Belgrade parks master plan discussion produces revisions request; board tables adoption

Consultants from Cushing Terrell presented the draft 2025 Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails and Recreation District master plan and answered board questions on inventory, priorities and the capital improvement project list. After extended discussion and public comment, the board voted to table final adoption and requested staff incorporate clarifications and edits.

Art Bolita, a landscape architect with Cushing Terrell, led the presentation and said the draft plan summarizes public engagement, an inventory and analysis, recommended facilities and a proposed capital-improvement framework. The consultants reported more than 750 public data points, about 400 survey respondents and approximately 100 pins on an interactive map used during outreach.

Board members raised questions about specific inventory details: the draft's count of "24 current dog parks" (which consultants said stems from a combined interpretation of off-leash parks, on‑leash parks and dog stations recorded in prior plans), whether HOA-maintained trails were included or mapped, and apparent overlaps for recently completed projects (for example, a newly built amphitheater at West Coast Park that respondents still marked as a desired facility). Consultants said the NRPA (National Recreation and Park Association) 2024 level-of-service benchmarks were used to compare local amenities to national averages.

Nut graf: The draft establishes a first district-wide inventory and a framework for prioritizing projects through an annual CIP process, but board members said multiple clarifications are necessary before final adoption — including clearer definitions in the inventory, updated maps, and explicit notes about governance and funding for facilities like the senior center.

Public commenters and board members suggested specific edits. Questions included how trails maintained by federal agencies or private HOAs were counted in district totals, whether the senior center relocation recommendation included district funding, and how new recommendations integrate with existing 2019 CIP items. The consultants acknowledged some of the issues and said updated files had been distributed; staff agreed to collect and compile the board's requested clarifications.

The board then voted to table the plan. A motion to "table the discussion and comments from tonight" passed on a roll-call vote; staff said they would collect board comments and return a revised draft for future action.

Ending: Staff will gather the requested clarifications and updated materials, and the board expects to revisit the plan after those edits and any additional public input are incorporated.