Ironwood in Normal is on track to meet its budget for this year, bucking the trend of what other public golf courses have been experiencing. (Photo courtesy Normal Parks and Recreation Department)

With summer now over, the number and type of public recreational offerings across Central Illinois will shift with the changing of the seasons.

With kids back in school and the busy spring and summer seasons winding to a close, officials in the various park and recreation departments are reviewing this year’s performance, compared to prior years, and turning attention toward next year’s busy season.

While there are variations from one park district to the next, there are a few overarching trends that emerged this past season. For one, the unruly wet weather dampened attendance the first half of summer. Also, golf course usage is on the downswing at many communities.

More than ever, many of the local park districts are turning to private donations as tax-based funding sources are growing scarcer and putting a pinch on operation plans. The quest for additional funding sources becomes even more pronounced when efforts are made to add new amenities in a community.

“Our efforts as a board to raise funds from the community have gone well,” said Dennis Zimmerman, president of Roanoke Park District’s board. “We have received some very generous donations.”

In addition to maintaining existing infrastructure — including its main municipal pool — the Roanoke Park District this year sought to add a splash pool to its program offerings. Zimmerman said the addition would not have been possible based solely on the tax revenues that come in.

While a number of time-honored activities — including summer day camps, local sports leagues and swimming pools — held their own this past spring and summer throughout the region, there is one amenity that multiple park districts are struggling with: golf courses.

“Golf courses just aren’t being utilized as much as they once were, and this is a national trend, not just locally,” said Cameron Bettin, executive director of the Pekin Part District. “We’re not sure why, but we’re trying to look into it.”

In some communities, including Bloomington, the situation has grown so challenging that the prospect of closing a golf course is on the table. City officials in McLean County’s largest community are considering a proposal to shutter one of the three courses, in part because each needs some level of maintenance and operating income continues to decline.

In July, Bloomington Finance Director Patti-Lynn Silva announced the revenue brought in from usage fees and other incidentals is not covering the cost of maintaining the courses — an issue that is only exacerbated when maintenance enters the picture.

In Normal, however, the picture is slightly different. The town’s only golf course, Ironwood, has been holding its own, Christopher Cotton, director of the Normal Parks and Recreation Department, said.

“It’s on track to hit the budget mark for the year,” he said.

Because so much of a park district’s program offerings are weather-dependent, revenues and participation can vary from one season to the next. Leaders of parks and recreation departments across the region concede the weather wreaked havoc on income early in the season, though participation levels ticked upward later in the season.

In a contrast to prior years, Bettin said resident usage of the Pekin Park District’s amenities spiked in July and August — usually it is in reverse order.

In some cases, the actions in other communities can also play a role in how much income arrives. During the last week of Pekin’s DragonLand Water Park, Bettin said usage grew. He attributed it to some of the decisions of school districts in nearby communities.

“In Pekin, school started about a week later than the other communities, and that impacted when they closed their pools,” Bettin said. “We were seeing folks come over to use our pool because of this.”

While park and recreation leaders are turning their sights toward the sparser fall activities, they also are beginning to look at possible tweaks to next year’s itinerary of late spring and summer activities.
“Planning is a year-round process,” Cotton said.

— Park districts’ summer season review tells mixed tale–