Community Participation
Successful planning for Lancaster’s future means asking challenging questions and gathering thoughtful answers from community members like you! Your questions and answers will play an integral part in the development of the Master Plan for Lancaster’s Parks, Recreation & Arts. Sign up to receive emails with information on upcoming meetings, related events, and important updates to this website.
Results from all community participation will be posted on this website!
The community has already had a chance to be engaged in the planning process at the 2006 Lancaster Poppy Festival. Residents of all ages were able to share comments, feedback and insights through an interactive survey to help the Department of Parks, Recreation and Arts identify where residents like to “play” and what recreational and cultural facilities and opportunities are most important to them. Children and youth were able to share information through drawings and recorded interviews. Feedback was gathered from over 540 adults, 400 children and 45 youth. This exciting two-day event was a perfect way to kick-off the planning process! Information gathered from the festival has been compiled into a Poppy Festival Summary Report
Additional community involvement will include:
City and Stakeholder Interviews – The project team will interview City Council representatives and community stakeholders to gain insight on current community priorities, issues, perceived needs and opportunities. This information will help determine future needs and funding priorities.
Focus Groups – The project team has conducted 5 focus groups to determine each group’s specific issues, priorities and needs. The focus groups included a youth focus group, a cultural arts focus group, a trails and open space focus group, a seniors focus group, and an educational partners focus group. Click on the hyperlinks to read each focus group summary report.
Telephone Survey – In June 2006, random sample of 602 residents completed a telephone survey to determine residents’ perceptions of the Parks, Recreation, & Arts Department’s provision of services, assess residents’ perceptions of facility and program needs; evaluate residents’ priorities for future park and recreation efforts; and gather attitudinal, demographic, and behavioral information to profile users and non-users. See the results of the survey report here.
City Council Presentations – At key milestones in process, the project team will make presentations to the City Council to keep them informed of results and involved in the process.
Comments and Feedback from This Website – Project staff will review and document all comments received though this website so they can be incorporated into Project Management Team discussions. Contact us!
