Commitments & Guiding Principles

Commitment Documents 

Founded in 1894, our Peoria Park District was the first park district formed in the state and as the oldest district in Illinois, we are proud to serve our community and set the standard for what park districts should be across Illinois…. and across the country.

Our mission at the Peoria Park District is to contribute to healthy and vibrant communities by responsibly using our resources to offer high quality parks, recreation, and education experiences to those who live, work, or play in our District.

Parks and recreation are powerful. They impact you…. and me…. and us…. every single day, giving energy and support to all parts of our community. As with anything that has impact, our power must be focused to have a positive effect on those we serve. Our District has worked to prioritize our initiatives so that we can be the best stewards of the incredible resources we are charged with activating.

VIBRANCY.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY.

Each of these principals serve as lenses through which both strategy and daily operations are evaluated and conducted in order to focus our work.

Within our three documents below, we lay out our commitment to progress in these areas, along with the strategies that we will allocate staff and financial resources to address.

Because of the volatility and transiency of the world we currently live in, our staff and elected board of trustees have determined that it is most impactful to build out annual action plans based on these commitments. Our progress is tracked monthly and reported out to the community at least quarterly.

Commitment to Vibrancy (draft)

Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

Implementation Guiding Principles

In addition to strategy around our commitments and the way we support our community with programs, the District also needs a clear, consistent process for the spaces and places where that work most often takes place.  To that end, our dedicated staff and Board have worked to develop an agile, engaging framework to guide the way we approach planning around development of park space to meet the needs of our changing community.

Accepted by the Board of Trustees in February 2023, our Implementation Guiding Principles provide a process for how we look at everything from public-private partnership opportunities to creation of new park amenities and experiences.

Implementation Guiding Principles