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Recreation Advisory Council unveils draft 5-year plan; commissioners back public outreach and workshops for Lake Fork parcel
Summary
The Recreation Advisory Council presented a draft five-year strategic plan emphasizing maintenance, access, indoor facilities and funding. Commissioners agreed to public open houses in March and asked staff to pursue community workshops and budget options for a Lake Fork master plan.
The Valley County Recreation Advisory Council presented a draft five-year strategic recreation plan to the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 3 and outlined next steps including public open houses, printing outreach materials and targeted outreach to residents and partners.
The council's draft plan, prepared with help from county staff and consultant Mackenzie Kramer, sets a vision of "Life in motion" and organizes work around five focus areas: collaborative partnerships; facilities and infrastructure (including an indoor recreation facility); communications and volunteer engagement; conservation of public recreation and water resources; and financial stability. Council presenters said the plan prioritizes maintaining existing facilities before building new amenities and explicitly aims to serve Valley County residents as well as visitors.
Council chair Jeff Musso and recreation staff said the plan will go to the public in early March through two open houses (one at the Emergency Operations Center and one in McCall). The council requested modest funds to print copies and prepare display boards; county staff and commissioners discussed setting a small advisory-board printing budget (the council suggested an initial $1,000 allocation) and agreed that having bound copies and QR-coded comment pages would help outreach.
Commissioners asked the council to add explicit language protecting private property rights and to strengthen the plan's statement of recreation's economic contribution; council members agreed to incorporate those edits and to return a final draft for formal adoption after public input.
Separately, the board discussed the Lake Fork parcel, a county-owned site that commissioners and recreation staff have long considered for expanded recreation. The county requested a scope and cost proposal from Epicost (Lisa Beck) to prepare a master plan for the site. Commissioners and the recreation advisory board discussed uses raised by community members and groups' including additional pickleball courts, a field house or indoor facility, playgrounds, walking paths, dog parks, amphitheaters, sports fields, camping and possible housing.
No contract was authorized at the meeting. Commissioners asked recreation staff to hold public workshops and stakeholder meetings (including the school district, road and road-pit staff and potential user groups) and to return with a costed scope and phasing options for the board to consider in the FY2026 budget process. Staff said the Lake Fork parcel includes existing road-department operations and that some portions of the parcel are under lease for gravel operations; those operational constraints will be evaluated as possible program and phasing options are developed.
The council will incorporate public comments collected at the open houses and via an online comment form, revise the draft plan and seek final commissioner approval after outreach.
