About
Department of Parks and Recreation
The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department was established on February 3, 1947. Their first meeting was held in April 1947 to elect officers and discuss donations of property. At the time of this study, Mark Jones was the current Director of Parks and Recreation for the City.
Currently, the City of Columbus park system consists of 21 public park sites and 10 facilities, which together total 702 acres of park land. The parks range in scale and program from small neighborhood parks to large, community parks such as Mill Race Park.
In addition, the Department oversees the development and maintenance of the People Trails; a network of over 20 miles of multi-purpose trails which connect the various parts of the city.
Services
The department provides services in the major categories of athletics, recreation, ice sports, gymnastics, aquatics and golf. These services are mostly offered at 12 dedicated locations throughout our parks system while some are held at partner facilities in the county. There are approximately 200 unique programs offered annually throughout the various service areas of the department at an average cost of $49 per participant. The department offers many free programs to our community throughout the year and distributes through our foundation, approximately $13,000 in youth scholarships annually..
Timeline and FAQs
Yes, this is a community-input driven process and the outcome and future recommendations will be driven by the needs and vision articulated by the community members.
Through the Key Events section on this website – http://imagineyourcolumbusparks.com you can provide open ended suggestions, respond to the online survey, know the dates for open public meetings and even share feedback through social media as well.
The project duration from start to finish is 9 months with an anticipated completion date by March 2022.
The Department of Parks and Recreation along with PROS Consulting, INC., a nationally recognized firm, headquartered in Indianapolis and led by their Principal, Mr. Neelay Bhatt.
Project information including key meeting dates, completed technical reports, and final documents will be made available to the community through this project website.