Anna consultants present 2050 parks master-plan needs assessment; survey drew 814 responses

Consultants from Freese & Nichols presented the needs-assessment chapter of Anna’s 2050 parks, open space, trail and recreation master plan at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting on Sept. 15, outlining community priorities, service gaps and preliminary recommendations.

The presentation, led by Freese & Nichols project manager Wilson Kerr, reported 814 survey responses and said the firm used demand-based feedback, standards benchmarking and a resource-based assessment to develop findings. "We had 814 survey responses," Kerr told the board, describing unusually strong public participation.

The assessment found trails and neighborhood park connectivity as recurring public priorities, along with requests for more shade, improved sports-field quality, additional trail mileage and interest in a public pool or indoor recreation center. The consultant team said the city’s rapid growth will change its parkland targets: under a most-likely growth scenario of about 5.5% annually, Anna could pass 50,000 residents within 10 years and continue growing thereafter.

Why it matters: The study sets priorities that the city will use when applying for state grant programs and when making long-term capital-investment decisions. Freese & Nichols framed the master plan as a 10-year plan with five-year updates, consistent with guidance from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Key findings and figures

- Survey and demographics: More than half of respondents were aged 25–44; 36% of respondents reported no children at home. The mix of respondents included parents and older residents, the consultants said. - Parkland standard and deficit: City staff and consultants discussed using a working standard of 11.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Based on that target, the team reported a current deficit of about 73 acres of parkland. If no parkland is added and population grows as projected, the deficit could reach about 329 acres in 10 years, the consultants said. - Standards context: Consultants compared Anna to NRPA (National Recreation and Park Association) benchmarks and noted quartile medians for park acreage vary by city size (for example, about 11.2 acres per 1,000 for cities in the 20,000–49,000 range and 9.2 per 1,000 for the 50,000–100,000 range). - Facilities and program gaps: Freese & Nichols identified deficits in several facility types relative to peer-city standards, including rectangular fields (soccer/football), outdoor courts, and indoor recreation capacity. Public pool and indoor recreation needs were repeatedly requested in surveys and stakeholder interviews. - Resource opportunities: Staff and consultants identified floodplains, utility corridors and areas with greater topographic relief as places to expand trails, linear parks and mountain-bike or natural-surface trail opportunities; consultants cautioned that some creek corridors have steep faces that complicate development.

Discussion and next steps

Board members and audience members asked questions about the public-pool and indoor-recreation findings and about the consultant’s next steps. Freese & Nichols said the next phase is to develop the recommended actions and an implementation plan with near-, mid- and long-term priorities and that a final draft of the master plan will be returned to the board in December.

The consultants advised the city to use the plan to prioritize projects when pursuing state funding from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and to guide city council decisions on park acquisition and development.

Ending

Freese & Nichols will continue gathering community input at feedback boards and in-person conversations after the presentation. The board and staff will receive the recommended action and implementation chapters later this year; a final document is expected for presentation in December.