Parks master plan will be explicitly referenced in county comprehensive plan; consultant schedules public forums in November

County staff told the Clallam County Parks Advisory Board on Tuesday that the county’s Parks Master Plan will be referenced in detail in the county Comprehensive Plan and described an outreach schedule the consultant will use, including stakeholder interviews Sept. 17–18 and public forums in the first and second weeks of November. Why it matters: referencing the parks plan in the Comprehensive Plan is intended to ensure the parks plan is visible to other county planning processes and to agencies that review eligibility for certain grants and programmatic coordination. Board members sought clarity about how the two plans will be coordinated and who will meet with stakeholders. A staff member summarized the consultant timetable and said the contractor will provide a “meeting‑in‑a‑box” — a packet of handouts and scripted questions staff can use to gather input from groups that cannot attend the scheduled forums. The staff member said the consultant plans two days of stakeholder interviews on Sept. 17–18 and several larger public forums in November, and that a Spanish‑language session is planned. Board members asked for a copy of the consultant’s questions and for a list of stakeholders. Staff said they will circulate the consultant’s materials and an initial participant list to the advisory board and will update it as outreach expands. The board discussed using the advisory board membership and other local organizations to encourage response to the consultant’s online questionnaire and to distribute the meeting‑in‑a‑box packets to groups (for example, fishing clubs, equestrian groups, libraries and service organizations). Staff said the consultant had already begun scheduling one‑on‑one interviews and that the parks staff would help by verifying contact information and by forwarding the consultant’s meeting materials. The staff member said the county will hold at least five community meetings rather than the three originally planned by the consultant and that those sessions will use a common set of questions so responses are comparable. The board discussed how the parks plan’s title should appear in county documents; staff recommended consistent naming (Clallam County Parks Master Plan) so the Comprehensive Plan can reference it exactly. Going forward, staff said they will share the consultant's forum schedule and the meeting‑in‑a‑box materials with board members and invited board volunteers to help distribute the materials to local groups.