Parks and recreation provide many benefits to a community and its citizens.  These include benefits to the health, economy, environment, and overall quality of life of your community.  To capitalize on this, a community may choose to arm themselves with a comprehensive strategy to achieve particular goals from their park and recreations system.  These plans can focus on many different topics within this arena.  With of help of North Central Council’s professional planners, your community can plan for park development/redevelopment, the acquisition of new park land, and/or the preservation of local natural resources.          

To begin the process, planners from North Central Council will attend preliminary project informational meetings and submit a detailed project proposal upon request.  If approved, project costs can be spread over the course of several fiscal years to accommodate tight budgets.  Our planners will coordinate with the identified working group (applicable committee, commission, or otherwise appointed group) at regularly scheduled meetings for a flexible time period, until the plan is complete.  The identified working group is responsible for providing all pertinent and necessary information, to the Council throughout the project.  Council staff will also conduct key person interviews, community visioning events, and other public input meetings to ensure a broad swath of the community is represented in the plan.  North Central Council can supplement the plan with graphical GIS (Geographic Information System) maps, research data, and technical information as agreed upon in the detailed proposal.  Upon completion, North Central Council will present the plan to your Board or Council for approval and adoption. 

Some of the park and recreational planning opportunities provided by the Council include:

·         Greenways and Trails Planning: These plans focus on the development of linear parks/transit networks that connect open-spaces together by providing unimpeded travel and recreational opportunities.

   ·    Park Development/Redevelopment Planning: These plans can be either community-wide master plans or site specific plans, focusing on amenities at those locations.  

·       Park Acquisition Planning:  Staff will assess current recreational opportunities and exploration of community needs, with a focus on specific sites for future acquisition and development.