Consultants present Lake Elsinore community services master plan engagement findings; aquatics and trails top facility priorities

BerryDunn consultants provided an update on the City of Lake Elsinore’s Community Services Department master plan and summarized engagement findings and next steps.

Nikki Ginger, project manager with BerryDunn, and Elsa Fisher, engagement manager, said the effort used a multi‑pronged outreach strategy: interviews, pop‑up events, an online engagement tool and a statistically valid survey conducted by ETC. Fisher said the statistically valid survey obtained more than 400 responses; the project’s online engagement site had about 812 visitors who submitted 179 contributions.

Consultants reported that 72% of survey respondents rated parks and facilities they visited as “good” or “excellent,” and over 75% rated programs similarly. Using ETC’s priority investment framework, residents ranked community events, fitness and wellness programs, and hiking and outdoor recreation highest among program priorities. For facilities, hiking trails, an aquatic facility (indoor or outdoor) and community gardens rose to the top.

The consultants described strengths — dedicated staff, well‑liked youth and senior programming, and popular events — and opportunities: development of an aquatics facility that would require additional staffing, addressing safety concerns in some parks, expanding trails and creating formal performance measures for the department.

Next steps include visioning and developing an action plan that sets short‑, mid‑ and long‑term priorities; consultants said a draft master plan will return to the council in the fall, followed by an implementation workshop for staff and stakeholders.

Council members thanked staff and consultants and had no substantive follow‑up questions during the presentation.