Park district marks strong turnaround

Last summer, it looked like the Sisters Park & Recreation District was on its last legs. Financially insolvent, unable to sustain its programs, the district was on the verge of shutting its doors.

Now, after an arduous round of cuts and reevaluation of programs and services, the district is in the black and poised to resume a vital, if somewhat altered, role in the Sisters community.

"Our general fund is in the black," said SPRD business manager Anne Heath. "We haven't borrowed from our credit line."

The district's fiscal year ends June 30.

Over the past few years, SPRD has had to tap a line of credit to bridge funding until November 15 when it receives receipts from its 22 cents per $1,000 tax base.

"We don't see us having to do that this year," Heath said. "Our goal is to not use the credit line at all."

In fact the credit line is paid off.

The organization has $47,358 in remaining long-term debt that Heath said is scheduled to be paid in full by August 2011.

SPRD celebrated its return to health with a family night at Village Green Park last week. The district provided food while local Girl Scouts provided arts activities and kids enjoyed field games. They also heard from the Sisters Library about the summer reading program.

"It was just a nice little get-together," Heath said.

Heath said that the process of re-evaluating the district's mission and programs was not easy.

"Everything we do, we looked at," she said. "Essentially, we're a different organization."

The district eliminated "latchkey" programs that had to be subsidized and focused solely on programs that can pay their own way. The district is offering theater camps, sports camps, arts programs and an "adventure camp" that provides summer activities for kids.

Those programs are thriving, Heath said.

SPRD is also offering adult programming, from woodworking and gardening to a popular hiking program.

Heath emphasizes that SPRD is not simply kid-centric.

"The message that we have to get out there is that there's great programs for adults," she said.

Heath noted that one of the district's plans for fiscal efficiency is partnerships with other local organizations. Sometimes that takes the form of grants that allow SPRD to offer programs directly

"The Roundhouse Foundation really stepped up, and the grant they provided allowed us to provide really great summer art programs," Heath said.

In other circumstances, the district is partnering with other organizations to provide programs indirectly, without hiring staff.

For example, SPRD partnered with Bend Adventure Boot Camp to stage a popular outdoor fitness program in Sisters (see "Sisters folks go to boot camp," The Nugget, June 23, page 9).

R.A.D. Camps of Bend is partnering with SPRD to offer day-long hiking outings for kids.

"By partnering with them, we can offer hikes to Sisters kids without having to put staff on to manage that program," Heath explained. "We don't have to have staff here, paying them between programs. We can work with a much smaller staff."

That is vital to maintaining the health of the organization, according to Heath. In its crisis, the district board of directors elected not to ask the community for direct financial support, believing that the district had to demonstrate it could repair its own financial condition before tapping the pockets of the community.

Instead of looking for subsidy for programs, the district feels it can focus on offering self-sustaining programs and ask for community help in appropriate areas, such as supporting scholarships for financially distressed families.

"We're getting hit pretty hard with scholarships," Heath said. "There's so many families out there that need scholarship funding."

As the district rolls through its busiest season, Heath believes the organization has earned significant community support and has "lots of momentum."

For more information about SPRD and its programs, visit www.

sistersrecreation.com or call 541-549-2091.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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