The mission of the City of Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation Department is to provide quality parks and recreation opportunities based upon cost efficiency and community needs.

Comprehensive and Strategic Master Plan

The City of Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Department (“Department”) underwent a comprehensive and strategic planning process with the goal of developing a document that would inform and guide decision-making relative to the department’s oversight of parks, facilities, programming and events over the next five years.

The PROS Consulting-led team was contracted to develop the Comprehensive and Strategic Master Plan (“Plan”) study in partnership with the City of Idaho Falls (“City”). The process was multi-pronged, including existing conditions analysis of the facilities and services, benchmarking comparisons with other communities, analysis of the City demographics, consideration of national trends, and extensive community engagement to gather feedback directly from residents and community stakeholders to identify needs and opportunities for improvement.

The Department continues to face a multitude of growing responsibilities ranging from providing essential and emergency services, a superior customer experience, preserving the City’s assets, keeping up with changing industry regulatory requirements, helping the City solve issues, and attracting and retaining the best possible employees. At the same time, there is an emphasis on a culture of continuous improvement and service excellence.

The goals of the Comprehensive and Strategic Master Plan include:

• Engage the community, leadership and stakeholders through innovative public input means to build a shared vision for parks, open space, trails, and recreation in the City for the next 10 to 20 years;

• Utilize a wide variety of data sources and best practices, including a statistically-valid survey to predict trends and patterns of use and how to address unmet needs in the City;

• Determine unique Level of Service Standards to develop appropriate actions regarding parks, open space, trails, and recreation that reflects the City’s strong commitment in providing high quality recreational activities for the community;

• Shape financial and operational preparedness through innovative and “next” practices to achieve the strategic objectives and recommended actions with achievable strategies

• Develop a dynamic and realistic strategic plan that creates a road map to ensure long-term success and financial sustainability for the City’s parks, open space, trails and recreation, as well as action steps to support the family-oriented community and businesses that call Idaho Falls home.

RECreate IF Comprehensive Master Plan

Heritage Park
In December 2014, the Idaho Falls City Council approved a Gift and Park Development Agreement for 9.41 acres of undeveloped, prime, riverfront property that includes two additional acres of riparian property. The donation consists of approximately $2 million in land, in-kind donations and cash from the Stafford Smith family, Ball Ventures and the Rotary Club of Idaho Falls. The newly proposed Heritage Park will draw upon the analysis of the sites’ natural resources and will highlight the unique heritage of the Idaho Falls community and Eastern Idaho.

The Heritage Park Master Plan will create a vision and guide development of the park for the next 10 to 20 years. The Master Plan will aim to enhance the existing site features, develop an action plan for development, and identify possible future enhancements to complement the overall site in order to secure its place as a choice destination for community members of all ages.

Heritage Park Master Plan

Heritage Park Final Presentation

Final Heritage Park Design and Phases

Tautphaus Park
Tautphaus Park is a true community treasure, dating back to the early 1930’s, this park, known for its beauty, history, bountiful park space and amenities is one of the oldest and largest parks in Idaho Falls. Facilities located on the Park site are in need of renovation. Solutions to parking are necessary for the current and future needs of the Park. Adding an additional access point at the south area of the park would be beneficial. The park is home to several important facilities and features that serve the community and visitors.

The Tautphaus Park Master Plan will establish a vision to guide the park for the next 10 to 20 years. The Master Plan intends to enhance existing features of the park, develop an action plan for renovations, and identify possible future enhancements to complement the overall park, which will aim to secure its place as a choice destination for community members of all ages.

Tautphaus Park Final Presentation

Tautphaus Park Master Plan