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Consultants lay out Belgrade parks master-plan open house and engagement exercise
Summary
Consultants for the Belgrade Regional Parks, Trails and Recreation District described an open-house format and the outreach that informed the master plan, citing more than 420 survey responses and 700-plus data points; the open house is set for Thursday the 14th at 6 p.m. at the Belgrade Community Library.
Charles Trowell, a consultant with Cushing Terrell, told the Belgrade Parks, Trails and Recreation District board that the project team will present preliminary public-input results and solicit priorities at an open house next Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Belgrade Community Library.
Trowell said the master-plan team has run biweekly steering-committee meetings, focus groups and an online engagement program. "Over 420 survey responses" and "750 plus data points" have been collected and summarized in an engagement document that will be shown to attendees, he said.
The open house will use four stations to help residents understand the plan and prioritize investments. At the introduction station attendees will sign in and receive five bills of mock currency to spend on projects; other stations include a parks inventory and level-of-service comparison, a connections board to discuss trail and path priorities, and a programming board showing common program areas such as sports, fitness, arts and community events.
Trowell said the park-station materials compare district facilities to National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) benchmarks so residents can see where the district stands relative to national averages. He emphasized that the boards are draft and content may be refined before the public event.
Board members welcomed the inclusion of transportation planning in the displays. The consultant said his team is coordinating with the transportation master-plan team to include relevant bike-and-ped draft recommendations for context but will not depict final trail alignments at the open house.
The board was asked to consider a December work session to review a draft plan, with the goal of adoption at the Parks Board meeting on Jan. 9, 2025. After adoption the staff plans informal briefings with the county commission and city council to explain recommendations and financial implications.
The public open house is intended to collect prioritized preferences the consultant will use to shape final recommendations and the draft plan.
