Specifications include, but are not limited to: During its 40+ years of service to the City Of Rock Springs, the Rock Springs Parks and Recreation Department (RSPRD) has benefitted from multiple economic booms related to oil, gas, and mining. These booms have allowed the City of Rock Springs to fund quality-of-life initiatives, creating numerous amenities and related services listed above. Unfortunately, the prosperity that created the parks and recreation facilities has not been consistent, and due to multiple years of depressed funding, many RSPRD facilities have years of accumulated deferred maintenance. The lack of ongoing maintenance, refurbishment, or replacement has left parks and recreation infrastructure in a fragile state as we do not project that we can address these concerns with anticipated future funding. We fear that the inability to address these issues soon will result in the closure of some amenities, causing significant service disruptions. Furthermore, past budget cuts have led to staff attrition, and the likelihood of replacement in future funding years is low. The strain of reduced human resources also contributes to our concern with future service delivery. RSPRD staff and the City of Rock Springs officials are also concerned that we will not be able to fund our facilities' upcoming life cycle costs. The RSPRD recently received a lifeline from a specific purpose tax that will allow for the replacement of some significant infrastructure concerns. However, this is a one-time fix, and the department still has several problems related to infrastructure and deferred maintenance. The RSPRD also finds itself in a situation where the City heavily subsidizes its programs and services, and we feel that we need to optimize our cost recovery. At one point, it was mandated for RSPRD to support 40% of their operation and maintenance costs. This ambitious goal was never met, and the target was removed. Instead, the goal of the RSPRD has been to maximize the quality of life with heavily subsidized support of parks and recreation. It has become apparent that our old funding model, subsidizations, capital improvements, and cost recovery models need to be revised. The City would like to secure the services of consulting professionals who can assist RSPRD staff in assessing current and future park and recreation needs, facility infrastructure status, and service levels and make recommendations for a sustained service level with existing and anticipated funding levels. The RSPRD expects that accomplishing this goal may require divestment of some amenities or loss of services. With the impact that a lost amenity or service will have on our patronage and the resulting angst it produces, the consultants must carefully consider public input before offering their suggestions. Lastly, the RSPRD would like an actionable strategic plan that encompasses all their needs and guides staff in handling these challenges over the next 5-10 years.
