Troy committee recommends $80,000 amendment to update city park and recreation master plan

The Recreation and Parks Committee recommended that City Council authorize the director of public service and safety to amend a professional services agreement with American StructurePoint, Inc., to add an update to the City of Troy comprehensive park and recreation master plan at a cost not to exceed $80,000.

Committee members heard that the consultant, American StructurePoint, has already led the city's comprehensive plan update and preliminary work on zoning and subdivision regulations, making it logical to extend that firm's contract to cover the parks and recreation plan. Staff member K. said the firm has performed "a very thorough job" and is familiar with Troy's parks, facilities and infrastructure.

The master plan update is intended to inform the 2026 budget and the city's five-year capital-planning process. Staff member K. said the timeline remains subject to public input but anticipated the city would have material for Council discussion in July or early August so it can be considered during next year's budget and capital planning.

Committee members asked how long the plan would remain in effect. Staff member K. said that "it would be at least a 10 year plan," but emphasized the horizon depends on public input and council priorities. K. added that the update will be "really heavy on the public input" while also reviewing prior analyses and existing studies.

Discussion at the meeting listed potential topics the plan will address: distribution of neighborhood parks and whether the city has too many small parks or should concentrate amenities at larger parks; playground replacements; resurfacing of play courts; improvements to the aquatic facility; and trail connectors or spurs. Staff said the update will evaluate those options and noted past studies had considered, for example, adding a second sheet of ice. The transcript records a rough count of parks mentioned as "23 to 26 parks," but the exact number was not specified.

Legal counsel was cited during the discussion: staff reported that "Mr. Kerber . . . gave us an opinion that we could amend the current contract rather than go out to bid," enabling an amendment instead of a new procurement process.

Staff also said the city has a dedicated park and recreation capital fund and uses payments-in-lieu to support that fund; several smaller or pocket parks are privately funded and maintained by homeowners associations. While the master plan will evaluate financing and priorities, staff said the consultant will not dive deeply into financing sources beyond typical options.

The committee was told some maintenance and smaller improvement projects already have funding and will proceed while the plan is developed. Staff identified ongoing or planned projects including detailed design work on upgrades and renovations to the aquatic park (no enlargement planned), replacement of playground equipment at Duke Park, and resurfacing and updates to play courts at Herlinger Park. Staff said routine maintenance and these planned projects will continue during the master plan process.

The committee voted to recommend Council authorize the contract amendment; no formal Council action occurred at the meeting.

The recommendation will now go to City Council for final approval; committee members said they intend to solicit broad public input as the consultant develops recommendations.