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10-11 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 10 - Goals, Objectives, and Recommendations 10 5. The Vision – Recreation/Athletics Programs Recommendation #8: Look to Add Programs in Are- as Where Residents Have Identified Needs, Consider Partnerships The County should contfnue to be flexible and responsive in the provision of recreatfon programs (which includes athletfcs). Part of being flexible and responsive is examining the needs identffied by the Community Needs Assessment, and finding ways to offer programs if practfcable from a financial and staff resource standpoint. Residents indicated interest in learning how to hike, walk and bike, practfce yoga and in swimming lessons and summer camps. The recent economic downturn has increased interest in County summer camps as a low-cost optfon for youth and children summer enrichment. Orange County’s standard for offering programs has been to achieve 100% recovery of direct costs for youth and adult programs. If this model is contfnued, most of the cost for new youth/children’s programs could be recovered by partfcipant fees, but some portfon (indirect costs) would contfnue to be subsidized, requiring additfonal funding but also meetfng important societal and community needs. County staff should conduct follow-up surveys to determine the depth of interest in programs identf- fied in the Community Needs Assessment, and if sufficient partfcipatfon appears likely, offer new programs. While assessing new program opportuni- tfes, staff should also evaluate existfng programs and whether some of the resources allocated to low-partfcipatfon programs should be redirected to new prioritfes. Programs teaching hiking techniques, walking for fitness, and mountain-biking should be feasible within the current program structure. Offering swimming lessons, however, will present challenges from a facility and risk management perspectfve. The County should look at the potentfal for partner- ing with SportsPlex management or other local pools for swim lessons, or partner with existfng organizatfons that already offer lessons. At present, SportsPlex offers swim lessons, but these fill up quickly due to popularity and cost more than most County programs. Surveys have also shown the desire for a public swimming pool. If an outdoor pool were constructed, this could enable more offerings for swimming lessons and water safety for those who cannot afford private lessons. Careful attentfon should be paid to coordinatfng and complementfng existfng organizatfons that offer these programs, rather than creatfng competftfon. The County has taken positfve steps toward providing complementary and not competftfve programs, such as the recent partnership with Hillsborough Youth Athletfc Associatfon (HYAA) to offer youth baseball and softball, rather than offering a competfng program in the same service area. Partnerships, however, must also take into consider- atfon that the County is often the provider of services for those who cannot afford private or non-profit programs, and may play an important role in provid- ing recreatfon opportunitfes for those who might otherwise be unable to partfcipate. The creatfon of a “partnership template” would be an instructfve tool to help assess potentfal partnerships and their benefits. One partfcularly fruitiul area for program collaboratfon appears to exist with the school systems. Efforts are currently underway to address Community Use of School Facilitfes for Recreatfon, and it is hoped that Orange County and the school systems may find – as many other countfes and school systems have – ways to maximize the availability of school recreatfonal facilitfes for public use. Finally, there may also exist opportunitfes for the County to coordinate more closely with the towns on programs going forward. Opportunitfes for hiking and other nature programs in conjunctfon with Duke Forest, Eno River State Park and other public or publicly-accessible open spaces should also be explored. 119