Rome, NY – Jeffrey M. Lanigan, Republican candidate for Mayor of the City of Rome, today released his thoughts on the major components of his plan to “Reimagine Recreation” for City of Rome residents.  The plan focuses on leadership and community engagement to deliver enhanced recreational services, activities, and facilities that the community wants, needs, and deserves.  Highlights of the plan include bringing back the popular summer Drop-In program, Dog Park improvements and the pursuit of a multipurpose indoor field house.

“Overall, community recreation has changed and advanced over the last decade and now is the time for our community to evolve with it.  Progress through technology, changing work dynamics, increased life expectancy, changes in recreational preferences and much more must be considered.  The Covid pandemic had some impact on community-based recreation, however, the change in dynamics began long before this crisis.

It is up to community leaders, including both public and private recreation professionals, to ensure that we are offering the proper multidisciplinary programs and facilities that our community deserves. There are a variety of ideas, collaborations, and energy that can be gathered through regular outreach and discussion with ALL local program facilitators and league officials to make sure that what we are offering is what the community wants and needs.  My goal is to encourage and develop activities for youth, adults, and seniors of all abilities.  My administration will talk directly with our users to ensure that we reap the social, environmental, and physical benefits of parks and recreational programs and facilities in the City of Rome. Over the last several years there has been a void in what the City offers to its residents.  The highly effective and popular “Drop-In” program was canceled nearly 3 years ago and still has not returned.  This program provided much-needed childcare for working parents during the summer months, and provided the social and physical interaction that children need.  The program also offered swim lessons, recreational activities, field trips and so much more for a reasonable cost.  The Drop-In program was designed to operate financially self-sufficient while still remaining an affordable option for many Rome families.    I have heard residents loud and clear on this topic and my administration will bring back this important summer day camp program.

Administrations that preceded the current administration fought hard to create new and elevate existing programs and recreation spaces, that are essential to this community.  My mission will be to collaborate with ALL leagues and organizations to serve the recreation needs of the Rome community.  We will join forces with private recreation entities including supporting the YMCA and their effort to create a new YMCA facility.  We will also partner with various community groups and organizations to further enhance recreation offerings.  I will work hard to re-establish a strong relationship with the Rome City School District, its Athletic Department and its many skilled and qualified teachers, coaches and instructors.

The City needs a revamped and updated Parks Master Plan to address the current and future needs of the community.  The last plan was created in 2004 and covered the years 2005-2015 leaving the department without a clearly defined vision and strategy for the entirety of the current administration.  This needs to be corrected as soon as possible.  A Master Plan serves as a guide and implementation tool for the management and development of our parks. recreational facilities and programs for the City.  It should be re-evaluated and updated every five to ten years to ensure it accurately addresses the needs of the community.

A few years ago, the current administration proposed moving the Dog Park from its current location to Rock Park.  Rather than creating a new expense to move the Dog Park, I will look to improve it at its current location and address the needs of our four-legged friends and their owners.  A successful dog park not only provides areas where dogs can run and play but also where both the dogs and their owners can socialize with their friends and neighbors.    Studies have shown that our furry friends make a positive impact on our lives, by helping facilitate social connections to increasing levels of daily exercise and improving mental health   Having a pet-friendly approach can make a huge difference in our community.

The overhauled Parks Master Plan will include the creation of an Indoor Field House which is both wanted and needed in our community. A modernized field house is an attraction for relocating families, including coaches and athletes, which will both increase the tax base as well as athlete and family involvement in recreational programs. This space will encourage clubs and local organizations to host events and entertainment, thus attracting outlying communities and participants.  My administration will seek input from the stakeholders in developing this space during my term as Mayor.  The initial goal is to create an indoor space that will provide the local “field” sports adequate practice space during the winter months.  It will take these field programs (baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, soccer, etc.) out of the hard-court gymnasiums and put them onto a turf surface freeing up the hard-court space for “court sports” and other activities.  This facility will not compete with the Nexus Center, Accelerate, or the like.  Those facilities are designed for large-scale tournaments, programs, and events.  The new indoor space will also provide a much-needed venue for birthday parties, gatherings, and other community events during the inclement weather that dominates Central New York for most of the year.  The premise is to build a facility that can be expanded in the future if programming and community demand warrant it.

With the right leadership, and participation from your elected officials at the federal, state, and local level we can finally get this much-needed facility built.  We will also explore public/private partnerships and third-party programming as those business models will help ALL to access and utilize this tremendous community asset.  It can and will be done!!!

My administration will serve the entire community and will engage all groups and organizations who share our mission to once again provide the best recreational services and facilities to all of our residents.  Together we will “Reimagine Recreation” for the City of Rome.”

“Reimagine Recreation” is part of the LANIGAN LEADS campaign platform.  You can learn more at www.laniganformayor.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/laniganformayor.  To contact the campaign you can call or text (315) 630-ROME (7663).

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