Speaker 1, a city staff member, presented a timeline for a five-year Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan covering 2027–2031 and described the work already underway: consultant field work, site visits and photography.

“We're looking at public pop-up input sessions ... geared towards the high school and middle school students,” Speaker 1 said, and added that staff plans two school pop-ups, stakeholder interviews with friends groups and user organizations, department meetings and a community survey intended to be a five-minute form opened at the end of the month and running through January.

The plan will be reviewed internally and staff expects to present a first draft to the Parks, Recreation & Forestry Commission (PRFC) in April. Once finalized, the Commission will forward the document to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for filing as part of the adoption process.

Commissioners pressed staff on outreach methods to reach younger residents and the broader public. Speaker 7, who identified as a younger resident, suggested using school emails, the schools’ green teams, Instagram and morning advisory periods (ASR) to promote the survey and pop-up sessions. Commissioners also recommended library and middle-school open-house formats and multiple pop-up events in public venues to reach non-student residents.

Speaker 1 said staff will use multiple channels — yard signs, CivicSend listserv, Middleton Minute, Peachjar, social media and the city website — and will work with the school district’s communications staff to get buy-in for in-school outreach and morning announcements.

Staff emphasized that the exercise tonight was a goal-setting and prioritization step: the commission and staff will refine up to eight goals that will guide the plan (themes identified tonight included barrier-free access, enough parkland, coordinated interdepartmental planning, safe and reliable equipment, an integrated trail network, adequate staffing, financial sustainability and preserving mature trees). Commissioners were invited to place top-three marks and notes on sticky pads to inform staff drafting.

Next steps: staff will finalize the survey questions, schedule pop-ups with the schools if feasible, compile stakeholder interview lists, produce a draft plan for PRFC review in April, and open a public comment period for the first draft before returning to the commission with a second draft and a recommendation for council action.