12/02/1996 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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1996 City of Lino Lakes Residential Survey 4 continued development and expansion of the trail system within Lino Lakes. And,by a sixty- nine percent to twenty-four percent margin, residents favored placing a higher priority on the completion of the neighborhood park system. When a prioritization was requested, sixty-seven percent favored completion of the neighborhood park system,while fifty-seven percent opted for the trail system. Community residents also indicated willingness to support a median of an $18.40 yearly property tax increase to fund the development of park and recreation facilities; however, twenty-eight percent of the community would support no property tax increase for this purpose. When asked about activities their household members engaged in on the city's trails, walking, running,or jogging was mentioned by sixty-three percent. Fifty-six percent biked on the trails, while about one-third reported rollerblading or rollerskating and nature and/or bird watching. Similarly,the city's rinks and shelters for informal skating or hockey during the winter drew forty-three percent of the households. When queried about the City's removing snow from all walking trails during winter months, fifty-one percent expressed opposition while forty-five percent were favorable. A narrow majority,then, favored the present policy of removing snow only from those trails used as paths to schools. A fifty-one percent majority opposed the City of Lino Lakes developing a municipal golf course. If one were developed,though, seventeen percent of the households were"very likely"to use it, while twenty-six percent were"somewhat likely"to do so. Twenty-nine percent of the households participated in city-sponsored park and recreation programs. Among participants,the baseball,hockey, soccer, swimming, and aerobics programs were most popular. An overwhelming eighty-nine percent rated the recreational programs as "excellent"or"good,"while eleven percent were more critical. Critics invariably pointed to a lack of organization as their bone of contention. Only four percent of the survey reported having to curtail participation in city-sponsored recreation programs because of child care needs. Of this small subsample,three-quarters indicated they would be more likely to participate if child care were provided. However, this latter quantity only represented three percent of the sample. A convincing eighty percent of the sample supported the City's hiring of a Teen Recreation Program Director, even if it cost taxpayers about$2.50 annually. Only fifteen percent expressed opposition to this new position. In considering the future, fifty-nine percent prioritized programmed activities over unprogrammed ones;thirty-four percent held the opposite preference. Forty-one percent reported at least"occasionally"using the Anoka County Regional Park in Lino Lakes. Seventy-one percent were aware that the Regional Park contained a golf course, Wargo ,z'DRL