Results of the Bennington Recreation Center Task Force report on the community-wide survey on what the community would like to see in a community center. December 6, 2012 Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healthierbennington

1. Bennington Recreation Center
Community Survey Results
Bennington Recreation Center Task Force
Joanne Ernhouse, Chair
Kiah Morris, Chair
Nicole Rau, AmeriCorps VISTA Member
Sue McGuire, Survey Workgroup Leader
December 6, 2012

2. Background
• In the spring of 2012, the Vermont Council on
Rural Development held meetings throughout
the town of Bennington on a number of different
topics.
• People from the community were asked to
participate in open discussions on topics they
were interested in.
• Community members then voted on action steps
to reach different goals; one of those goals was
to explore expanding the Bennington Recreation
Center to create a larger community center with
a variety of programs.

3. Background
• A task force of volunteers came together to work
on this project and launched a community
survey to find out what types of programs or
features were wanted in a potential space.
• The task force collected the responses and will
make recommendations for next steps (based
on the results) for the community to review.

4. Survey Overview
Goal of Initiative: To create a survey that collects feedback
on what the community would like to see in a community
center and present the results to the task force as a whole
(as well as the greater community).
• Surveys distributed throughout greater Bennington Area from
October 2012 through November 2012
• Surveys were in both paper and online formats
• Promoted and distributed through various channels
– Schools
– Employers
– Online via Facebook & email
– To other Municipalities whose residents might have an interest in using
the facility
– Civic Groups like Elks, Lions etc.
– Printed in the Bennington Banner
– At public events like Fallapalooza and the recent elections

5. Survey Results
In total, 2,015 Surveys were collected
• Majority of responses were from Bennington
• Most did not currently use the recreation center but would consider
“if it offered more services”
• The top four areas of interest were (in order of response):
– Organized Sports
– Fitness/Wellness Classes
– Outdoor Activities
– Arts and Crafts
• Many respondents included comments that specified their interests.
Those items are included in a “word cloud” which is presented later
in this presentation.

6. Survey Results
To analyze the comment sections, we categorized the specific items
along themes or words and turned them into a “word cloud” to show the
importance or frequency of certain results.
The largest number of comments were about the Pool and programs that are either
currently utilized or desired.
Basketball was frequently mentioned with an emphasis on indoor basketball
programs.
Indoor running and a track for running or walking as well as groups and classes were
repeatedly mentioned.
A desire for a game room with a variety of features like video/computer games,
billiards or darts was mentioned. Many youth and adults cited a desire for a place for
teens in this respect.
Outdoor activities like skiing, snowboarding, hiking or trail riding were mentioned as
related classes and outdoor excursions.
Ice Skating, Ice Hockey and Indoor Rock Climbing were all given significant but
equal mention in comments.
Visual Arts and Hunting-related programming were also given substantial mention.

7. Survey Results
• For Youth, the top areas of interest were:
– Organized Sports
– Outdoor Activities
– Fitness/Wellness Classes
• For Adults, the top areas of interest were:
– Fitness/Wellness Classes
– Arts and Crafts
– Outdoor Activities

8. Survey Results

9. Survey Results

10. Survey Results

11. Survey Results

12. Survey Results

13. Survey Results

14. Youth Responses
• For these responses, youth are defined as
any person aged 18 or younger.

15. Survey Results - Youth

16. Survey Results - Youth

17. Survey Results - Youth

18. Adult Responses
• For these responses, adults are
considered any persons, college-aged,
working or retired.

19. Survey Results – Adult

20. Survey Results – Adult

21. Survey Results – Adult

22. What is a Word Cloud?
• A word cloud is a method used to make a
picture out of words. It is a different way of
showing how often words or themes
appear and can help identify important
concepts that might be missed otherwise
• Here, we created a word cloud to show all
of the different comments that were hand-
written onto the surveys to make sure they
were included and heard.

23. “Word Cloud” of Comments

24. Analysis
Many of the types of programs requested are currently in existence in the
community; some are not.
We believe there is an opportunity to look at an expansion project for the
community recreation center to better suit some of the larger community
requests.
To support the many other types of programming desired, an expanded
Recreation Department will be needed but can be staffed with a
combination of paid employees and community volunteers.
Rather than duplicate programs already in existence, cooperative
agreements with outside organizations should be pursued to meet the
demand.
The Recreation Department can act as a centralized hub for information
and coordination of registration utilizing software programs like Rectrac.
(Vermont Systems)
Teens and children were mentioned several times and the community has
shown a desire for their consideration in programming and space
allocations. Youth must be engaged in this process.

25. Next Steps
• To create a report of all of the findings and share
them with the public
• To create a comprehensive list of all recreation
opportunities currently available in the area
• To begin fundraising efforts and develop a
business plan
• To create new conceptual drawings of the
proposed space
• To present this information to the public for
feedback and approval

26. Contact Us
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www.facebook.com/healthierbennington