The Fountain Parks and Recreation Department and consultant Logan Simpson briefed the council Aug. 26 on an update to the city's parks, recreation, open-space and trails (PROS) master plan. Gordy (Parks and Recreation staff) said the plan will guide decisions over the next five to 10 years and the department is seeking 400–500 public survey responses; the team had about 200 responses at the time of the meeting.

Consultant Christina Keacher Webb of Logan Simpson explained that the PROS plan is a guiding document that sets priorities for investments, operations and partnerships, and is commonly refreshed each decade. “It creates that shared vision around needs for maintaining, updating, and adding to your parks, recreation, open space, and system,” Keacher Webb said, noting demographic changes since the prior plan and new recreational trends such as pickleball and esports.

The team described a three-phase engagement process: phase one (May–September) collects existing conditions and stakeholder input; phase two (October–November) will present preliminary opportunities and recommendations with an open house; phase three (spring 2026) will present a draft plan for final review and council adoption. Staff said the project has gathered GIS, operations, staffing and funding data and will benchmark Fountain against peer communities.

Residents can participate via postcards distributed at events, a project site on ArcGIS Hub, a questionnaire and an interactive mapping tool; Gordy and staff have staffed pop-ups at Movies in the Park, the Farmers Market and other events and will be at the Fountain Fall Festival. Keacher Webb said updated plans are often required to qualify for parks grants.

There was council discussion about how to access the survey (the recreation page and the city home page contain the link) and about what the plan will address, including maintenance, amenity needs and staffing. No formal council action was required at this briefing.