Consultants present draft 20-year parks master plan; recommend consolidation, turf reductions and new CIP priorities

At its April 2 meeting the Kenai Parks and Recreation Commission heard a draft 20-year parks and recreation master plan from consultant Corvvis Design.

"The purpose of the parks and rec master plan is to develop a 20-year vision that'll serve as a guiding document for decision makers in planning and maintaining and developing the city's parks, open space, and recreational facilities," consultant Chris Myrtle said during the presentation. Myrtle, the Corvvis project manager, said the plan combines public input, staff interviews and national benchmarking to create measurable recommendations.

The plan inventories municipal assets—two indoor facilities (the recreation center and multi-purpose/ice rink), roughly 20 parks and special-use areas, three sports fields, seven natural/open areas and eight trails—and benchmarks Kenai against National Recreation and Park Association metrics for communities under 20,000 residents. Using the city's population of about 7,600, consultants reported Kenai provides roughly one park per 264 people (about 31 parks) and nearly 50 parkland acres per thousand residents, figures that exceed national guidance for similarly sized communities.

Key recommendations presented include consolidating dispersed sports fields into a centralized sports complex to reduce duplicated facilities and maintenance burdens; implementing a turf-reduction strategy to lower upkeep costs; creating dedicated pickleball courts (identified as a local gap); upgrading playground surfacing to lower-maintenance materials; and prioritizing capital work at the recreation center and ice rink (locker-room and roof work, refrigeration system replacement and a feasibility study for enclosing the rink).

The implementation chapter lists priorities for the first five years that include Oldtown Park playground replacement, multi-purpose facility locker-room and roof projects, relocation of the parks shop, refrigeration work at the ice rink and development of pickleball courts and a turf-reduction plan. Consultants said the FY26–30 parks and recreation CIP totals about $6.37 million; the city’s planned contribution is roughly $2.3 million (about 36%), leaving an estimated multi-million-dollar shortfall to be addressed through grants, bonds, earned revenue or partnerships.

Myrtle also recommended establishing a local parks foundation (a 501(c)(3)) to expand grant eligibility and community fundraising and highlighted examples from other Alaska communities as templates for bylaws and fundraising plans.

Commissioners asked detailed operational questions during a lengthy Q&A. On community gardens, Myrtle said survey responses indicated lowered demand in some cases and that the existing garden has access challenges; he recommended evaluating actual demand before committing capital. On consolidation, commissioners raised practical concerns about whether an 18-acre consolidated site could handle peak-season overlaps, parking and scheduling for multiple sports and tournament weekends; consultants responded that the intent is to preserve current field counts while centralizing support infrastructure and that additional city-owned land could accommodate phased expansion.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the master plan itself at the April 2 meeting. Staff told commissioners the plan will return to the commission on May 7 for action (approval or a recommendation to city council).