Pullman reviews final draft of parks, recreation and open‑space master plan

Pullman city officials on Tuesday received a final draft of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, a 10‑year strategic document that recommends a mix of maintenance, expansion and long‑range projects and includes a prioritization informed by a statistically valid survey of Pullman households.

Brian Trustee, principal with Prose Consulting, told the City Council the plan grew from a 12‑month process that included three public workshops, interviews with stakeholders, a statistically valid city‑resident survey (381 valid responses) and a mapping and facilities assessment. Trustee said the plan was intentionally aligned with Pullman’s comprehensive plan and “grounded in a very accessible, inclusive, and transparent community engagement process.”

The consultant’s assessment found city parks are generally well maintained but several common amenities — picnic tables, restrooms, pavilions and courts — are aging and need targeted renovation. The plan highlights trail connectivity as a priority and notes Pullman’s unique topography and limited developable land constrains opportunities for large new parks. Trustee also told council the city lacks dedicated, city‑owned rectangular fields for sports such as soccer and recommended the city plan for three to four new neighborhood parks plus one or more dedicated rectangular athletic fields over the plan period.

Survey results included in the draft show the top unmet facility priorities were a farmers market, multi‑use paved trails and large community parks; top program priorities were adult fitness and wellness, public music/arts/theater and recreational swim. Trustee said 99% of survey respondents supported maintaining or increasing funding for parks and recreation and that many residents signaled willingness to fund projects through impact fees, property tax levies, dedicated sales tax or bonds.

The draft breaks capital needs into three tiers: critical/sustainable projects (items that are broken or near failure), expanded services (new facilities or service expansions) and visionary projects (for example, an indoor field house and sports complex). Prose provided low and high cost estimates for each tier. Trustee said critical projects total roughly $5.5–7.5 million and expanded‑service projects roughly $4.5–5.5 million; visionary projects are significantly larger and would require outside partnerships or phased financing.

Trustee and Kurt Damon, Pullman’s parks and facilities director, recommended a phased approach that preserves preventive maintenance and increases operations funding to reduce long‑term replacement costs. Damon told council staff will open a two‑week public comment period after final edits, then bring the plan to the Parks and Recreation Commission, with council adoption expected in late August or early September.

Council members asked about outreach to Washington State University students and survey representativeness. Trustee said the consultant worked with ETC Institute to monitor respondent demographics and, where needed, oversample underrepresented groups so results reflect city resident proportions. Trustee also said student responses tend to be lower than resident responses in this type of effort, but College Hill residents — some nonstudents — were represented in the survey.

The council did not vote on the plan at the meeting; staff will post the draft for public comment and return with recommended adoption language after the feedback period.