Is Independence Township fulfilling the most pressing needs in parks and recreation? Research into a revised parks and recreation master plan is intended to provide the answer.
The cost, contracted to Carlisle/Wortman Associates, will be $13,320, of which $7,000 will be paid out of the current year’s budget.
The every-five-year process is a requirement for any municipality hoping to get state grants for parks programs, but township officials also see revision process as a report card of sorts.
“We’ve always looked at this as an opportunity for self-evaluation,” planner Dick Carlisle said.
Treasurer James Wenger was among those calling for an indepth analysis of goals set in the 1999 master plan.
“How did we do, since we’re toward the end of this last master plan, in reaching our priorities?” Wenger said. “If not tonight, I would like to take a look in greater detail to see where we’ve achieved, where we’ve failed and where we need to move.”
In a memo to the board, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Turk said the process will involve background studies, evaluation and plan development.
Background studies will involve existing parks and rec documents, with needed updates. Evaluation will include input from staff and township officials, but Turk and Carlisle agree there must be opportunity for public feedback.
Carlisle said he anticipates a series of workshops, both “in-house” and public. While the master plan is a requirement of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Carlisle said there is an understanding that no municipality can meet every conceivable desire for recreation facilities and programs.
“The important part is to establish the priority of the needs,” he said.
Trustee Daniel Travis said there’s another reason for a close look.
“We need this as a path to guide the largest general fund area in the township, and we have the most directly benefiting recipients of our tax monies taking advantage of parks and recreation,” Travis said. “We need this as a planning tool, and an evaluation is certainly in order.”