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6—2 <br />Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan <br /> CHAPTER 6 - Community Needs Assessment and Public Input 6 <br />The campers and their responses were broken into <br />two categories, pre-teen (ages 7-12) and teen (13- <br />16). In summary, the pre-teen youth listed Fairview <br />Park among their favorite County parks, and they <br />appreciated that park’s diversity of equipment and <br />amenities. The favorite activity among this group <br />was basketball (many of those surveyed were in a <br />basketball camp), followed by biking and playing on <br />“monkey bars.” Among the park improvements they <br />would like to see, responders noted newer volleyball <br />nets and more basketball courts at Fairview Park, <br />and more trails at Efland-Cheeks Park. The favorite <br />recreation programs were basketball, doll-making in <br />arts camp, and field trips for bowling and roller <br />skating. Their wish list for the upcoming year was <br />more basketball scrimmages, more biking and hiking <br />in adventure camps, and more painting and drawing <br />in creative arts camps. <br /> <br />The Teen youth surveyed listed Efland-Cheeks as the <br />County park closest to them. While many indicated <br />they did not go to the park much, their favorite <br />activities were swimming, playing basketball and <br />volleyball, ping-pong and picnics. Bike trails, athletic <br />fields and volleyball courts were the most-used park <br />facilities in their estimation. There was little <br />response to favorite recreation programs, except a <br />desire for music classes at the Central Recreation <br />Center. The facilities these young people most want- <br />ed to see repaired or built included tennis and <br />volleyball courts, soccer fields, playgrounds and <br />mountain bike trails. <br /> <br />2. Community Needs Assessment Survey <br /> <br />The Community Needs Assessment Survey was <br />administered in three different manners, including a <br />statistical random-sample survey, between October <br />2012 and July 2013. This multi-pronged approach <br />was undertaken and deemed necessary due to the <br />following factors: <br /> <br />As indicated below, a statistical random-sample sur- <br />vey was conducted and provided a valid statistical <br />survey of community needs and interests about <br />current and possible future parks and recreation <br />programs and facilities. This survey yielded 520 <br />responses. There were, however, two important <br />shortcomings in the random-sample Community <br />Needs Assessment survey that warranted further <br />exploration and survey outreach: <br />a. Many of the households sampled were <br /> residents of the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, <br /> and were largely unfamiliar with County parks and <br /> programs (since these towns offer their own <br /> programs and facilities). A follow-up attempt was <br /> deemed desirable to solicit feedback from those <br /> persons who do frequent County parks and <br /> participate in county programs. <br />b. The random-sample survey responses received <br /> under-represented minority groups – African- <br /> American, persons of Hispanic origin and Asians – <br /> warranting further efforts to solicit feedback from <br /> those cultural and/or ethnic communities. <br /> <br />The following is a brief summary of the three survey <br />results that were eventually undertaken including <br />the original random-sample survey. <br /> <br />3. Statistical Random-Sample Survey CNA <br />In the summer and fall of 2012, Orange County staff <br />worked with consultants from the University of <br />North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G) to develop <br />and administer a statistical random-sample survey <br />of 4,200 households in Orange County <br />(approximately 10% of the total households in the <br />county). The survey was conducted by UNC-G via US <br />mail with postage-paid return envelopes. A follow- <br />up postcard was sent to survey recipients that had <br />not responded within three weeks. The surveys <br />were collected and analyzed by the consultants in <br />November 2012-January 2013, and the results <br />reported and evaluated in a report received on <br />January 31, 2013. After discussion with the <br />consultant and among staff, the decision was made <br />not to stratify the sample on the basis of geography <br />(i.e., the random sampling for the surveys was of the <br />entirety of Orange County without adjusting for <br />residence). <br /> <br /> <br />Note: The full report and results of the Community <br />Needs Assessment statistical survey, and the survey <br />instrument, may be found as Appendix 6-3. <br />66