Moraine council staff previews draft Community Master Park vision plan, schedules May presentation

Moraine City Council staff said a draft Community Master Park vision plan is ready for council review and asked members to submit corrections by the end of the week so a consultant can finalize the plan ahead of a May 8 presentation.

The plan’s draft was distributed to council and staff as a binder and is organized around an executive summary and four strategic goals — parks, programs, people and promotion — staff said. Councilmembers were asked to return suggested changes (for example, name changes or wording fixes) by Friday so staff can forward them to Keith at Brandcenter Carroll for incorporation. Staff said Brandcenter Carroll will take about a week, until April 25, to make corrections and then return the revised draft to staff.

Staff said the final document will be delivered to council about 13 days before the formal council meeting so members have additional time to review it. The presentation is scheduled for the council meeting on May 8, with staff urging as many councilmembers as possible to attend so the presentation goes smoothly.

The draft includes an executive summary, a new vision statement, mission, values and an action plan listing park-by-park steps and renderings for features such as Deer Meadow, the Civic Center and the Recreation Center. Staff characterized the plan as a long-range guide: fully implementing the plan’s many items could take about 10 years.

Staff highlighted a planning metric in the draft showing 67% of Moraine residents currently live within a 10-minute walk or a 5-minute drive of a park and said the city could aim to raise that percentage, particularly by adding access in western growth areas. Staff also flagged flood damage at a park shelter and cautioned that major investments in recreation features should account for flood remediation in the affected area.

Council and staff also discussed next steps: compile corrections, send to the consultant for edits by April 25, return a final draft to council at least 13 days before the May meeting, and present the plan on May 8. No formal vote or adoption of the plan occurred at the meeting.

Staff asked councilmembers to review the binder and forward suggested edits (name, verbiage or obvious errors) by the stated deadline so corrections can be completed before the presentation.