The Great Neck Park District survey that will help the board of commissioners plan for the future has been mailed to park district residents and it is imperative that each household devote a little time to completing it and mailing it back. It will determine the priority of projects for the next five years and will influence the direction the district takes for generations to come. The survey is easy to complete and is anonymous. It is a simple matter to mail it back by folding it, taping it closed and dropping it in the mailbox with the "postage paid" side facing out. The board of commissioners is counting on the public to give its input quickly (hopefully within the next three weeks) so it can begin formulating plans for the future.

Park District Superintendent Neil Marrin commented on the process by saying, "Taking on a long range plan is unusual in government but we're seeing it more and more in progressive agencies because, not unlike businesses, we need to map out our future. There are many parts to the strategic planning process - including committees composed of people who are experts in various areas - looking at infrastructure needs, mechanical and equipment replacement, etc. The most important aspect of the strategic plan is the public input part. Hence, the survey.

"Survey questions were developed with input from our residents from our various town hall meetings including our live town hall broadcasts. It's perhaps the first time in park district history that we've gone to our residents to ask what do you want your park district to be? What facilities would you like? What programs? What are your needs? In light of the fact that Great Neck is a community that has undergone so much change and because we are such a diverse community, we need to have a better understanding of these needs which we hope to glean from this survey. I can't stress enough the importance of people taking a few minutes to sit down and complete the survey helping us to forge the future direction of the park district."

Dr. Ananda Mitra, of Management Learning Laboratories, who was instrumental in formulating the questions, reiterated, "Studies have proved the value of any survey lies in every person responding to it."

Input from park district residents will help formulate the park district's strategic plan which the commissioners hope to have in place by January, 2004.

For help in filling out the survey or finding a translator (the park district has Spanish and Farci translators who have volunteered to help), call Great Neck House at 482-0355.