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Franklin Township forms steering committee, outlines public outreach to update Open Space and Recreation Plan
Summary
Franklin Township’s Open Space Advisory Committee agreed to form a steering committee led by staff and the township planner and to hold public outreach including a kickoff meeting and surveys or focus groups to update the Open Space and Recreation Plan.
Franklin Township’s Open Space Advisory Committee on Feb. 17 said it will form a steering committee and launch public outreach to guide an update of the township’s Open Space and Recreation Plan.
The committee named staff and township planner Mark Healey as co-leads on the work and proposed a steering committee with representation from the planning board, historic commission, trails group, recreation advisory and two members of the open space advisory committee. "Mark and I have already laid the methodology out," the committee chair said, describing a staff-led approach with periodic oversight from the steering group.
Committee members said state program rules require a public outreach meeting to start the process and a second public presentation at the end of the project to explain the final plan. The chair said the team will weigh outreach tools including surveys, demographic focus groups and targeted outreach to high school students, and will decide the mix at upcoming meetings.
Why it matters: The update will replace older and partially completed plans (pathways and trails, community energy plan, micro-mobility study, and a local health assessment) with a consolidated plan that can be adopted into the master plan and satisfy Green Acres requirements for open-space projects.
What was decided and next steps: staff will convene a steering committee, the committee kept the plan as a recurring agenda item for monthly updates, and members were asked to identify two open-space advisory committee members to serve on the steering group. The committee also directed staff to schedule an initial public outreach meeting and to return with an outreach plan for discussion.
The committee indicated the steering committee will provide oversight rather than do the heavy-lift work; engineering, design and any grant-specific deliverables will be handled by staff and consultants as needed. The committee said it expects the process to involve relatively few meetings but to include substantive public input before a formal adoption hearing.
