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Council approves contract to update Parks and Recreation master plan to preserve grant eligibility
Summary
Newton City Council approved a contract to update the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (last updated 2016). Staff said an updated plan keeps the city eligible for state funding and will assess facilities, community needs, and trends across seven health dimensions.
The Newton City Council on July 15 authorized a contract to update the citys Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was last prepared in May 2016. Parks and Recreation Director Sandra Waters told the council that state funding and grant programs typically require plan updates every seven to ten years.
Waters said the updated master plan will assess current parks and facilities, identify needs and preferences of users and non-users, evaluate trends and standards at multiple levels, and create actionable recommendations addressing seven dimensions of health: physical, environmental, social, intellectual, spiritual/cultural, occupational/economic, and emotional.
Council Member Jon McClure asked whether staff could complete the update internally; Mayor Jerry Hodge and Parks Director Waters said a third-party perspective is valuable and Mayor Pro Tem John Stiver noted that doing the update in-house could jeopardize eligibility for certain grant sources. Council Member Ed Sain identified Startown as the most underserved area for parks.
The council approved the contract to proceed with the master plan update.
