City's Parks Department Accredited by National Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2006

For more information, contact:
Mick Renneisen, Director, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation,
349.3711
Maria K. Heslin, Communications Director, City of Bloomington, 349.3569

Bloomington, IN -- Mayor Mark Kruzan announced that City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation received official notification that the department has been reaccredited. Parks and Rec Director Mick Renneisen received the good news today while attending a hearing in Washington, D.C. of the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).

"This is a terrific and deserved honor for our Parks and Recreation Department," Kruzan said. "It reflects the many first-rate facilities, parks, trails, programs and classes we are proud to provide the community. I thank the Parks and Rec staff for their continual efforts and professionalism that make such honors possible."

The department was first accredited by CAPRA in 2001, and is one of only 59 agencies in the nation to achieve accreditation. A CAPRA accreditation team visited Bloomington in October 2005 as part of a five-year review to re-evaluate the Department's efficiency, effectiveness and professionalism.

"I want to congratulate the Parks and Recreation staff and Board of Park Commissioners on their continued level of excellence and leadership throughout the accreditation process," said Jim Grove, retired Oregon, Illinois, Park District executive director and chair of the CAPRA team that visited Bloomington last fall. "Hopefully other people in the nation will pick up some of the valuable processes and programs the department has developed as a direct result of the accreditation process."

The team reviewed the department's self-assessment in 156 standards that encompass 10 categories covering all operations contained in the delivery of parks and recreation services. The department used the team's analysis of standards that were not met to make changes in some of its procedures.

"For example, the team's comments about the evaluation process for our recreation programs resulted in an overhaul of how we assess surveys of our programs," Renneisen said. "We've changed our internal review process to consider each program's goals and compare them to the program's outcome to be sure they match."

Renneisen said the CAPRA standards have been updated since 2001. "This review has verified that we're providing the same superior levels of professionalism and service we exhibited in 2001 during our initial accreditation," he said.

Bloomington as a community benefits in many ways from the department's accreditation efforts. Thorough reviews of administrative policies and procedures help identify redundancies in providing services. The department uses information gathered during the process to more effectively manage its resources and assure the community their tax dollars are being used wisely.

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