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Washington County accepts 10-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan
Summary
After a consultant presentation and questions from supervisors, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to accept a 10-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan that recommends forming a county recreation department, adding three full-time positions over four years and prioritizing capital and ADA work in underserved areas.
James Mickle, the consultant who led Washington County’s parks and recreation study, on Tuesday urged the Board of Supervisors to use a new 10-year master plan to address deferred maintenance, gaps in access and program shortfalls.
Mickle told the board the study included “14 plus leadership interviews,” listening sessions, a community-survey effort that drew 236 responses and 282 interactions on an online mapping tool, and that those inputs informed recommendations on staffing, capital projects and partnerships.
The plan groups recommendations into three strategic areas: operational effectiveness, memorable recreation experiences and inviting park spaces. It recommends forming a county Parks and Recreation Department and adding three full-time positions over the next four years, including a parks and recreation director and a program specialist to support youth, active-adult and special-project programming. Mickle also recommended a playground-replacement schedule, an ADA transition plan and targeted capital investment in the county’s North region, citing the Harris Gap area as underserved.
“We put out a community needs survey … and other aspects where we had 236 respondents,” Mickle said, summarizing the outreach that shaped priorities. He also advised hiring recreation professionals with grant-writing experience and offered continued consultant support for recruitment and implementation.
Board members pressed staff on scope and cost. One supervisor asked whether state- or federally owned assets such as Hidden Valley Lake and the Creeper Trail had been included; staff and the consultant said those assets were inventory items in the report but are not county-owned and would be treated through partnerships. Supervisors discussed whether the new function should focus on recreation programs (summer camps, after-school activities and active-adult services) or on outdoor-asset management and agreed the plan anticipates a mix of direct county services and partnerships with towns, the Park Authority and regional attractions.
The plan also calls out grant opportunities and marketing strategies meant to capture tourism revenue; during discussion a supervisor noted that visitors who come for outdoor recreation can generate local meals, lodging and sales tax revenue that helps offset property-tax pressure.
After questions and discussion, a supervisor moved to accept the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as the county’s guiding document; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously, 7-0. The board directed staff to work with the Washington County Park Authority and include plan priorities in upcoming budget cycles.
The board accepted the plan as a county document to inform future budgets and decisions; acceptance does not obligate the county to immediate capital spending beyond what future budgets authorize.
