Planning Commission reviews draft parks and recreation element; commissioners flag inventory, access and floodplain language

The Planning Commission on July 15 reviewed a draft parks and recreation element of the city comprehensive plan and asked staff and the consultant to correct factual errors, clarify county and school district roles, and update the parks inventory before public outreach. Donna Keeler, a consultant with Facet, told commissioners the document is an initial draft and that "this is just your first look at it. There'll be plenty of opportunity, in over the next few months to provide comments and edits."

Commissioners focused discussion on four immediate points: factual corrections to site descriptions, how to count park acreage when land is privately owned or leased, the limits on using school properties for public recreation, and the cost and feasibility of building new facilities such as a municipal pool. Commissioner Sexton said the condition of some city fields raises safety concerns: "we did have one year where we had, like, 3 broken collar bones because the…