GAI Consultants presented an update on the City of North Port’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan on Sept. 8, telling the City Commission the consultant team will deliver final recommendations and costing by the end of 2025.

The presentation summarized an inventory of the city’s park assets, results of a mailed statistically valid survey and an open online survey, and public workshops and focus groups. “North Port is one of only 213 accredited parks and recreation agencies across the country,” Kristen Caborn, director of parks and public spaces at GAI Consultants, said, adding that the master plan is one of the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) requirements. GAI described three project phases—existing conditions, visioning (now), and recommendations—and said the city will receive GIS inventory layers, condition ratings and a priority/cost spreadsheet.

The consultant said resident priorities include access to nature, walkable "close-to-home" parks, shade and trails; demand for rectangular athletic fields for soccer and other sports; and interest in unique amenities such as skate parks and splash pads. GAI and the city subcontracted RRC Consultants to produce a statistically valid mailed survey (5,000 mailings) and an open web survey; combined there were 618 completed responses. The survey’s headline takeaways were increased use tied to more shade, improved communications and added amenities, and strong public support for nature-based programs and trail connections.

Parks and Recreation Director Sandy Funheller and commissioners pressed the consultant on specific demand and implementation. Commissioner Duval asked who requests rectangular fields; Funheller said requests come from youth soccer, adult leagues and private competitive groups and noted a rectangle field is being added at Dallas White Park. Duval also requested a strong pursuit of the project team’s grant-funding strategy. GAI said the project includes RMPK Funding to create a grant-stacking strategy and that the team will work with city staff on short-, mid- and long-term prioritization.

GAI identified geographic gaps in park distribution—clusters in the west and underserved areas in the city’s center and east—and said recommendations will include measurable capital and operational items with associated cost estimates. Commissioners asked about the timeline; GAI said it is under contract to finish by Dec. 31, 2025. The consultant also noted a separate youth-sports demand analysis is forthcoming that examines field-use requests and turned-away playtime.

The presentation prompted follow-up requests from commissioners for the consultant to prioritize grant strategies and to return with the costed recommendation matrix before the final adoption exercise later this year. No formal action or vote was taken at the workshop; the consultant will return with recommendations and cost spreadsheets for commission review in late 2025.

Ending: The consultant team’s recommendations and detailed capital and operating cost spreadsheet will return to the commission during the fall and winter; the master plan must be adopted to satisfy CAPRA accreditation requirements and is scheduled to be completed by December 2025.