Image Credit: City of Penticton
May 11, 2016 - 12:00 PM
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton invites the public to participate in the creation of our new Parks and Recreation Master Plan. This important document will guide planning and decision-making related to parks and recreation services for the next 10 years.
Independent consultants will be working with City staff and Council to roll out a robust engagement strategy to help shape the Master Plan. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit encourages residents to provide input to ensure the plan will reflect community interests and preferences.
“In order for Penticton to move forward with improved confidence in our planning and decision making for parks and recreation, we need to hear from all corners of our city. We need this guiding document to be the sum of community voices.”
A key event to launch this Master Plan will be a community open house on May 25, 2016, 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the Penticton Trade & Convention Centre. During this event, there will be two interactive workshops where participants will use ‘hands on’ approaches to express their priorities. The workshops will run from 5 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome and free child minding will be available.
As well, multiple more opportunities for participation include eleven focus group workshops in the coming weeks. There will also be a statistically valid telephone survey, additional online and print surveys, tourist surveys and pop-up presentation booths around town to gather more feedback.
To complement the launch of this process, the City is introducing “Shape Your City”, a new online community hub for sharing information and collecting feedback from the community. Visit shapeyourcitypenticton.ca for more information.
Taking into account all feedback over a four month process, the first draft plan will be returned to the community for feedback in early Fall. It will include information and recommendations related to municipal parks, beaches, trails, indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, recreation programs and services, and implementation. A second draft will be returned for further feedback before the end of the year. Both draft rounds include additional community open houses, surveys, and the option for online dialogue.
Council has also appointed a diverse selection of community members to a Parks and Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee to guide the process. Committee Chairperson Ron Ramsay explained.
“The Plan will establish the long term vision for parks and recreation facilities in our city. It is long overdue since the last plan was created in 1993. We need the input and participation from the citizens of Penticton in order to establish a comprehensive plan that is representative of the wishes of the people who live and play in our beautiful city.”
News from © iNFOnews, 2016