Overview

In October 2025, the City Council approved $55,000 from contingency to support enhanced marketing and awareness-building efforts for Parks & Recreation. The intent of that investment was to help increase community understanding of the programs, facilities, amenities, and opportunities already available through the Parks & Recreation system and via partner organizations.

Since that time, the City has had two significant and unanticipated opportunities to further engage with the community: engagement associated with the Regional Sports Center and a joint community needs assessment conducted in partnership with Rochester Public Schools Community Education. While neither effort was anticipated when the original funding was approved, both provided valuable insight that has helped further define the opportunity before us.

The engagement reinforced that residents value continued investment in parks, recreation facilities, and programming. At the same time, it also revealed a meaningful and recurring gap in awareness, education, and access to information about what is already available today. In the Regional Sports Center survey, difficulty finding information about programs or services emerged as a notable barrier, and better program communication was identified as a priority. The joint Community Education and Parks & Recreation survey similarly identified an awareness gap around existing programs and opportunities, while also showing that residents rely on a mix of communication channels, including print, email, websites, and word of mouth.

Work to Date

Over the past year, Parks & Recreation and the Communications & Engagement team have used the additional funding to intentionally test and expand approaches for increasing awareness. Investments have included enhanced print and digital communication, promotion of seasonal offerings, stronger coordination with Community Education, and efforts to better connect residents with information about facilities, programs, and events.

This work has also helped refine the focus. While broad community awareness remains important, the collective sees particular opportunity in reaching residents for whom low- and no-cost recreation options, public facilities and welcoming community spaces are especially meaningful. For many of these residents, Parks & Recreation offerings are not simply amenities, but important opportunities for physical activity, wellness, connection and belonging. The Parks & Recreation system can serve as a vital “third space” outside of home, work, or school, reinforcing the importance of intentional outreach and connection.

Future work will therefore place increased emphasis on intentional outreach and relationship-building, including partnerships with community organizations, formal and informal groups, and trusted community networks. One example is the planned “Meet Me” initiative, expected to begin this fall/winter and continue through the spring. The initiative will introduce or re-introduce formal and informal community groups to Parks & Recreation facilities and programs, provide opportunities to experience those offerings firsthand, and encourage peer-to-peer invitations and word-of-mouth awareness.

The concept could also be expanded through collaboration with Rochester Public Music, Rochester Public Library, and other Community Experience Impact Team partners, helping residents discover the broader range of public spaces, programs, and experiences available across the City. There may also be opportunities to incorporate departments such as Transit, recognizing that awareness is only one part of access and that helping residents understand how to get to programs, facilities, and events easily can further reduce barriers to participation.

Key Learning

The past year has provided an important opportunity to explore this topic more intentionally. One of the clearest lessons from the engagement is that the community may want additional amenities and offerings over time, and there is also a substantial opportunity to better connect people with what already exists.

In other words, expanding access is not only about adding facilities or programs. It is also about ensuring residents know what is available, understand how to participate, and feel invited and encouraged to use the Parks & Recreation system.

That distinction has helped clarify the role of community engagement, education, communications, and marketing. Engagement helps identify needs and barriers. Education helps residents understand opportunities and how to access them. Marketing and communications help ensure those opportunities are consistently visible and reach the audiences who may benefit from them most.

Looking Ahead

City teammates believe continued investment in marketing, education,n and awareness-building will be important moving forward. This is not a one-time communications need. Rochester is a dynamic community, with new residents, visitors, students, employees, and families continually entering and leaving, while programs, facilities, and seasonal opportunities also evolve throughout the year.

Maintaining consistent outreach and promotion will be important to sustaining awareness, supporting equitable access, and helping the community fully utilize existing investments. The work and learning underway will also help inform thoughtful future budget requests by identifying where additional resources may be most effective.

Ongoing efforts will continue to emphasize partnership and coordination, including through the Community Experience Impact Team and with Parks & Recreation, Rochester Public Music, Rochester Public Library, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), and other internal and external partners.