The City Commission of High Springs voted unanimously to adopt a parks and recreation master plan that lays out a 10-year blueprint for parks, trails and recreation programming.

The plan, presented by Kristen Caborn, director of Parks and Open Spaces at GAI Consultants, recommends short-term (0–2 years), mid-term (2–5 years) and long-term (6+ years) projects, a capital improvement plan spreadsheet for staff tracking, standards for park size and amenities, and strategies to fill park “deserts” in newly annexed and developing areas of the city.

Caborn told commissioners the consultants began working with the city in late 2022 and that public outreach in 2023 shaped the recommendations. “Our assignment when we began the project was really to create a blueprint for the next 10 years of parks and recreation in High Springs,” Caborn said. She described inventory work, GIS documentation of park infrastructure and a public-input process that included on-site workshops and focus groups.

The plan inventories nine parks (the report treats the downtown Farmer’s Market pavilion as a park), and sets level-of-service guidance: neighborhood parks sized roughly 2–5 acres (target minimum 2 acres) to serve a roughly half-mile walking radius, and community parks of about 5 acres serving a roughly three-mile driving radius. The consultants identified unserved areas in the southern part of the city (labeled in the presentation as park areas “b, c and d”) where larger but fewer parks are recommended rather than many small neighborhood parks. The report also recommends preserving unprogrammed open space in parks to allow informal play and multigenerational use.

Specific short-term recommendations (0–2 years) listed in the presentation include upgrades to existing facilities such as Catherine Taylor Park, continued work at the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost, site master planning for James Paul Park, improved park lighting to extend safe evening use, and feasibility work to improve pedestrian and trail connections to nearby county parks such as Post Springs. Mid-term items (2–5 years) include further improvements at the Civic Center Park and sports complex, implementing the James Paul Park plan and planning for a new neighborhood park in an identified northern service gap. Long-term items (6+ years, noted in the presentation as 5–10 years after a typographical correction) prioritize land acquisition and construction of the larger community parks identified for southern growth areas.

Commissioners and members of the public raised implementation details during the presentation. One participant asked whether the Canoe Outpost could include a boat ramp; Caborn said the site likely has space but noted permitting, river access and rules from the Suwannee River Water Management District and state agencies would be the biggest challenges and that civil engineers usually handle ramp design. Caborn also said the city now has a GIS database of park assets that staff can update when improvements are made.

Jennifer (Parks and Recreation staff), who worked with the consultants, was credited during the presentation for implementing several recommendations already. Caborn said the full master plan report and supporting materials will be posted on the city website after adoption to help residents and staff review details and the capital-improvement spreadsheet.

A commissioner moved to adopt the plan and the motion was seconded; the commission voted in favor with no recorded opposition. The consultant emphasized that adoption creates a flexible vision and does not, by itself, obligate the city to the plan’s cost estimates or specific spending schedule.

The plan’s next steps include posting the full report online, using the living CIP spreadsheet for budgeting and grant applications (the consultant cited the Florida development assistance program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund as grant programs that award points for an adopted master plan), and a suggested partial update at year five to reassess priorities and celebrate progress.