(IFP) Inventory Study

Transcription

Saint John Leisure Services
Infrastructure, Facilities & Programming
(IFP) Inventory Study
City of Saint John, Leisure Services Department
ADI Limited
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May 26, 2010
This report was prepared by ADI Limited for the
account of the City of Saint John Leisure Services
Department.
Any use which a third party makes of this report, or
any reliance on or decisions based on it, are the
responsibility of such third parties. ADI Limited
accepts no responsibility for damages, if any,
suffered by any third party as a result of decisions
made or actions based on this project.
This report has been prepared by ADI Limited
May 2010
Table of Contents
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
Introduction
1.1 Project Overview
1.2 Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Community Profile
2.1 Demographic Characteristics
2.2 Demographic Trends
Recreation Trends
3.1 Participation Trends
3.2 Facility Planning Trends
Community Issues
Stakeholder Consultation
5.1 Consultation Process
5.2 Public Consultation
5.3 Consultation Results
Recommendations
6.1 Recommended Decision-Making Framework
6.2 Recommended Actions
Inventories
7.1 Indoor Facilities Inventory
7.2 Outdoor Facilities Inventory
7.3 Parks & Playgrounds Inventory
7.4 Programming Inventory
Conclusion
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APPENDICES
Appendix A: Decision-Support Mapping
Map A.I: Playground Locations & Number of Children Aged 0-9
Map A.II: Community Centre Locations & Incidence of Low Income (Pre-Tax)
Map A.III: Outdoor Facilities & Population Change (2001-2006)
Map A.IV: Indoor Facilities & Population Density (2006)
Map A.V: Neighbourhood Park Catchment Areas (800m)
Map A.VI: Community Park Catchment Areas (2.4km)
Appendix B: Community Hubs Concept
Appendix C: Stakeholder List
Appendix D: Recreation Inventory Brochure & Questionnaire
Appendix E: Consultation Results
Appendix F: Recreation Facilities Best Practices
Appendix G: Facility Scheduling Software
Appendix H: Turf Management Policies
Appendix I: Facilities Inventory
Appendix J: Ice-Time Allocation Policy
Appendix K: Programming Inventory
Appendix L: Best Practices in Program Delivery
Table of Contents (con’t)
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Age Distribution by Gender, City of Saint John (2006)
Figure 2: Age Distribution by Gender, Rest of CMA (2006)
Figure 3: Incidence of Low Income in Saint John and Elsewhere (2006)
Figure 4: Population Change in Saint John CMA (1971-2006)
Figure 5: Population Trends in City of Saint John by Age Cohort (1996-2006)
Figure 6: Population Trends in Rest of CMA by Age Cohort (1996-2006)
Figure 7: Department of Education Enrolment Projections,
School Districts 6 & 8 (2005-2025)
Figure 8: Median Age in City of Saint John and Elsewhere (1996-2006)
Figure 9: Obesity Rates in Saint John (Health Region 2)
Figure 10: Physical Activity Rates in Saint John (Health Region 2)
Figure 11: Changing Participation Rates for 5-14 Year Olds (1992 & 2005)
Figure 12: Age and Participation Rates in Sports
Figure 13: Recreation and Leisure Atttendance, Saint John, Halifax and Charlottetown
LIST OF INVENTORY MAPS
Map A: Indoor Facilities
Map B: Outdoor Facilites
Map C: Playgrounds
Map D: Parks & Open Space
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1.0 Introduction
1.1
Project Overview
A community’s quality of life and attractiveness is often evaluated on its recreational facilities
and the range of leisure programs and opportunities it can offer its residents. Recreational
infrastructure plays a major role in boosting a community’s pride and the quality of the local
environment, promoting active and healthy lifestyles and attracting new residents.
In mid-2009, the City of Saint John issued a Request for Proposals to conduct a comprehensive
study of recreational infrastructure, facilities and programs in the city, including City
property, School Board lands, community organization facilities, etc. ADI Limited was retained
by the City to complete the Saint John Leisure Services Infrastructure, Facilities and Programming
Inventory Study (Recreation Inventory Study). The purpose of the study is threefold: to confirm
a complete list of recreational infrastructure; to determine how well recreational facilities and
programs are serving the community; and to identify key community issues regarding the
current state of the City’s recreation services.
Unlike previous recreation reports, the Recreation Inventory Study focuses on obtaining a
more detailed account of current recreation infrastructure and programs. The City has not
conducted a complete inventory of recreational facilities in Saint John in almost 20 years; the
most up-to-date overview occurring as part of the 1992 City of Saint John Recreation and Open
Space Strategy. The Recreation Inventory Study will take stock of existing recreation
services and will serve as a component of the background document to the upcoming
Municipal Plan and Growth Management Strategy for Saint John.
In order to complete the Recreation Inventory Study, ADI Limited adopted the following
approach. First, extensive background research was conducted, including an analysis of
existing recreation reports and studies, demographic statistics, planning documents and other
pertinent information related to recreation trends. One of the outputs of this process is a
community profile for Saint John that examines existing demographic characteristics and
community trends (see Section 2.0), which is followed by a discussion of recreation trends at
the national, provincial and local level (see Section 3.0).
Input from stakeholders was solicited to gage their satisfaction with existing recreation
services and identify priority areas for improvement. It is important to note that public
participation was not within the scope of this study. The Recreation Inventory Study will form
part of the Technical Background Study on Parks and Recreation for the new City of Saint John
Municipal Plan. It is anticipated that the municipal planning process will provide appropriate
public consultation opportunities. Detailed results of the stakeholder consultations that were
conducted as part of this study are contained in Section 5.0.
Combining the findings of the background research, recreation trends and stakeholder
consultation, ADI Limited identified the overarching community issues that will impact the
delivery of City recreation services in the near future. A discussion of these key community
needs can be found in Section 4.0, while Section 6.0 contains recommendations as to how the
City can best address these issues.
ADI Limited then created a preliminary inventory of recreation facilities using the City’s
existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database for recreation facilities, which
required substantial updating. Individual facilities were verified through “ground-truthing,”
conducting site visits to compare what was in the database to what was actually on the
ground. New facilities were added to the database and outdated facilities were removed.
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Each facility type contained in the database (arenas, community centres, recreational fields,
etc.) was benchmarked against industry service-level standards to determine whether or not
there was an oversupply or undersupply of any given facility type in Saint John.
In addition to the facility inventory, a programming inventory was completed that provides an
overview of the types of programs offered by Saint John Leisure Services and other
community organizations. Section 7.0 contains the findings of these inventories.
1.2
Geographic Information Systems
The original scope of the inventory study included GIS analysis using baseline data layers
provided by the City of Saint John. However, the available recreational database resources
were incomplete, fragmented, and or not sufficient for the project. ADI Limited undertook the
task of modifying existing data layers and creating new data layers for all recreation facilities
and infrastructure, including private and public infrastructure within the city limits. These
efforts have been coordinated with the City’s GIS Services Coordinator.
Recreation facilities and infrastructure features have been captured in both point and polygon
format, enabling not only the display and query of data as point-based locations, but also as
aerial extents. Area-based feature representation has enabled more sophisticated analysis of
the recreational spaces within the context of the urban, suburban and rural subareas of the
City. Locations and boundaries were captured through a combination of ground-based data
collection and the interpretation of the City’s high resolution orthophotography.
ADI Limited’s approach to the development of a detailed recreation inventory database is
consistent and fully compliant with the City’s objective to store and manage geospatial data
using GIS technology. The data layers created through our analysis are based on fundamental
geospatial database design and structure and represent a current archive of existing
infrastructure.
The data layers contained in this report have been compiled using ESRI ArcGIS Software and
are currently in an ESRI Shapefile format, compatible with the City’s GIS software. Once in
place, this database can be maintained through cooperative relationships between Leisure
Services and the GIS Services group. The GIS data will provide Leisure Services with operational
opportunities that will help balance their responsibilities and better manage requests for
additional and renewed infrastructure. By utilizing demographic data, geographic analysis
requests can be directed more effectively to those geographical locations that meet the needs
of the community. Appendix A contains examples of GIS-based maps that can help support
Leisure Services decision-making processes.
In many ways, this was the most important task of the Recreation Inventory Study as it builds
capacity within Leisure Services and provides an important historical legacy of accurate
information for the City. Most reports of this nature represent a “snapshot” in time. However,
as the City of Saint John moves towards a more service-based, responsive, resource conscious
and results-oriented organization, the importance of centralized GIS asset management will
become more and more apparent.
Infrastructure, Facilities &
Programming Inventory Study
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2.0 Community Profile
It is a challenging task for a municipality to keep pace with changing community needs. As
the demographic profile of a city changes, so too do demands for recreational activities.
Recreation interests are influenced by a variety of demographic characteristics, including age,
income, education and geographic place of residence. This section provides an overview of
relevant demographic characteristics and trends for the City of Saint John and the Greater
Saint John Region.
2.1
Demographic Characteristics
When analyzing the demographic characteristics of Saint John, it is important to take the
regional context into consideration since residents from communities such as Rothesay,
Quispamsis and Grand Bay-Westfield form a significant portion of users of recreation facilities
in the City of Saint John.
Place of Residence
The Saint John Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is home to approximately 122,000 people,
53% of whom live within the 315 sq km municipal territory of the City of Saint John. The
majority of Saint John’s 68,000 residents live in the city’s urban core (42%) or central suburban
ring (40%), while a significantly smaller population lives in the “strip” developments of the city’s
large rural outskirts (18%).1
Outside of the City, the Town of Quispamsis is the largest municipality with more than 15,000
residents, followed by Rothesay (11,637), Grand Bay-Westfield (4,981) and Hampton (4,004).
Age Distribution
Similar to most Canadian cities, the population of Saint John is dominated by the baby
boomer cohort that is making its way upwards through the age groups. The baby boom
“bulge”, which is now predominantly comprised of 45 to 64 year olds, has pushed Saint John’s
median age into its fourth decade for the first time in history (the median age for the City of
Saint John stands at 41.3). While baby boomers also form the largest single cohort in
surrounding communities, the average age of these communities is somewhat younger. The
median age for the Saint John CMA is 40.5, almost a year younger than for the city.
In absolute numbers, the City of Saint John and the rest of the CMA are home to approximately
the same number of youth under the age of 14 (10,565 and 10,725 respectively). This statistic
should be of particular interest to recreation service providers as this age group forms the
majority of users for most recreation facilities. Youth are the most heavily involved age group
in sports associations (see Section 3.0) and are thus frequent users of the City’s fields, arenas
and pools. Low-income youth are also the main beneficiaries of after-school programs at the
City’s community centres.
In contrast to the equal distribution of the youngest age cohorts, adults between the ages of
20 and 39 are more heavily concentrated in the City. With Saint John serving as the
educational, employment and cultural hub of the region, it is not surprising that many young
1 For the purpose of analysis, the City of Saint John has been divided into three subareas: urban, suburban and
rural. These are the same units of analysis used in the ongoing Saint John Municipal Plan. The subareas are
reflected on each of the maps produced as part of this Recreation Inventory Study.
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Figure 1: Age Distribution by Gender, City of Saint John (2006)
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Community Profiles
Figure 2: Age Distribution by Gender, Rest of CMA (2006)
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Community Profiles
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adults are leaving smaller communities surrounding the City and moving into the City. These
age groups may not have as significant an impact on recreation services as children under
the age of 14 as they tend to be more casual users of recreation services than their younger
counterparts.
Finally, seniors (those aged 65 and up) form a significantly larger proportion of the total
population in the City of Saint John as opposed to the rest of the CMA. The number of seniors
in Saint John is almost double those found in the rest of the CMA (11,135 to 5,935
respectively). While Saint John accounts for 56% of the total population of the Saint John CMA,
it is home to more than 65% of all seniors in the region. Perhaps more than any other age
group, seniors rely on recreation services to play a fundamental role in ensuring their physical
and mental well-being.
Household Characteristics
There are approximately 29,000 households in the City of Saint John, which account for nearly
60% of all households in the Saint John CMA. Households in the City are on average smaller
and less wealthy than households elsewhere in the CMA, the province and Canada, while
households in the city’s urban core tend to be significantly less wealthy than those residing in
the suburban and rural areas of the city.
Saint John residents suffer from higher poverty rates than the provincial and national average,
with more than one in five of Saint John residents living in poverty. Poverty is concentrated in
five priority neighbourhoods, all of which are located in the city’s urban core.
Crescent Valley, the Lower West Side, the Old North End, the South End, and Waterloo Village
have all been deemed “priority neighbourhoods” due to their high poverty rates, high
percentage of single-mother households, low median household incomes, and low labour
force participation and education rates. This “at-risk” group requires accessible and affordable
recreation services that meet their specific social needs.
Figure 3: Incidence of Low Income in Saint John and Elsewhere (2006)
Source: Vibrant Communities Saint John, Poverty and Plenty II (2008)
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2.2
Demographic Trends
The last comprehensive inventory of Saint John’s recreation services occurred in 1992. Since
then, a variety of demographic changes have occurred that will have an impact on the delivery
of recreation services. Understanding what trends have been occurring in the City is
fundamental to understanding how to best provide recreation services in the future.
Population Decline
While the City of Saint John remains by far the largest municipality in the Saint John CMA, it
has been experiencing a decline in its total population over the course of the past 40 years.
Since 1971, the first Census conducted after the City’s 1967 amalgamation with the City of
Lancaster and the Parishes of Simonds and Lancaster, Saint John has lost almost one quarter
(24%) of its residents. The City’s current population stands at a little more than 68,000
residents, a far cry from the almost 90,000 it once boasted.
In contrast to the City’s declining population, the populations of surrounding municipalities
have been growing. Once accounting for one out of every five residents in the CMA (17%),
those living in surrounding communities now account for one out of every two residents
(44.4%). Current population trends, although slowing, suggest that there will soon be more
CMA residents living outside the City of Saint John than inside it.
Figure 4: Population Change in Saint John CMA (1971-2006)
Source: Adapted from R. MacKinnon, UNBSJ (from original source Statistics Canada)
More Seniors, Less Workers, Fewer Youth
In addition to a declining population, three demographic trends will impact the delivery of
recreation services in the years to come: the working age population is getting smaller; the
region is losing its youth at a rapid pace; and the overall population is aging.
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Since 1996, the working age population of Saint John has declined by more than 2,000
individuals. As baby boomers continue to age, more and more of them are entering into their
final years of work or are entering into retirement. While those aged 55-64 form an
increasingly larger segment of Saint John’s population, those aged 65 and up have declined
slightly. However, this small decline has been more than offset by the growth of this same age
cohort in surrounding communities.
Given current demographic patterns, it can be assumed that the working age cohort will
continue to see a decline in its overall numbers and those aged 55 and up will continue to
increase. Aging baby boomers present a unique challenge to recreation service providers since
they are largely responsible for the rising demand for casual, self-directed activities.
Figure 5: Population Trends in City of Saint John by Age Cohort (1996-2006)
Source: Statistics Canada, 1996, 2001 and 2006 Community Profiles)
Figure 6: Population Trends in Rest of CMA by Age Cohort (1996-2006)
Source: Statistics Canada, 1996, 2001 and 2006 Community Profiles)
The only age groups shrinking at a faster pace than the working age cohort are those aged
0-14 and 15-24. Since 1996 the city’s two youngest cohorts have grown smaller in both the
City of Saint John and in surrounding communities. Youth under the age of 19 form an
increasingly smaller proportion of the City’s population. In 1996 youth under the age of 19
accounted for one quarter of the City’s population, but by 2006 that figure had fallen to 22%.
School District 8 anticipates this trend will continue well into the future.
Based on Department of Education enrollment statistics, the local school district is expecting
to see a 28% drop in enrollment during the 20 year period between 2005 and 2025. If their
projections are accurate, the decline in school-aged children will dramatically impact
recreational services in the City.
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Figure 7: Department of Education Enrolment Projections, School Districts 6 & 8 (2005-2025)
Source: Department of Education, Table 25. Enrolment Projections by District and Year
General Demographic Aging
Saint John is not the only City experiencing an aging population. Most other cities in New
Brunswick and throughout Canada are experiencing the same general demographic trend.
Saint John’s population has been aging at a slower pace than the Saint John CMA, the Province
of New Brunswick and Canada. In spite of this, however, Saint John’s median age passed the
40-year milestone between 2001 and 2006, as did the rest of the CMA and the Province of New
Brunswick.
In most cases, many adults in their late-50s and up have disposable income and can afford
to lead healthy and physically active lives. As older adults find they have more time on their
hands following retirement, their involvement in recreation activities tends to increase.
However, given the concentrated levels of poverty in Saint John, especially among the City’s
senior population (who are estimated to have a citywide poverty rate of 16%), access to
popular activities such as walking, golf, bicycling, swimming and gardening, can be difficult.
Figure 8: Median Age in City of Saint John and Elsewhere (1996-2006)
Source: Statistics Canada, 1996, 2001 and 2006 Community Profiles
Obesity Rates on the Rise; Physical Activity Rates Stagnating
Obesity rates are on the rise throughout North America, with Atlantic Canada struggling to
control the problem more than most other areas of the country. Saint John has typically had
higher obesity rates than the provincial and national averages. Local statistics are available for
Regional Health Authority B, Zone 2, a large swath of territory that stretches from St. Stephen
in the west to Sussex in the east. Zone 2 consistently exhibits obesity rates higher than the
averages for New Brunswick and Canada. By 2008, the obesity rate in Saint John reached 25%,
higher than the province’s rate of 23.5% and the country’s rate of 17%.
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Within these obesity rates is the worrying trend of increased obesity among youth. At the
national level, Canadian youth are living increasingly idle lifestyles that revolve more around
computers and televisions than around recreation facilities. Accessibility is one of the key
constraints facing youth when it comes to recreation participation. Finances, schedules and
transportation can impact access to structured recreation activities and can lead to an
increased reliance on unstructured activities.
Figure 9: Obesity Rates in Saint John (Health Region 2)
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey
In spite of increasingly sedentary lifestyles, youth continue to exhibit higher rates of
participation in active sports. It is estimated that roughly 72% of Canadian youth participate
in sports, the vast majority of which involve structured competitions. However, participation
rates for the general population are significantly lower than those of youth. The 2007 selfreported rate of physical activity for Saint John (Regional Health Authority B, Zone 2) remained
more or less the same between 2007 and 2008 at less than 50%.
Figure 10: Physical Activity Rates in Saint John (Health Region 2)
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey
In April 2010, Active Healthy Kids Canada released their 6th Annual Report Card on Physical
Activity for Children and Youth. New Brunswick posted the worst levels of obesity in Canada at
nearly 35% of the population. Correspondingly, New Brunswick also had the lowest
percentage of youth attaining the recommended daily physical activity level with only seven
per cent of the youth population.
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3.0 Recreation Trends
There is an abundance of research pointing to the benefits of healthy living and participation
in sporting and leisure activities. Healthy living can have a positive effect on an individual’s
quality of life by improving fitness levels and increasing resistance to certain diseases.
Participation in sporting activities can improve social cohesion and strengthen community
identity. These positive outcomes often result in higher rates of life satisfaction among
physically fit and healthy individuals.
Municipalities must design recreation services in a way that allows residents to live active and
healthy lives. Recreation services that meet the specific interests and needs of its citizens can
go a long way towards improving the health and well-being of a community. The type,
location and quality of recreational facilities and programs, and the economic and social
sustainability of these facilities and programs, will help a municipality address these issues.
This section focuses on two dominant recreation trends: participation trends and facility
planning trends. Trends in recreational programming are discussed in Section 7.4 of this
report.
3.1
Participation Trends
Statistics Canada points to a national decline in sports participation rates, with the exception
of soccer and girls’ hockey.2 Not surprisingly, hockey remains one of the most popular sports
to play in the country, while baseball’s fortunes continue to decline and soccer emerges as
one of the fastest-growing sports in Canada. With statistics indicating that soccer is now the
sport of choice for children under 14 in Canada, this trend is expected to continue well into the
future.
Figure 11: Changing Participation Rates for 5-14 Year Olds (1992 & 2005)
Source: Statistics Canada, Kids’ Sports
However, income and family demographics play a major role in the trend towards sports
participation in communities. Studies indicate that income has a profound impact on
participation in organized sports activities. Statistics Canada points out that in 2005, less than
half of children from households with incomes less than $40,000 were active in sports
compared to 63% of children from households with incomes of more than $80,000.3
2 Statistics Canada (2008). Kids’ Sports.
3 Statistics Canada (2005). Sport Participation in Canada.
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With a median household income of approximately $41,000, a large percentage of children in
Saint John fall within this demographic group with lower participation rates.
Statistics also indicate that participation in organized sporting activities decline as
individuals get older.4 While the majority (51%) of children between the ages of 5 and 14
participate in organized sports, approximately one quarter (26%) of parents regularly played
sports themselves. For both males and females, sports participation declines once
individuals enter their 20s. By the time individuals enter retirement (65 years of age) only one
in ten females and two in ten males are actively engaged in sports.
Figure 12: Age and Participation Rates in Sports
Source: Statistics Canada, Kids’ Sports
3.2
Facility Planning Trends
Population statistics are a common method used by municipalities to determine the location
and number of recreation facilities needed. As an example, the Ontario guidelines referenced
in Section 7.0 of this report use population ratio standards to determine what number of
recreation facilities is needed for a given community. While these standards offer a helpful
starting point for facility planning, they are relatively inelastic and do not take into
consideration community-specific issues such as age groups and emerging local recreation
and leisure activities. As such, an increasing number of municipalities are turning to recreation
master planning in order to effectively engage the community and determine their recreation
needs. Recreation master planning enables a municipality to take a variety of factors into
consideration, including existing and anticipated population levels, facility inventories and
historical and emerging recreation demands.
Facility planning trends across the country also include a changing attitude towards “capital
risk investment”, as single-use facilities are replaced by “inter-generational” complexes that
offer flexibility of use over time. These newer complexes can cater to changing recreational
demands and therefore can effectively reduce a municipalities capital costs for investments in
new facilities.
4 Statistics Canada (2008). Kids’ Sports.
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A multi-use facility is economically more efficient than its single-use counterpart because it
centralizes activities under one roof, reduces operating and maintenance costs and allows for
year-round programming (thus reducing the likelihood that a facility will remain idle or underused during the “off-season”). If planned as part of a comprehensive recreation master plan,
such facilities can better address neighbourhood-level and community-wide recreation needs.
Furthermore, there is an increasing trend in recreation planning towards grouping recreational
facilities together in one geographical area to serve as “community hubs.” A community hub is
typically defined as “a gathering place where people come together to participate in
activities, learn new skills, socialize and interact with others, and/or relax and enjoy watching
others participate as a spectator or observer.”5 Community hubs should establish a “sense of
place” for the local population and should include non-recreational elements such as a branch
library or a community policing presence. Diversity, inclusiveness, accessibility and userconvenience are all fundamental aspects of a community hub.
The City of Fredericton and the Town of Rothesay have implemented recreation master plans
that include community hubs as a central pillar of facility planning. Appendix B contains
details related to the community hub concept as outlined in the recreation master plans of
Fredericton and Rothesay.
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5 dmA Planning & Management Services (2008). Fredericton Recreation Master Plan, p. 23.
4.0 Community Issues
The challenge for Saint John, as with most municipalities, will be to adapt and redesign
recreation services to respond to evolving community needs and expectations. This section
offers a brief analysis of the demographic characteristics of the City of Saint John (described in
Section 2.0) and recreation trends (described in Section 3.0), as well as responses from
community stakeholders (see Section 5.0 for further detail) and discusses how they may
impact the delivery of recreation services in the city.
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larger than it is today. In most cases this means that the City is home to more facilities
than benchmark standards suggest are necessary. In some cases, this could result in
underutilized or redundant facilities that take limited funding away from other
facilities.
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population, it can be expected that residents from surrounding communities will
continue to form a larger percentage of individuals who use recreational services
within the City of Saint John. As such, regional demand for recreational infrastructure
is supplied in part by Saint John without appropriate cost contribution.
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more than just sporting activities. Services will need to adapt to the special services
required by low-income and at-risk populations, especially children and seniors
(whose poverty rates stand at 34% and 16% respectively). After-school programs,
transportation for seniors and subsidized services become key issues when dealing
with high poverty rates.
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opportunities than their younger counterparts. Many of these retiring “baby boomers”
have more discretionary income to spend on user fees and club memberships. As this
population continues to age, their demand for active programming will decrease while
their needs for casual leisure activities, such as walking trails and community gardens,
will most likely increase.
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continue to look for facility “efficiencies” through school closures and mergers.
Considering a large quantity of Saint John’s recreational facilities and parks are located
on school district land, this could impact the provision of recreational services to
residents.
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services will continue to get more expensive. Coupled with the continued aging of
many of the City’s facilities, Leisure Services will struggle to maintain current service
levels.
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undersupply. This is a strong indicator that the existing stock of facilities are not
properly meeting the needs of the community, most likely due to poor maintenance at
many facilities and concentrated “peak time” demand (especially for ice time) due to
inefficient scheduling.
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determining participation levels, especially among youth. Given the City’s relatively
low median income levels and education levels, Leisure Services will be challenged to
reach out to these difficult-to-reach groups. Rising obesity rates and declining
participation rates, especially among youth, indicate that current recreation services
are not necessarily serving their intended audience.
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encouraging, the overall operating budget for Leisure Services is at a fraction of what
it once was. This reduction in resources has diminished the overall quality of much of
the City’s recreational infrastructure and a return to the “golden age” of funding is
unlikely. As such, new cost-efficient methods of service delivery are crucial to
providing residents with high-quality recreation services.
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take the long-term sustainability of Leisure Services into account. Given the many
challenges facing the City, clear policy and service level standards are needed to
articulate a plan on how to calibrate or refocus the City’s recreation services.
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respond to evolving community needs and expectations, including increasingly hectic
schedules, rising demand for casual, self-directed activities and shifting/declining
participation rates in physical activities.
5.0 Stakeholder Consultation
5.1
Consultation Process
ADI Limited consulted local and regional recreation organizations and community groups as
part of the consultation process for the Recreation Inventory Study. It is important to note that
public consultation was not within the scope of this study. Therefore, the results contained in
this report should be viewed as the opinion of recreation stakeholders and community
organizations, not as the opinion of Saint John residents. Furthermore, the relatively low
response rate of 23.4% indicates that the opinions expressed in this section do not necessarily
represent the majority of local organizations. A full list of all contacted stakeholders, as well as
the dates and timing of outreach are documented in Appendix C.
Project summaries and questionnaires were distributed and resubmitted via email and
additional interviews were conducted by phone where further discussion was warranted.
Stakeholders were asked whether or not current recreation services meet the needs of their
organizations or the people they serve; what the strengths and weaknesses of existing
recreation services and programs are; and what priority initiatives the City should take to
improve the recreation system. Two questions dealt exclusively with the programming and
operations of community centres. A copy of the stakeholder mail out can be found in
Appendix D.
A total of 128 stakeholder groups were contacted at least three times as part of the
stakeholder consultation process. The first point of contact came via email on February 1st,
2010, with a follow-up email sent on February 9th, 2010. The third and final email was sent on
February 19th, 2010. From the 128 stakeholders, a short list of 19 organizations was selected
for targeted follow-up based on the recommendations of the City’s Leisure Services
Department. At least two phone calls (in addition to the aforementioned emails) were made to
representatives of each of these 19 organizations to solicit their feedback.
A total of 30 organizations completed and returned the questionnaire. While the total
response rate for all stakeholders stands at approximately 23.4%, feedback from the targeted
list is 52.6%. It’s important to point out that while feedback from social organizations and
community centre associations is quite high, responses from sports associations is surprisingly
low. The following organizations have provided their feedback:
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5.2
Public Consultation
Once again, it must be clarified that public consultation was not within the scope of this study.
Since this report will form part of the Technical Background Report for the Saint John
Municipal Plan process, it is anticipated that the public will have an opportunity to provide
feedback and input as part of the Public Engagement Program for that initiative.
However, in Fall 2009 the City of Saint John completed a Citizen Survey that describes citizens’
satisfaction and level of importance for various municipal programs and services offered by
the City of Saint John, including recreation. It is worth reviewing the results of this survey as
part of this report.
Telephone interviews were conducted by Ipsos Reid in October 2009 with 802 residents
distributed evenly across the City of Saint John. This Citizen Survey determined that public
opinion believed priority investments for the City should include drinking water, wastewater
treatment, stormwater management, snow removal and road/sidewalk maintenance.
Residents had a significantly weak perception of the City in terms of recreational
opportunities. The survey included information about the level of satisfaction regarding
recreation facilities and programs. Among the residents who expressed the opinion that “the
quality of life in the City has improved over the past few years,” one of the main reasons given
for this improvement was a public perception of good or better recreation programs.
However, levels of satisfaction related to recreation programs and recreation facilities generally
fell below expected satisfaction levels.
5.3
Consultation Results
While there was no shared consensus among stakeholder organizations who responded to the
Inventory Study questionnaire, some common themes did emerge including:
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Question 1: Do Saint John’s existing recreation services adequately meet the needs of your
organization?
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Approximately one in three stakeholders felt that current recreation services are adequately
meeting the needs of their organization. The other two-thirds felt existing services were
inadequate. More than half of respondents felt that the key problem was insufficient or poor
quality facilities.
Page 16
It is believed that many of Saint John’s facilities, both indoor and outdoor, are in need of
improvements. Poor conditions, lack of “off season” (winter) access and a lack of diverse venues
were three of the key issues raised.
Accessibility was another issue raised by numerous stakeholder organizations. Many lamented
the loss of transportation services (such as vans) that could ferry residents to different
facilities. A small population spread over a large municipal territory creates a major challenge
to ensuring geographic access to all residents. However, many organizations also indicated
that financial accessibility (affordability) was the major hindrance to community access for
recreation services.
Question 2: If you answered No, what action should the City take to address this issue?
No consensus existed when asked what priority action the City should take to improve existing
services. The following answers were given:
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While 8% of respondents identified gaps in programming as a key reason why existing
recreation services are not meeting their needs (Question 1), 19% of respondents in Question
2 identified programming improvements as a priority action for the City. This suggests that
some stakeholders were referring to programming when they identified “poor accessibility”
and “inadequate funding” as key issues in Question 1.
Given the high response rate from recreation organizations that focus on at-risk communities
and community centre programming, it is not surprising that programming improvements
were identified as a key priority action more than any other response. Many respondents
indicated that current programs are not accessible to all segments of the population equally,
including at-risk youth, seniors, newcomer communities and francophone populations.
Consistent with the general issues raised surrounding poor quality facilities, a new multipurpose facility was identified by 15% of respondents as the most important action the City
should take to address current deficiencies. However, when asked what recreation programs
and facilities are most needed in the City, multi-purpose fields ranked at the top, followed by
after-school programs and ice surfaces (see Question 5).
Question 3: In your opinion, what are the 3 biggest challenges facing the City’s recreation services?
Not surprisingly, funding was identified as the single largest issue facing City recreation
services, which arguably impacts all other areas identified as issues, including facility quality,
lack of staffing, accessibility issues and inadequate advertising.
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Question 4: In your opinion, what are the 3 greatest opportunities for the City’s recreation services?
Even less consensus existed when stakeholders were asked to identify the biggest
opportunities for improvement to the system. The future population of the City, in terms of
potential growth and shifting age composition, was identified as the single largest
opportunity for the City. Partnership opportunities for Leisure Services and community
organizations were identified as the second largest opportunity.
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Question 5: What recreation programs and facilities, do you hear are needed in Saint John?
Respondents were asked to choose from a list of eight options, or provide their own response,
to determine what programs or facilities are most needed in the city. Multi-purpose fields were
identified as the most in need, followed by after-school programs, ice surfaces and large multipurpose facilities.
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Question 6: What do you think is the best model for operating community centres?
The only question to achieve any type of consensus was the question that asked respondents
to identify the best model for operating community centres. The majority of stakeholders
(61%) believed that partnerships between the City and private organizations would be the
best model to follow. This suggests significant support among recreation stakeholders for
current community centre partnerships, including those with the YMCA-YWCA and the Boys &
Girls Club.
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Question 7: What types of activities and programs would you like to see offered at local community
centres?
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Respondents gave a wide variety of responses when asked to identify what types of activities and programs they would like to see offered at local community centres. The long list of
answers is contained in Appendix E.
6.0 Recommendations
The Saint John Leisure Services Infrastructure, Facilities and Programming Inventory Study was
undertaken as a necessary step toward reinvestment in both infrastructure and programming
in the City of Saint John. To serve the needs of its citizens, the Department of Leisure Services
must work collaboratively with the community, Common Council and other departments and
organizations.
One of the realities in Saint John is the depopulation of the urban core to suburban
communities such as Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield and other communities
within the commuter shed. Left with a shrinking tax base, how can Saint John solve the decline
in quality of its infrastructure and strained resources?
This chapter is broken into two sections: the first poses a recommended framework for future
decision-making processes, while the second puts forward specific policy recommendations
for Common Council through its Leisure Services staff to implement.
6.1
Recommended Decision-Making Framework
6.1.1 Focus on Priorities
Leisure Services prioritizes programs and services for those persons who may be at risk, in
need, or have special needs or disabilities, to ensure access for these groups. Access is defined
as the removal or reduction of barriers caused by distance, language, culture, age, gender,
social and attitudinal barriers, finances, lack of skill or knowledge, or physical obstacles.
The City of Saint John has five priority neighbourhoods. These areas should be specifically
targeted so that recreation programming meets the unique needs of these areas. However,
although the five priority neighbourhoods have the highest incidences of poverty in the City,
some 60% of Saint John residents living in poverty live outside these neighbourhoods. An
example of a high need area is a low income suburban area with a high population of children
and youth. High need areas also include geographically isolated neighbourhoods, areas with
high vandalism or crime rates, or communities of modest means.
In many cases, community pressure on local representatives has resulted in decisions that
do not support the long-term sustainability of the City’s recreation services. The Department
needs to take advantage of the City’s GIS capabilities to ensure decisions meet the needs of
the City’s priority groups. The maps contained in Appendix A show how demographic data
can be overlayed with the City’s recreation infrastructure data to help guide decision-making.
6.1.2 Pro-Active versus Re-Active Planning
There are three choices that can be made about a program after it has been evaluated:
1. Operate the program again without significant changes
2. Modify the program
3. Or cease to offer the program
Achieving broad consensus with Common Council and Senior Management within the City of
Saint John on these choices should relate to the mission and core services that will enhance
overall quality and service levels. Engaging all decision-makers (elected and communitybased) in key strategic discussions related to program evaluation will ensure holistic and
consensual decision-making. To ensure their relevance against the defined role of the Leisure
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Services department, all existing and potential programs and services should be developed
and/or assessed utilizing the following service level criteria:
Step 1: Identification and Assessment of Need/Demand
Emerging needs and trends are identified by staff or by the community. While this study
identifies some of these trends, further details related to community needs should be
identified as part of a recreation master plan as well as through data collection tools such as
the City’s Class 6.0 scheduling software. Once a need has been identified by staff or by the
public, staff assesses its applicability to the Leisure Services mission and vision, Corporate and
Common Council priorities, and values to determine whether it is a potential “fit.”
Step 2: Scan for Other Service Providers
Staff assesses other service agencies in the community to determine if a similar program or
service is being provided by another agency or if the specific program or service could be
provided by another agency. If so, the agency should be consulted about the possibility of
potential partnerships. See Section 7.4 for further discussion on programming and best
practices in program delivery.
Step 3: Sole Service Providers
Similar to the above step, staff determines the level of service by assessing whether or not
Leisure Services is the sole service provider within any given area. If there is not an agency or
partner available in a specific community to meet an identified need and Leisure Services has
the resources and the mandate to provide a program or service, then the program or service
should be operated by Leisure Services.
Step 4: “Gap Filling”
Leisure Services acts as a “gap filler.” If there is an identified lack or gap in a certain type of
recreation program (i.e. cultural or sport programs) within any given community, staff will
attempt to fill the void if the resources are available and the identified gap fits the Leisure
Services mandate. Where this is the case, staff strives to ensure that the community is serviced
with a basic level of programming especially in high need areas with a high density of children
and youth.
6.1.3 Building Partnership Capacity
Leisure Services currently has some very successful programs and facilities that operate
through community partnerships. The Lord Beaverbrook Rink for example is owned by the
City of Saint John but has operated under a community based organization for more than fifty
years. As part of a community development approach, Leisure Services staff should assess
the viability of offering a specific program through some type of partnership agreement. For
example, instead of Leisure Services offering a program directly, staff can assist the group with
the marketing of the program and the training of the instructor. Building the capacity within
the partnership organization to deliver programming ensures that those programs “belong”
to the community. Leisure Services does not accrue the revenue but neither does it incur the
expenditures associated with the program.
6.1.4 Building Internal Capacity
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Staff at Leisure Services work with the public on a daily basis and bring a lot of experience and
leadership to projects. In many cases, the City has become the “middle man” for programming
delivery. However, expanded opportunities for staff training will ensure professional
consistency and allow staff to explore innovative and more effective opportunities for
engaging the public. Training programs for Leisure Services staff should focus on the
capacity building aspects of community development where enhanced skills in process
facilitation, pubic speaking and presentation style, community engagement, diversity
training, planning inclusive events and processes, conflict resolution, and media relations are
most important. The opportunity within Leisure Services to become leaders in community
development is based on developing human resource skills that target:
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single parents, and those in need.
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infrastructure and programming.
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organizations and related disciplines (community networks, resource sharing, service
consolidation)
6.1.5 Urban, Suburban and Rural Considerations
There are geographical variations between urban, suburban and rural areas in Saint John with
respect to recreation. The ongoing Municipal Planning process has incorporated three
subareas into its analysis of Saint John: urban, suburban and rural. For purposes of consistency,
all mapping created for this report has incorporated these same geographical units of analysis.
Recreation and leisure is a community-based service and therefore these variations provide
for differing levels and types of programs and services across the City of Saint John. Access to
facilities is one factor that can influence service levels in different areas. For example, in rural
areas programs are often delivered through schools, church halls, and community halls. The
need for city-owned infrastructure and facilities is not expected to the same degree as in high
density neighbourhoods.
6.1.6 Cost Recovery and Revenue Formulas
The achievement of revenue greatly influences Leisure Services’ level of service but revenue
is not the sole consideration. Although Leisure Services strives to recoup direct costs for direct
programs, many programs, especially those for children and youth in high need areas, need
to be subsidized. Adult and senior programs are generally full cost recovery on direct costs,
unless social obligations override this formula. Many high cost/low return programs have been
eliminated except where they can be justified as fulfilling a social obligation or where Leisure
Services is identified as the sole service provider.
In cases where money from another source (i.e. grant money) can be accessed to enhance new
or existing programs and services, particular attention should be paid to the long term
financial sustainability of any new initiative or pilot program.
The financial sustainability of recreation facilities must also be examined. It is important for
Leisure Services to consider synergies with other proposed initiatives and capital projects (new
schools, fire stations, etc.) within the City for long-term planning of facilities. This integration
will maximize capital investment opportunities and ensure compatibility with community
vision and plans. Appendix F contains examples of best practices related to recreation facilities that have taken advantage of synergies with other City departments in order to create
more cost-effective structures.
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6.2
Recommended Actions
6.2.1 “Right Size” Recreation Infrastructure
There are many examples of effective and well-used recreation facilities and programs in Saint
John, including Rockwood Park, cheerleading programs at community centres, community
parternships with the YMCA-YWCA and the Boys & Girls Club and the programming available
at Lily Lake. The variety of infrastructure, facilities and programs on offer in Saint John should
be applauded, but will be difficult for Leisure Services to sustain over the long-term.
Leisure Services, as with many other City departments, is “spread too thin,” a natural result of
the City’s legacy as a formerly larger municipality. Living within the municipal means is crucial
to the survival of Leisure Services. Monitoring and evaluating its facilities and programs is key
to implementing focused service options.
Leisure Services has already begun this process in many areas. The operation of numerous
community centres has been transferred to community partners such as the YMCA-YWCA and
the Boys & Girls Club. Another example includes the numerous surplus baseball diamonds that
have been converted to multi-purpose fields, including those at Lakewood Heights School, the
Loch Lomond Community Centre and Lorneville Community Centre. However, the transfer of
operational responsibility, the divestment of infrastructure and the re-imaging of
infrastructure into new uses should all occur within a comprehensive Leisure Services policy
framework.
6.2.2 Develop a Recreation Master Plan
While this report has provided an up-to-date inventory of existing recreation facilities and
programs in the City of Saint John, it cannot make any site specific recommendations since
public consultation was not part of the scope of this project. In order to take some of the
recommendations described in this section to the next step, the City of Saint John will need
to develop a new Recreation Master Plan to create a clear and community-supported policy
document to help move the City’s recreation and leisure services forward. The decision
support tools contained in Appendix A are a first step.
6.2.3 Develop a Youth Strategy
Through trend analysis, needs identification, Common Council requests, and participation in
several provincial and national initiatives, Leisure Services has determined that children and
youth are priority target groups. To ensure emphasis is placed on this target group, a Youth
Strategy should be developed and implemented.
Saint John’s Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) has developed a Poverty
Reduction Strategy that targets children, teens at risk, and single parents. This study has found
that there is a particular need to support young people who are disadvantaged, such as young
people experiencing poverty, health issues and family issues. However, the ‘average’ young
person also requires opportunities for positive experiences and personal development, and
this can be achieved through the provision of recreation opportunities. The focus of such a
Strategy would relate to:
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participate in recreation. This includes girls, young people from lower income families,
young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and other
disadvantaged young people.
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non-membership-based that a person does for personal enjoyment. This could
include physical activity, social interaction, arts and culture, education, health or just
having fun.
6.2.4 Use Class 6.0 Facility Scheduling Program to its Full Potential
More and more communities are making use of facility scheduling software to help coordinate
community and school facilities. It can be laborious for recreation users, especially those who
are new to the system, to track down which facilities have availability at any given time. Facility
scheduling software helps improve the efficiency of facility booking by allowing residents and
groups to book facility space over the phone and online. It would also allow the City to better
track the users of its facilities and demand for facility space.
Saint John currently uses the Class 6.0 system to schedule some of its facilities, but it is
recognized that there is a need to expand the use of the software. When used to its full extent,
Class 6.0 can help staff automate program and activity registration, facility reservation, league/
tournament scheduling and financial administration. Leisure Services should work towards the
full implementation of its facility scheduling software for all recreation spaces in the City,
including those that are owned by the City, School District 8, UNBSJ and NBCC, regional
authorities (such as the Canada Games Aquatic Centre and Lord Beaverbrook Rink), and
community organizations. Appendix G contains information related to the benefits of facility
scheduling software.
The consolidation of scheduling operations into one database would allow for better coordination of available recreation facilities, improve scheduling efficiency, maximize
participation and create a more open and accessible system. Given that many users of Saint
John facilities come from elsewhere in the region, a coordinated regional approach could also
be undertaken to maximize efficiencies for regional sports associations. Using the tools and
tracking opportunities available through the software, Leisure Services will be able to track
program participation trends and use this information to guide new program development
and program phase-out decisions.
6.2.5 Develop a Sport Allocation Policy
The intent of this Policy is to establish guidelines for the allocation and management of the
Recreation and Leisure Services facilities. However, it does not cover such facilities as arenas
and swimming pools. The following recommended guidelines may serve as the foundation of
this Policy:
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communities;
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age, gender, race, physical ability or economic status;
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sports associations;
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their registrants playing in their neighbourhood or area;
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associations playing on a field or in a facility, to promote the concept of having a
home field or park.
These guidelines should be used as a framework within which Leisure Services can make fair
and equitable outdoor facility allocation decisions.
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6.2.6 Develop a Turf Management Policy
In an attempt to shift the focus from quantity to quality, especially as it relates to the City’s
outdoor recreational facilities, Leisure Services should implement a turf management policy to
allow adequate resting time for outdoor fields, as well as potentially converting some natural
surfaces into artificial turf surfaces. Appendix H includes details of the City of Edmonton’s turf
management policy, considered one of the best such policies in the country.
6.2.7 Develop a Leisure Services Community Development Newsletter/Forum
Communication with the public and vested stakeholders is critical to the long term viability of
programs. Leisure services should distribute a quarterly electronic newsletter to share
information with the public regarding new and ongoing initiatives and to solicit feedback.
Page 24
7.0 Inventories
A three-phase approach was employed to create a comprehensive recreation inventory for the
City of Saint John. First, a review and analysis of existing documents was conducted in order to
summarize their findings and identify existing inventory lists. Second, these lists were crossreferenced against the City’s GIS-database which contains a series of data pertaining to
facilities, such as playgrounds, parks, arenas and community centres. Third, where
discrepancies existed between documents and the GIS database, site verification was
completed to determine which source was accurate. The verified inventory lists were then
plotted on maps and posted in the offices of the City Leisure Services Department. Feedback
from City staff members, who have an in depth knowledge of existing recreation facilities,
reviewed the maps and subsequent revisions were made. The final recreation inventory maps
are contained in this report and as attachments.
This Recreation Inventory Study includes both municipally-owned and non-municipally
owned lands and facilities since even those sites that are not owned by the City play an
integral role in meeting the recreational and leisure needs of Saint John residents. The Federal
and Provincial Government, School District 8, private groups and not-for-profit organizations
all have a role to play when it comes to the provision of recreation services.
Established Standards
As a first step in determining whether or not the City of Saint John is well served by its
recreational facilities, the City’s inventory must be compared against benchmark standards.
Although the Province has not established guidelines regarding the provision of recreation
facilities, New Brunswick follows Ontario’s Guidelines for Developing Public Recreation Facility
Standards (1998). These guidelines provide a practical benchmark for the inventory of Saint
John’s arenas, parks, playgrounds, open spaces, sports fields, and community centres.
However, properly understanding the effectiveness of recreation services must go beyond
statistics and standards. Following this section is a summary of the consultation process that
was held to determine how well the City’s facilities and programs are serving local residents.
The following recreation inventory has been broken into four broad categories: indoor
facilities; outdoor facilities; parks and open spaces; and recreational programming.
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7.1
Indoor Facilities Inventory
Simply put, indoor facilities include all built structures with a roof. They can provide leisure and
recreation opportunities for residents during every season and include arenas, pools,
community centres, school gymnasia and curling rinks. Some private indoor facilities, such as
fitness centres, are not included within the scope of the study.
Map A highlights the location of Saint John’s indoor recreation facilities. The City is home to
a wide range of indoor facilities, the vast majority of which are centrally clustered in the city’s
urban core.
7.1.1 Arenas
The City of Saint John has five individual single-ice surface skating arenas, plus an arena/
performance venue known as Harbour Station. The arenas are all centrally-located: three in the
City’s urban core and three in the City’s central suburban ring. None of the arenas are located
in the areas of the city described as “rural”. A brief overview of each arena is contained in
Appendix I.
The oldest of these facilities is the Lord Beaverbrook Rink (LBR), which was donated to the City
in 1960 by Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook. The LBR, although owned by the City of Saint John,
is managed, operated and staffed by an independent Board of Directors. On December 21,
1983, the City of Saint John consolidated the management of the rink under a new “not for
profit” incorporated company known as the “Board of Trustees of the Lord Beaverbrook Rink at
Saint John, Inc.” The LBR has a specific mandate that includes:
tGSFFiOPDPTUwVTFPGUIFSJOLGPSUIFTUVEFOUTPGUIFQVCMJDTDIPPMTPG4BJOU+PIO
including organized school hockey and skating programs.6
tBDDFTTGPSBNBUFVS7 and recreational hockey by rental agreement.
tBDDFTTGPSTLBUJOHTIPXTPSFYIJCJUJPOTCZSFOUBMBHSFFNFOU
tBDDFTTGPSDPNNFSDJBMBOETQPSUBUIMFUJDBDUJWJUJFTEVSJOHUIFTVNNFSTFBTPOCZ
rental agreement.
tOPBDDFTTGPSQSPGFTTJPOBMIPDLFZ
The City also owns four community arenas: Peter G. Murray, Charles Gorman, Stewart Hurley
and Hilton Belyea. Each of these arenas are operated, maintained and scheduled by staff from
the City’s Leisure Services Department. Commonly referred to as centennial arenas, these four
arenas were built between the late-1960s and mid-1970s with financial assistance from the
Federal Government’s infrastructure program to mark Canada’s Centennial year.
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6 Elementary and middle schools have free “no cost” access, while high schools and minor hockey programs pay,
but are subsidized by Leisure Services.
7 Hockey Canada is the sole governing body for amateur hockey within Canada and operates national
programming in partnership with 13 Branch Associations, the Canadian Hockey League (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL),
and Canadian Inter-University Sports.
In 2004 the City of Saint John commissioned the Recreational Facilities Committee to prepare a
report regarding the need for additional recreational facilities. This report, commonly referred
to as the “Wallace Report,” concluded that the lifecycle of arenas within the Greater Saint John
Region is sufficient enough to allow the arenas to continue operating until 2019 to 2034,
assuming that proper upgrades and maintenance is conducted on each individual facility.
More specifically, the report indicated that the four arenas (Hilton Belyea, Charles Gorman,
Stewart Hurley, and Peter Murray) will require capital investments of $525,000 before the end
of 2009 in order to extend the life of the facilities to 2019-2024.8
In 2008 the Recreation Facility Association of Nova Scotia (RFANS) completed a report that
details the findings of arena assessments conducted on the four centennial arenas. The report
noted that all four arenas were in good condition, and provided recommendations to improve
each arena’s operational practices, energy efficiency and building maintenance.
The newest and largest facility in the city is Harbour Station, New Brunswick’s largest
entertainment and sporting venue. The complex is managed by the Harbour Station
Commission which is funded by the municipalities of Grand Bay-Westfield, Quispamsis,
Rothesay and Saint John. The management and funding structure for this complex are derived
from the provincial Greater Saint John Regional Facilities Commission Act. This legislation
provides for municipal cost sharing of five regional facilities: the Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition
Centre, the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, Imperial Theatre, the Saint John Trade and
Convention Centre, and Harbour Station.
Benchmark Standards
In comparison to benchmark standards discussed above, the City is well-served by arenas. The
recommended level of service requirements for artificial indoor ice arenas is one arena per
20,000 persons. Saint John, with a population of 68,000, has nearly 12,000 persons per arena.
As is the case in many Canadian cities, the adequacy of the current supply of arenas, and more
specifically the allocation and availability of ice-time, is an ongoing topic of discussion. In Saint
John there is a perception of a need for additional ice time, especially during “prime time”
hours. The 2004 Wallace Report identified a need for two additional ice surfaces in the Greater
Saint John Region and suggested using the LBR as the cornerstone for a future multi-purpose
sporting complex that would include additional ice surfaces, fitness and training rooms and
other spaces for a variety of recreational opportunities.9 Appendix J contains an overview of
the City’s ice-time allocation policy and a discussion on the need for additional ice surfaces.
8 Since 2005, the City has made significant capital investments in the four arenas. However, according to the City’s
Facilities Manager, because of the nature of these investments, and the variety of sources through which the
investments flowed, it is difficult to ascertain an absolute figure.
9 The recent construction of the single-pad QPlex facility in Quispamsis will, once fully operational, meet the need
for one of these ice surfaces.
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7.1.2 Pools
The City of Saint John owns one indoor pool, the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, which is
operated by the Saint John Aquatic Centre Commission. This regional facility offers the only
Olympic-sized pool in the region (50m) and is the hub of swimming activities and programs in
the region. The YMCA-YWCA operated an indoor pool at its 19-25 Hazen Avenue location, until
it moved to a temporary location without a pool in 2007. Since then, it has used two pools for
all of its swimming programming – the Colonial Inn (Seniors Aquacise, Strong Bones and
Encore) and Saint John High School (summer day camps, youth swimming lessons). All the
other indoor pools in the city are operated either by School District 8 (two) or by private hotels
(four) that offer memberships or pay-per-swim options to the general public. Harbour View
High School also has a pool, but it is only available for student use.
Beyond the Canada Games Aquatic Centre and the YMCA-YWCA, pools in Saint John have
received little attention in previous recreation studies. Prior to the YMCA-YWCA closing its
Hazen Avenue facility, there was much discussion surrounding the future of a new Y facility.
The 2004 Wallace Report recommended that if such a facility was to be constructed, it “should
be physically connected to the Aquatic Center, such that the swimming pool requirements of
the Y would be provided by the Aquatic Center, and the members of both facilities could easily
move from one facility to another.” To date, a new facility has not been constructed and the Y
remains at its temporary location in the Prince Edward Mall. Appendix I offers a brief overview
of pools that are available for community use in Saint John.
Benchmark Standards
In comparison to benchmark standards, the City is well-served by pools. The recommended
standards indicate Saint John should be home to one Olympic-sized pool plus three other
smaller-sized pools (25m). While none of the pools other than the Aquatic Center are publiclyowned and operated, there is no indication that the agreements in place to allow public payaccess to six private pools in the city are not meeting the needs of Saint John residents.
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7.1.3 Community Centres
The City is home to 16 community centres. Only four of these centres are owned by the City
(Carleton CC, North End CC, Loch Lomond CC10 and Lorneville CC) and the City is fully
responsible for programming at only three (Carleton CC, North End CC and Somerset CC). The
City has contracted out programming to outside agencies at three community centres
(Millidgeville CC, Forest Glen CC and South End CC), with ongoing discussions to contract
programming out at a fourth centre (North End CC). The majority of remaining community
centres, including Latimore Lake11, are owned and operated by community organizations.
These centres are typically referred to as “external” community centres, to which the City
provides small operating grants and assists with program delivery and maintenance costs. A
seventeenth community centre is currently under construction in the east end: the community
centre at St. Joseph’s Church, which will be owned and operated by the St. Joseph Church in
partnership with the City. It is expected to open sometime in 2010.12
Appendix I provides a brief overview of each of the 16 community centres in the City of Saint
John. Appendix F provides a discussion of community centre models in Saint John and elsewhere.
Benchmark Standards
In comparison to benchmark standards, the City is well-served by community centres. With 16
community centres in existence (plus one under construction), it would seem that Saint John
meets the recommended level of service requirements for community centres (one centre per
5,000 residents). However, perhaps more so than any other facility type in Saint John, serious
questions exist surrounding how well the City’s community centres serve local residents.
As is the case in many cities, Saint John’s community centres are ageing and upkeep is proving
costly. In two separate 2009 condition reports for the Carleton CC (completed by ADI Limited)
and the North End CC (completed by Stantec), opinion of probable costs for the next 25 years
was estimated at $1million and $1.5million respectively. In many cases, it has been difficult for
the City to keep up with required maintenance and alternative methods of financing upgrades
have had to be secured, such as the significant upgrades that are underway at the Carleton CC
10 Loch Lomond Community Centre is also sometimes referred to as Ben Lomond Community Centre. For the
purpose of consistency, the term Loch Lomond has been used throughout this report.
11 Latimore Lake Community Centre is also sometimes spelled Latimer Lake. For the purposes of consistency, the
spelling Latimore Lake is used throughout this report.
12 The community centre next to St. Joseph’s Church is currently under construction. At the time of writing this
report, the official name of the community centre has yet to be determined.
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to accommodate a new provincially-funded Wellness Centre and Food Bank. Similar financial
hardship can be found at the “external” community centres as well. In discussions with one
community association, it was indicated that the only reason their community centre is still
operating is because of funds it receives from providing space to a provincial food bank
operation.
7.1.4 School Gymnasia
Residents of Saint John have access to indoor recreational spaces at most of the City’s
elementary, middle and high schools. School facilities are typically used for sports leagues,
town hall meetings and community information sessions. As in most cities, they are also used
as voting locations during municipal, provincial and federal elections.
School District 8 has designated a number of schools as “community schools.” Partners
Assisting Local Schools (PALS) is an initiative of School District 8, in which the local business
community and service agencies partner with neighbourhood schools to provide support to
students in the form of volunteers and financial assistance. More details on this initiative can
be found in the Programming Inventory section of this report.
The largest indoor school facility is located on the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John
(UNBSJ) campus. The G. Forbes Elliot Athletics Centre has a fitness room, table tennis room,
a gymnasium with an indoor track and multiple courts (soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis,
badminton, etc.). It has also hosted multiple sporting events.
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Benchmark Standards
Accepted standards indicate that there should be one gymnasium per school. This standard
holds true for most of the schools in Saint John, although the adequacy and condition of each
facility increases demand at some school facilities over others. Discussions with
recreation stakeholders and school administrators indicated that many school facilities are
booked months in advance. Individual schools are responsible for bookings and coordination
of the community use of school facilities such as gymnasia. Since there is no central
booking system, there is no information pertaining to what community groups are using these
facilities, nor any detailed information available for the general availability of school facilities
throughout the city.
7.1.5 Curling Rinks
Two curling rinks are located in Saint John – the Thistle-St. Andrews Curling Club (which has
eight sheets of ice) and the Carleton Curling Club (which has three sheets). In comparison to
benchmark standards, Saint John is well-served by these two facilities.
According to Statistics Canada, curling is the 11th most popular sport in Canada, but only the
22nd most popular sport for 5-14 year olds .13 The largest age group of curlers is comprised of
35-49 year olds (37%), followed by 50-64 year olds (22%), which means that on average curling
participants are older than in many other sports.14 Whether the recent resurgence in the
popularity of curling since the 2010 Olympics puts a strain on these two facilities to meet the
needs of the local curling community has yet to be seen.
13 Statistics Canada (2005). Sport Participation in Canada.
14 Canadian Curling Association. “Profile of a Canadian Curler.” Available from: http://www.curling.ca/content/
GoCulring/profileOfTheCanadianCurler.asp.
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7.2
Outdoor Facilities Inventory
Unlike parks, which can serve as both structured and unstructured recreational spaces, the
City’s outdoor facilities, including recreational fields, tennis courts, baseball diamonds and
skate parks, are the primary location of Saint John’s active recreation and sporting needs.
According to the Department of Leisure Service’s 2006 Annual Report, the City is responsible
for maintaining 18 tennis courts, 30 baseball/softball fields, 6 multi-use fields and one field
hockey surface.
Four city sports complexes, Memorial Park, Shamrock Park, Allison Grounds and Forest Hills
Park, serve as the sporting hubs of the City. Together they contain approximately half of the
city-owned baseball/softball fields, the majority of the City’s tennis courts and half the multiuse fields. A fifth major sports complex at Millidgeville and Samuel de Champlain schools is
run by School District 8 and School District 1, but is open to community use, including four
sports fields and three tennis courts.
Map B highlights the location of Saint John’s outdoor facilities.
7.2.1 Recreational Fields15
(*) indicates a baseball/softball field that has been converted to a multi-purpose recreation field
Many of the recreational fields in Saint John, such as the three Millidgeville North Fields, are
regulation size fields, but many of them are not (including the field located at the Lorneville
Community Centre which is a converted baseball diamond now used as a sports field).
Attempts to secure a complete list of regulation versus non-regulation fields proved difficult
given the limited availability of documentation related to field dimensions from School District
8 and other field owners. It is also important to note that the number of recreational fields in
the City has increased in recent years as many baseball and softball fields are converted to
multi-purpose fields. The recreational fields at Champlain Heights School, Lakewood Heights
School, Lorneville Community Centre and the Loch Lomond Community Centre are all former
baseball fields that now accommodate other sporting activities.
15 Two standards apply to recreational fields, one for larger (regulation) size fields and one for smaller (nonregulation) size fields. Saint John has a combination of regulation size fields and non-regulation size fields.
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There are 25 recreational fields in Saint John, the majority of which are on School District
property. The conversion of the Loch Lomond Community Centre’s baseball diamond into a
multi-purpose field will bring the total to 26. Recreational fields, or sports fields, are used for a
variety of sporting activities including, soccer, football, field hockey, field lacrosse and ultimate
frisbee. Thirteen of the 25 sports fields in Saint John fall under the jurisdiction of School
District 8, which is in charge of public access to these fields. Although precedence for field
use is given to area schools, public access to fields can be secured through the submission of
an application form. Based on the quality of the fields, the District has divided their fields into
three categories: Primary A, the highest quality fields; Primary B; and Secondary Fields.
Benchmark Standards
There are two separate standards for playing fields. Athletic fields, football fields and soccer
fields all have a standard of one location per 20,000 residents, while smaller fields, such as
junior soccer fields, have a standard of one location per 5,000.
In spite of the fact that there are significantly more fields in the City than recommended
standards, there seems to be an acute shortage of field space and playing time for local
residents. Many sports organizations complain of an inability to book practice time on city
fields. Increasing pressures from sports clubs for extended seasons and longer practices are
partly to blame. Varying states of good repair is another major issue, rendering many of the
fields undesirable for sports groups. While a detailed conditions report is beyond the scope of
this project, it is important to note that many of the fields included in this list are in poor
condition and may not meet the needs of sports groups who require clearly delineated lines
and smooth surfaces for the purpose of practices and games.
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7.2.2 Baseball/Softball Diamonds16
Saint John has 30 baseball and softball diamonds across the city. Similar to recreational fields,
the existing diamonds are in varying states of good-repair. Allison Grounds, Forest Hills Park,
Memorial Park and Shamrock Park are the four prime locations for baseball and softball
activities in the City. Many of the City’s baseball diamonds have been converted to green space
or multi-purpose fields in recent years, including those located at Lorneville Community
Centre, Lakewood School and Loch Lomond Community Centre.
Benchmark Standards
In spite of these recent conversions, Saint John is still home to twice as many baseball and
softball diamonds as deemed warranted by benchmark standards. With baseball and softball
experiencing declining participation levels more than most other sports, the oversupply of
diamonds creates an opportunity for the City to continue repurposing some of these diamonds into other types of recreational space, or to sell the lands altogether.
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16 While 30 baseball diamonds are listed, Silver Falls Park has not been used as a baseball diamond in years and
is no longer maintained by the City. However, the remaining infrastructure, such as the protective fencing
behind home base, is still in place. According to the Department of Leisure Services, plans are in place to
decommission the Taylor Avenue Field in the future and to convert the Martinon Community Centre baseball
diamond to green space.
7.2.3 Tennis Courts17
(*) indicates
d
a court that
h h
has b
been d
deemed
d unplayable
l bl b
by Leisure SServices staff.
ff Four off the
h six
courts at Memorial Park were deemed unplayable.
Saint John’s 37 tennis courts are more than double the amount recommended by benchmark
standards. However, with the exception of the eight courts at Shamrock Park, the three courts
at Forest Hills Park and the three courts at Samuel de Champlain School, the majority of courts
are deemed to be in poor to unplayable conditions by City Leisure Services staff. If resurfaced,
the six courts located at Memorial Park could once again be playable (currently only two have
nets). Tennis has been experiencing stagnating or declining participation rates at the national
level. Similar to baseball and softball diamonds, there may be opportunities to focus efforts
and finances on a selected number of tennis courts, decommission those courts deemed to be
excess, and repurpose the decommissioned courts as new recreation infrastructure, such as
skate parks.
7.2.4 Skate Park
Opened in November 2008, Station 1 Skate Park is the City’s only large-scale skate park. It’s
located under the Main St. viaduct and connects to the Harbour Passage trail system. Since its
opening, the skate park has attracted a large volume of skateboarders and provides them with
a space all their own and separate from pedestrians.
Given that skate parks are relatively recent facilities, there are no accepted benchmark
standards for such facilities.
17 According to Leisure Services, the two tennis courts at Rainbow Park have been decommissioned, but
redevelopment plans for the park will see one of these courts rebuilt. Leisure Services also indicated that the
Market Place West tennis courts have been decommissioned, but the infrastructure still remains in place.
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7.2.5 Beaches
Saint John is home to a wide variety of public beaches that line the Bay of Fundy and the City’s
fresh water lakes and rivers. Four of these beaches, Lily Lake, Fishers Lakes, Lakewood
Reservoir and Dominion Park, are supervised by City lifeguards. Some beaches are wellmaintained and popular with residents (such as those found in Rockwood Park), while others
are visited less frequently by residents and not well maintained (such as Tucker Park Beach).
There are no industry standards in place for minimum number of beaches.
7.2.6 Beach Volleyball Courts
There are no general standards for beach volleyball courts. Standards for volleyball courts are
set at one indoor or outdoor court per 5,000 residents. In combination with school gymnasia in
which residents can play indoor volleyball, there seems to be an acceptable number of
volleyball courts in the City.
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7.3
Parks & Playgrounds Inventory
Saint John has a long and proud history of parks and green spaces. As the first incorporated
city in Canada, it also became the first city to set aside land for public squares in its Royal
Charter of 1785. With the creation of the City came the creation of the City’s first green spaces
that even today remain some of the most used green spaces in the City: King’s Square, Queen’s
Square, King’s Square West and Queen’s Square West.
Saint John’s military history has been one of the leading influences on the City’s parks and
open space system. What once served as forts, barracks and parade grounds during times of
war are serving today’s population as national historic sites and recreation spaces, including
Fort Howe, Fort Latour and Barrack Green Armouries, among others.
The 1992 Recreation and Open Space Strategy identified approximately 60 designated parks
containing more than 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) of land throughout the City. Two 2009 CURA
reports, titled Urban Green Space Report, Volumes 1 & 2, provide an up-to-date and detailed
overview of Saint John’s existing open space. The report concludes that the City of Saint John
is now responsible for 72 open spaces and they point to Rockwood Park and King’s Square as
the most utilized park spaces in the city, while arguing that Partridge Island, Tucker Park and
Falls View Park are the most overlooked spaces that exhibit the greatest amount of potential.18
For the purpose of the parks inventory, the 3P’s – parks, playgrounds and playing fields – are
included as together they comprise the city’s extensive park system. For open space, all lands
identified as in the Department of Natural Resource’s Non-Forested Lands database have been
included. Map C highlights Saint John’s playgrounds and Map D shows the location of parks
and open spaces throughout the City.
In order to measure the total area of parks and open space, we have subdivided land into four
categories: local/neighbourhood parks; community parks; regional parks; and open space.
The total area for each category was calculated by adding together the area of each respective
park or open space within that category. For open space adjacent to schools, only the surface
area of playing fields and playgrounds were included, not the open space surrounding these
playing surfaces. While this may exclude some usable park space from the calculations, the
remaining properties are captured under the open space category. It is important to note that
all area calculations for parks and open spaces are estimates given the complex nature and
inconsistencies of available databases.
There is little consensus regarding the most effective way to measure the location of parks and
open spaces. Whether categories such as “neighbourhood” are still relevant today for the
provision of recreation services is questionable. However, any sub-categorization for the
purpose of recreation services should align with boundaries identified as part of the Saint John
Municipal Plan. In spite of this, there is an agreed-upon classification system for parks that
includes a hierarchy of park types ranging from small local playgrounds to large regional
tourist attractions. Our inventory categorizes Saint John’s parks and open space according
to the following four categories: local/neighbourhood parks; community parks; regional/city
parks; and open space.
18 Since the 2009 CURA report was published, Master Plans have been created for each of the three parks
identified as the “most overlooked” spaces in the City.
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7.3.1 Local/Neighbourhood Parks
As the name suggests, these parks serve the residents that live within a neighbourhood.
Residents are typically able to access these parks by foot and they serve as a social and
recreational space for the neighbourhood. Types of neighbourhood parks include
playgrounds; tot lots; parkettes; and play areas attached to elementary schools. According to
the 1992 Recreation and Open Space Strategy local parks have a catchment area radius of 0.8km.
The General Standards for Open Space contained in the Ontario Ministry of Culture and
Recreation’s Guidelines for Developing Public Recreation Facility Standards (2004) follows a
provision standard of 4.0 acres/1,000 residents (equal to 272 acres in the Saint John context).
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Our inventory has identified a total of 54 local parks in Saint John, many of which are attached
to the City’s elementary schools or serve as stand-alone playgrounds. These 54 local parks
are spread throughout the City, the majority of which are located in the City’s urban core and
inner suburban ring. The total area of local parks is approximately one-quarter what provision
standards suggest. This is most likely due to the conservative estimates that arise from the
methodology in which park areas were calculated (see Section 7.3).
7.3.2 Community Parks
Community parks serve a larger population than neighbourhood parks. Residents should be
able to access these parks by foot or by public transportation and the parks should be
programmed to offer a variety of recreational and leisure opportunities, both structured and
unstructured. Types of community parks include athletic and sports fields; lands associated
with arenas, community centres and pools; secondary school playfields; and district parks.
The Open Space Strategy suggests a recommended catchment area radius of 3km for
community parks and a provision standard of 1.5 hectares for every 1,000 residents
(3.7acres/1,000 residents). In this case, the 2004 provision standards are less stringent than
those put forward in the Open Space Strategy at 3.0 acres/1,000 residents and a catchment
area of 2.4km.
Our inventory has identified a total of 32 community parks, the majority of which are attached
to the City’s high schools, community centre and arenas. Similar to neighbourhood parks,
community parks are mainly distributed throughout the City’s urban core and inner suburban
ring. The total area of community parks is 180 acres, somewhat below the provision standard
of 204 acres.
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7.3.3 Regional Parks
The largest parks in the classification system are regional parks that attract residents and
tourists from the Saint John region and beyond. They typically provide both structured and
unstructured recreational opportunities as well as a wide range of specialized uses.
Provision standards for regional parks indicate 13 acres/1,000 residents with a catchment area
that spans an entire region. Our inventory has identified a total of 22 regional parks including
Partridge Island, which although currently closed to the public exhibits strong potential as a
signature piece of Saint John’s park system. The total area of regional parks is more than
threefold what is required by provision standards, due in large part to Rockwood Park and
Irving Nature Park.
7.3.4 Open Space
Unlike parks, there are far too many open space areas in the City to tabulate in a chart. Our
calculations for open space are based on the areas of designated parks, plus lands designated
as open space within the Department of Natural Resources’ Non-Forested Lands database.
According to the 1992 Recreation and Open Space Strategy, open space “is public and private
space that is open to the sky and is ued or has the potential to be used for public recreation.”19
Open spaces can include green spaces and corridors, buildings and their associated outdoor
areas (especially schools and community centres), streets, plazas, parks and recreational areas,
reservoirs, flood basins, watersheds, waterways and trails.
Open space networks play an important role in defining the City’s urban structure and can
help link its disparate parts. The 1992 Open Space Strategy uses three categories to identify
open space: utility open space, green open space and corridor open space.
Utility Open Space: these spaces play a productive or utilitarian role in the City and are
typically used for production or storage. Lands included in utility open space includes resource
lands (agriculture, mining, forest, water supply and storage systems); flood control and
drainage lands (flood plains, watersheds, designated protected areas); urban utility space
(reservoirs, landfills, treatment facilities); and reserves and preserves (wildlife refuge areas,
sanctuaries, lands reserved for urban development).
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19 City of Saint John Recreation and Open Space Strategy: Background Report, p. 26.
Green Open Space: these spaces are natural areas dominated by recreation and parks uses, as
well as spaces associated with adjacent buildings. Lands included in green open space include
wilderness and primitive areas; protected areas (cemeteries, archaeological sites, protected
coastlines and shorelines); park areas (such as those mentioned in previous sections);
recreation areas (such as the outdoor facilities mentioned in previous sections); and urban
open spaces (lands associated with specific buildings and developments, commons and
squares, etc.).
Corridor Open Space: these lands are paths that allow for the circulation of residents and
nature. Lands included in corridor open spaces include rights-of-way spaces (pipeline and
power line ROWs, rail lines, roadways, and rivers); environmental corridors (naturalized
corridors and trail systems).
Similar to those proposed for each of the three categories of parks, accepted standards for
open space exist. The General Standards for Open Space contained in the Ontario Ministry of
Culture and Recreation’s Guidelines for Developing Public Recreation Facility Standards (2004)
follows a provision standard of 10.0 acres of open space for every 1,000 residents.
Map D shows the location of open spaces throughout the City of Saint John. The City has a
total of 24,039 hectares (59,402 acres) of open space, the equivalent of 76% of the
municipality’s total territory.
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7.4
Programming Inventory
The City’s recreation and leisure system currently offers a range of recreational opportunities
throughout the City of Saint John. In addition to maintaining a system of parks, open spaces,
trails and recreation facilities (as described in the previous section), Saint John Leisure Services
also offers and funds a variety of programs to meet the needs of individual neighbourhoods
and communities. Supplementing the City’s efforts is a larger group of agencies and
organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club; Saint John YMCA-YWCA; Partners Assisting Local
Schools (PALS); and PRO-Kids; among many others. Each of these organizations contributes to
the recreational opportunities and well-being of Saint John residents.
A program is a flexible concept used to describe a variety of different operations, including
activities, events or services conducted by Leisure Services and other organizations. The term
“program” can refer to a single activity, such as a bike ride, a collection of activities, such as
cultural arts classes operated by an organization, or the entire mandate of services offered by
Leisure Services.
This broad definition of programming is intended to include more than sports programs
organized by City staff. The key point in programming is the concept of design, in which
Leisure Services develops an idea for a new program and through various means, facilitates
its delivery to target clientele. In some instances, the City’s role in implementing the program
is minimal, but in others it may be near total. The delivery of that program may be through
direct contact in a City-owned facility, or through the regulation of leisure programs delivered
by third parties through the development and enforcement of policies to ensure goals such as
diversity and inclusiveness are being met.
A full list of programs offered in the City of Saint John can be found in Appendix K.
7.4.1 Trends in Recreation Programming
Programming has become far more inclusive and extensive than it once was. Consequently,
recreation and leisure programmers try to ensure that programs are identified for all age
groups and interests, and reach out to “at-risk” groups such as persons with disabilities, women
and children, and youth living in poverty. According to the New Brunswick Sport Plan, “a lower
percentage of certain segments of the population are engaged in sport and recreation than
would be anticipated based on that segment’s prevalence in the population of the Province.”20
This is especially true in Saint John where concentrations of groups under-represented in
sports and recreation are significantly higher than in other cities.
One of the most prevalent trends in recreation and leisure programming is a greater
emphasis on individualized programs and personal skill development. People are increasingly
more interested in acquiring skills they can integrate into their lifestyle than in participating
with others in an ongoing program setting. On the other end of the spectrum, residents still
view recreation programs as a social medium. This has resulted in more and more programs
being offered at flexible times, rather than at a set time, to respond to the demands many
families and individuals have on their time.
Some key issues and trends related to programming in the City of Saint John include the
following:
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20 The New Brunswick Sport Plan, “Appendix C: Under-Represented Groups.” Department of Wellness, Culture and
Sport, and Sport New Brunswick, September 2008.
tBTDPNNVOJUJFTTVDIBT4BJOU+PIOBUUFNQUBOEBDUVBMMZCFDPNFNPSFFUIOJDBMMZ
diverse, programming and marketing must change to attract all cultures;
tUIFBHJOHCBCZCPPNFSHFOFSBUJPOJTNPSFDPOTDJPVTPGXFMMOFTTUIBOPMEFS
generations, but as they age will require less strenuous ways to be active than
traditional fitness programs;
tUIFBHJOHCBCZCPPNFSTXJMMBMTPJODSFBTFEFNBOEGPSBSUTQSPHSBNTPWFSUIFDPVSTF
of the next decade;
tUIFHVMGCFUXFFOSFDSFBUJPOQSPHSBNNFSTBOEQBSLTQSBDUJUJPOFSTJTTUFBEJMZDMPTJOH
They will need to work together to extend outdoor programming and gardening
workshops;
tQSPHSBNTXJMMJODSFBTJOHMZCFPòFSFECZQBSUOFSTIJQTCFUXFFONVOJDJQBM
departments and private and non-profit organizations;
tUIFDVSSFOUUSFOEUPXBSEZPVUIQIZTJDBMJOBDUJWJUZXJMMTFFTDIPPMEJTUSJDUTUVSOJOHUP
municipal departments to develop cooperative programs in school settings;
tEFNBOEGPSQBUIXBZTBOEUSBJMTXJMMDPOUJOVFUPJODSFBTFBTXJMMUIFOFFEUPQSPNPUF
wellness. Marketing techniques will need to adapt to changing demand.
7.4.2 Measuring Programming Delivery
The goal of recreation and leisure services programmers is to develop and support a diverse
range of recreation programs that are sensitive to community needs, interests, and financial
resources. However, evaluating whether or not the existing quantity and quality of municipal
recreation and leisure programs achieve their goals and reach their intended target audience
can be difficult to measure. Unlike the accepted provision standards for recreation facilities
described in the previous sections of this report, there are no national or provincial
programming benchmarks to follow. Furthermore, the provision of programs and leisure
services includes innumerable opportunities supplied by unregulated commercial, not for
profit, and service sector organizations. Saint John is additionally complex in that several major
municipal facilities, such as the Canada Games Aquatic Centre and Harbour Station, are
managed by regional organizations, with the City providing some input into their operations.
Unlike some municipalities, the City of Saint John has no established criteria for evaluating
programs and services which would help ensure that programs and services being delivered
to residents are relevant and addressing current recreation and leisure needs of Saint John
residents. However, the lack of evaluation criteria for recreation programs in Saint John is not
unique. Indeed, the diverse range of programs available in Saint John is similar to that found
in Fredericton and Moncton. In lieu of specific evaluation criteria or benchmark standards, ADI
Limited has made several observations regarding municipal spending, strategic planning, and
consumer spending as they relate to recreation and leisure programs within the City of Saint
John.
Municipal Spending on Recreation and Leisure Programming
The level of municipal investment as a percentage of the overall municipal budget is one
method of measuring recreation and leisure programming. Unfortunately, the scope of work
for recreation departments varies from municipality to municipality. Most budgets do not
include enough detail to allow for a direct comparison of, for example, aquatic program
spending from one city to the next. With this in mind, the average reported municipal
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spending on recreation between 2004 and 2008 in the Greater Saint John Region was 11.3%.21
In contrast, the City of Saint John reported an average recreation and culture budget equal to
6.54% of its total operating budgets during the same time period.
In comparison to other cities, recreation spending in Saint John seems somewhat low. The
City of Fredericton’s 2010 Operating Budget for Community Services, the department which is
responsible for recreation spending, represents 11.4% of that city’s total operating budget.22
In Halifax (HRM), the combined 2010 operating budgets for Community Development and
Infrastructure and Asset Management represents 8.75% of the regional municipality’s 2010
operating budget.23
The City of Saint John 2010 budget report notes that “periods of restraint have meant that the
resources committed to recreation and parks programs and facilities have diminished
noticeably in the past decade.” However, during the 2010 Budget approval process, Common
Council passed a five percent increase to the Leisure Services budget to allow for additional
funding for neighbourhood centres, a new focus on developing green spaces and trails within
the City, a larger commitment to the PRO-Kids program, enhancement of the City’s summer
playground programs, additional staffing for recreation programs, and the completion of a
strategic plan to guide future investments. The City’s capital budget also included provisions
for renovations to the Carleton and North End Community Centres, as well as improvements to
Rockwood and Shamrock Parks.
Use of Recreation and Leisure Programs
A second method of evaluating recreation programs is through an analysis of the use of
recreational facilities and attendance at sporting events, live performing arts events and
admissions to museums or similar institutions. Unfortunately, definitive data tracking
attendance and use of these events and facilities does not exist, largely due to the incomplete
implementation of scheduling software programs in the City. However, data on household
spending and attendance at these events are tracked by Statistics Canada through their
Survey of Household Spending. This data, while very useful, does not provide a comprehensive
snap shot of recreation and leisure in Saint John since it tracks only those facilities or events
for which people have to pay. In spite of this data limitation, these figures help create a broad
picture of the use of recreation programs and leisure services in association with the other
evaluation methods outlined in this section.
In 2008, 40.5% of people in the Saint John CMA reported using paid recreational facilities,
which was almost unchanged from 2000. The Saint John CMA exhibited similar rates of
recreational facility use as Charlottetown, but significantly lower rates than Halifax (HRM).
However, the average per capita spending on recreation facilities by Saint John residents was
higher than in Halifax, a result of significantly higher average expenditures among those using
recreation facilities. In Halifax, the average expenditure was $631, compared to $895 in Saint
John.
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21 This figure includes spending on recreation and culture departments in the City of Saint John and the Towns of
Quispamsis, Rothesay, Grand Bay-Westfield and Hampton.
22 The Department of Community Services operating budget includes spending on recreation, parks and trees,
and public transit. The Department’s total operating budget for 2010 stood at $10,632,229.00.
23 The combined budget total of the Community Development Department and the Infrastructure and Asset
Management Department was $28,279,990.00. These two departments are responsible for programming and
facilities spending respectively.
Figure 13: Recreation and Leisure Attendance, Saint John, Halifax & Charlottetown
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Household Spending
This pattern of spending seems to indicate that more people in Saint John with either less
income to spend on recreation, or who are less likely to use recreational facilities, are not using
fee-based recreational facilities in comparison to Charlottetown or Halifax. It may also
indicate that municipalities that supply subsidized recreational programming, and which rely
less upon third party organizations to offer consumers recreational programs, are
passing along a consumer discount benefit. Ultimately, the consumer and municipal taxpayer
are one and the same and the actual costs of providing the recreational and leisure programs
are absorbed by the taxpayer.
7.4.3 Improvements to Programming Delivery
Adopted by Council in the fall of 2005, Vision 2015 is a plan for continuous improvement for
both the community and the municipality. The Vision 2015 plan is based on the principles
of change and performance management, intended to transform how the City responds to
public needs. The program’s goal is to ensure that the services delivered by the City of Saint
John are aligned to achieve desired outcomes in the community and directly contribute to the
achievement of a vision for Saint John.
In response to Vision 2015, Saint John has adopted a new approach to its organizational
structure that better responds to the needs of citizens. Services will be organized into six
programs such as Community Enrichment, Development and Growth, Public Safety,
Environment, Transportation, and Council and Corporate Administration.
Departments, including Leisure Services, are now preparing “service delivery plans” that will
provide a detailed administrative overview of how services will be delivered to successfully
achieve community goals. These plans identify the actions required to realize a vision for Saint
John, focusing on effective and efficient delivery of service.
The 1992 Recreation and Open Space Strategy includes recommended vision statements with
regards to recreation programs:
tPVSQSPHSBNTXJMMFòFDUJWFMZBOEFDPOPNJDBMMZSFTQPOEUPUIFEJWFSTFBOEDIBOHJOH
recreation needs of all residents of Saint John;
tPVSQSPHSBNTXJMMTUSJWFUPCFFEVDBUJPOBMBOEJOGPSNBUJWFXJUIBGPDVTPOIFBMUIZ
living and environmental quality;
tPVSQSPHSBNTXJMMTUSJWFUPNFFUUIFSFDSFBUJPOOFFETPGUIFDPNNVOJUZXIJMF
preserving our natural environment.
Many of the program recommendations contained in the 1992 Open Space Strategy are still
applicable today. As the City restructures and Leisure Services develops new service delivery
plans, the department should examine and consider the applicability of key programming
recommendations from the 1992 strategy. Furthermore, recreation and leisure programs in
Saint John would benefit greatly from a Recreation and Leisure Services Strategic Plan, the
purpose of which would be:
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tUPDMBSJGZMFJTVSFTFSWJDFTSPMFXJUIJOUIFDPOUFYUPGUIFNVOJDJQBMTFSWJDFEFMJWFSZ
environment;
tUPGVSUIFSFMBCPSBUFUIF7JTJPOTFSWJDFEFMJWFSZTUBUFNFOUJOSFMBUJPOUPLFZ
strategic Leisure Services issues;
tUPEFöOFBOECVJMEQVCMJDQPMJDZSFDPNNFOEBUJPOTBSPVOEUIFDPSFTUSBUFHJFT
proposed to achieve service delivery excellence; and
tUPTFUUIFQFSGPSNBODFNFBTVSFTBOEFWBMVBUJPODSJUFSJBUIBUXJMMUSBDLQSPHSFTT
toward the Vision.
Appendix L contains details on best practices in programming delivery in Canada that can
serve as useful models for the City of Saint John.
7.4.4 Programming Summary
Recreation and leisure programming within Saint John, offered by both the City and through
other organizations, represents an opportunity for improvement. Leisure Services, as
discussed in the 2010 operating budget, has been through a period of reduced resources for
recreation programs over the past two decades. The renewed commitment from Common
Council to reinvest in recreation requires an appropriate commitment from practitioners to
strategically focus on programs that enrich the quality of life for Saint John residents.
Youth programs, as outlined in the best practices contained in Appendix L, is a focus area that
could serve as catalyst for new public policy for recreation and leisure programs, increased
professional accreditation within Leisure Services, and the strengthening of existing programs
such as PALS or the development of new programs promoted by organizations such the Play
Works Partnership.
Moving forward Leisure Services should examine, in context with the restructuring of the
Department, public policy emphasis on offering introductory level programs. The philosophy
behind this approach is that citizens should have access to learn a variety of skills at an
introductory level. If citizens then choose to invest in or pursue a particular skill in more detail,
they could then pursue with a more specialized agency. Leisure Services should provide a
range of recreation opportunities for its residents and design facilities that promote
participation.
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8.0 Conclusion
The Saint John Leisure Services Infrastructure, Facilities and Programming Inventory Study
provides an updated list of recreational infrastructure and programs in the City; identifies key
community issues regarding the current state of the City’s recreation services; and suggests
strategies and recommendations to help ensure Leisure Services is providing effective and
sustainable services that meet community needs.
Prior to this report, the City had not conducted a complete inventory of recreational facilities
and programs in almost 20 years. The updated inventory shows that, in many cases, facilities
were constructed to serve a population that was significantly larger than it is today. This has
resulted in an oversupply of many facilities, most notably playgrounds. In spite of this
oversupply, however, consultation with stakeholders indicates that there is a perception of
undersupply in the City. This suggests that many of the facilities are not in a state of good
repair, or do not reflect the level of quality expected by the community.
This report also indicates that a lack of detailed enrollment and participation statistics makes it
difficult to assess the success or failure of many of the programs that are on offer in Saint John,
whether provided by the City, community organizations or not-for-profits. Furthermore, years
of funding cuts to the recreation budgets has created a greater need for focusing on the
efficiency and economic sustainability of services provided by the Leisure Services
Department.
Recent Common Council commitments will provide more funding to Leisure Services, but it
remains significantly lower than previous levels – a situation that should not be expected to
change in the near future. Community pressures on local representatives for recreational
infrastructure have also led to short-term decisions that run counter to the long-term
sustainability of the City’s recreation services.
In order to address the issues identified throughout this report, the Recreation Inventory Study
provides a twofold solution. First, the report outlines recommended decision-making tools,
such as GIS, that will assist the Department in making key decisions to help strengthen the
provision of recreation services and build capacity within Leisure Services:
tGPDVTPOQSJPSJUJFT
tQSPBDUJWFWFSTVTSFBDUJWFQMBOOJOH
tCVJMEJOHQBSUOFSTIJQDBQBDJUZ
tCVJMEJOHJOUFSOBMDBQBDJUZ
tVSCBOTVCVSCBOBOESVSBMDPOTJEFSBUJPOT
tDPTUSFDPWFSZBOESFWFOVFGPSNVMBT
Secondly, a series of recommended actions, if implemented, will also improve the provision
of recreation services and facilities and allow the Department to develop more efficient and
sustainable services:
tiSJHIUTJ[FwSFDSFBUJPOJOGSBTUSVDUVSF
tEFWFMPQBSFDSFBUJPONBTUFSQMBO
tEFWFMPQBZPVUITUSBUFHZ
tVTF$MBTTGBDJMJUZTDIFEVMJOHQSPHSBNUPJUTGVMMQPUFOUJBM
tEFWFMPQBTQPSUBMMPDBUJPOQPMJDZ
tEFWFMPQBUVSGNBOBHFNFOUQPMJDZ
tEFWFMPQB-FJTVSF4FSWJDFTDPNNVOJUZEFWFMPQNFOUOFXTMFUUFSGPSVN
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Appendix A – Decision-Support Mapping
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to highlight the effectiveness of GIS-based mapping for municipal
decision-making processes. The City of Saint John is currently well-equipped for GIS technologies,
including professional staff educated in the GIS discipline of providing services to all City
Departments. By taking advantage of these services, Leisure Services can better manage infrastructure
requests and determine if and where new recreation infrastructure should be added or removed.
The maps contained in this appendix are intended to serve as examples only. They showcase different
methods by which Leisure Services can overlay relevant demographic data with data related to the
updated recreation inventory that has formed part of this report.
The maps include the following:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Percentage of children in relation to City playgrounds
Incidence of poverty in relation to community centres
Population change in relation to outdoor facilities
Population density in relation to indoor facilities
Neighbourhood park catchment areas
Community park catchment areas
Each of the six maps combines demographic data with the location of recreational facilities and
infrastructure. This type of mapping allows Leisure Services to analyze whether existing locations of
facilities are appropriate and where new facilities could be added or existing facilities closed down.
This type of analysis also provides a more effective decision-making tool for future recreation services
rather than ad hoc political and administrative decisions.
7375000.000000
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Kilometers
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2545000.000000
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2550000.000000
111 - 145
76 - 110
46 - 75
26 - 45
0 - 25
Age 0 - 9
ADI Limited
Census 2006 Population
Street Centerline
Major Roads
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15 - 23
9 - 14
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Playgrounds (Apparatus Count)
Legend
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Edmundston, Fredericton, Moncton, Oromocto, Saint
John (NB); Halifax, Sydney, Truro (NS); Charlottetown
(PE); Marystown, St.John's (NL); and Edmonton (AB)
Offices located in:
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Incidence of Low Income (Pre-Tax)
Street Centerline
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17, Teen Resource Centre
16, St. Joseph's CC
15, Martinon CC
14, Latimore Lake CC
13, KBM CC
12, Milford Memorial CC
11, Denis Morris CC
10, Boys & Girls Club
9, YMCA-YWCA
8, Loch Lomond CC
7, Lorneville CC
6, South End CC
5, Forest Glen CC
4, Millidgeville CC
3, Somerset CC
2, North End CC
1, Carleton CC
Community Centers
Legend
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Population Change - 2001 to 2006
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Saint John Beaches
Recreational Fields
Baseball Fields/Softball Fields
Tennis Courts
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Skateparks
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Census 2006 - Population Density (per sq km)
Street Centerline
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School Gymnasia
Curling Clubs
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Urban, 15.0
Suburban, 62.2
Rural, 254.0
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ADI Limited
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Parks and Field Facilities - Neighborhood
Street Centerline
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Suburban, 62.2
Rural, 254.0
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Appendix B – Community Hubs Concept
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide a brief discussion on the concept of the “community hub”
concept as it has been applied elsewhere in New Brunswick, including the City of Fredericton and the
Town of Rothesay.
City of Fredericton
Fredericton’s 2008 Recreation Master Plan includes detailed discussions surrounding the clustering of
recreation facilities as “community hubs.” The following is a direct excerpt from the City of Fredericton
Recreation Master Plan (2008) 1:
“The concept of recreation facilities as community hubs is a positive direction for modern and growing
Cities, where lifestyles are not always conducive to a sense of place and community integration. It is
not uncommon for larger Cities (>100,000 or perhaps >200,000) as well as smaller communities with
populations less than 20,000 to develop multi-purpose/community hub facilities either as a single
facility for the whole municipality or a number serving populations of up to 40,000 or 50,000.
Recent trends related to active transportation and “buying local” may begin to influence recreation
facility development. The City of Fredericton provides an interesting situation for the facility model
typically in vogue. In a City of approximately 50,000 such a model, would result in one or at best two
all-inclusive multi-purpose facilities – perhaps one on each side of the River. While there would be
positive elements of this type of development in Fredericton, such a model would not necessarily be
the best fit for other challenges and objectives.
Using input from community consultation, consideration to existing infrastructure, partnership
opportunities, current planning trends, directions appearing in other recent City Plans, and
consideration to the benefits of recreation, ten principles are presented below, which together would
contribute to a facility model consistent with the City’s Vision. Using these principles three facility
models (summarized in Table 8.2) were assessed with respect to the degree to which each would
support these principles. The resulting assessment supports a model that incorporates “sport interest
based hubs” for facilities that by their nature will attract more regional use and access predominantly
by automobile and/or team busses, and more community-based recreation centre hubs whose
purpose and access fit well with community development, active transportation and “local focus”
objectives.
Principle #1: Recreation facilities should be located in a manner that enhances neighbourhood
integrity.
Principle #2: Recreation facilities should be sited where possible to support access via active
transportation modes.
Principle #3: Recreation facilities should contribute to building local community capacity and
leadership.
1
dmA Planning & Management Services (2008). City of Fredericton Recreation Master Plan, pp. 114-115.
Principle #4: Recreation facilities should be built and operated in a manner that is financially
efficient.
Principle #5: Recreation facilities should be built and operated in a manner that is
environmentally sensitive.
Principle #6: Recreation facilities should be socially responsive to broad community needs and
accessible to all persons regardless of ability.
Principle #7: Recreation facilities should provide the full range of recreation experiences.
Principle #8: Recreation facilities should be developed and operated to support multigenerational experiences.
Principle #9: Recreation facilities should be developed to ensure maximum flexibility for current
and future use.
Principle #10: Recreation facilities should be capable of support to the area economy.”
Town of Rothesay
Rothesay’s 2010 Recreation Master Plan also includes discussion on the rationale behind clustering
recreational facilities as “community hubs,” including details of some best practices for consideration.
The following is a direct excerpt from the Rothesay Recreation Master Plan (2010) 2.
“”Clustering” is often associated with economic, educational or cultural institutions and has received a
lot of media attention, especially as it relates to the discourse on the “knowledge economy” and the
“creative class”. There has been less discussion surrounding the benefits of clustering recreational
facilities, even though it follows a similar rationale.
It is believed that by concentrating similar activities together, institutions can benefit from sharing
resources, audiences and target groups. Recreational clusters can be advantageous for both the
facilities involved and the general public. Recreational institutions can benefit by taking advantage of
their proximity to other facilities and developing partnerships, co-programming their facilities, cohosting events and sharing, trading and combining the use of their resources. The public can also
benefit greatly from a recreational cluster by having access to a variety of activities, programs and
services in one easy-to-access location. Depending on its scale, a recreational cluster can also benefit a
municipality or region by increasing local capacity for hosting sporting and cultural events and thus
increase potential revenue through sports tourism (such as the regional recreational cluster in Saint
John, New Brunswick that includes the Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre, Canada Games Aquatic
Centre, Harbour Station, Imperial Theatre and the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.
“Community Hubs: the Community Centres of the Future – with more chances for more people to do
more things.” – City of Port Phillip, Australia
Research shows that a cluster of recreational facilities is more commonly referred to as a “Community
Hub”. While there is no universally-accepted definition for the term, a community hub can generally
be understood as:
A conveniently located public place that is recognized and valued in
the local community as a gathering place for people and an access point
for a wide range of community activities, programs, services and events. 3
…
The City of Port Phillip, New South Wales, Australia has implemented perhaps one of the most
comprehensive community hub policies. It has adopted a community hubs policy statement that
recognizes the potential of community facilities to “provide opportunities for community participation
and to contribute to social cohesion and well-being,” whether they be site-specific or a network of
well-connected activity areas in the city.
Port Phillip’s hub policy statement is guided by the following principles:
2
ADI Limited (2010). Rothesay Recreation Master Plan, Appendix E.
Elton Consulting (2007). Feasibility Study of Community Hubs for the Parramatta Local Government Area –
Briefing Paper, p.2.
3
x
x
x
x
x
accessible and equitable service provision for all ages, abilities and social and cultural
backgrounds
improved opportunities for social cohesion and well-being throughout the community
hubs
maximized community engagement/effectiveness of community facilities
maximized functionality of community facilities
optimized use of existing infrastructure”
Appendix C – Stakeholder List
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide a complete list of all 128 stakeholders contacted as part of
the Leisure Services Infrastructure, Facilities and Programming Inventory Study.
Targeted Stakeholder List (19)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative in Saint John
Crescent Valley Resource Centre
Crescent Valley Tenants’ Association
KBM Community Centre
Latimore Lake Residents’ Association
Loch Lomond Residents’ Association
Main Street Baptist Church
Martinon Community Centre
Milford Community Centre
ONE Change Inc.
PRO Kids
People United in the Lower South End (P.U.L.S.E.)
Seacats
South Central Citizens’ Council
St. Joseph’s Church
Teen Resource Centre
Vibrant Communities Saint John
Village Association
Westside Police and Community Together (P.A.C.T.)
Long Stakeholder List (109)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
ArtsLink NB
Association Regionale de la Communauté Francophone
Atlantic Viniyoga Association
Atlantica Centre for the Arts
Bowlarama Saint John
Boys & Girls Club of Saint John Inc.
Canada Games Aquatic Centre
Carleton Community Centre
The Carnegie Rughookers
Chang Yong Taikwondo College
Cherry Brook Zoo
Chinese Cultural Association of Saint John
Dance Zone
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Daybreak Seniors’ Activity Centre
Early Music Studio of Saint John Inc.
East Branch Public Library
East Saint John Minor Basketball Association
Elks Royal Purple Deaf Camp
Family Resource Centre Saint John Inc.
Fifty Plus Club of Douglas Avenue Christian Church
Fitness NB
Forest Glen Community Centre
Fundy Agility and Sports Team
Fundy Bay Festival
Fundy Camera Club
Fundy Fencing Club
Fundy Lacrosse Association
Fundy Library Region/Bibliothèque le Cormoran
Fundy Minor Football Association
Fundy Skateboard Association
Fundy Soccer Association
Fundy Volkssport Club
Gentle Path Counselling Services
Gibson Creek Canoeing
Girl Guides Fundy Area Council
Hall of Latin America (HOLA!) in Saint John
Heart & Stroke Foundation of NB
Hilcrest United Baptist Church
Interaction Children’s Theatre Company
Irving Nature Park
Just Play Inc. Saint John
Kidsport Saint John
Kiwanis Club of Saint John
Lancaster Minor Basketball Association
Lancaster Minor Hockey Association
Laughter Yoga Club of Saint John
Lily Lake Pavilion
Loch Lomond Villa Inc.
Lydia Tong Tai Chi
Marathon By The Sea
Men and Music
Millidgeville Community Centre
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Millidgeville North End Lions Club
Multicultural Association of Saint John Inc.
Music From the Heart
NBCC, Continuing Education
NB Museum
NB Senior Citizens’ Federation, Loyalist Zone
NB Wellness, Culture and Sport
New Direction Inc.
North End Community Centre
Performing Arts NB Inc.
Recreational Women’s Basketball NB
Reel Babies Saint John
Release to the Beat
Rockwood Park
Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 53
Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 69
Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club
Saint John Ability Advisory Committee
Saint John Aikido
Saint John Amateur Speed Skating Club
Saint John Arts Centre
Saint John Arts Club
Saint John Free Public Library
Saint John Ladies’ Softball League
Saint John Little League
Saint John Multicultural and Newcomer Resource Centre
Saint John Shakespeare Festival
Saint John Shambala Buddhist Meditation Group
Saint John Soccer Club
Saint John Stone Church
Saint John Toastmasters Club
Saint John Track and Field Club
Saint John Ultimate Frisbee
Saint John Volunteer Centre
Saint John Waterfront Development Corp.
Saint John Wheelchair Basketball
Saint John YMCA-YWCA
Saint John Youth Minor Hockey Association
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Scouts Canada NB Council
Se’ramik Studio
SHARE Activity Centre
Shimpokai Judo Club
Southern NB Christopher Leadership Course Inc.
Spartan Fitness
Surf City Synchro Club
TeatroGatos
UNBSJ, Recreation and Wellness Department
UNBSJ, Saint John College
Victoria Order of Nurses Saint John
Walks ‘n Talks
West Branch Public Library
Winter Writing Workshops
Women’s Wellness Conference
Wu’s Tai Chi Chu’an Academy
The Yoga Outlet
The Yoga Studio
Appendix D – Recreation Inventory Brochure & Questionnaire

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Appendix E – Consultation Results
Question 1: Do Saint John’s existing recreation services adequately meet the needs of your
organization?
Are existing recreation services adequately meeting the needs of your
organization?
NO
YES
NO
YES
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
If No, please explain why.
Why are current recreation services not meeting your needs?
gaps in programming
inadequate funding
poor accessibility
insufficient or poor quality facilities
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Question 2: If you answered No, what action should the City take to address this issue?
What action should the City take to improve recreation services?
Other
Improve/Expand Open Space
Expand Personel
Coordinate/Comprehensive Plan
Improve Accessibility/Affordability
New Multi-Purpose Facility
Expand/Improve Programming
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Question 3: In your opinion, what are the 3 biggest challenges facing the City’s recreation services?
What are the Biggest Challenges Facing City Recreation Services?
Other
Declining Participation/Public Health
Vandalism
Not Enough Facilities
Inadequate Advertising/Promotion
Lack of Staffing/Personel
Poor Accessibility/Geography
Inaccessible to All User Groups
Poor Quality Facilities
Inadequate Funding/Lack of Money
0
5
10
15
20
25
Question 4: In your opinion, what are the 3 greatest opportunities for the City’s recreation services?
What are the Biggest Opportunities Facing City Recreation Services?
Other
New Program Directions
Improve Green Spaces/Available Land
Construct New Facilities
Improve Existing Facilities
New Partnerships
Future Population
0
5
10
15
20
25
Question 5: What recreation programs and facilities, do you hear, are needed in Saint John?
A. community centres
B. ice surfaces
C. multi-purpose fields
D. after-school programs
E. large multi-purpose facilities
F. parks and open space
G. public pools
H. seniors programs
I. other
Recreation Programs and Facilities Needed in Saint John
theatre/performance venues
trails
parks & open space
seniors programs
community centres
public pools
large multi-purpose facilities
ice surfaces
after-school programs
multi-purpose fields
0
5
10
15
20
Question 6: What do you think is the best model for operating community centres?
A. City-owned and City-operated
B. Privately-owned and Privately-operated
C. City – Private Partnerships
D. Another model
What is the best model for operating community centres?
Privately-Owned and Privately-Operated
Non-Profit-Owned and Non-Profit Operated
Residents' Board
City-Owned and City-Operated
City and Non-Profit Partnerships
City and Private Partnerships
0
5
10
15
20
25
Question 7: What types of activities and programs would you like to see offered at local community
centres?
Multicultural activities & programming
After-school programs
As determined by the public
Educational programs
Fitness programs
Programs that attract all age groups
Special event nights
Transform centres into “hubs of activity”
Accessible programs for “at-risk” groups
Crafts and other fun activities
Programs for identified health risks
Drama, music, dance, arts programs
A variety of programming is key
Green study programs
Film nights
Programs that respond to community needs
Activities for children and seniors
Bike instruction
Sports programs
Environmental programs for kids
Social events
Appendix F: Recreation Facilities Best Practices
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to review best practices related to the operation and construction of
community centres, some of which may serve as effective examples for the City of Saint John.
Community Centres – Ownership and Operation Models
Residents of Saint John have access to a variety of community centres, some owned and operated by
the City itself, while others are under the auspices of community organizations. At one time, the City
was fully responsible for six main community centres. Each of these was staffed with two full-time
workers, with additional hours available for part-time staffers and agreements for custodial staff. With
a series of budget cuts over the years, the City could no longer afford to maintain its staffing levels and
started to seek out different service models that would reduce the cost of service delivery for the City,
while still retaining certain levels of programming standards residents had come to expect.
The 1992 Recreation and Open Space Strategy for the City of Saint John indicated that residents cited
the need for additional community centres in the City’s east and rural west areas. Since the 1992
report, little attention has been paid to the City’s community centres. The 2004 City of Saint John
Recreational Facilities Committee Report makes no mention of community centres, nor does the Saint
John and Area Multiplex Community Centre Needs Confirmation Study (2007), although it does provide a
helpful inventory of community centres in its appendix.
As indicated by City staff, community centres have been largely overlooked when it comes to
recreational studies. One exception is the 2003 City of Saint John Recreation and Parks Department
Community Centre Proposal report. The document highlights the struggles of the city’s community
centres amidst shrinking budgets, fewer operating hours, and less staff. While gaps exist in the report’s
methodology for tracking users and programs offered, it nonetheless draws attention to an important
issue facing the city’s community centres.
Community centres in Saint John seem to be facing a paradoxical dilemma. On the one hand, the
centres offer a friendly space for low-income and at-risk youth (ages 5-18) to ‘hang out’ and participate
in recreational activities at no charge. On the other hand, their focus on youth programming is
preventing barrier free access for all segments of the population to take advantage of the space. Adult
recreational opportunities are typically limited to after 9pm on weeknights and Sundays, while even
more limited opportunities exist for seniors.
City-Operated
The Carleton Community Centre is one of only two community centres that is fully owned and
operated by the City, which is responsible for programming and custodial staff, as well as covering
maintenance costs. Located in the priority neighbourhood of the Lower West Side, the Carleton
Community Centre is the oldest community centre in the city. Constructed in 1863, the building first
operated as a community centre in 1959, with the City taking over operations in 1970. A wellness clinic
and food bank have recently been added to the centre through agreements with the provincial
government.
The North End Community Centre is the second of the two community centres owned and operated
by the City of Saint John. It is located in the priority neighbourhood of the Old North End. The City
owns the Victoria Street-side of the building, while the portion of the building facing Newman Street,
Lorne Middle School, belongs to School District 8. The City is responsible for program and custodial
staff, although the School District also provides some custodial support to the centre. An agreement is
in place between the City and the School District to allow community access to the school’s gym after
hours and on weekends.
The Somerset Community Centre is the third of three community centres for which the City is fully
responsible for program delivery. Similar to the Carleton and North End Community Centres, Somerset
is located in one of the City’s five priority neighbourhoods: Crescent Valley. Somerset shares its
provincially-owned facility with the Somerset Preschool and New Brunswick Community College
(NBCC). The preschool offers spaces, most of which are subsidized for low-income kids, to
neighbourhood children primarily from the Churchill/MacLaren Blvd. areas. The City has a rental
agreement in place with the Province for use of the facility, which covers custodial fees for the centre
and preschool. An agreement is in place between NBCC and the centre for community use of the
college’s gym on evenings and weekends.
Prior to moving to the current facility in 1992, Somerset operated out of the Old Police Station with
satellite programs in other areas. The move to the current facility allowed for the consolidation of
programs into one location (although the centre has started to offer Wednesday after-school
programming at Hazen White.
Non-Profit Operated
Millidgeville Community Centre is one of three community centres for which the city contracted out
programming and service delivery to a third party. In the case of Millidgeville, the YM-YWCA took over
programming control in 2004. The facility itself is connected to the M. Gerald Teed School and is
owned by School District 8. The City provides the YM-YWCA with an annual operating grant.
Similar to Millidgeville, the Forest Glen Community Centre is owned by School District 8 with
programming operated by the YM-YWCA (since 2006). The school district is responsible for building
maintenance, while the City provides the YM-YWCA with an annual operating grant.
The South End Community Centre is located in the heart of the South End neighbourhood, one of
Saint John’s five priority neighbourhoods. The building is owned by School District 8 (the facility is
connected to St. John the Baptist and King Edward schools), but has served as the community centre
since 1977). The City provides an annual operating grant for program delivery to the Boys & Girls Club
of Saint John.
Community-Operated
For the majority of remaining community centres, referred to as “external” centres, community
associations own and operate the facilities 1. In many cases, Leisure Services staff has memberships on
facility committees and gives advice on programming and community development. The City also
provides some financial assistance for maintenance and helps with grant applications. While some of
these external community centres provide regular programming to residents, others may only offer
programming one night a week (such as weekly Bingo).
Best Practices
The Vancouver Model
Vancouver’s community centres began sprouting up in the post-war years based on the vision of a
network of centres at roughly two mile intervals, “such that no resident would have to walk more than
a mile to the closest facility.” The Park Board took on a leadership role and assumed responsibility for
operational funding.
Each of Vancouver’s 23 community centres is jointly operated through a partnership between the Park
Board and a neighbourhood-based, non-profit association. This arrangement enables the centres to
respond knowledgably to needs and preferences of each neighbourhood, while operating within a
supporting framework of city-wide service delivery. The services provided by these facilities are varied
and exceed simple leisure and recreation programming, helping to create and sustain a liveable city.
However, as is the case in Saint John, funding is also an issue for many of Vancouver’s community
facilities. Past experience in the city demonstrates that funds for community centre capital projects
come from a multitude of sources: capital plan; development cost levies (DLCs) and community
amenity contributions (CACs); senior government transfers; individual, foundation and corporate
donations; internal financing, partnerships and co-locations.
Where feasible, community centres are co-located with other services to achieve efficiencies of scale
while maintaining a commitment to neighbourhood-based service delivery. A great example is the
Mount Pleasant Community Centre. The centre is jointly operated by the Mount Pleasant Community
Centre Association and the Vancouver Park Board. The centre was developed in line with its CityPlan
vision that calls for ‘neighbourhood centres’ that bring together multiple civic services and ‘provide a
heart for each neighbourhood’. The project focuses on the ‘one-stop-shop’ benefits of a community
hub offering a variety of integrated services.
The final 4,640m2 development includes: a 2,900m2 community centre; a 1,10m2 library; a child
development centre catering to approximately 50 0-5 year olds; and 98 residential rental units. The
rent from the residential units helps subsidize the provision of community facilities.
1
The Lorneville and Loch Lomond Community Centres are City-owned and Community-operated facilities.
General Council Winnipeg Community Centres
The General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres (GCWC) was established in 1971 when the 13
autonomous municipalities and the City of Winnipeg were amalgamated to form Unicity. The Council
consists of a volunteer board comprised of an elected Executive Committee, a Representative Board
where members are appointed by each of the five District Centre Boards, a representative of the City
of Winnipeg, Community Services Department and the Winnipeg Minor Hockey Association.
The community centre model in Winnipeg is unique from other Canadian cities in that they are not
staffed by the municipality but governed and operated by a group of volunteers, with the Board of
Directors being elected by the local community they serve.
Community centres receive an annual facility operating grant and second line maintenance support
from the City of Winnipeg who own and insure the facilities. The community centres are responsible
for first line maintenance and administration costs, including provision of programming and staffing
(both paid and volunteer). There are currently three types of community centres:
x
x
x
Local community centres are smaller centres that tend to serve a population of under 5,000
residents
Neighbourhood community centres are more fully developed centres that may serve up to
15,000 people
District community centres are very large centres that address the needs of structured sports.
These centres tend to serve a large population of more than 15,000
Community Centres – Co-Location Models
As facilities become increasingly expensive to maintain and operate, city departments must
increasingly look for ways to offset their operational and capital costs. The following are
examples of newly-constructed community centres that have partnered with other
departments and organizations in their respective cities to create economically efficient
community centres.
Gordon R. Snow Community Centre, Halifax (HRM)
The Gordon R. Snow Community Centre is a multi-purpose building that consists of recreational
facilities attached to, and sharing space with, a new fire station. It provides traditional fire and rescue
services, an emergency reception centre and a community centre with a variety of recreational spaces.
Roughly twelve percent of the building is shared space, which consists of a weight room and a board
room. The facility was opened in October 2009 and the $13 million project was cost-shared by all three
levels of government. The new facility improved fire and rescue services, as well as recreational
opportunities in the Fall River area while increasing the efficiency of service provision in the area.
Mount Pleasant Community Centre, Vancouver
The City of Vancouver developed the new Mount Pleasant Community Centre in line with its CityPlan
vision that calls for ‘neighbourhood centres’ that bring together multiple civic services and ‘provide a
heart for each neighbourhood’. The project focuses on the ‘one-stop-shop’ benefits of a community
hub offering a variety of integrated services. The community centre opened in January 2010.
A Council-commissioned report determined the need for a multipurpose centre incorporating a library
facility and child development centre, as well as a residential component and other uses. A total of
$4.75m was allocated for the project, including funds for property purchase. The City commissioned a
financial feasibility analysis to assess the feasibility of development options for the site including
market and non-market housing, retail uses, a community centre, branch library and child care facility.
A child care needs assessment and consultation process were also undertaken as part of the
development planning stage.
The multi-service facility, with the new community centre at its heart, is also home to a new Vancouver
Public Library, a Child Development Centre, café and market value rental housing that helps subsidize
the provision of the community facilities.
Wellesley Community Centre, Toronto
The Wellesley Community Centre was a priority project approved by Toronto officials to provide
badly-need civic amenities to a disadvantaged downtown neighbourhood. Located in St. James Town,
the community centre (opened in 2005) serves as the new cornerstone of the immigrant-dominated
community. The hybrid public building combines several functions including a public library, a
childcare centre and public athletic facilities and community rooms. In order to remain accessible to
the low income neighbourhood, almost all of the facilities and programs provided are free aside from
the shared daycare service located on the second floor.
The building simultaneously serves different constituencies, each with its own schedule, energy and
staffing needs. The library, for example, is one of the busiest in the Toronto system. It not only offers
internet access to residents, but it also provides access to reading materials in Tamil, Sri Lankan and
Chinese.
The gymnasium is used as a gathering place for youth who would otherwise have no recreational
outlet. The safe second-level daycare centre and meeting rooms have separate controlled access
requirements.
Appendix G – Facility Scheduling Software
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide some additional details related to the Class 6.0 scheduling
program and its potential benefits to Saint John Residents.
The Active Network's Class 6.0 Software Now Available to All Community Service
Organizations 1
New Version of Leading Automation Management Software Offers New Functionality For Campus Recreation, YMCAs,
and Parks and Recreation Departments
SAN DIEGO, CA - February 21, 2006 - Class 6.0, the latest version of The Active Network's leading software
solution for program, facility, membership and revenue management, is now available to community service
organizations worldwide. Representing more than 6,000 product development hours and tested by 17
organizations, the 6.0 version offers new features and enhancements, including golf course management
integration, wireless access for handheld devices, child care management, equipment lending tracking and
automatic e-mail options, specifically targeted for organizations managing campus recreation, parks and
recreation, golf course operations and YMCAs, YWCAs and JCCs.
Class software is designed to improve efficiency, customer service and accountability, helping organizations
maximize participation in their community programs, activities and fundraising events. Known for its superior
registration and reporting functionality, the Windows-based, desktop software helps staff automate program
and activity registration, facility reservation, membership management, league/tournament scheduling,
fundraising, reporting, and financial administration, among other daily administration. Using Class software, staff
can also offer their communities in-person service as well as access to self-service options available via the
Internet, kiosks and automated telephone to facilitate and increase participation in programs and activities.
The new release, Class 6.0, offers the following:

1
Golf Course Integration - Organizations can now access a golf course management solution that
integrates with their existing Class software so customer, revenue and all other data can be shared across
their golf course and community service operations. Golf automation includes tee sheet management, Pro
Shop operations, online and touch tone reservations, inventory, loyalty programs, member billing, accounts
receivable, and more. Tightly integrated databases allow for improved insights into critical business
operations and targeted membership and customer marketing capabilities across departmental silos.
Child Care Management - Organizations can now track every child in their care, using a scanning system to
scan children in and out of their courses, record and track attendance, arrival and departure times, sick days,
medical information or alerts, or even charge early drop-off or late pick-up fees.
Wireless Information Retrieval Using Handheld Devices - Organizations can now access their Class
database using any Symbol Pocket PC handheld device. When mobility is key and setting up a computer
isn't an option, the new Class @Hand feature provides a wireless connection in real-time, via a Symbol
Pocket PC, for viewing class lists, league rosters and client details or scanning for membership validation.
Tracking All Equipment Lending - Organizations can now capture key information about equipment
loaned to clients, including towels and sports equipment. The new Class feature enables staff to scan
equipment and track each piece by type or item number, restrict equipment lending to members only, limit
the number loaned per individual or even charge for lost or damaged equipment.
Active Network. Accessed online on April 27, 2010 at: http://www.activenetwork.com/about/pressroom/archived-press-releases-2006/press/The-Active-Network-s-Class-6-0-Software-Now-Available-to-AllCommunity-Service-Organizations.htm.

Dashboard Data Summary - Organizations can now see, at a glance, how they're performing through a
new graphical interface that offers analytical views of their data to drive business decisions. The new Class
dashboard summarizes and displays revenues, registrations, withdrawals, memberships and demographics.
One Click E-Mail and Customer Calendar Integration - Organizations can now e-mail receipts, contracts
and reports directly from the Class system to their customers in one click. Now there is no need to export
and send from a separate e-mail tool. Customers can also request schedules to import into their personal
calendar applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, to remind them of recurring activities they've registered
for.
Additional program registration enhancements include:

Pre-defined templates of instructor worksheets for Red Cross swimming courses now integrated with class
rosters
Internet and touch tone registration now available for the financial assistance program
Accounting, cash and check handling workflows
Since its recent release, the following organizations have implemented Class 6.0:

Chico Area Recreation and Park District - Chico, CA, USA
City of Burnaby - Burnaby, BC, Canada
City of Phoenix - Phoenix, AZ, USA
City of Olympia - Olympia, WA, USA
City of Rappahannock Area YMCA - Fredericksburg, VA, USA
City of Sammamish - Sammamish, WA, USA
City of West Covina - Covina, CA, USA
City of Winona - Winona, MN, USA
Humboldt State University - Humboldt, CA, USA
Milwaukee Public Schools - Milwaukee, WI, USA
Municipality of North Grenville - Grenville, ON, Canada
Park City Racquet Club - Park City, UT, USA
Peninsula JCC - Foster City, CA, USA
Province of Nova Scotia - Nova Scotia, Canada
Town of Tillsonburg - Tillsonburg, ON, Canada
Township of Wellesley - Wellesley, ON, Canada
University of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA, USA
Class software offers organizations automation for program and activity search, payment processing, activity
management, customer service, roster management, facility reservation, facility search and management, facility
reports, membership and pass management, marketing reporting and Internet registration. To request a
software demo, e-mail [email protected], visit www.ActiveCommunities.com or call 1-800-661-1196.
About The Active Network, Inc.
The Active Network, Inc., based in San Diego, Calif., provides application services technology and marketing
access to community service organizations and is a leading online community for active lifestyles. The
company's application services help organizations increase efficiency and reduce the cost and complexity of
managing community activities and fundraising events, providing technology that automates information
collection, activity registration, facility reservation, membership and fundraising management. The company
offers marketing access through integrated marketing and consumer promotions that develop authentic
relationships between brands and active consumers. Organizations can also access marketing services that
promote community use of online services and municipal marketing partnerships that create new revenues and
services for the public sector and build brand loyalty for marketers. Through its Web properties,
www.Active.com, www.eteamz.com, and www.ActiveGolf.com, The Active Network provides consumer services
and resources that support participation in healthy lifestyles. The Active Network serves organizations and
participants in multiple markets throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For more
information, please visit www.TheActiveNetwork.com or call 1-888-543-7223.
City of Fredericton
Fredericton has fully implemented its Class 6.0 scheduling software to improve community access to
information on facility availability, to provide a user-friendly online interface for residents and to allow
the City to better track program delivery and facility usage to guide future decision-making processes
regarding program development or cancellation.
Residents of Fredericton have access to an online database that lists the availability of all recreation
facilities in the City. Based on parameters they choose to enter, residents can determine when
different facilities are available, including those owned by the City, local school district and the local
university and community colleges. Residents can then call or email the centralized contact at
Community Services Department to make their facility booking.
All facility bookings can be tracked by the City to determine levels of demand for each facility and
associated programs.
start
programs
facilities
my basket
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help
facilities
City of Fredericton : facilities
Choose from the categories below to search on a specific activity, amenity, facility or date/time. Hold down the Ctrl
key on the keyboard to select multiple items from each category.
Function
(Any)
Ball Hockey
Ball Hockey Arena
Baseball - Bantam
Baseball - Incredaballs
Feature
(Not Applicable)
BBQ
elevator
Fireplace
Outdoor w ashrooms
Type
(All)
Capacity1
Facility
(All)
Alexander Gibson Memorial School
Barker Street Fields
Barker's Point Elementary School
Baseball Hill
Check here to narrow your search by date
Date between
17
Day(s)
Time between
May
All
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AM
And
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Tue
And
Wed
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Thu
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1
Only used when Functions are selected.
Appendix H – Turf Management Policies
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide further details related to best practices in turf management
policies.
City of Edmonton
Edmonton is known to have one of the best and most comprehensive turf management strategies in
the country. A dedicated turf management team looks after a citywide maintenance program
designed to provide a consistent approach in sports field restoration. The are of focus are aerating,
top-dressing and overseeding.
Among a variety of other effective programs, the City is known for its formula for rest period. The
formula is based upon the cumulative hours of use (a maximum of 200 hours on standard fields and
250 hours on premier fields) with a maximum of six fields taken out of service to be rested at any one
time citywide. The rest period begins on a Monday and the field(s) are put back into service two weeks
later. Turf rebuilding programs (including topdressing, over-seeding, aerating, fertilizing and initial
watering) commences as soon as the field is out of service and is ideally completed within the first two
days of resting. This allows for turf rejuvenation for the maximum portion of the rest period. A
comprehensive season-long resting schedule is devised in advance and made public so community
organizations can plan their facility bookings accordingly.
Appendix I: Facilities Inventory
Arenas
Charles Gorman Arena
Facility Description:
Single Ice Surface Community Arena
Classification:
Centennial Arena
Year of Construction:
1974
Seat Capacity:
250 persons
Playing Surface:
56m x 25.7m (184 ft x 84 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
5
Schedule:
operates 16 hrs/day for 23 wks/year
80 University Avenue
Saint John, NB
E2L 4L1
Harbour Station
99 Station Street
Saint John, NB
E2L 4X4
Multi-purpose sporting and event arena
– single ice surface
Classification:
Regional Sporting Venue (some
community access for ice time)
1993
Seat Capacity:
6,200 – 7,800
Playing Surface:
NHL official size and dimensions (200 ft
x 85 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
5
Schedule:
unknown
Hilton Belyea Arena
390 Lowell Street
Saint John, NB
Classification:
Centennial Arena
1974
Seat Capacity:
250 persons
Playing Surface:
56m x 25.7m (184 ft x 84 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
5
E2L 4L1
Lord Beaverbrook Rink
536 Main Street
Saint John, NB
E2K 1J4
Single Ice Surface Arena
Classification:
Regional Sporting Venue (Provides
some access for ice time)
1959-60
Seat Capacity:
2000 (+1000 standing)
Playing Surface:
NHL official size and dimensions (200 ft
x 85 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
4
Schedule:
Peter Murray (Lancaster Centennial) Arena
Construction:
Centennial Arena
1967
Seat Capacity:
500-1000 persons
Playing Surface:
56m x 25.7m (184 ft x 84 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
5
Schedule:
711 Dever Road
Saint John, NB
E2L 4L1
Stewart Hurley Arena
1500 Hickey Road
Saint John, NB
E2J 4E7
Classification:
Centennial Arena
1974
Seat Capacity:
250 persons
Playing Surface:
56m x 25.7m (184 ft x 84 ft)
Dressing Rooms:
5
Schedule:
Pools
Canada Games Aquatic Centre
Owner/Operator:
City/Saint John Aquatic Centre
Commission
Year Opened:
Pool opened 1985
An Olympic-sized pool, diving boards,
two warm water leisure pools (25m),
water slides, tots pool, sauna, steam
room and whirlpool.
Memberships:
1 year membership
Adult: $480-780
Student/Senior: $360-450
Youth: $120-240
50 Union Street
Saint John, NB
E2L 1A1
Colonial Inn
Owner/Operator:
Hotel/Hotel
Year Opened:
unknown
Indoor pool and hot tub
Memberships:
Available for use by guests only. YMCAYWCA has agreement in place to use
hotel for certain aquatics programs
(Seniors Aquacise, Strong Bones and
Encore)
175 City Road
Saint John, NB
E2L 3T5
Delta Brunswick Hotel
39 King Street
Saint John, NB
E2L 4W3
Owner/Operator:
Hotel/Hotel
Year Opened:
unknown
An indoor pool, whirlpool, saunas,
exercise room, full change rooms, and
showers
Memberships:
3 month membership - $150 (additional
spouse $60; family rate $300)
Fort Howe Hotel
Owner/Operator:
Hotel/Hotel
Year Opened:
unknown
Largest hotel pool in Saint John; Open
7am-10pm
Memberships:
Offers daily swimming access for $5;
single access $45/month; family access
$65/month
10 Portland Street
Saint John, NB
E2K 4H8
Hilton Saint John
Owner/Operator:
Hotel/Hotel
Year Opened:
unknown
Heated indoor salt water swimming pool
& hot tub; as well as access to the
fitness facilities
Memberships:
Single membership: 6 months $259.90;
12 months $435.05 (family: $327.70;
$542.40)
* taxes included
170-200 Prince Willian St.
Saint John, NB
E2L 2B7
Hotel Courtney Bay
Owner/Operator:
Hotel/Hotel
Year Opened:
350 Haymarket Square
Saint John, NB
E2L 3P1
Outdoor pool with dome closure that
opens and closes. Pool available AprilOctober
Memberships:
$5/person (no monthly option)
Saint John High School
Owner/Operator:
School District 8/School District 8
Year Opened:
Building Constructed in 1932
Pool opened in 1964
Students attending SJHS have access to
the school’s pool through their health &
physical education course. The YMTWCA uses the pool for programming
(as of 2007)
Memberships:
Available for student use only. YMCAYWCA uses pool for certain programs
(summer day camps, youth swimming
lessons)
170-200 Prince Willian Street
Saint John, NB
E2L 2B7
Simonds High School
Owner/Operator:
1490 Hickey Road
Saint John, NB
E2J 4E7
School District 8/School District 8
Year Opened:
Constructed in 1970
A 25m, four lane swimming pool with a
diving block, diving board, bleachers,
changing rooms, and showers
Memberships:
Open for public use if not being used by
school teams. $40/hour and must
supply own lifeguard
Community Centres
Boys & Girls Club of Saint John Inc.
Owner/Operator:
Boys & Girls Club/ Boys & Girls Club
Year Opened:
Unknown
Centre: 506.634.2011
1 Paul Harris St.
Saint John, NB
Carleton Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
City/City
Year Opened:
Constructed in 1863
Community Centre Opened 1959
City assumed control in 1970
administration offices
senior room with kitchen facility
auditorium/single gym
arts/craft room
computer room
multi-purpose games room
exercise room
classroom
wellness centre (under construction)
food bank (under construction)
120 Market Place
Saint John, NB
E2M 0E1
Denis Morris Community Centre
330 Green Head Road
Saint John, NB
E2M 4W3
Owner/Operator:
Community Organization
Yeaer Opened:
unknown
Centre: 506.672.5262
Forest Glen Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
School District 8/YM-YWCA (City provides
Y with operating grant)
Year Opened:
Community Centre opened 1982
YM-YWCA took over operations 2006
games room
Craft/preschool room
Facility connected to Forest Hills School
with double gym and theatre that the
YMCA uses for program delivery
651 Westmorland Road
Saint John, NB
E2J 2Y4
KBM Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
Year Opened:
unknown
Centre: 506.738.8196
330 Green Head Road
Saint John, NB
E2M 4W3
Latimore Lake Community Centre
615 Latimore Lake Road
Saint John, NB
E2N 1X4
Owner/Operator:
Year Opened:
unknown
Centre: 506.696.8108
Loch Lomond Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
City/ Community organization
Year opened:
Unknown
Centre: 506.696.5431
Ben Lomond Corner
Saint John, NB
E2L 3w5
Lorneville Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
City/Community Organization
Year Opened:
unknown
Centre: 506.672.9357
1141 Lorneville Road
Saint John, NB
E2M 7G6
Martinon Community Centre
3234 Westfield Road
Saint John, NB
Owner/Operator:
Year Opened:
unknown
Centre: 506.738.2008
Milford Memorial Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
Year Opened:
Unknown
Centre: 506.642.2400
248 Milford Road
Saint John, NB
E2M 4R4
Millidgeville Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
School District 8/YM-YWCA (City provides
Y with operating grant)
Year Opened:
YM-YWCA took over operations 2004
games room
fitness room
multi-purpose room with
kitchen/canteen
Facility connected to M. Gerald Teed
School with single gym that the YMCA
uses for program delivery
99 Daniel Drive
Saint John, NB
North End Community Centre
195 Victoria Street
Saint John, NB
E2K 1L7
Owner/Operator:
City/City
Year Opened:
Constructed in 1979
Community Centre Opened 1979
multi-purpose room with kitchen
games room
computer/seniors room
craft/health clinic room
teen room
shared gym (Lorne Middle School)
South End Community Centre
Owner/Operator:
School District 8/Boys & Girls Club (City
provides BGC operating grant)
Year Opened:
games room
seniors room
* Facility connected to St John the
Baptist/King Edward School with single
gymnasium
212 Wentowrth Street
Saint John, NB
YM--YWCA
Owner/Operator:
Temporary Facility/YM-YWCA
Year Opened:
Moved to current facility in 2007
no gym
no pool
fitness centre
studios
kitchen
child care rooms
100 Prince Edward Square Mall
Saint John, NB
Community Centre next to St. Joseph’s Church
4347 Loch Lomond Road
Saint John, NB
E2N 1C8
Owner/Operator:
St. Joseph’s Church/St. Joseph’s
Church in partnership with City
Year Opened:
under construction
Official name of community centre
not yet determined
Appendix J – Ice Time Allocation Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to discuss the perceived issue of access to ice time. The City of Saint
John reviews their approach to ice time allocation on an annual basis. Generally, Saint John gives
priority allocation to established leagues, associations and events and less priority to recreational
hockey, public skating, and non-resident applications for ice time. This approach is similar to that
found in municipalities across Canada. However, the City of Saint John does not publish their ice time
allocation policy and no formal review mechanism is established for this review. Demand for ice time
is dominated by amateur hockey leagues, with figure and speed skating clubs also requiring some
access to ice.
Demand and Future Needs
The demand for new arenas, as partially demonstrated by the wide range of levels of service across
Canada, is largely a result of the community’s decision to provide a higher level of service to meet the
demand and interest of their residents. New sheets, although likely used fully during prime time “peak
hours”, could dilute off-peak usage in existing facilities, thereby reducing their recovery rates.
Monitoring of ice use on an ongoing basis is important as the financial risk of oversupply in the Saint
John marketplace is high and current data suggests new trends that need to be verified as a basis for
investment decisions.
There is little evidence to suggest that there are significant numbers of Saint John residents who
would like to use ice now, but are not able to due to capacity constraints. Although arena operators in
the region have differing definitions of capacity, some general averages can be assumed. The
averages used in this study to determine capacity of an arena for ice use are summarized in Figure J1.
Figure J1: Typical Arena Ice Time Capacity
Prime Ice Time
Weekday
(4pm–11pm)
Hours of Ice Time
Days
Total Hours
Ice Cleaning
10 min / 1 hour
“on ice” useable Hours
Weeks in Skating Season
Total # of Useable Hours/Year
7 hours
5
35 hours
5.8 hours
29.2 hours
29
846.8
Weekend
(6am–
11pm)
17 hours
2
34 hours
5.7 hours
24 hours
69 hours
11.5 hours
Non-Prime Ice
Time
Weekday
(6am-4pm and
11pm-1am)
12 hours
5
60 hours
10 hours
28.3 hours
29
820.7
57.5 hours
29
1667.5
50 hours
29
1450
SubTotal
TOTAL
36 hours
7
129 hours
21.5 hours
107.5 hours
29
3117.5
Hockey associations including league associations draw upon membership from communities outside
the City of Saint John. Hockey development at all ages requires more ice time per week than other
types of users. Many of the local teams and leagues have well established regular schedules for their
“home ice,” in addition to some demand for more ice time for pickup adult hockey. The allocation of
ice time for hockey development can range from formulas such as 1 hour of ice time for every 10
players to 2.5 hours per week for every 15 players. For statistical ease we have applied the more
stringent formula of 2.5 hours for every 15 participants, which include all users including hockey,
figure skating, and speed skating. Using this formula 2.5 hours per week for every 15 participants and
a participant base of 1200 Saint John residents equates to a demand of 200 hours per week. Each
arena has the capacity of supplying 57.5 prime time “on ice” hours per week. Saint John’s six arenas
have the potential to supply the market place with 345 hours of prime ice time per week.
The difficult task for municipal governments is balancing the recreational demand for additional arena
capacity with other recreational demands and against what the municipality can afford to build,
maintain and operate. Many of the existing single sheet arenas in the City of Saint John are
approaching the end of their functional lifespan. The opportunity now exists to begin a capital project
planning process for the replacement or refurbishment of these facilities. As recommended in the
Wallace Report, the Leisure Services Advisory Board (LSAB) is looking at a feasibility study into
transforming Lord Beaverbrook Rink into a multi-purpose complex to expand the number of ice
surfaces in the facility, and to expand the number of non-ice users of the facility.
Until current facilities reach the end of their existing lifecycle, consideration should be given to
increasing prime time rental rates for all arenas in order to help finance the new capacity. The only
justification to construct additional arenas would be:
1) to provide more “prime time” ice time to existing users if it can be shown that the existing
arenas fail to meet existing demand
2) to provide ice time to new users who cannot access ice time because of capacity constraints
3) to accommodate future recreational trends whereby an increasing proportion of the
population might become regular ice users
4) to accommodate increased ice time demand due to an increasing population
5) to replace or consolidate existing arenas once they have reached the end of their lifecycles
and maintenance and upgrades are no longer economically feasible
BEST PRACTICES
The Cumberland Minor Hockey Association’s “Ice Exchange System” is a website for minor hockey
volunteers to buy, sell and trade ice times. The CMHA is located in the east end of Ottawa, Ontario, and
is one of the largest minor hockey associations in Ottawa with over 90 teams plus nearly 200 children
enrolled in the Initiation Program (IP). Recreation and Leisure Services should investigate
development of a similar ice time exchange system with the intention of generating revenue from
each transaction.
Appendix K – Programming Inventory
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide an overview of programs available in Saint John.
Program Category
Community Aquatics
Community Fitness
Program Titles/Subject
Learn to Swim Parent-Child
(<3yrs)
Pre School Nautical Swim
Programs 3-6 yrs
Swim Kids 6 Yrs and Older
Learn to Swim Program for Teens
and Adults
Coached Fit Swim
Hydro Challenge
Aquacize
Adult Learn To Swim
Adult Stroke Improvement
Deep Water Circuit
Sailing Summer Programs
Scuba Diving Lessons
Diving Lessons
Youth Waterpolo
Flip n’ Dip Summer Day Camp
Spin Classes/Cycle Fit
Yoga
Total Body Conditioning
Muscle Mix
Kickboxing
Combat Circuit
Stretch and Tone
Cross Training
Step and Sculpt
AB Solution
Bootcamp
Dance Classes: Fitness and
Instructional
Family Jujutsu
Martial Arts
Tai Chi
Age Category
All Age
Categories
Provider / Facility
Canada Games Aquatic
Centre Indoor Pool
YMCA
Millidgeville Yacht Club
Canadian Power and Sail
Squadron
Surf City Synchro Club
All Age
Categories
Centre
YMCA
Various Communities
Centres
Various Schools
Gentle Path Yoga
My Studio
Laughter Yoga
The Yoga Studio
The Yoga Outlet
Dance: Centre Stage,
Dance Zone,
Danceability, Julia’s
School of Dance, Port City
Dance, Release to the
Beat, Square and Round
Dance Federation
Wu’s Tai Chi, Aikido,
Chang Yong Taekwondo,
JVK TaeKwonDo, Lydia
Tong Tai Chi, Shimpokai
Judo
Adult Health, Wellness
and Fitness Programs
Moving Mommies
Walking Club
Learn to Run and Running Clubs
Health, Nutrition, Dieting
All Age
Categories
Canada Games and
Aquatic Centre
YMCA
Fundy Volkssport Club
Alex Coffin
Running Room
Take Off Pounds Sensibly
Family Resource Centre
Walking Proud, Nordic
Walking Club
Walks N’ Talks
First Aids, CPR and
Babysitting Courses
First Aid
Babysitting
Life Guard Program
CRP
AED
12 Weeks to Success Specialized
Training
Fitting Into Fitness Aqua Fit
Can’t Weight Fore Golf
Free Skating
Speed Skating
Skating Programs Pre School,
Junior, Intermediate and Senior
Camp Glenburn 1 and 2 2week
Summer Camps
Camp Counselor Training
Family Camping Programs
Glen Carpenter Centre Summer
Programs and Camps
Youth Drop In Saturday Programs
-cooking and art classes
-rock wall climbing
-XR Dance 5-12 yrs
-preschool body rock 1-4
-pre-school drop in 2-5
-Friday night youth drop in 7-12
Coffee House Open Mic 11- 18
Kids Can Climb 7 – 13
Leaders Corp 12 - 17
Youth Athletic Conditioning
Teen Weight Training 12+
Healthy Weight
Personal Training
Day Camps 5 – 13
-art, skateboarding, golf,
Youth and Older
Canadian Red Cross
Centre
YMCA
All
Centre
YMCA
All
Harbour Skating Club
Saint John Amateur
Speed Skating Club
Saint John Skating Club
Centre
YMCA
Boys and Girls Club
Cherry Brook Zoo
New Brunswick Museum
Community Organizations
and Centres
Dance Clubs
Theatre Programs:
Imperial, IACT, SJ Theatre
Company, Phoenix
Theatre Company,
Performing Arts NB
Community Schools
Saint John Free Public
Library
Saint John Art Centre
Summer Workshop
Scouts Canada
Girl Guides of Canada
Leisure Services
Weight Room, Multi
Training Area and
Personal Conditioning
Skating and Ice Programs
Other Children and Youth
Recreation Programs
Children, Teens
Some
accommodate
children with
Special
Limitations or
injuries
wilderness, out trips, dance.
Learn to sail, soccer, basketball,
ball hockey, scrapbooking, cheer
leading, track&field, canoe,
kayak, mountain biking, archery,
science, volleyball
Science and Nature
Pirates Alive
Dance and Cheerleading
Theatre Instruction and Day
Camps
Zoo Day Camp 6-9 and 10-13
Art
Playground, Recreation Programs
Story Time
Leadership
Martial Arts
Running – Young Adults
Track and Field
Tutoring
Older Adult Programs
Arthritic Aquafit
Time Stoppers
Cardiac Maintenance
Creating Balance
Environmentalist
Outdoor Recreation, Fitness
Community Gardening,
Horticulture
Senior Friendship Games
Senior Shuffleboard Program
Cards in the Park
Seniors Picnics
Seniors Clubs (26)
Seniors Resource Centre
Seaside Lawn Bowling
Horticultural
Social Clubs
“Listen and Lunch”
“Meet the Artist”
Adults, Senior
Citizens
Playground Program
SJ Astronomy Club
Aikio SJ
Chang Young Taekwondo
JVK Taekwondo
Lydia Tong Tai Chi
Shimpokai Judo
Alex Coffin Learn to Run
instruction and club
Running Room Running
Club
The Bike Bank
Dance: Centre Stage,
Dance Zone,
Danceability, Julia’s
School of Dance, Port City
Dance, Release to the
Beat
Just Play: Cheerleading
Day Camp, Day Camps,
Recreation
Kidsport SJ
St. John’s Stone Church
Track and Field NB –
Youth
Teen Resource Centre
UNBSJ Recreation and
Wellness Department Youth
Centre
Non Profit Organizations
Community Centres
Friends of Rockwood
Park
Greater Saint John
Community Garden
Saint John Outdoor
Enthusiasts
PULSE
Saint John Free Public
Library
Healthy Active Living
Program for the 50Plus
Exhibition Park Bingo
Haymarket Square Bingo
Lion’s Clubs
SJ Astronomy
Book Club
Bingo
Science: Astronomy
Social Clubs
Community Centres –
Millidgeville
Forest Glen(operated by
YMCA)
KBM
Lorneville
Latimore Lake
Loch Lomond
Denis Morris
Milford
North End
Somerset
Martenon
Children, Youth and Family
Programs
Lunch and After School Programs
Fitness and Sports
Drop In for Children and Youth
Summer Day Camps
Seniors Programs/Clubs
Children, Youth
Special Needs
Day Camps
Sports
Addiction Recovery
Special Olympics Ringette
Sunbeams, Rainbows For All –
Helping Children Deal with
Separation and Divorce
All Age
Categories
Music
Instructional
Entertainment
All Age
Categories
Day Break Seniors
Activity Centre:
Depression, Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s
Denis Morris CC
50Plus Club
Go Ahead Seniors Inc.
Hillcrest Villagers Seniors
Club
Millidgeville Seniors
Senior Citizens Services
Saint John
NB Senior Citizens
Foundation: Loyalist Zone
Community Centres
Elks Royal Purple Deaf
Camp NB/PEI – Children
NB Wheelchair Sports
Association
SJ Wheelchair Basketball
Association
SHARE Activity Centre –
New Beginnings:
Addiction
North End Community
Centre
Canadian Conservatory of
Music
Early Music Studio
Kindermusic (up to 7)
Music From the Heart
Men and Music –
Entertainment
Cultural
Culture, Heritage
All Age Groups
Family Support
Educational, Social, Instructional,
Play, Rec
Sport and Special Interest
All Age Groups
Other Instructional
Community Targeted
Educational, Social, Instructional,
Play, Rec
All Age Groups
All Age Groups
Chinese Cultural
Association
SJ Multicultural &
Newcomer Resource
Centre
Hall of Latin Americans in
SJ
Irish Canadian Cultural
Association
Kurdish Organization
St Andrew’s Society
(Scottish)
United Empire Loyalist
Association
Family Resource Centre
United Singles Club
Fundy Extreme Triathlon
Club,
Fundy Fencing Club,
Minor Basketball, Minor
Baseball, Minor Hockey,
Football leagues, Golden
Glove Amateur Boxing
Club, Skateboarding,
Cheerleading, Lacrosse,
Heath and Stroke
Foundation, BN Billiard
Association, On and Off
Court Tennis League,
RKYC Learn to Sail,
Fundy Camera Club,
Agility and Sports Team,
SJ Diving Club, SJ Little
League, SJ Shambhala
Buddhist Meditation
Group, SJ Soccer Club, SJ
Women’s Touch Football
League, Teatro Gatos
Theatre Group for 20-35
yr olds, ToastMasters
International,
Crescent Valley Tenants
Association and Resource
Centre
Denis Morris CC
Appendix L – Best Practices in Program Delivery
Purpose
The purpose of this appendix is to provide some examples of best practices in program delivery in
Canada, especially those related to programs targeting at-risk youth. Saint John has good models of
success to build upon, such as the PALS program. Other program delivery models of note include the
Playworks Partnership in Ontario and the High Five program developed by Parks and Recreation
Ontario. An overview of these programs follows.
Partners Assisting Local Schools (PALS)
To combat the effects of poverty and to help every child succeed, various schools within Saint John,
especially those with high concentrations of poverty, have become PALS community schools. The
PALS model of a “full-service community school” creates partnerships with local businesses and
community organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, the Saint John Volunteer agency, multiple faith
organizations, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Saint John YMCA-YWCA. PALS partners work with
school staff, students and parents to enrich the learning environment for the students. The PALS
model is also being adapted elsewhere in the province and is being considered in other provinces. The
PALS partnerships of Saint John were the basis for the establishment of some of the first Community
Schools in New Brunswick. The PALS schools in Saint John include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Centennial School
Glen Falls School
Hazen-White/St. Francis
Island View School
Lorne Middle School
St. Patrick's School
St. John the Baptist / King Edward School
Prince Charles School
Bayview School
St. Rose School
Play Works Partnership - www.playworkspartnership.ca
Play Works is a group of not-for-profit organizations in Ontario representing the areas of sport,
physical activity, civic engagement, arts and culture, rural youth, and recreation, dedicated to
advancing play for 13 - 18 year olds on local and provincial public and political agendas. Members of
the Play Works Partnership include; 4-H Ontario; Arts Network for Children and Youth; Boys and Girls
Clubs of Ontario; YMCA Ontario; Parks and Recreation Ontario; and others. Play Works observed
trends in Ontario, many of which resonate to the situation here in Saint John. Some of those
observations include the following:
x
x
Places to play, to be artistic, to meet; green spaces; church basements; school gyms are
unavailable or difficult to access. Basketball courts are padlocked.
Loitering laws are enforced in parks, but the malls are open.
x
x
x
x
Cutbacks have meant that fewer activities are farther apart so transportation, especially in
rural areas, has become an even bigger dilemma.
To meet their developmental needs, youth need to be allowed to run their own activities
unsupervised. But we don’t trust them. So we don’t let them.
Unstructured play, such as in drop-in centres, is suffering from inadequate supervision, and
seen as too risky, a chance for youth to get into trouble. So it gets shut down.
Volunteers and leaders are stretched as thin as their resources. Programs are weakened.
Volunteers burn out. Youth get discouraged, and stay away.
Play Works also reported that in Ontario the lack of investment and cutbacks in arts and recreation
resources, downloading of services to municipalities, and the introduction of user fees have forced
schools and communities to eliminate thousands of healthy, positive youth activities. After-school
sport and interest leagues, arts activities and youth programs have been shut out of places they once
thrived. Play Works notes that less than 5% of Canada’s schools have physical education programs
that meet the minimum standards. Music, drama, and other arts programs—hugely important to
shaping youth—have been decimated.
Play Works has also developed a “Good Practices of Youth Friendly Communities” which represents a
potential best practice model for Saint John. In preparation of recreation and leisure programs
targeted on Saint John youth, Lesiure Service should consider the applicability of these “Good
Practices” in the Saint John context.
Play Works Partnership Good Practices of Youth Friendly
Communities
(www.playworkspartnership.ca)
Saint John Context
Criteria 1 — Youth have options for play
The community offers a consistent and varied mix of play
Overall, there are many opportunities for youth to
opportunities for youth, ages 13 to 19. Play includes
become involved in sports, fitness, drama,
recreation, sport, arts, drama, dance, civic engagement,
leadership and social activities through many
youth activism, volunteerism, social clubs and youth
non-profit and commercial organizations. Most
leadership. It is structured and unstructured, facility and
are offered at a fee. Churches and community
non-facility based, competitive and recreational, active and centres offer programs, services and drop ins for
passive and it is adult-led and peer-led. It is offered by
no fee. Extent of how one program varies from
public service, not-for-profit agencies, private enterprise or the other cannot be assessed on information
through informal groups.
available.
Criteria 2 — Youth are formally connected to the community
The community has ways in which youth can have their
Saint John should consider this as an opportunity
voices heard. These can be neighbourhood or municipalfor investment and partnership by examining how
wide, such as youth advisory committees or councils.
schools, churches and community centres have a
Formal opportunities for youth involvement could include
mechanism to reach youth engagement yet there
is little evidence of this formal youth connection.
having designated seats for youth representatives at
decision-making tables such as Business Improvement
Associations, Recreation Committees, Staff Hiring
Committees and/or Selection Committees for Recognition
Awards.
Criteria 3 – Facilities are dedicated to youth play
Opportunity for youth engagement:
The community has dedicated public space for youth play
programs and/or events. Youth feel a sense of ownership
The criteria suggest a collaborative approach to
and belonging for these facilities. Dedicated space is not
creating and designing facilities and spaces for
limited to one location, but can be parks, meeting rooms,
youth. Leisure Services should seek out
sports and arts facilities. Places where youth can meet
partnership opportunities as part of a “youth
socially are important to the community and may be
engagement strategy” to increase youth
provided by municipalities, not-for-profit groups, schools,
participation in decision making.
churches, private businesses or service clubs. Space is
made available at the times and locations suitable to
youth participation and access increases as do the youth
population.
Criteria 4 — It is easy for youth to find out information about play activities in the community
The community has a variety of youth friendly information
Opportunity for investment and partnership:
vehicles, such as websites, newsletters, bulletins,
Saint John Leisure Services has few resources
brochures, newspaper advertisements and articles, and
specifically dedicated to youth communication.
community bulletin boards. Municipal services, community
The Leisure section on the City of Saint John
agencies, clubs, private businesses, schools and other
website directs users to the Human Development
service providers cooperate to provide easy ways for
Council. Example of one specific opportunity
diverse groups of youth to access this information.
relates to the Lord Beaverbrook Rink as the rink
offers public skating opportunities however the
schedule does not exist on-line.
Criteria 5 — The community supports public youth events
Build upon successful models such as the PALS
Youth themselves, or with other groups and adults,
program that has private companies partner with
organize events in public spaces and places where local
schools and engage in sport activities, providing
citizens can see and better appreciate youth play. These
large scale community events can include art shows, skate youth with community positive role models and
opportunity to development play relationships
board exhibitions, tournaments, battle of the bands,
with adults. The SJ Police Force host community
community carnivals, dances, etc. Agencies and groups,
baseball and hockey events that target
such as heath, police, local government, recreation,
culture, service clubs and accessibility groups, may work to disadvantaged youth.
support these events. Through outreach and networking,
isolated and disenfranchised youth are engaged in the
process and/or event.
Criteria 6 – The community celebrates and recognizes youth
Build upon Successful Examples
The community celebrates and recognizes youth. The
community offers youth awards and/or scholarship
programs to recognize youth participation and
John Kelly Saint John Recreation Bursary
contributions. This recognition may be given by local
Programs: $1000 Entrance Bursary for students
government, service clubs, schools, community agencies,
embarking on Degree Program in the field of
etc. Formal announcements on these opportunities, and
Recreation, Kinesiology or Physical Education;
on the results of the recognition, are publicized and
and$1000 Bursary for 2nd, 3rd or 4th Year
promoted throughout the community such as in the
students.
newspaper, on the radio, on the municipal website, on
agency websites, in program brochures and/or
Belleisle Valley Medical Centre Bursary.
newsletters.
Canadian Federation of University Women
Scholarship:
-$1000 Entrance to UNBSJ
-$1500 Jean Fleming for Mature Adults
-$1500 Lillian & Charles R. Bone for PostGrads
CN Willson Scholarship
Cook Family Bursary
Dr. Malcolm M Somerville Bursary in Business
Florence M. Christie Bursary
Garfield T. Meltzer-Jewish War Veterans
Scholarship
Racheal Dawn Duffy Scholarship
SJ Country Music Week Legacy Fund Bursary
SJ Law Society Bursary Fund
Super Steel Band Bursary
Suzanne Doyle-Yerxa Award
Criteria 7 - The community commits funding for youth play
PRO Kids is highly successful at connecting
The community has established a fund that is accessible
children to sporting activities.
to organizations and/or directly to youth to help offset the
cost of youth involvement in local activities. This funding
opportunity is well known to groups who work with youth in
The Greater Saint John Community Foundation
the community and it is promoted through these groups
administers funds, large and small, donated by
and through the school system. Systems are in place to
public-spirited citizens and funds are donated as
help youth to also regularly access these funds. Some
annual grants to local charities.
youth play programs are free or have minimal costs. The
community commits funding for current and long-term
capital for diverse facility development and improvement,
such as indoor/outdoor parks, skate parks, creative arts
spaces, dance studios and/or drop in centres.
Criteria 8 — The community supports positive youth development
Certain organizations are more geared to youth
Positive youth development is a formal process through
development than others. The YMCA, Boys and
which a youth makes the transition from childhood to
Girls Club programs and community targeted
adulthood. During this time, youth are exposed to and
programs offer leadership and tutoring and
learn the following five competencies: social, emotional,
summer camps which partially address these
ethical, cognition and physical. They also participate in
criteria. Literacy programs, targeted more to
programs and services which meets their seven
developmental needs, which are: meaningful participation, children, and Big Brothers Big Sisters provide
adult interaction and mentorship.
mastery and achievement, positive interaction with adults
and peers, physical capacity, creative expression, selfdefinition, and structure and clear limits. The community
There is an opportunity to enhancing servicing to
supports programs that help develop youth competence
the developmental needs of youth.
and respond to their developmental needs. Staff and
volunteers of youth service providers are offered
opportunities, and are actively encouraged to participate,
in orientation and training sessions on positive youth
development. A diverse variety of positive youth
development opportunities are available in which youth
can choose to participate.
Criteria 9 – The community supports youth volunteerism and leadership development
The community recognizes the connection between youth
Potential opportunities to partner with local
volunteerism and leadership development. Older children
media to recognize leadership, the YMCA for
are sought out to fill junior leadership roles in sports clubs, example has youth leadership and counselor
youth groups, day camps and/or faith groups. There are
summer training programs.
systems to help youth get connected to volunteer
opportunities, and youth are familiar with these systems
and can access them. Appropriate training about
volunteerism and leadership is provided for youth. The
community has programs to recognize the efforts of youth
leaders and volunteers.
Criteria 10 – The community has models of effective community partnerships
Vulnerable and disenfranchised youth have fewer
Local government departments work cooperatively with
each other and with community groups to provide the best opportunities to become engaged in groups, play,
sports with PRO Kids being the most effective
menu of opportunities for youth play. Specific attention is
service in linking the community with children
given to the needs of hard-to reach, isolated, vulnerable
and their programming needs. Disabled children
and disenfranchised youth. Community partners include
are served somewhat but choices seem limited.
not-for-profit agencies, cultural groups, housing
cooperatives, youth associations, sports clubs, arts groups,
justice, social services, the faith community, private
business, health, and education.
Criteria 11 – Youth activism and advocacy for play is nurtured
The Teen Resource Center in partnership with
Youth activism and advocacy for play are nurtured. The
the PALS program is excellent best practice
voice of youth is a critical component of community life.
example here in Saint John, continue developing
The community ensures that youth actively participate in
successful examples.
planning, promotion, implementation and evaluation of
programs and services that affect them. Youth actively
speak out about their needs and, where this is not in
evidence, youth are encouraged to do so by local
champions. The community, including local decisionmakers and the media, respond to the voice of youth in a
positive and proactive way and changes are evident as a
result of the youth voice being heard.
Criteria 12 – Youth feel comfortable in their own community
The skate park is good example of a
The community encourages businesses, recreation
centres, malls, theatres and other locations to understand programmed space that could function as
intended where Lesiure Services staff could
the needs of youth and works to recognize and engage
interact with youth to better understand the
youth as contributing citizens within the community.
needs and interests of youth.
Spaces are promoted as ‘youth friendly,’ and youth are
provided opportunities to interact with others in a positive
and mutually respectful way. Staff who work in facilities
where youth play receive an orientation about the needs
and interests of youth, and how to build positive
adult/youth partnerships.
Criteria 13 – Youth can get to the play programs that are offered
The community has explored innovative ways to physically
There is little consideration given to
connect youth with play opportunities. Examples include:
transportation needs of children or youth that
better link users to play spaces. The Skateboard
responsive transit systems with routes to dedicated youth
play spaces, and that operate on days and times to
Park is centrally located and is a challenging
maximize participation by youth; lighted bike paths and/or autonomous place for teens.
bike lanes on major roads; and mobile outreach into
There is opportunity to improve linkages between
isolated areas. Activities have been specifically located or
users and play spaces, recreational and
relocated to be closer to youth and to increase access for
instruction programs geared to children and
youth.
youth.
Criteria 14 – Schools support the youth friendly approach
PALS developed here Saint John leads the way in
The community works with schools to recognize and
this area. Great opportunity for Leisure Services
capitalize on the important role of schools in getting
to develop more support programs and
information from the community to youth. Schools work
scheduling of school facilities.
with local service providers to help create a network
between the school, the community and opportunities for
youth play. School boards have a signed funding
agreement with the Ministry of Health Promotion (Ontario)
regarding the community use of schools.
Criteria 15 – Adults champion the cause for youth play
The community has adult leaders who recognize the need
Scouts Canada, Girl Guides of Canada, Boys and
for positive youth play. They publicly support youth by
Girls Club and some church programs play an
important role in this adult leadership role
ensuring elected officials, police, local celebrities and
media are involved in local youth events. For their part,
geared to youth.
youth regularly share their experiences of positive play with
adults and at adult-led events, such as service club
meetings, school board sessions, annual general meetings
and professional association meetings.
Criteria 16 – Play is accessible to youth with disabilities
The Leisure Services Community Services
Every youth in the community should have the opportunity
to participate in programs, if they want to. Programs are
Coordinator will link the community with
set up to specifically include youth with both physical and
advocacy agencies and or service providers, as
mental disabilities. Activities are adapted, facilities are
well as search for financial and human resources
that will enable an individual to participate in a
accessible, additional assistance is onsite, and the
participation of youth with disabilities is a seamless part of program. However, fewer programs exist for
the program. Youth with disabilities are part of program
those with a disability. There is no evaluation
data available to determine the effectiveness.
planning and evaluation phases.
HIGH FIVE - www.highfive.org
HIGH FIVE is Canada’s only comprehensive quality standard for children’s sport and recreation
programs. Parks and Recreation Ontario (PRO) founded HIGH FIVE in 2001 after years of research
involving child development experts, recreation and sport professionals, families and leaders. The PRO
research identified 5 principles of healthy child development that are essential for quality programs
those principles are: a caring adult, the opportunity to play, make friends, master skills and participate.
HIGH FIVE provides tools, training and resources to program providers, support for organizations
using these tools, and professional accreditation. High Five also educates parents and the general
public about the importance of sport and recreation and the need for quality programs. High Five
states that when children participate in recreational play, they develop physically, emotionally, socially
and cognitively. Furthermore, all recreation and leisure programs have a responsibility to provide
activities and environments where children feel safe, welcome, competent, connected, empowered
and special. To that end, High Five developed broad objectives to consider when developing
excellence in children's recreation and leisure programs, those objectives are as follows:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
To enable children to develop as considerate, cooperative and caring individuals who show
concern and respect for themselves, others and their communities.
To help children, when they are ready, to become competent in the areas that interest them most,
by providing high quality leadership, hands-on and self directed learning and a healthy view of
competition.
To enable children to be expressive and creative by encouraging them to use their imagination, to
explore and to experiment.
To provide positive role models as well as opportunities for children to be leaders and role models
for others.
To provide child-centered individual and group activities that are fun and enjoyable.
To help children achieve success in order to build their self-esteem and confidence, taking into
account that they must be ready before they are challenged.
To provide children with the opportunity to develop relationships with non-parental adults and
peers in a safe environment.
To help children learn and experience ideas and concepts such as responsibility, decision making,
independence, problem solving, team building and self-management.
To help children learn how to use leisure time positively and develop a lifelong commitment to
physical activity and healthy living.
To provide children with hands-on experience with nature so that they may understand and
appreciate the natural world.
To enrich children's lives and help them develop new interests and skills by exposing them to a
wide variety of diverse and stimulating experiences.
To enable children to feel a sense of emotional well-being, belonging and security.
High Five’s objectives and focus on youth is an best practice example that works well with a renewed
focus on recreation and an opportunity to strategically target youth within Saint John. As described in
the 2010 Active Healthy Kids Report, there has been an “erosion of the recreation profession” Leisure
Services should examine High Five as a best practices model that provides its recreation and leisure
(community) programmers with the tools for enhancing and maintaining a high level of program
quality.