El Mirage council hears parks master-plan update; 420 mailed surveys returned, pop-ups, open house planned

El Mirage city staff and a consultant team updated the City Council at a June 17 work session on the city’s parks and recreation master plan, reporting that a mailed, statistically valid needs-assessment produced 420 responses and that staff will reopen the survey online and hold community pop-ups and an open house to collect further input.

Farrell Bowler, a project lead with 110% Consulting, told the council the master-plan process has three phases—engagement, analysis and plan development—and that the consultant’s first site visit and a community workshop at the El Mirage Senior Center produced recurring priorities. “Pickleball and fun came up the most amount of times,” Bowler said, and she listed trails, aquatic features, accessibility and park maintenance among the most commonly requested items.

Why it matters: the master plan is intended to set priorities and a financial framework for parks investments. City staff said the plan will include Basin Park concept options and a fiscal analysis to show what adopting the plan would mean for future budgets.

What the council was told and next steps - The mailed survey was distributed to a randomly selected sample to meet a statistically valid target of 400 responses; staff reported 420 returns and said Spanish-language materials and multiple response channels (mail, online, phone) were offered. The consultant said 100 gift cards were offered as incentives and five winners will be selected at random. Bowler said the mailed survey closed June 13 and staff will re-open the same instrument online and by QR code so additional residents may respond. - Staff and the consultant plan community pop-ups at several locations later this month (including customer service, the YMCA and laundromats) and a “Pops and Parks” open-house update at the El Mirage Senior Center from 5 to 7 p.m., where the consultant will present Basin Park concept plans and solicit feedback. - Sean (Parks and Recreation staff member) said the project began in November and remains on track to finish by November 2025. He said upcoming work includes reviewing Basin Park concepts, refining multiuse trail connectivity, analyzing national and regional trends, and completing a financial analysis for plan adoption.

Questions from council Council members asked about representativeness and methodology. Bowler and staff said the mailed sample was chosen by a subconsultant (Acuity) using standard needs-assessment procedures to achieve demographic and geographic representation; staff emphasized that the mailed sample is a standard research practice and that the tool has now been opened to the broader public online. Council members also asked for copies of the community-workshop boards and larger slide versions; staff said compiled feedback and initial analysis will be shared with council and the public.

Other details and context Bowler said the community workshop at the senior center drew roughly 20 participants and that workshop boards reflected words repeated by attendees; the mailed survey and other earlier outreach (about 80 short-event responses collected in winter outreach) were intended to capture broader input. Staff explained they had discussed conducting outreach at grocery stores such as Walmart but chose locations where they could better ensure resident responses.

Ending Staff asked the public to watch the city’s website and social channels for the reopened survey window and for pop-up locations and times. Council members were told staff will return with draft plan materials in the fall and aim for final plan adoption before the end of calendar-year 2025.