The City of Thomasville will host a Parks & Recreation Master Plan Virtual Kickoff Meeting on Tuesday, January 18th at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom.com. City staff said that this meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to learn what a parks and recreation master plan is, why one is needed, and how citizens can be involved in the input process.
“During this virtual meeting, city staff will present background information on the creation of the park master plan, currents stages of the plan, and an update about the ongoing parks assessment,” said Sherri Cain, Public Outreach Manager. “The meeting will provide an excellent opportunity for our citizens to better understand the master plan while learning how they can provide much-needed input.”
According to City Planner Kenneth Thompson, the master plan allows the City to build on the success of the Parks Improvement Initiative. “In order to move forward with this initiative in an efficient manner, it is necessary that we better understand the current usage of our existing parks, the needs and desires of our community, and the allocation of funding needed to implement potential park improvements system-wide,” said Thompson. “This process will allow us to establish a shared, transparent, and clearly defined vision for the City’s parks and recreation system that is driven by community input.”
The City of Thomasville recently hired the consulting company, Brandstetter Carroll Inc., to conduct a comprehensive Parks Assessment that will assist with the creation of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. “This highly detailed assessment began in the fall of 2021 and will require nearly a year to complete,” said Thompson. “A critical element of the assessment is the public input online survey about our parks and recreation systems. This survey will help us gather community input on the existing park systems and help establish a needs assessment.” The community is encouraged to visit PublicInput.com/tprmp to participate in the online survey.
“A variety of engagement methods are necessary in order to properly gather public input for the master plan,” said Cain. “Public meetings, focus groups, online and in-person surveys are critical to the overall success of the plan. We encourage the public to join us at the upcoming Parks & Recreation Master Plan Virtual Kickoff Meeting and to participate in the park assessment survey.” Citizens can participate in the virtual Zoom meeting by going to Zoom.com and using the Meeting ID: 879 4469 6882 and Passcode: 549814 or CLICK HERE.
For more information about the virtual kickoff meeting or the City’s Park Master Plan, please visit www.thomasville.org. or contact Sherri Cain at 229-227-4154.
