ANNUAL REPORT - Onondaga County Parks

FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Operating Budget as of 1/31/07 (Unaudited)
Expenditures
Personnel_ ___________________ $ 7,464,141
Operations_ __________________ $ 3,066,147
Interdepartmental Services_____ $ 1,166,701
Debt Service____________________ $ 785,070
Preventative Maintenance________ $ 375,000
Total________________________ $ 12,857,059
Revenues
County Appropriations________ $ 10,217,284
Park Use_____________________ $ 1,764,958
State and Federal Aid_ ___________ $ 221,604
Cemetery________________________ $ 61,530
Commissions and Rentals__________ $ 71,274
Transfer for Infrastructure_ _______ $ 375,000
Room Occupancy Tax____________ $ 100,000
Other_ __________________________ $ 45,409
Total________________________ $ 12,857,059
supplemental budgets
Capital Expenses_ _______________ $ 562,228
Grant Expenses_________________ $ 238,333
Special Account Expenses________ $ 547,525
How Do We Rate?
Representative surveys from over 1,600 park visitors indicate that friendly,
helpful staff and feeling of being safe and secure in our parks are two major
reasons they give a big thumbs up with an “A+” rating.
Volunteer Park Customer Service Rating
Hours Attendance (1-5 scale, 5=Excellent)
Alliance Bank Stadium 600 362,620 -
Beaver Lake Nature Center 11,000 193,855 4.67
Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery 1,589 40,101 4.73
Highland Forest 5,367 49,873 4.85
Hopkins Road Park 300 130,000 -
Jamesville Beach 1,257 89,790 4.42
Oneida Shores Park 1,332 120,340 4.70
Onondaga Lake Park 7,335 1,335,561 4.60
Otisco Lake Park - 4,000 -
Pratt’s Falls Park 170 27,331 4.67
Rosamond Gifford Zoo 29,770 298,757 4.59
Ste. Marie among the Iroquois 12,500 13,482 -
Salt Museum 350 16,023 -
Veterans Memorial Cemetery - 25,000 -
Totals 71,570 2,706,733 4.63
COMMUNITY SUPPORT....
It’s Huge!
Onondaga County Parks’ stature as a
nationally acclaimed leisure service agency
and a treasured community asset is due
in large part to significant investments
of time and money by the organizations,
businesses and volunteers who proudly call
Onondaga County their home.
Leading the way in assuring quality park
services are Friends organizations from
the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Beaver Lake
Nature Center, Historic Onondaga Lake and
Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery. Working
cooperatively with Parks administration, this
quartet invested nearly $2 million directly
into program, facility and promotional support
in 2006. They also serve as powerful advocates for government
Volunteer Tyler Anderson takes a break from
interpreting history at Sainte Marie
investment in and protection of the lands and waters which comprise
and border their favorite venues.
The Jamesville Balloonfest, Inc. focuses on the signature element of the
community’s first big summer event while the Highland Forest Nordic
Ski Patrol strives for optimal and safe cross-country ski experiences at the
“Adirondacks of Central New York.” Onondaga County Parks Emergency
Medical Services team provides coverage at all major events.
Two new groups came on the scene in 2006 - a “watchdog”
group of Wegmans Good Dog Park enthusiasts who are being
empowered to help monitor the facility, and the Fabius Historical
Society, which has taken over operations of what had
been the Highland Forest Pioneer Museum.
Volunteers gave over 70,000 hours of their time to our parks this year,
and are the sole reason Sainte Marie among the Iroquois Living History
Center was able to reopen and continues to thrive. Educational tours at
the Zoo and Beaver Lake would be a microcosm of their current status
if retired teachers and principals were not giving back liberally of their
time and expertise. Fishing in our trout streams and archery at Pratt’s
Falls would be of lower caliber if volunteers were not stocking fish and
maintaining targets.
The Salt Museum, which continues to be a destination for out of town
guests, is viable primarily because of the dedication of a retired elementary
school teacher. In the spring, many parks are spruced up as businesses
donate their work force for a day of community beautification.
And Beaver Lake’s cornerstone special events would cease to happen
without volunteers.
Led by Wegmans, who touts the splendors of Onondaga County Parks
in a 250’ wall length mural at the new Liverpool Route 57 store and has
invested significantly in special event and quality of life programs at
Onondaga Lake Park, corporate Syracuse is indeed part of the success of
the park system. Galaxy Communications and Citadel Communications
are prime underwriters of Lights on the Lake and the Coors Light Balloon
Fest, respectively, allocating both program sponsorship and major air
time to assure success of events which are produced without direct tax
dollar support. Verizon proclaimed success with marketing initiatives
at Onondaga Lake Park which included experimenting with complimentary
FiOS WiFi service in the family activity section. Alliance Bank
has committed long term support via naming rights to the ballpark and
the Rosamond Gifford Foundation has taken a similar path with a major
educational endowment for the Zoo.
Onondaga County Parks
106 Lake Dr, Liverpool, NY 13088
(315)451-7275 • www.OnondagaCountyParks.com
Front Cover: Fishing at Oneida, Sainte Marie volunteers, skiing at Highland, biking at Otisco Lake Park.
Photo Credits: Skateboarder photo by Mike Roy, Post-Standard, Heron by Craig Morgan.
Cover and all other photos by Brantley Carroll Photography • 2/07 • 1M