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Council reviews Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails RFP; asks for planning‑commission review and public‑engagement minimums
Summary
Councilors reviewed a draft RFP to produce a parks, recreation, open space and trails plan, asked staff to include flood‑mitigation and pocket open‑space language, requested planning‑commission review and a minimum number of public engagements, and asked consultants to assess recreation department needs.
Virgin Town Council reviewed a draft request for proposals (RFP) for a parks, recreation, open space and trails plan and provided detailed edits and direction to staff ahead of issuing the RFP.
Council members said the RFP was modeled on a plan used by Mobile and adapted for Virgin. Key additions requested during the meeting included explicit references to open space for flood‑mitigation (noting pocket areas such as "pocket bill hollow" which the chair said should be identified as open space) and a clearer inventory of specific park properties (BMX track, Heritage Town Square, Virgin Town Park) and facility types.
Members asked the RFP to include a task to analyze the resources needed to create a municipal recreation department, noting the town currently manages recreation under public works. They also asked the consultant to examine trails connections, including a proposed trail along the canal and connections to BLM land and pedestrian crossings over the river.
A planning commissioner (Lee Ballard was asked to review) and other planning staff were asked to review and formally recommend the RFP language; members said planning and zoning should provide a recommendation and the RFP’s public‑engagement plan should specify a minimum number of meetings. One councilor praised the proposal to model the plan on Mobile’s approach but asked that public‑engagement minimums be specified rather than leaving outreach entirely to consultants.
Councilors asked staff to reconcile nomenclature (how to name "Virgin Town Park" vs. neighborhood or pocket‑open‑space references) and to incorporate flood‑mitigation language into the open‑space definition. Staff said they would revise the RFP to add task detail (inventory, conditions assessment, recommended uses) and to return the revised draft for review before issuing the RFP.
The council did not vote to approve the RFP at the meeting; members directed staff to make the edits and to obtain planning‑commission comment before the council takes formal action.
