the plan recommendations. An additional 22% of the plan recommendations are in progress or planned in the proposed FY 2023-FY 2032 CIP. The remaining unfunded recommendations are estimated to cost $51,900,000 in FY 2022 dollars. This includes $25,400,000 for recommendations in the Citywide Parks Improvement Plan, $20,500,000 for Neighborhood Parks Improvement Plan recommendations and $6,000,000 for Pocket Park Improvement Plan recommendations.
As part of the FY 2023 – 2032 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget development process, City Departments requested a higher investment in the Recreation & Parks CIP section than what was put forward in the Proposed Budget document. If all funding requested by City Departments for projects within the Recreation & Parks section of the FY 2023 - 2032 CIP were put forward in the Proposed Budget, the fiscal impact would be an increase of $5.7 million in FY 2023 and $75.9 million over the 10-year CIP. These funding requests were reduced due to affordability issues and to more closely align with expected project execution schedules, particularly within the first three years of the Program.
The Park Improvement Plans are intended to be updated every ten years to ensure that plans respond to changing community and infrastructure needs. In CY 2023, the process to update the 2014 Citywide Park Improvement Plans will commence. Funding needs will be evaluated in FY 2025 to reflect the updated Citywide Park Improvements Plan recommendations.