HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 Impact Report2 0 2 0 I M P A C T
R E P O R T
OSHKOSH PARKS DEPARTMENT
P A R K E V E N T S
C H A N G E , G O V I R T U A L ,
O R A R E C A N C E L L E D T O
P R O T E C T P U B L I C
H E A L T H
Highlights
T H E O S H K O S H P A R K S
D E P A R T M E N T
A D J U S T S T O T H E
N E W W O R L D W I T H
C O V I D -1 9
M E N O M I N E E P A R K
Z O O B E C O M E S A N
O U T D O O R E S C A P E
F O R C O M M U N I T Y A N D
F A M I L I E S D U R I N G
C O V I D -1 9
City of Oshkosh Parks Department Mission Statement:
Despite COVID-19, our department continued to realize our
mission. The City of Oshkosh seeks to provide a park and
recreation system that will meet the needs of our current
residents and future generations, preserve and protect the
City’s open space, water, historical and natural resources, and
provide a park and recreation program that is designed to
enhance the City’s quality of life. (2018 Comprehensive
Outdoor Recreation Plan)
T h e O s h k o s h P a r k s D e p a r t m e n t c o n s i s t s
o f O s h k o s h ’s v a r i o u s P a r k s a n d f a c i l i t i e s ,
u r b a n f o r e s t r y p r o g r a m s , R i v e r s i d e
C e m e t e r y , M e n o m i n e e P a r k Z o o , P o l l o c k
C o m m u n i t y W a t e r P a r k , L e a c h
A m p h i t h e a t e r , C h i l d r e n ’s A m u s e m e n t
C e n t e r a n d O s h k o s h S e n i o r s C e n t e r . T h e
P a r k s D e p a r t m e n t h a s 1 4 r e n t a b l e
s h e l t e r s a n d s i x b o a t l a u n c h a r e a s w i t h i n
t h e C i t y l i m i t s . T h e p a r k s y s t e m c o n s i s t s
o f j u s t o v e r 4 1 5 a c r e s o f p a r k s p a c e .
P a r k s D e p a r t m e n t A d m i n i s t r a t i v e S t a f f
R a y M a u r e r , P a r k s D i r e c t o r
C h a d D a l l m a n , A s s i s t a n t P a r k s D i r e c t o r
B i l l S t u r m , L a n d s c a p e O p e r a t i o n s M a n a g e r
J e n n y M c C o l l i a n , R e v e n u e F a c i l i t i e s M a n a g e r
J e a n W o l l e r m a n , S e n i o r S e r v i c e s M a n a g e r
K a t h y S n e l l , S p e c i a l E v e n t s C o o r d i n a t o r
A n n e S c h a e f e r , M a r k e t i n g a n d F u n d D e v e l o p m e n t C o o r d i n a t o r
S t a c y J a m e s , A d m i n i s t r a t i v e A s s i s t a n t
P A R K S O F F I C E
(9 2 0 )2 3 6 -5 0 8 0
8 0 5 W I T Z E L A V E .
O S H K O S H , W I 5 4 9 0 2
New Animals Arrived - Albino Raccoon,
Foxes, Badger, and Wolves
The Zoo opened to 50 patrons at a time
and became a safe outdoor place for
family experiences
62,000+ visitors in June - August
Zoo Education Coordinator hosted small
daily sessions
M E N O M I N E E P A R K
Z O O The Zoo Celebrated its
75th Anniversary
in 2020 Mark Burns Photo
Mark Burns PhotoMark Burns Photo
C H A NG E S TO Z OOL O WE E N
B OO & T O U CH-A -TRU CK
Two events were combined to
create Truck-or-Treat a safe
Halloween option for families
500 cars drove through the
Menominee Park event
In January 2018, the City sold approximately 32 acres of the former
golf course property to Oshkosh Corporation for construction of their
global headquarters. The Oshkosh Common Council has directed staff
to develop the remaining 70 acres of the Lakeshore site as a park. The
park property has floodplains, wetland pockets and archeologically-
sensitive areas. The City has developed a trail connection on the
northern border of the site connecting the Tribal Heritage Trail to
Rainbow Memorial Park. This trail connection was completed in the
spring of 2020.
The Oshkosh Parks Department, Advisory Park Board, and consulting
firm SmithGroup worked with the public to help design the future
Lakeshore Park Master Plan.
The Parks Department is actively pursuing grants and donations to
help fund the $14 million dollar project and the four-season pavilion
designs are being finalized.
L A K E S H O R E P A R K
CO MMU NI TY P L AYGR O U ND
CO MPL ET ED P A R K S
S T R A T E G I C
P R I O R I T I E S
Lakeshore Park Riverwalk
is completed
Menominee Park outdoor
exercise stations installed
Solar powered electronic pay
stations are installed at boat
launches
Bowen Street Fishing
Dock is refurbished
L A N DS C A PE
O P E R A T IO N S
C o m p l e t e d W I D N R g r a n t
p r o j e c t t h a t p l a n t e d 2 0 0
t e r r a c e t r e e s i n t h e
S a w y e r /P a i n e a n d C o n g r e s s
F i e l d N e i g h b o r h o o d
A s s o c i a t i o n s . F u n d s c a m e f r o m
t h e O s h k o s h A r e a C o m m u n i t y
F o u n d a t i o n 's T a k i n g R o o t
P r o g r a m a n d W I D N R
C o m p l e t e d i n s t a l l a t i o n o f
w e t l a n d p l a n t s a t t h e S o u t h
P a r k l a g o o n s
L a n d s c a p e d t h e n e w O s h k o s h
C o m m u n i t y P l a y g r o u n d i n
M e n o m i n e e P a r k
P l a n t e d 3 6 3 t e r r a c e a n d p a r k
t r e e s
P r u n e d 1 ,8 7 1 t r e e s t h r o u g h t h e
a n n u a l p r u n i n g c y c l e
R e m o v e d 1 2 2 t r e e s a f f e c t e d
b y E m e r a l d A s h B o r e r a n d
o t h e r i s s u e s
R e m o v e d 2 5 0 s t u m p s
O SHKOSH S ENIORS
CENTE R
While physically closed March to May,
the staff at the Seniors Center
reached out to our most vulnerable
population and kept in touch with
them as social isolation became their
world
Following safety protocols we were
able to safely phase in programming
throughout 2020
Nail care was a necessity and we
made seniors feel safe coming to us
for this service
Programming was shared virtually
and through Oshkosh Media
Connect through Tech helped
isolated older adults connect to
family, friends, and services
2 0 2 0 p o s e d i n c r e d i b l e c h a l l e n g e s f o r b o t h b u s i n e s s e s
a n d n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d . S o m e
o f t h e l a r g e s t r e n o w n e d e v e n t s w e r e c a n c e l l e d ,
r e s c h e d u l e d o r “w e n t v i r t u a l ”. O s h k o s h w a s n o e x c e p t i o n .
I n 2 0 2 0 , t h e C i t y h o s t e d 3 2 S p e c i a l E v e n t s , d o w n 7 8 %
f r o m 2 0 1 9 . T h e e v e n t s t h a t c a r r i e d o n w e r e a b l e t o
r e i m a g i n e t h e m s e l v e s a n d h o s t a f u n a n d s a f e e v e n t f o r
t h o s e i n o u r c o m m u n i t y t o e n j o y !
SP E C I A L E V E NT S
O u r o r g a n i z e r s a r e c o n t i n u i n g t o v i e w
2 0 2 1 o p t i m i s t i c a l l y . L e a r n i n g f r o m
e v e n t s t h a t d i d o c c u r l a s t y e a r , e v e n t
o r g a n i z e r s a r e m a k i n g c h a n g e s t o
p r i o r i t i z e t h e h e a l t h a n d w e l f a r e o f o u r
c o m m u n i t y .
MA RKETI NG & F U ND
D E VE LO PME NT
Social media page visits on Facebook grew by 12% in 2020
Raising funds was challenging but creativity helped us reach
goals
Bader Philanthropies, Inc. granted the Oshkosh Seniors
Center $152,000 to address social isolation through the
use of technology (Connect Through Tech)
The Friends of the Oshkosh Seniors Center hosted a
Facebook Live event to raise funds and increase support
for the annual appeal for the Oshkosh Seniors Center
Grants were submitted to fund the Lakeshore Park
development