Consultant outlines parks master-plan process, outreach and cost approach
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Summary
Consultant Pros (Pros Consulting) described a Parks and Recreation Master Plan process that will use stakeholder meetings, a statistically valid survey, an interactive mapping tool and facility assessments to prioritize park investments and estimate total cost of ownership.
Mike Svetz, a principal with Pros Consulting, briefed the Cape Coral Youth Council on March 14 on the city’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan process and asked the council to join the stakeholder group.
The presentation explained how Pros will combine stakeholder meetings, a statistically valid survey and an online mapping tool to build priorities, then translate those priorities into capital-improvement recommendations and life-cycle costs.
Svetz said the firm will use a statistically valid survey to ensure results match Cape Coral’s census demographics and a social‑pinpoint interactive map to collect both high‑level and park‑specific input. "We are doing this parks and recreation master plan on behalf of the community of Cape Coral," Svetz said, adding the firm will prioritize community needs into high, medium and low categories and produce capital‑improvement cost estimates as part of an overall total‑cost‑of‑ownership analysis.
Svetz described three capital buckets: replacement (like playground replacement), expanded services (adding programs or amenities within existing parks) and visionary projects (new parks or major facilities). He said parks expected to open within roughly two years would be treated as existing parks in the analysis; undeveloped city‑owned parkland would receive recommended program directions to guide future design and construction. Weston & Sampson will perform facility and park assessments and ETC Institute will run the statistically valid survey, Svetz said.
Council members asked about the online mapping tool’s vulnerability to repeated submissions. Svetz said the tool does not block repeat inputs on the front end, but the project team can detect and filter duplicate activity on the back end by tracking unique visitation (typically tied to IP address). "It's usually tied to an IP address," he said.
Council members also asked whether parks already in design would factor into the plan. Svetz said projects expected to open within the next two years would be incorporated as existing inventory; the team will also weigh in on planned projects not yet far along in design, and could question siting decisions where appropriate. He gave festival fields as an example of a near‑term project that would be treated as existing if it opens within the two‑year window.
The consultant invited youth council members to use the social mapping site and to provide input on the draft survey before it is finalized with the parks director.
For now, Svetz said the process will emphasize community engagement, financial feasibility and recommendations that the city can realistically implement and sustain.
