Council to Review Parks and Rec Master Plan December 17

At the Council’s upcoming meeting on Tuesday, December 17th, the Council will consider for approval a proposed Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

The Council set the Parks and Recreation Master plan as a priority nearly three years ago when it funded the hiring of a consultant to work with the Parks and Recreation Department  and the Provo community to prepare the proposed plan. The proposed plan has a 20 year horizon, and will establish vision and policy guidance for the city through 2030.

Key Community Input Mandates Guided the Plan’s Vision

The proposed master plan used responses generated from a statistically valid survey to act as guideposts for the creation and direction of goal setting and vision for the future. The Council heard a summary of these responses during a presentation offered on December 3 which outlined three  “Key Community Input Mandates” as results from the survey.

• Maintain what we have
• Improve what we have
• Develop new opportunities

Goals and Recommendations:

To realize the objectives outlined in the “Key Community Input Mandates”, the master plan focuses on the following goals for the Parks and Recreation Department:

• Incorporate elements of Downtown Master Plan
• Increase public access to natural amenities
• Increase Parks and Recreation department efficiency
• Enhance program offerings
• Develop funding sources and strategies
• Acquire property for open space preservation
• Conduct feasibility study for:
• Expansion of facilities at Covey Center
• Relocation of East Bay Golf Course

Visionary Projects

The proposed master plan also details several potential forward looking projects to expand recreational opportunities in Provo. Here’s a list of those visionary projects:

• Development of a Whitewater Trail along Provo River
• Development of a Provo Beach Park
• Develop Provo Outdoor Adventure Park
• Develop a Botanical Garden or Arboretum and Outdoor Concert Facility

A discussion of funding strategies

The master plan also offers some tentative possible funding sources for Provo Parks and Recreation, again based on the three “Key Community Input Mandates” described above. 

A summarized, non-exhaustive list of the plan’s proposed funding sources include: 

• General Obligation Bond

• Park Impact Fees
• Tax Allocation or Tax Increment District
• Cash-in-Lieu of Open Space Requirement
• A variety of other fees and taxes based on use, permits, consumption and so forth

The Presentation also noted potential “Private  Funding Sources”

• Business/Citizen Donations
• Private Foundation Funds
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Foundation or Friends Organization
• Greenway Foundation

The following chart describes the cost of maintaining Provo’s current Parks and Recreation resources, as compared with the other cities of similar size and demographic makeup.

Contact Us

Please share with us your thoughts, ideas, concerns and priorities for the master plan by either leaving a comment on this article, reaching us at our Facebook page, Tweeting @provocouncil, or contacting your Council Member directly here. We’re also on Google +.

The slide presentation summarizing key elements of the proposed plan from Council’s December 3 meetings may be found here.

For more information about the presentation offered on December 3, see this story from the Daily Herald.