Dear Editor,
It appears that one of our former City Council members is greatly misinformed and/or purposely pushing falsehoods. (August 25, 2023 Letter to the Editor “School Subjects and Community Concerns.”) It is incorrect that the master plan for our park system will be “developed without community input or outreach, a needs assessment, or an updated parks master plan.”
Here are the facts. The Facilities Plan for Bill Botts Park and Vets Park, as well as the Parks Master Plan, will encompass a close look at all our parks facilities. BOTH those studies will include a robust public outreach effort to ensure your needs and desires are heard. Indeed, the public outreach effort was one of the Request for Proposal elements that the contractor bids were scored on!
So, why haven’t you heard anything yet? It’s because the Facilities Plan contract was just recently approved, and the Parks Master Plan will shortly be on a City Council agenda for approval. In anticipation of the effort that a robust public outreach effort will entail, the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Commission created a subcommittee to monitor and advise such efforts. (I am a member of that subcommittee.)
There is no current parks bond proposal tucked away in a back pocket, ready to spring forth and place on a ballot without public input. Those proposals take a lot of work to develop. I know this from my 30 years of working in senior level financial officer positions for cities. Might there be such a proposal sometime in the future? This will be for the sitting City Council at that time to decide.
Feel free to contact me or the full Parks, Recreation & Community Services Commission and staff at the following:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Crystal Czarnecki Alexander
