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HomeMy Public PortalAboutSUPPL.THREE ASSESSMENT SURVEY SUPPLEMENT THREE : Colin Batko ' s Community Center _ Survey Instrument Colin Batko ' s Needs Assessment Survey L) U U SUPPLEMENT THREE : Colin Batko ' s Community Center Survey Instrument Colin Batko ' s Needs Assessment Survey Informed Consent This survey will be used to determine the recreational interests of the community as well as determine levels of participation at park facilities and in programming. The results will be analyzed and considered for possible construction of new facilities and/or administration of new programs offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department. By answering the questions on this survey you are giving consent to the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department and DePauw University to use this data for research purposes only. This survey is completely anonymous. In no way will your name be associated with the data you provide when it is being analyzed, presented, or distributed. The data collected from this survey will be used to better the above organizations' understanding of the community's recreational needs. If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the questions being asked you may discontinue the survey at any time without penalty. If you have any further questions concerning this survey or the results of the survey please contact Colin Batko at CBatko@depauw.edu or Adam Cohen at ACohen@depauw.edu or by phone at (765)658-4119. The information collected from these surveys will be used for the future development of a Community Center in Putnam County. Questions concerning this project can be addressed to Adam Cohen at ACohen ar depauw.edu or by phone at (765) 658-4119 Statement:This study has been approved by the DePauw University Institutional Review Board.If you have any questions concerning your rights as a human subject,please contact Academic Affairs at DePauw University,Harrison Hall 305.(765)658-4355. Needs Assessment Survey for Putnam County Survey Summary This survey will be used to determine the recreational interests of the community as well as determine levels of participation at park facilities and in programming. The results will be analyzed and considered for possible construction of new facilities and/or administration of new programs offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Dept. 1. Age of person completing this survey 2. Sex of the person completing this survey: Male Female 3. How many people live in your household,by age: Less than 5 years old: 5-17 years old: 18-25 years old: 26-45 years old: 46-65 years old: Older than 66 years of age: 4. Do you reside within the municipal limits of Greencastle? Yes No 5. If not, in which town do you live? Greencastle but not within municipal limits Fillmore Russellville Reelsville Cloverdale Roachdale Bainbridge Other 6.Which Putnam County school district do you live? Greencastle Community School Cloverdale Community Schools North Putnam Community Schools South Putnam Community Schools 7. Do you feel your community does a good job providing the following? Strongly Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly agree disagree Facility and ground maintenance Natural features Recreational facilities Picnic shelters and facilities Multi-purpose pathways and connections Other features, such as lighting, restrooms,public telephones, etc. W w w 8. Do you currently own a membership to a community, recreation, or fitness center? Yes No 9. The following is a list of FACILITIES that could be offered by a Cultural Community Art and Recreation Center. Please place an X next to the 7 potential facilities that are most important to you. Community/Meeting Rooms Weight/Exercise/Fitness Area Teen Center Running/Walking Track Pool-Play Area Ping Pong, Foosball, Pool Tables Pool-Whirlpool Climbing Wall Locker Rooms Racquetball Courts Offices Playground Snack Area Sauna/Stream Room Theater Basketball Courts Dance Room Tumbling Room Computer Information Center Other Facilities: 10. The following is a list of PROGRAMS that could be offered by a Cultural Community Art and Recreation Center. Please place an X next to the 12 potential programs that are most important to you. Computer/technology instruction Soccer Basketball leagues Cooking Classes n Teen Center Activities Martial Arts Swimming Lessons Outdoor Challenge Course Child Care Sledding Personal Training Babysitting Certification Volleyball First Aid/CPR Badminton Board Games Dance Knitting Aerobics Music Camps Quilting Scrapbooking Pottery Yoga Softball Golf Tennis Other Programming: 11.Would you be willing to support a tax increase to fund a Community Center? Yes No 12. Would you be willing to use tax dollars to offset the cost of memberships? Yes No 41gio 13.What is the highest dollar amount you would be willing to pay ANNUALLY for a membership to a Community Center with the potential facilities and programming listed above? Less than $100 $201-$250 More than $350 $101-$150 $251-$300 Not Interested $151-$200 $301-$350 14. How far would you be willing to drive to a Community Center 15. Are you satisfied with the current programs and facilities offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department? Yes No If no please explain: 16. Please rank these Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department facilities in order of importance to you - 1 being the most important and 8 being the least important. Barbeque Grills Recreation and Fitness Center Additional Playground Equipment n Additional Neighborhood Parks Community Center Additional Skateboard and Bicycle parks Pet Parks More Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails 17. When you and/or your family visit the Greencastle park facilities,which parks do you use? Robe-Ann Park Big Walnut Sports Park Jaycee Park Mary's Field Park Calbert Way Park People Pathways Trails Maple-Berry Park Westside Park(Courthouse annex) Rokicki Community Park None of these parks 18. When you and/or your family visit the Greencastle parks which facilities within the parks do you use? Aquatics Center Softball Diamonds at Big Walnut Basketball Court Baseball Diamonds at Big Walnut Emerald Palace Playground Tennis Courts Little Tikes Playground Skate park Picnic Shelters Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails Softball Diamonds at Robe-Ann Soccer Fields at Big Walnut 19.Which of the following park programs have you or your family members participated in during the last year? S.P.A.R.K. Women's Softball League Learn-To-Swim Lessons Coed Softball League Tennis Lessons Mommy and Me Program Santa Claus Woodcarving Contest Arts and Craft Programs Gingerbread House Contest July 4th Activities Men's Softball League Mike Rokicki Memorial 5K Road Annual Easter Egg Hunt Run/Walk 20. How interested are you in seeing the following programs being instituted by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department? Programming Very interested Semi-Interested Not Interested Indifferent Arts and Crafts Classes Pre-School Programming Youth Programming Teen Programming Adult Programming Senior Programming Family Programming Aerobics and Fitness Classes Special Events Sports Tournaments Christmas and/or Holiday npa•ntn1dap7T uayoIW ``.J Needs Assessment Survey For a Potential Community Center in Putnam County ,.� By: Colin Batko Kinesiology Senior Seminar- Spring 2007 DePauw University, Greencastle, IN �-. Abstract A recent needs assessment of Greencastle evaluated Greencastle Parks and Recreation facilities and programming and found there was a growing interest in having a Community Fitness and Recreation center somewhere in Putnam County. It was necessary to conduct another needs assessment with question specifically pertaining to the construction of such facilities.Needs assessments can benchmark and track perceptions of residents relating to programs and facilities that already exist and their interest in seeing new services.Needs assessments also answer questions concerning funding for such a facility. The data collected from needs assessments can be used to see what obstacles may threaten the construction of such a facility and also win enough public support to get the building funded. The needs assessment conducted for this study found that there was a significant interest in seeing such a facility in Putnam County. There is great interest in seeing facilities such as; a teen center,weight/exercise/fitness areas, a running and walking track, and basketball courts. There was also interest shown in programming such as; computer/technology instruction, swimming lessons,teen center activities, aerobics, personal training, and first aid/CPR training. In terms of funding,there was significant support shown for a tax increase to fund the construction of a Community Fitness and Recreation center as well as support for a tax increase to offset membership fees. Data collected from this survey as well as research of the impact of Community Centers on communities have show that Putnam County and its residence could greatly benefit from the construction of such a facility. Acknowledgments-Thank you to the residence of Putnam County who took the time to fill out these surveys and return them so their voices could be heard. Thank you to the members of The Community Center Task Force for taking surveys and spreading them throughout Putnam County so I could have some data to present. Thank you to Dr. Babington who guided us through seminar. Thanks to Adam Cohen for being my advisor and making this whole study and the thought of a Community Center in Putnam County a reality. Thanks to Mayor Nancy Michael for her support. Lastly, thanks to my fellow seminar classmates for listening to me talk about the same things over and over again. n Table of Contents II. Manuscript A. Introduction B. Methods a. Introductory Paragraph b. Subjects c. Instruments d. Testing Procedures e. Statistical Analysis C. Results D. Discussion E. References III. Appendices A. The problem a. Research question b. Experimental hypotheses c. Assumptions d. Delimitations e. Operational Definitions f. Limitations g. Significance of the Study B. Literature Review C. Additional Methods a. Informed Consent Form b. Needs Assessment Survey c. Data Collection Sheets d. Specific Testing Procedures e. Graphs f. Table of Raw Data and Statistical Analysis D. Recommendations for Future Research II. Manuscript A. Introduction-A recent needs assessment of Greencastle evaluated Greencastle Parks and Recreation facilities and programming and found there was a growing interest in having a Community Fitness and Recreation center somewhere in Putnam County. It was necessary to conduct another needs assessment with question specifically pertaining to the construction of such facilities.Needs assessments can benchmark and track perceptions of residents relating to programs and facilities that already exist and their interest in seeing new services.Needs assessments also answer questions concerning funding for such a facility. The data collected from needs assessments can be used to see what obstacles may threaten the construction of such a facility and also win enough public support to get the building funded. Research has shown that a Community Fitness and Recreation facility can have a number of positive effects on all members of a community. Community Centers can offer much needed programming and facilities for adolescents. These facilities serve to give young adults and children a place to go after school to help fill any void of time between school sessions. Childhood obesity is higher than ever. Such a center may promote a less sedentary lifestyle for children which, studies have shown, may represent their level of activity as adults. Community Centers also provide beneficial programming for senior citizens. With the"baby boomer" generation growing older, it seems there is a higher demand for facilities and programming geared towards the elderly to help prevent a sedentary anti-social life. These programs are becoming more prevalent and studies have shown that there has been a decrease in symptoms associated with aging which can save money in terms of health care. Community Centers are beneficial to a community's economy. Studies have shown when workers have had membership to such facilities,they become more pleasant and productive. A Community Center can be an attractive prospect for highly qualified prospective employees of the many businesses located within Putnam County. With the right funding, a Community Center membership can be something everyone can afford which can be beneficial to the overall well-being of a community physically and mentally. B. Methods a. Introductory Paragraph-A sufficient lack of Recreational and Fitness facilities and a recent surge of public interest necessitated a needs assessment to be conducted of Putnam County residents to determine if there was indeed enough interest to have such facilities n constructed within the county limits. There are many questions that arise when the concept of building a new facility for the use of a community is brought up. What a needs assessment does is attempts to find the preferences of present and potential users of Park and Recreation Facilities.Needs assessments can benchmark and track perceptions of residents relating to programs and facilities that already exist and their interest in seeing new services.Needs assessments also answer questions concerning funding for such a facility. It is necessary to know to what extent residents would be willing to support a tax increase for additional services and facilities offered by the county. The data collected from needs assessments can be used to see what obstacles may threaten the construction of such a facility and also win enough public support to get the building funded. It was crucial that I • enough surveys were administered and data collected to get an accurate representation of the overall needs of the community. b. Subjects- There were a total of 199 participants in this study. 148 of them were female and the other 51 were male. There were no limitations placed on the subjects that chose to participate in this study except it was required of the participant that they must live within the municipal limits of Putnam County. There were no restrictions placed on age, gender, or race. Anyone who was able to read and write was able to take this survey. The subject sampling was completely random. Surveys were distributed throughout Putnam County to be filled out by subjects and returned to an administrator,the Greencastle City Hall, or e-mailed to Adam Cohen or myself. Although this survey originated in Greencastle,there was a significant number of participants (n=97, 48.7%)that did not classify themselves as living within the municipal limits of Greencastle. c. Instruments- Since this study was a survey,the only instruments necessary for participating was a pencil and the survey itself d. Testing Procedures-Much of the surveying was done without the presence of an administrator. For the few participants that I was able to survey,the procedure went something like this. The subject was asked if they would be interested in participating in a survey concerning the possible construction of a Community Center in Putnam County. If the subject said they were interested they were given a survey and asked to read the informed consent. After they were done, they were asked if they understood everything that they just read. If there were no questions the subject was allowed to move to the actual survey. They were notified that if they had any questions they were able to ask them at any time. The subject was then allowed to take the test at a respectable distance from the administrator so they would not feel like their answers were being looked at. When they were finished they returned the survey to the administrator to be recorded in an Excel Spreadsheet for analysis. If an administrator was not there to collect the survey,they should have been notified to give it back to whoever supplied them with the survey,bring it to the Greencastle City Hall, or e-mail it to Adam Cohen or Myself. e. Statistical Analysis- After surveys were collected they were entered into a database on an Excel Spreadsheet for analysis. Questions were n analyzed based on the nature of the question and what would be most beneficial in presenting the information. For questions dealing with a large sampling of different numbers, an average was found with a standard deviation. A new number of participants was taken into account each question because sometimes participants did not answer all the questions. Most of the analysis involved tallying the results from what participants indicated as their preferences. C. Results- The following are the tabulated results from the 199 surveys filled out by Putnam County residents. Questions requiring an average were also given a standard deviation to show the range of answers. Questions requiring tallying of results were given a percentage next to the tallied result representing the fraction of people answering that particular question with that particular answer. Needs Assessment Survey for Putnam County SURVEY RESULTS 1. Age of person completing this survey Average: 43.7 SD: 16.13 2. Sex of the person completing this survey: 51 (25.6%)Male 148 (74.4%)Female 3. How many people live in your household,by age: 46 Less than 5 years old: 166 5-17 years old: 56 18-25 years old: 181 26-45 years old: 135 46-65 years old: 42 Older than 66 years of age: 4. Do you reside within the municipal limits of Greencastle?102(51.3%)Yes 97(48.7%)No 5. If not, in which town do you live? 53(50.5%)Greencastle but not within municipal limits 9(8.6%)Fillmore 0 Russellville 8 (7.6%)Reelsville 12(11.4%)Cloverdale 5(4.8%)Roachdale 3(2.9%)Bainbridge 15(14.3%)Other 6. In which Putnam County school district do you live? 53(62.6%)Greencastle Community School 6(3%)Cloverdale Community Schools 22(11%)North Putnam Community Schools 46(43.8%)South Putnam Community Schools 7.Do you feel your community does a good job providing the following? Strongly Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly agree disagree Facility and ground 37 96 30 12 9 maintenance AVG: 2.27 SD: 1.09 Natural features 27 97 41 12 7 AVG: 2.34 SD: .99 Recreational facilities 19 62 36 55 10 AVG: 2.89 SD: 1.3 Picnic shelters and 25 103 30 29 5 facilities AVG: 2.41 SD: 1.27 Multi-purpose 36 106 17 28 5 pathways and connections AVG: 2.27 SD: 1.3 Other features, such 17 57 50 57 7 as lighting, restrooms, public telephones, etc. AVG: 2.89 SD: 1.03 8. Do you currently own a membership to a community, recreation, or fitness center? 49(25.8%)Yes 141(74.2%)No 9. The following is a list of FACILITIES that could be offered by a Cultural Community Art and Recreation Center. Please place an X next to the 7 potential facilities that are most important to you. 81 Community/Meeting Rooms 162 Weight/Exercise/Fitness Area 109 Teen Center 141 Running/Walking Track 86 Pool-Play Area 50 Ping Pong, Foosball, Pool Tables 69 Pool-Whirlpool 40 Climbing Wall 64 Locker Rooms 45 Racquetball Courts 7 Offices 59 Playground 39 Snack Area 55 Sauna/Stream Room 51 Theater 99 Basketball Courts 33 Dance Room 35 Tumbling Room 61 Computer Information Center Other Facilities: 10.The following is a list of PROGRAMS that could be offered by a Cultural Community Art and Recreation Center. Please place an X next to the 12 potential programs that are most important to you. 107 Computer/technology instruction 50 Soccer 99 Basketball leagues 89 Cooking Classes 142 Teen Center Activities 58 Martial Arts 125 Swimming Lessons 79 Outdoor Challenge Course 80 Child Care 34 Sledding 112 Personal Training 70 Babysitting Certification 78 Volleyball 110 First Aid/CPR 34 Badminton 38 Board Games 71 Dance 24 Knitting 119 Aerobics 75 Music 82 Camps 32 Quilting 41 Scrapbooking 68 Pottery 74 Yoga 58 Softball 39 Golf 61 Tennis Other Programming: 11. Would you be willing to support a tax increase to fund a Community Center? 149(77.2%)Yes 44(22.8%)No 12.Would you be willing to use tax dollars to offset the cost of memberships? 135(70.3%)Yes 57(29.7%)No 13. What is the highest dollar amount you would be willing to pay ANNUALLY for a membership to a Community Center with the potential facilities and programming listed above? 52(26.4%)Less than$100 25(12.7%)$201-$250 10(5.1%)More than$350 47(24.9%)$101-$150 14(7.1%)$251-$300 9(4.6%)Not Interested 29(14.7%) $151-$200 11(5.6%)$301-$350 14. How far would you be willing to drive to a Community Center AVG: 11.52 SD: 8.11 15. Are you satisfied with the current programs and facilities offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department? 73(43.5%)Yes 95(56.5%)No If no please explain: 16. Please rank these Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department facilities in order of importance to you- 1 being the most important and 8 being the least important. AVG: 5.99 SD: 1.89 Barbeque Grills AVG: 2.42 SD: 1.64 Recreation and Fitness Center AVG: 4.16 SD: 1.6 Additional Playground Equipment AVG: 4.28 SD: 1.84 Additional Neighborhood Parks AVG: 2.83 SD: 1.76 Community Center AVG: 6.66 SD: 1.55 Additional Skateboard and Bicycle parks AVG: 5.96 SD: 1.93 Pet Parks AVG: 3.59 SD: 1.94 More Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails 17. When you and/or your family visit the Greencastle park facilities,which parks do you use? 181 Robe-Ann Park 92 Big Walnut Sports Park 30 Jaycee Park 11 Mary's Field Park 3 Calbert Way Park 81 People Pathways Trails 3 Maple-Berry Park 4 Westside Park(Courthouse annex) 5 Rokicki Community Park 7 None of these parks 18.When you and/or your family visit the Greencastle parks which facilities within the parks do you use? 87 Aquatics Center 29 Softball Diamonds at Big Walnut 39 Basketball Court 22 Baseball Diamonds at Big Walnut 110 Emerald Palace Playground 43 Tennis Courts 51 Little Tikes Playground 26 Skate park 116 Picnic Shelters 82 Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails 47 Softball Diamonds at Robe-Ann 43 Soccer Fields at Big Walnut 19.Which of the following park programs have you or your family members participated in during the last year? 18 S.P.A.R.K. 9 Women's Softball League 18 Learn-To-Swim Lessons 21 Coed Softball League 6 Tennis Lessons 7 Mommy and Me Program 3 Santa Claus Woodcarving Contest 11 Arts and Craft Programs 4 Gingerbread House Contest 93 July 4th Activities 23 Men's Softball League 16 Mike Rokicki Memorial 5K Road 40 Annual Easter Egg Hunt Run/Walk How interested are you in seeing the following programs being instituted by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department? Programming Very interested Semi-Interested Not Interested Indifferent Arts and Crafts 52 58 39 19 Classes AVG: 2.17 SD: 1.0 Pre-School 46 43 38 30 Programming AVG: 2.35 SD: 1.1 Youth 91 54 8 14 Programming AVG: 1.69 SD: .94 Teen 95 51 9 10 Programming AVG: 1.62 SD: .88 Adult 73 62 20 15 Programming AVG: 1.86 SD: .94 Senior 50 62 27 25 Programming AVG: 2.16 SD: 1.03 Family 87 59 6 12 Programming AVG: 1.65 SD: .86 Aerobics and 119 45 10 5 Fitness Classes AVG: 1.45 SD: .73 Special Events 78 66 7 11 AVG: 1.69 SD: .84 Sports 62 58 18 21 Tournaments AVG: 2 SD: 1.04 Christmas 62 60 21 24 and/or Holiday AVG: 2.06 SD: 1.06 D. Discussion- This study showed that there was county wide interest in seeing a Community Fitness and Recreation facility built. When constructing the questions for this survey, we tried to ask questions and provide answers in such a way that would force participants to give us a straight forward answer. For example, on question 16, instead of asking participants "Which of these Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department facilities you would like to see?" We asked them to put all the facilities in the order of importance to them. This allowed us to see what was really important to the subject. In that question we saw that the two facilities that were consistently marked as being of the highest importance to the participant were Recreation and Fitness Centers and Community Centers. Traditionally we think of Recreation and Fitness centers as being essentially the same thing as Community Centers. We used these two terms as a check to see if participants were actually ranking in order of importance or just writing random numbers down to get through the survey. We thought that if both terms had a similar average ranking,be it high or low, it would be an indicator as to the validity of the answers of participants. As it turned out,the average ranking for both Recreation and Fitness Center and also Community Center were 2.42 and 2.83 respectively. Out of eight facilities offered,those two were ranked as being the most important to develop in Putnam County. Out of the 199 surveys that were taken in Putnam County only 9 people (4.6%) said that they were not interested in seeing the construction of a Community Center at all. This could be due to the fact that people who are interested in seeing a Community Center would be more likely to fill out a survey than those who are not in support of construction. The survey also showed that only 25.8% of participants currently owned a membership to another community, recreation, or fitness center. This leaves 74.2%of the surveyed population without a membership to any kind of recreational or fitness center. The market for a Community Center in Putnam County is potentially huge if you consider all the residents that were not surveyed. When asked if participants were satisfied with the current programs and facilities offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department there was a split. 56.5%of people were dissatisfied with the current conditions and 43.5%were satisfied. This number is too close and the sample size too small to consider this the overall feeling of the community. But it does slightly indicate that it may be time for a change. We phrased the questions concerning the types of facilities and programming participants would like to see in the Community Center much like question 16. Participants were given a large sample of possible facilities and programming and asked to pick only the ones that were most important to them. For example, on question 9 the participants were given 19 possible facilities to choose from but they were only allowed to indicate the 7 that were most important to them. This forced subjects to show us which facilities and programs were most important to them rather than just asking them to place a check next to as many as they wanted which would inevitably end up with all of them being checked. The results showed that the most requested facilities were weight/exercise/fitness area, a running/walking track, a teen center, basketball courts, and community meeting rooms. The most requested programs were teen center activities, swimming lessons,personal training, basketball leagues, aerobics, and first aid/CPR training. When asked about funding the facility there was quite a bit of support for the use of tax dollars. 77.2%of participants said they would be willing to support a tax increase to fund a Community Center. This includes the construction fees and operating costs. 70.3%of residence said they were willing to use tax dollars to offset the cost of memberships. Of course, saying you support is quite different from actually supporting something. Once someone sees what kind of tax increase is involved they might retract their previous statement of supporting a tax increase. When asked what one might expect to pay annually for a membership to such a facility the most common answer was obviously the lowest, which was less that$100. There was an inverse relationship between selected fee and membership price. As the price of membership went up,the number of people who selected that fee went down. This seems typical though.Nobody wants to pay more for a service when it can be offered for less. One thing to consider when looking at all these results is the fact that approximately 51.3% of the surveys came from residence currently living in Greencastle. The other 48.7%came from a number of different cities scattered throughout Putnam County. There may be a bias towards people who live in Greencastle compared to other cities because this survey originated in Greencastle and was most accessible to its residence. Another thing to consider is the prospective plots to build the Community Center on are located in or close to Greencastle so its residence would be most affected by the results of the survey. Another thing to consider when looking at the results of the survey is that 74.4%of the participants were female. This could have some bearing on the final results considering men and women can potentially have quite different tastes, especially when it comes to recreation. Another thing to consider when analyzing the results is the large number of parents filling out the survey. Parents will tend to answer questions based on what in their family's best interest. 19.6%of participants had at least one child living with them that was less than five years old. 48.2%had a child living with them between the ages of 5 and 17. This can have a significant impact on results considering the number of questions concerning prospective facilities and programming. E. References 1. Annesi, James J., Wayne L. Westcott, Avery D. Faigenbaum, and Jennifer L. Unruh. "Effects of a 12-Week Physical Activity Protocol Delivered by YMCA After-School Counselors (Youth Fit for Life) on Fitness and Self-Efficacy Changes in 5-12-Year-Old Boys and Girls." Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 76 (2005): 468-476. 2. Atilano, Daniel R. "Squeezing Fitnes Facilities Into Small Markets." Parks and Recreation 40 (2005): 52-59. 3. Boon, Caitlin S., and Fergus M. Clydesdale. "A Review of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity Interventions." Critical Reiews in Food Science and Nutrition (2005): 511-525. 4. De Lisser, Eleena. "Kids Work Out, Fight Flab At Their Own Health Clubs." The Wall Street Journal 4 Aug. 1998, Eastern ed. 5. Glassner, Barry. "Fitness and the Postmodern Self." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 30: 180-191. 6. Glenn, Jim. "Austria Plans Gym Discounts to Help Citizens Get Fit." The Lancet 367 (2006): 1563. 7. Graham, Scott. "From Fat to Fit." Canadian Business 79 (2006): 100-101. 8. Helm, Jocelyn B., and Kathleen L. Gill. "An Essential Resource for the Aging: Dance Therapy." Dance Research Journal 7 (1975): 1-7. 9. Kraus, Richard. "Providing for Recreation and Aesthetic Enjoyment." Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science 29 (1969): 90-102. 10. Levine, Harry A. "Community Programs for the Elderly." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 279 (1952): 164-170. 11. Morgan, Les. "Town Halls, Through Modern Leisure Professionals, Will Lead to Healthy Cities." The Statistician 39 (1990): 263-265. 12. Neer, Don L. "Industry." Annals Of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 313 (1957): 79-82. 13. Powell, Kenneth E., Marshall W. Kreuter, Thomas Stephens, Bernard Marti, and Lothar Heinemann. "The Dimensions of Health Promotion Applied to Physical Activity." Journal of Public Health Policy 12 (1991): 492-509. 14. Quinn, Jane. "Where Need Meets Opportunity: Youth Development Programs for Early Teens." The Future of Children 9 (1999): 96-116. 15. Ready, A E., B J.Naimark, R Tate, and S L. Boreskie. "Fitness Centre Membership is Related to Healthy Behaviours." The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 45 (2005): 199-206. 16. United States. Special Committee on Aging. United States Senate. Fitness and Nutrition: the Prescription for Healthy Aging. 2003. III. Appendices A. The Problem a. Research Question- There is really one main research question in this study followed by a number of secondary question relating to the main issue. This survey followed a recent survey administered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department. Although not directly related to the issues confronted in the DePauw survey,the Greencastle n Parks and Recreation survey showed that there had been some interest in the construction of a Community Recreation and Fitness Facility. The survey for the DePauw study's main question is; is there enough support and interest in Putnam County, Indiana to necessitate the construction of a Community Recreation and Fitness Facility? If so, what facilities and programming would the citizens, and possible patrons of such a facility, be interested in seeing at this center? Also, what would be the best way of funding the construction and operating costs of this facility? Would it be best to use tax dollars, federal grants, or mostly private donations? What would people be willing to pay for an annual membership to such a facility? How far would people be willing to go to enjoy the facilities and programming offered by this center? Lastly, if given the opportunity to choose which facilities were most important in being implemented in Putnam County, which facility would you choose to be built first? b. Experimental Hypothesis-Although no technical experiment is being conducted in this survey, I do have some expectations as to how participants might answer the questions posed. My hypothesis is that there will be a large amount of support for the construction of a Community Center in Putnam County. I avoided using questions that directly asked people if they would support the construction of a Community Center in Putnam County because most people that take the time to fill out this survey will inevitably answer yes. Instead I asked questions that, if answered in a certain way would show their support for a Community Center. For example, on question 16, participants are asked to rank a number of facilities in order of importance to them. If they are genuinely interested in having a community center,they will rank it as being more important than the rest of the facilities offered. I expect the Community Center and Recreation and fitness facilities to rank high in that question. I also hypothesize that we will see a large number of people choosing certain facilities that they would like to see in a Community Center. I think the facilities people would most like to see at this center are fitness areas, basketball courts,pool area, and a track. These are pretty standard at close by community centers and YMCA's and people attending public meetings have expressed interest in those facilities. As far as programming goes, I expect to see a lot of interest in teen center activities, soccer, aerobics, basketball leagues, and softball. Again, these are programs offered by other close by community facilities with similar economic status and people have expressed some interest in these programs at public meetings concerning the Community Center. I hypothesize that a slight majority of people will support a tax increase to construct a Community Center in Putnam County. However, I predict that fewer people will be likely to support a tax increase to offset the cost of membership. At the public announcement of the Community Center,there were many mixed feelings on the issue of funding. Some people thought taxes were already astronomical and needed to be lowered. Others saw no problem in an increase to support a Community Center. As far as how much participants would be willing to pay annually to own a membership to a community center; I believe there will be a large range of answers to this question because people from this county have such diverse economic backgrounds. I predict that people will be most likely to say they will pay between$151-$200 annually. It seems like a somewhat reasonable price for the facilities and programming offered by this center and if people are unwilling to support a tax increase to offset the cost of membership this price could be the result. Although Putnam County itself is large, I do not anticipate anyone willing to drive more than 10-15 miles to come to a Community Center. Especially since some people may live closer to an already existing Community Center. I expect that most of the surveys will come from Greencastle since this study is based out of Greencastle and the scattering of surveys throughout the county will not be an easy task. I predict that about 85%of the surveys completed will be by Greencastle residence. c. Assumptions- It is assumed that everyone participating in this needs assessment has read and/or understands everything discussed in the informed consent on the front of the survey. They should understand that the data used from these surveys will be used to determine the recreational interests of the community as well as determine levels of participation at park facilities and in programming. They should also understand that if at any point they feel uncomfortable answering the questions being asked of them in the survey they may discontinue the survey at any time without penalty. It is assumed that the participant knows that the survey is completely anonymous and results will be presented as an analysis of the data as a whole. If they have any questions concerning the survey they may contact my seminar advisor Adam Cohen or myself at our corresponding e-mail addresses. This is all assumed because I will not be administering most of the surveys face to face and will not be able to read the informed consent and ask if there are any questions. It is also assumed that all participants in this study read and fully understand all the questions that are being asked. It is also assumed that the participants will answer all questions and that any answer that is unable to be interpreted will be void. These things must be assumed for the same reasons as stated above, I will be absent from the testing atmosphere and unable to answer any questions about the survey. It is assumed that participants will answer all questions honestly and will not be influenced by environmental factors such as noise, multitasking (doing other things while taking the survey), or persuasion of people watching them take the survey. It is assumed that people will take the survey in privacy and that they have as much time as they need to complete the survey. It is assumed that people know that they can return surveys to the Greencastle Town Hall, the person administering the survey, or they may submit it electronically and e-mail it to Adam Cohen or myself. It is also assumed that the people participating in this survey currently live within the municipal limits of Putnam County since this survey directly pertains to those citizens. d. Delimitations- This study is relevant to the citizens of Putnam County, Indiana. These will be the only people taking the survey because the results of the survey will be analyzed and considered for possible construction of new facilities and/or administration of new programs offered by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department. Since, the results directly affect the citizens of Putnam County it would make no sense to give this survey to people outside the county limits or to students that only live here nine months a year for four years of their lives unless they are from Putnam County. The only equipment necessary for this study is a pen/pencil and the needs assessment itself. This is not a traditional study in which there is a test being done on participants. It is only a test of the interests of the citizens of Putnam County. e. Operational Definitions- There are not many things that need to be defined here considering the lack of equipment being used. However, some people may not be familiar with what is being used to gauge public interest.Needs assessment- As defined by the previous needs assessment conducted in Greencastle; A Survey which is used to determine participation rates and to gamer citizen input regarding specific recreation issues and interests. The results can be analyzed to contribute toward determining the level of service the community demands with regard to the provision of recreation facilities and services. f. Limitations- There are a number of limitations that must be taken into consideration when analyzing the results of this needs assessment of Putnam County. First of all,the inability to effectively distribute the number of surveys we wanted to the numerous regions of Putnam County. Putnam County's current population is 30,000 and contains over 500 square miles of land. This is not exactly a small area to cover. We did the best we could spreading the surveys as far as they could go to as many people as we could but a large sample of people will remain unaccounted for. Another limitation was getting surveys back. Getting surveys out to the people was on us, but getting them back was put on the participant taking the survey. They had several options; they could either drop it off or mail it to the Greencastle Town Hall,they could give it to the person administering the survey, or they could e- mail it back to Adam Cohen or myself. Obviously, it would be inconvenient for people living far away to drop it off, mailing it would cost time and money, sometimes the administrator was not around to collect the surveys, and not everyone has access to the interne to mail it back. Obviously,there were bound to be problems getting surveys back but they did steadily roll in. Another unexpected limitation was the way people answered the questions, or didn't answer the questions. I felt like most people would take the survey seriously and answer every question sincerely. It seemed that if people didn't feel like answering a question they had no problem skipping right over in and moving on. I saw a number of unanswered questions while tabulating the results. When we designed the questions, we tried to make it hard for people to skim through and answer the questions on a whim. I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong. Especially on questions 7 and 20. These questions asked participants place a check in box indicating their level of satisfaction or interest. Most of the time people just ran down the same column x-ing every box the same way. This told me that they didn't want to think about these questions and just answered them haphazardly. This could skew the results for those questions. Another limitation was the fact that some people either didn't understand directions or didn't read them. On questions 9 and 10 participants are asked to place a certain number of x's next to the facilities and programs that they would like to see. Many people did not mark the specified number and some people went through and put an"x"next to everything. This is what we were trying to avoid by asking these questions. Questions like these force people to pick what's really important to them rather than asking them if they want s^� something or not in which you might expect them to check everything. Another problem with directions that may skew results was on question 16. Participants were asked to rank 8 facilities in order of importance to them. A lot of people took that to mean"give each individual facility a ranking between 1 and 8." This is not what I intended and may have an effect on the results. Another limitation that I didn't expect was the lack of male response to the survey. A great majority of females filled out the survey which may skew results considering the interests between sexes is generally somewhat different. Another limitation I did not expect was the number of completed survey I ended up with. There were more than I had initially expected, after I saw how many were coming in from outside Greencastle I thought it would be easy to survey anyone living in Greencastle by setting up at the local Kroger or Wal-Mart. /" Unfortunately, after speaking to the managers of both stores,they told me that they were interested in seeing a Community Center in Putnam County,but they weren't sure if all of their customers were. They thought it might hurt their business and/or reputation if I was sitting outside surveying customers as they entered and exited their businesses. I have a feeling that would have been a lot more surveys from a generally diverse population. g. Significance of the Study- This study is significant because it has a direct effect on a community. All the results and data analyzed in this needs assessment will directly impact the recreational needs of Putnam County. The results of the study and data collected will be used in the planning and construction of a facility in Putnam County potentially costing$10-$15 million dollars. It would be a huge waste of finances #110 *10 410 and resources if a Community Center were constructed that had none of the facilities or programming that people wanted. Also, the issue of funding has been brought up throughout the entire conception of a Community Center. It seems that if enough people show support for the financial backing of this project,then the idea of a Community Center may become more of a reality than some whimsical concept brought up by a small group. B. Literature Review Introduction The purpose of this review of literature is to inform the reader of the health, economic, and social issues associated with communities lacking sufficient fitness and health facilities. Community health and recreation facilities can contribute to the overall health and well-being of a community as well as the economy. As of recently, Putnam County has found that there is an interest in building such a facility within the Greencastle municipal limits. The benefits of such a center far outweigh the negative outcomes. This review of literature will present the issues and proposed solutions in this order: (1) Childhood obesity and ways of avoiding it(2) Obesity interventions (3) Lifestyles associated with fitness center membership and Development of a Health and Recreation Center(4) Active lifestyles for the elderly(5) Community well being. Body Childhood Obesity and Ways to avoid it Over the years childhood obesity has grown exponentially. In the most recent Statistics Canada study, approximately 1/3 of children between the ages of 12 and 17 were deemed overweight. This percentage has more than doubled since 1979. 9%of those deemed overweight were classified as obese. This is three times the statistic in 1979. (Graham, Scott 2006). According to the National Center for Health Statistics 6%of r•• • children(between the ages of 6 and 11) in 1970 were overweight.Now the number has been bumped to 14%. (de Lisser, Eleena, 1998). Most States require students to be enrolled in some sort of physical education course. Most Elementary schools require some form of physical education at least two times a week. However, schools are beginning to reduce the required number of P.E. classes taken by students. Approximately 40% of students in America are not enrolled in a P.E. course (Annesi et al. 2005). But does a P.E. class have that much effect on a child's physical activity outside of school? Will P.E. persuade children to exercise more and eat right? Studies have shown that childhood physical fitness test score,participating regularly in extracurricular sports activities, and what grade a child receives in school P.E. are reliable indicators to determine if a child will continue a healthy lifestyle in adulthood(Powel et al. 1991). Numerous statistics have shown that a greater percentage of children are becoming overweight. Lifestyles have changed since the 1970's and people are becoming more sedentary. This is partially due to television and video games. People are starting to realize this growing problem and doing something about it. The fitness-club industry has recently shown a increase in participation among youngsters. According to a 2005 report by the international Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, fitness-club memberships for 18 year olds and under have grown 178% since 1990. (Graham 2006). Many entrepreneurs have begun ceasing the young market by making fitness centers for children. Holly Bond is one of these entrepreneurs who created a gym that has interactive games for children that allow them to get their video game fix while exercise. They play games such as Dance Dance Revolution and interactive cycling games(Graham 2006). Others have gotten involved in youth fitness through strength training for adolescents. Strength training,previously thought of as dangerous for children has been shown to have benefits in moderation(de Lisser 1998). Their emphasis is not as much on strength training as much as it is on getting kids to be active and create a support system. Obesity Interventions According to new BMI definitions, 55.9%of American adults are overweight and 30.5%are obese. One theory as to why this is because of the increased number of obese children today. It is thought that the best place to overcome the obesity epidemic is to treat childhood obesity and prevent obesity from occurring in the first place with preventative measure is early schooling(Boon and Clydesdale 2005). One popular intervention method is school based interventions. It deals with exercise and diet education and intervention strategies. This intervention has not led to significant changes in behavior of adolescents in terms of diet or exercise (Boon and Clydesdale. 2005). Other interventions include after school and summer camp interventions. This deals with having programming at local facilities and parks that promote healthy lifestyle behaviors in children. Studies provide hope that intensive camp programs,through fairly short in length, can serve as an initial point for weight loss among adolescents (Boon and Clydesdale 2005). There are also medical community interventions. This includes clinical treatment programs for severely overweight children. Studies show that at least minor improvements can be achieved when physicians and other health professionals hold discussion with young children and their parents (Boon and Clydesdale. 2005). Intervention data available does not provide one overall cure to childhood obesity but studies have shown that some interventions can be effective in preventing childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyle to prevent obesity when at an older age. It is thought that the true solution to the obesity epidemic will probably be expensive,require major lifestyle changes, and be directed by the weight of scientific evidence. Lifestyles Associated with Fitness Center Membership A study done by the Health Leisure and Human Performance Research institute found that members of a fitness center lead an overall healthier lifestyle (Ready et al. 2005). Members from health clubs and non-members from communities were given surveys to complete and return to the researchers for the data. Fitness center members were 30%more likely to rate their health status as better than non-members. The prevalence of health problems did not differ between groups. However,the fitness center members did see a physician more regularly than non-members. This was attributed to the fact that fitness club members lead a healthier lifestyle and would go to the physician as a preventative measure. Members from the fitness center were also more likely to rate themselves as very fit or extremely fit. They also exercised at higher intensities than non- members. Self-rated health status was significantly better in the fitness center members than in the non-members (Ready et al. 2005). Although there are many benefits to having a community fitness and recreation center,there are many challenges that administrators must get past to get the actually facilities built. These challenges are; limited revenue and tax cap limits, limited funding, large boundaries and multiple community agency and local competition, local opposition, and available land (Atilano 2005). Good planning for a community center includes conducting a market analysis or research of the service area. Information will identify competitors and what a community center should have to offer to keep up with other centers. Key questions to ask in a needs assessment are; what are the community needs?, how much are they wiling to pay for membership?,will they financially support the proposed capital improvements. (Atilano 2005). The top three reasons people use community recreation center are; exercising at a fitness center, taking instruction program, and recreation and leisure programs. Needs assessments are important according to Rod • S Aiken"A professionally prepared and administered survey can take the guesswork out of facility master planning. You can identify or reaffirm expressed community needs, discover which amenities are most or least important, determine the community's willingness-to-pay threshold, and create a sense of`buy-in' with those who are asked to participate..." (Atilano 2005). The needs assessment is very important to the development of a fitness and recreation facility. Active Lifestyles for the Elderly Currently it seems that there has been more and more thought given to the elderly population of the United States which seems to be getting larger. However little consideration has been given to the types of activities offered to senior citizens that will give them a sense of belonging and usefulness. Only a small percent of the elderly population hold a part time job to keep them occupied. But what of the majority of the population that can't hold a job because they won't be hired or they are unable to because of their physical condition. Some communities have implemented programs geared toward seniors called"golden age clubs." These clubs are usually sponsored by businesses or professional groups. "Golden age clubs and other community programs are a beginning movement of recognition and acceptance of the older person." (Levine 1952). These clubs have been successful in promoting a social atmosphere that Senior citizens can feel comfortable in and be active leading to a better quality of life. As time passes the "Baby Boomer" generation continues to grow older. With new research we have found way to slow aging through active lifestyle. The facilities currently available to senior citizens are either inadequate or out of their price range. "Currently 10% of our population is 65 years or older. Most of them live independently, but the quality of their living is greatly restricted by low-income,poor housing,poor nutrition, and poor health which critically affect freedom, individuality, usefulness, and independence." (Helm and Gill 1975). These types of lifestyles that the elderly are doomed to live could be avoided if there was sufficient programming and facilities that offered them an affordable effective way to stay active and avoid depression that many senior citizens go through as they grow older. "Helplessness and hopelessness often become over-whelming, and with these,the ability to cope with the contingencies of everyday life. It is easier to become less and less visible-to vegetate-to shrink into stillness and death." (Helm and Gill 1975). A Community Center can give a sense of belonging and create a social atmosphere that people may look forward to every day. Future populations could benefit from the research being done on active elderly citizens and see what works for them and implement these types of programs into society to create a better sense of community well-being. On March 11, 2003 Dr. Judith Salerno,the Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging(NIA), spoke before the special committee on aging in the United States Senate. She talked about what was necessary for living a healthy life after 50. She brought up a lot of typical things you would expect about living a healthy lifestyle like diet, exercise, and stretching. She also brought up some very interesting statistics. "Exercise, in conjunction with other common sense interventions was able to reduce falls among older people by 44% in a study by Dr. Mary Tinnetti at Yale University. The intervention strategies cut health care costs for each high risk individual by $3,700, potentially saving millions of dollars in health care costs." (Salerno, 2003). Community Well Being Overall, Community Fitness and Recreation centers can have a tremendous effect on the well-being of a community. Centers can have an impact on the economy of a small town or county because it creates jobs not only during its construction but to sustain its existence. The health business is quite lucrative, "Health clubs grossed $5 billion in 1987, 4110 040 exercise equipment $738 million(up from $5 million ten years earlier), diet foods grossed $74 billion, and vitamin products $2.7 billion." (Glassner 1989). As you can see there is plenty of money being spent on physical well-being and there is sure to be more spent in the near future. One major problem with a Community Fitness and Recreation center in a small rural community is money. There are fewer jobs for people and many of the people that reside in the community have lived there their whole lives. "The poor are, of course, largely shut out from recreational opportunities in the private sector. Since this is the case and since it has been recognized that important human needs are met by constructive recreational experiences, one might expect that in large cities special efforts would have been made by their governments to meet the leisure needs of those incapable of purchasing recreation independently." (Kraus 1969). If recreation is an essential part of a successful community, it stands to reason that everyone should be able to enjoy the facilities and programs offered. This can be a problem when dealing with a center that has been privately funded. Privately funded facilities tend to have higher annual membership fees because they are unable to use federal tax dollars to offset the cost of membership. What some centers try to do is receive the majority of operating cost funds through grants which may reduce the rate of membership. Sometimes this does not work and the poor are at a disadvantage. There are some private programs such as the"Wear Fit" campaign which is responsible for a massive increase in participation in both health and fitness programs in communities. They are also involved in health and education authorities. They provide and receive sponsorship from private and voluntary sectors (Morgan 1990). There is indeed a need to provide recreational opportunities without segregation in a community. Recreation must be available to all ages, classes, and races of a community. Another important thing a Community Fitness and Recreation center does is provide programming for children and adolescents so they have something to do after school. Many young people want and need programs during non-school hours. They want safe places to go where they can be with other kids their age, learn, grow, and work (Quinn 1999). As of right now it seems there is a lack of sufficient programming for adolescents and this void of time between school days is sometimes being filled with sedentary behaviors and/or destructive behaviors. Some recreation programs have been provided already but were unspecific as to what they were providing for teens and children. "Past recreation programs saw their purpose as providing fun and preventing harm, but today youth development programs are more intentional about teaching young people new knowledge and allowing them to practice useful life skills." (Quinn 1999). These programs were provided to a wide variety of groups of adolescents for both private and public use. A good example of a Parks and Recreation department that realized a need for such programming was in Chicago. They were able to identify a need for programs available to children after school. They established 40 programs serving over 4,500 children annually(Quinn 1999). Adolescent programming promote positive youth development and help social awareness by interacting with other kids their age that have similar interests. This means they may be less likely to be socially awkward in the late years of adolescents which are so hard for so many teens. Since we know kids will go to these after school programs why don't we see more participating? "...The issue of participation is closely related to that of access. Major barriers to participation that especially affect youths living in low-income areas include transportation, location of services (which includes safety considerations), and whether or not there are fees for services or for required items like uniforms." (Quinn 1999). We see many of the same issues stated here that we have talked about before. Specifically the issues of availability and funding. Some questions concerning the creation of a Community and Recreation center are hard to answer. But one thing that is for certain is community youth programs can most definitely provide adolescents with protection, guidance, support, and opportunities that will allow them to lead a more productive lifestyle. A Community Fitness and Recreation center also draws people to the area where it is located. People may be less likely to move to or visit a community that does not have sufficient recreation and fitness facilities. This could be detrimental to the local businesses, especially DePauw University who are always trying to recruit the most qualified professionals to teach on their campus. Putnam County Hospital is trying to attract the best doctors to work for them for the sake of the community's health. It is difficult to attract people to these jobs when there is no place for them to perform leisure time activities which is suggested to relieve stress. "Participation in recreation programs tends to improve physical and mental health, cultivate leadership, stabilize employment, strengthen community relations, democratize associations, relieve tensions in the factory climate, and strengthen morale. As leisure increases, management must become even more active in providing programs and facilities." (Neer 1957). With so many positive effects on local businesses, it seems silly not to have a membership to a Recreation Center to offer to prospective employees. It is thought by some people that recreation is the"backbone"of a good community relations (Neer 1975). Summary The implications of this research show that childhood obesity is more prevalent today than it has ever been. Studies show that childhood obesity has a huge correlation with being obese later in life. More and more children are getting involved in fitness centers for kids due to the growing popularity of fitness center memberships. Further studies have shown that people who have memberships to fitness centers often lead healthier lifestyles than non-members. A Community Fitness and Recreation center can have a number of positive effects on many citizens in a community regardless or gender, race, age, or economic status. It can improve the well-being of the citizens and improve the economy by increasing productiveness at work and attract the most qualified individuals to this community. There are many factors that go into the development of a Community Fitness and Recreation facility and a needs assessment can answer a lot of questions about how to fund the facilities making it available to all and what the interests of the future patrons of the facility are. C. Additional Methods a. Informed Consent- See attached b. Needs Assessment Survey- See attached c. Data Collection Sheets- Filled out surveys. d. Specific Testing Procedures- If the participant was present for the testing procedure: The subject was asked if they would be interested in participating in a survey concerning the possible construction of a Community Center in Putnam County. If the subject said they were interested they were given a survey and asked to read the informed consent. After they were done,they were asked if they understood everything that they just read. If there were no questions the subject was allowed to move to the actual survey. They were notified that if they had any questions they were able to ask them at any time. The subject was then allowed to take the test at a respectable distance from the administrator so they would not feel like their answers were being looked at. When they were finished they returned the survey to the administrator to be recorded in an Excel Spreadsheet for analysis. If an administrator was not there to collect the survey,they should have been notified to give it back to whoever supplied them with the survey, bring it to the Greencastle City Hall, or e-mail it to Adam Cohen or Myself. e. Graphs- Male vs. Female Participants Surveyed n=199 160 - = 140 Lill: CO 120 f 100 co o Male Participants a g0 o •Female Participants, L 60 E40 Z• 20 - 0 Gender 1.1- This graph shows that there were more than twice as many women • surveyed for this study than men. There may be a bias towards women's interests when looking at this study. Do you currently own a membership to a community, recreation, or fitness center? n=190 160 -- 140 a 120 a 100 c 80 ❑Yes 60 •No E 40 20 0 Answer 1.2- This graph shows the number of participants surveyed that do not currently own a membership to a community, recreation, or fitness center. Would You be willing to support a tax increase to fund a Community Center? n=193 160 — — - w 140 0 120 - a 100 oYes 80 •No 2 60 E 40 Z 20 0 - Answer 1.3- This graph shows the amount of support for a tax increase to fund a community center which includes construction costs and operating costs. Would you be willing to use tax dollars to offset the cost of membership? n=192 160 -- — w 140 IA 120 0.w 100 p Yes 0 80 :It 60 ■No E 40 Z 20 0 . Answer 1.4- This graph shows that a majority of people are willing to use tax dollars to bring down the cost of Community Center membership annually. How much would you pay annually for a membership to a Community Center?n=197 60 — a 50 a 40 30 Potential Members Interest ° 20 z 10 0 <$100 $101- $151- $201- $251- $301- >$350 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 Price Range 1.5- This graph shows the inverse relationship between cost of membership annually and willingness to pay. As price of W u membership rises, less and less potential members are interested in joining a Community Center. f. Table of Raw Data and Statistical Analysis- See attached Excel Spreadsheet and Results above. D. Recommendations for Future Research- I think this needs assessment provided a good stepping stone for the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department as well as The Community Center Task Force in getting further information on building a Community Fitness and Recreation Facility. Now we have basic information about what facilities and programming the community would like to see, as well as a rough idea of what people are willing to pay for memberships and how to fund the center. Now, further research is necessary to get at the specifics of each issue touched upon in this needs assessment. Perhaps one more survey is necessary to obtain all the critical information needed to obtain the support needed to finance and build a Community Center in Putnam County.