Consultant unveils Oak Grove Parks and Recreation Master Plan after wide community input

LandWorks Studio consultant Mike McGrew presented the City of Oak Grove’s first Parks and Recreation Master Plan to the Board of Alderwomen on Feb. 3, describing a strategic, phased plan based on community engagement, data analysis and a prioritized action list.

The plan, McGrew said, reviews nine park locations and “is a comprehensive vision for enhancing Oak Grove’s park system to meet the evolving needs of the community.” He told the board the process included a kickoff assessment, a level-of-service analysis, park-by-park professional assessments and outreach that yielded 757 resident responses to an online engagement survey.

The plan matters, McGrew said, because it ties parks to the city’s 2023 comprehensive plan and provides implementable steps, cost ranges and timelines so future leaders can continue work without restarting the effort. “This is the backbone of the document. It is detailed recommendations line by line, outlining by park, phase, high low range of costs and area of the comprehensive plan that it really relates to,” he said.

Board members asked how projects will be chosen and funded. Mayor Dana Webb said the city already has a $100,000 line in the budget for parks and expects the parks board to use the master plan as a “living document” to recommend priorities. “That’s a budgeted line item that's been holding out there for you,” Webb said. She added the board will make final votes on major expenditures and that staff will pursue grants and matching funds where appropriate.

Alderwoman Sierra McMichael and others pressed for clarity on specific uses, including whether the field house should be oriented toward sports programming or rented as an event venue. McGrew said the field house was presented with two viable directions and that the parks board could choose a priority later: “it might be like, oh it's priority 2 item, but you can go 1 of 2 different ways on this.” He cautioned that interior build-outs vary widely in cost and that an in-depth, project-specific cost analysis would be needed for major renovations.

The plan’s nine overarching recommendations include improving accessibility and ADA compliance, strengthening trails and connectivity, investing in targeted amenities, preserving unprogrammed open space, enhancing marketing and engagement, developing a template for future neighborhood parks, and aligning parks with broader city goals such as housing and transportation. McGrew emphasized maintaining rural character by preserving unprogrammed space in parts of Frick Park and Ben Oak Park.

Board members and staff also discussed marketing and outreach. McGrew and the board highlighted that inconsistent public awareness—not lack of facilities—drove many negative perceptions: the consultant recommended at least a part-time marketing role or shared duties to improve program enrollment and public awareness. “People didn't know when things were happening or thought things weren't occurring,” McGrew said.

Next steps: the board reviewed the final document and asked staff to return with a resolution to adopt the master plan. Mayor Webb and staff indicated they could bring the adoption resolution to a subsequent meeting after members have further time to review the printed document.

The presentation closed without a vote; the master plan remains a draft until the board takes formal action on the upcoming resolution.