Commission outlines timeline to review 2017 Parks and Recreation Master Plan; staff to prepare template and public forums

The Placerville Recreation and Parks Commission discussed a staff proposal to update the city’s 2017 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, setting a timeline for an item-by-item review and community outreach to produce recommendations for City Council.

Staff described a schedule running from August through the next April that would break the master plan into sections to be discussed at regular commission meetings and later in public forums. "Part 3, we would open it up to facilitate a, commission discussion where we would go through each section during the particular meeting. Number 4, we would facilitate a community discussion," staff said.

The staff recommendation assigned sections to individual commissioners as a way to lead discussion and prepare guided questions, but several commissioners preferred a model in which every commissioner reads each section and the assigned commissioner acts as a facilitator rather than a sole presenter. "I personally am not a fan of the, individual assignments. I like the idea of keeping on the monthly agendas with the expectation that every commissioner should become familiar with that section and be prepared to offer full, detailed feedback," one commissioner said.

Why it matters: The review will inform long-term priorities, capital improvements and annual budgeting for parks, facilities and recreation programs.

Details and next steps - Section assignments and facilitation: staff proposed specific section leads (executive summary and introduction by staff, recreation resources, community character, planning standards, finance and cost analysis). Commissioners largely supported rotating facilitation while expecting all commissioners to read materials in advance. - Public engagement: staff proposed town-hall style public forums and roundtable formats; public comment from members of the Friends of the El Dorado Trail recommended holding public comment at every meeting and noted that the county used a meeting-per-section approach successfully. - Template and pilot: staff said they will provide a standard presentation template and model the first session so commissioners can adopt a consistent format and limit meeting run-time. - Scheduling: commissioners flagged holiday months such as November as potentially low-attendance and suggested flexibility for meeting times and locations, including weekend daytime forums in parks to reach residents who cannot attend weekday evenings.

Public comment Jenny McCormick of the Friends of the El Dorado Trail urged frequent public notice and participation and recommended treating each meeting as an opportunity for public comment on the particular section under review. She also described the county’s approach of taking on a different section each meeting and allowing unresolved issues to carry forward.

Ending: Staff will pilot the first template-led discussion in August, finalize the timeline and scheduling approach, and coordinate community outreach for public forums to gather input before preparing final recommendations for City Council.