The Parks and Recreation Commission on July 8 was updated on the village’s parks master-plan procurement: three finalist firms will present to the working group at the end of July and the committee will recommend a finalist to the trustees for final approval.

Staff said the working group — which includes commission members and some trustees — asked finalists to bring example master plans and that the commission received a 278-page example package from one firm. Commissioners were reminded that, once a firm is selected, the typical timeline provided by the finalists is nine to 12 months to complete the master-plan work.

The update is important because the master plan will guide capital priorities, park usage analyses and future budget requests. Staff said the selected firm will lead public-engagement efforts including surveys and geospatial analyses of park assets and access, which commissioners expect to inform later discussions about facility distribution and potential rebalancing of park assets.

Staff also said a separate turf-field consultants’ financial assessment is underway; that assessment requires stakeholder interviews and may take several months to complete. Commissioners agreed that the master-plan output should create opportunities for broader interdepartmental and intercommission conversations (planning and zoning, trustees) once draft recommendations are available.

Next steps: finalists’ presentations to the working group at the end of July; the working group will forward a recommendation to the trustees, who will consider the expenditure and, if approved, the firm will begin the master-plan work. Staff said the commission will be engaged in surveys and workshops once the project begins.