Little Chute Releases 2016 Community Survey

Earlier this year, the Village of Little Chute partnered with the UW River Falls Survey Research Center.  In April 2016, the Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls mailed surveys to 1,101 randomly selected households in the Village, followed by a second mailing to non-respondents two weeks later.

The SRC received 471 useable responses, for a net response rate of 48%.  Based on the estimated number of adults in the population of Little Chute (8,148), the results provided in the report are expected to be accurate to within plus or minus 4.4% with 95% confidence.

The effort of the survey is actually part of a larger strategy, that being the 2015-2019 Strategic Plan.  The data collected in this survey will assist in policy creation, future decision making and assist with providing data in a number of key areas for the Village of Little Chute.  Perhaps most pressing, data from the report will be utilized as staff continue to work on a cohesive marketing effort for future economic development efforts in the Village, particularly in the Downtown/Central Business District.

Finally, the Village Board of Trustees and Village staff would like to thank the residents of Little Chute for sharing their time and opinion during this effort.  With a response rate of 48%, it is safe to say that the residents of Little Chute are engaged.  We look forward to working on continually improving Village government, not only to meet your expectations that our residents clearly have for our community, but to exceed them!  

You can find the full report for the survey on the Village's Strategic Planning landing page (linked in the left column) or by clicking here. 

2014 Summer & Fall Program Book

We have some great news!  Little Chute received several inches of snow the past couple of days, and there is more on the way this month.  That is great news for everyone who has been enjoying the village's two sledding hills, but for those who are looking forward to throwing something besides snow that is not great news.  They say that when March comes in like a lion, it should go out like a lamb.  Let's hope that saying is true.  Spring will be here soon, we promise!

Your Park and Recreation Department has been working tirelessly through this long winter to make this summer better than ever.  Some new and exciting programs have been added this year, like the Bricks 4 Kidz Program, Sports 60 Program, Creative Corner Program, and Water Rockets.  Your kids are going to love all the programs Little Chute has to offer.  The Doyle Park Pool will open this year on June 2.  The pool basin was sandblasted and repainted, and the new waterslide was finally installed.  We can't wait for opening day!

Little Chute residents/taxpayers should watch for the 2014 Summer & Fall Program Book in their mailbox this week.  The book cover this year is green and features a picture of the playground equipment that was installed at Van Lieshout Park last fall.  It's the first completely handicap accessible playground in our area with a rubber pour-in-place surface.  If you haven't had a chance to see the new brightly colored playground yet, we encourage you to check it out when the snow melts.

Little Chute residents/taxpayers can start to register for programs (excluding swim lessons) on Monday, March 10.  Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve walk-in or mail-in basis at the Park & Rec Department (1940 Buchanan St., Little Chute).  Our office is open weekdays from 8:00am to 4:30pm. and we can accept payments   by check or cash only.  Please register early as programs are limited in size. 

Non-residents can view Little Chute's 2014 Summer & Fall Program Book online at www.littlechutewi.org/recreation.  Non-residents who have children attending Little Chute schools will be allowed to sign up for programs starting Monday, April 7.  Other non-residents will be allowed to sign up for programs starting on Tuesday, April 8.  Please register early as programs are limited in size.

We are pleased to announce that there is no longer a $20 per family late fee charged to late registrants for our youth/adult programs and classes.  We still have deadlines for all our programs and classes because we need to do program schedules, order supplies, schedule needed staff, and make sure we meet program/class minimum requirements.  But this change should be a huge benefit to parents who have a child that decides after the deadline that they want to register for a program or class that their friend is in.  Registrations will only be accepted after the deadline if there is space available in the program/class or on one of the teams created.  We hope this new change will help even more people to enjoy the awesome programs we offer.  However, our special one-day youth events held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons will continue to have a $3 per child late fee added if the registration is accepted after the deadline listed on the sign up form.

We are looking forward to a fantastic summer!  We will soon be in full swing with our whole staff back.  We can't wait to see everyone again.  If you will be registering your child for one of our youth baseball/softball teams this year, we are looking for outgoing parents who enjoy working with kids to help coach their child's team.  Please give it some thought when filling out your child's registration form.  Working together we make the strongest community for our kids.

As always, our staff is constantly striving to find new ways to improve our programs.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department at 788-7390.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone and kicking off the best summer ever!  Let's start thinking about warm weather, sunshine, and fun times!

- Donna Koebe
  Program Supervisor
  Little Chute Parks, Recreation & Forestry Dept.

Little Chute Receives Community Leadership Award

On Thursday, January 30th, the Village of Little Chute received the Fox Cities Greenways Community Leadership award for work related to improving pedestrian bicycle opportunities.  Accepting the award on behalf of the Village was Village President Mike Vanden Berg, Parks and Recreation Director Tom Flick, and Village Trustee Bill Peerenboom.  For more information on Fox Cities Greenways and the award, check out the Fox Cities Greenways Blog.

Pictured Left to Right: President Mike Vanden Berg, Dave Muench (Fox Cities Greenways), Park and Rec Director Tom Flick and Village Trustee Bill Peerenboom.