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Parks commissioners say they missed input opportunity on town comprehensive plan
Summary
Commissioners raised concerns that Parks & Recreation staff and commissioners did not attend advertised comprehensive-plan engagement sessions; staff says the plan was funded through ARPA and managed by West & Sampson and is now awaiting state approval.
During the Parks & Recreation Commission’s September meeting, commissioners expressed frustration that they had little involvement in the town’s comprehensive-plan update process. Scott, reading an email from the town administrator, said the update was a priority after the plan went two decades without revision and that the town used ARPA funds and retained West & Sampson to manage the project.
The plan included multiple public engagements (high school meetings, senior-center sessions and online surveys) advertised via local news and town channels, Scott said, and the final draft has been submitted to the state for approval. Commissioners said the parks and recreation office — which supervises athletic fields and community spaces — had not sent representatives to the public sessions and asked how the commission’s needs (fields, recreation programming and open-space priorities) were considered.
Scott said he would review the final approved draft once the state signs off and follow up with the administrator, but the transcript does not record any immediate change to the approval or a directive to reopen public engagement. The discussion leaves unresolved whether the commission’s operational concerns will be incorporated before the plan becomes final.
