The Astoria City Council on July 21 approved a contract with Mackenzie Inc. for $83,955 to update the city’s 2016 parks comprehensive master plan.
The council and staff said the update will use a $50,000 local government grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department plus budgeted city funds and will include public meetings, an inventory of parks and recommendations to guide the system’s future.
City Manager Spence told the council the parks department budgeted $84,000 this year in anticipation of the update and that the selected consultant would “hold extensive public meetings” and provide an inventory and guidance for the park system. Parks Director Jonah Park (parks director) answered questions about timing and prior recommendations to revisit the plan every five to 10 years.
Councilors praised continuity in the project because a member of the consultant team worked on the 2016 plan, but several asked for more transparency about how firms were scored. Councilor Davis said he appreciated seeing the scoring matrix included in the packet and requested that future packets include proposer submissions or additional documentation so council members and the public can verify the evaluation. Councilor Rosarela (new to the council) also asked whether a 10-year revisit is standard; Park said there is no legal requirement but that the 2016 planning process recommended reviewing the plan every five to 10 years.
Councilor Monticello moved to approve the contract; Councilor Lund seconded. The motion carried with members voting in favor.
The city will proceed with the public engagement and technical work under the contract. Councilors asked staff to post more of the evaluation materials after the meeting so the public can review scoring and proposal content.
The council did not set a specific public meeting schedule at the meeting; staff said that schedule and engagement plan will be part of the consultant’s work and will be provided to the council and community.