Clay County Commission approves contract with CHM Government Services for parks master plan

Clay County commissioners voted to award a contract to CHM Government Services to prepare an updated parks master and strategic plan, approving agenda item 2025-187 (RFP 30-20) by a 4-1 roll call.

The plan will replace a 2003 master plan, assess capital and operational needs across the county's park system, and recommend financing and implementation steps. The commission set aside about $250,000 in this year's budget for the work, and commissioners said they expect active involvement and regular progress reports from county staff.

The vote followed a presentation by John Davis, Clay County parks director, and Jeff Bakey, managing director of CHM Government Services, who described a team approach combining CHM with design and planning subconsultants RDG, Pros Consulting and ETC. Bakey said the consultant team will perform a facilities inventory, a statistically valid community survey, cost-recovery and programming analyses, and produce a prioritized capital-improvement and implementation plan. "We will be looking at operations and staffing and revenue enhancement opportunities," Bakey said, adding the team will lead community engagement countywide and provide 12 mandatory meetings for the commission.

Why it matters: Commissioners and the county administrator said an updated plan is needed because the last formal plan is more than two decades old, the county has grown substantially since then and new recreation trends and facility types (for example, camper cabins and glamping) have emerged. The plan is intended to give measurable goals and budgeting guidance so future capital and operational choices are based on documented community demand and financial analysis rather than ad-hoc responses to individual complaints.

Details of the contract and scope: Bakey told commissioners CHM's approach emphasizes business and financial analysis in addition to facility assessment and public outreach. The consultant team expects to benchmark pricing and cost recovery, evaluate program portfolios, analyze concession and lease options, and produce prioritized capital projects and a funding/implementation strategy. RDG will lead the built-environment assessment and provide GIS and visitation analytics; ETC will conduct the statistically valid household survey.

Concerns and conditions raised in discussion: Commissioner Lawson repeatedly cautioned that taxpayers' money must be spent prudently and pressed for clarity on how the plan will be implemented and monitored after completion. "We're not talking about our money. We're talking about taxpayers money," Commissioner Lawson said, adding that past plans had been left on the shelf and that he wanted firm assurances this effort would be acted on. Bakey and parks staff said the plan would include measurable goals and that staff would provide progress reports to the commission as items moved toward implementation.

Commissioner Wagner asked about the consultant's experience negotiating intergovernmental agreements with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for lake and marina projects; Bakey said his team had handled similar negotiations and would evaluate opportunities to align county priorities with Corps agreements. Commissioner Carpenter urged the consultants to identify potential operational savings as well as new revenue, and the county administrator confirmed the $250,000 appropriation remains available in the current budget.

Decision and next steps: Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the RFP award; the motion passed in a 4-1 vote (Johnson, Carpenter, Wagner and Thompson voted yes; Lawson voted no). The commission directed staff to proceed with contract execution and to ensure the commission is invited to the project's recurring project-management meetings. The consultant said it will provide a project timeline, begin community outreach and deliver interim updates.

The plan will be used to prioritize capital projects and to recommend governance, staffing and funding approaches. Park Director John Davis and county staff were identified as the primary county implementers who will work with the consultant and report back to the commission during the planning process.

Ending: The commission concluded the agenda item with an instruction that the planning effort produce measurable priorities that can inform future budgets and implementation work. The contract award is recorded as agenda item 2025-187 (RFP 30-20).