Patrons pack park plan meeting
Community surveys still open for citizens to guide future of Kokomo’s parks
This article is brought to you by the Kokomo Family YMCA. Basketball Camp starts MONDAY! In any other state it is just basketball - In Indiana it is our passion. Your child can find that passion and learn the fundamentals at our summer basketball camp. They'll also make friends and learn how to be a great teammate! Camp starts on August 7th and is for ages 7-12. For more information or to register your child, click here: https://operations.daxko.com/Online/5014/ProgramsV2/Home.mvc
Maybe it was the promise of a free ticket to a Kokomo Jackrabbits game. Maybe it was pickleball. Or, maybe Kokomo really cares about its parks system. One or more of these things drew nearly 100 residents to Kokomo Municipal Stadium on July 31 to take part in a public input session on a five-year development plan for the Parks and Recreation Department.
It was a turn-out that surprised planning consultants HWC Engineering as well as the city administration.
"It's incredible," said consultant Rebecca Mahoney. "I have done a lot of parks plans, and I have never seen any number come close to that. So, it's really amazing. It's been really exciting to work on this project."
“You can't beat the number of responses that we've gotten from the public today, and the survey responses,” added Parks and Recreation Superintendent Torrey Roe. “It's record breaking, and it truly speaks to what the parks mean to our community.”
The five-year master plan is vital to the parks department’s success. As Mahoney explained, it serves as a framework for future action, giving guidance to the development process. And there were plenty of people who wanted to provide input. Those who attended the meeting were asked to write comments on post-it notes and place them on boards provided. It took just minutes for the participants to cover the boards.
“This is more than we had anticipated,” said Mayor Tyler Moore of the participation. “This is great. Whether it's the interest in the parks or primarily pickleball, because Pickleball is hot these days, or people wanting to come to a Jackrabbits game, this is wonderful. It’s what you hope to have at a public meeting.
“I'm anxious to hear not only about the comments on the posts, but I want to dig into the surveys as well, especially from the teens.”
Mahoney explained that the consultants are collecting information, including an inventory of park assets and a public survey indicating how the parks are used. The public surveys, first launched in April, asked adults and teens how they currently use the city's parks and what amenities they would like to see added or improved. The surveys, available online, remain open until Aug. 11.
"The teen survey is special to Kokomo," said Mahoney. "We don't always do teen survey with our parks plans, but it was something that the Parks and Recreation Department was wanting to understand better."
The teen survey includes 14 questions, and as of July 31, 171 teens had responded. The survey for adults includes 22 questions, and 1,487 responses had been received. Coupled with the meeting feedback, Mahoney believes the consultants will have plenty of information to help guide the process.
"This first meeting is really about giving you an opportunity to discuss what you love about Kokomo Parks and Recreation and to provide feedback about what you love," said Mahoney. "What are the issues? What do you want to see in the future?
"At the next meeting, we'll go over that, and we'll present the results of the survey, data collection, research and analysis, and the draft goals and recommendations to open up for comment. We'll look at demographic information. We'll look at natural resources, man-made resources, your transportation system, your trails, your sidewalk systems. We'll also look at your current system. How many parks do you have? How many miles of trails do you have? How many playgrounds do you have? How many pickleball courts? How many tennis courts and basketball courts?"
The second phase of plan development involves examining state and national trends in recreation to create a baseline from which Kokomo can be compared. With that information and the survey results in hand, the consultant will present recommendations to the parks department.
Roe was especially thankful for the public participation, which far outstripped previous attempts to establish a five-year plan.
“This is the third time I've been through the process, and the numbers have previously been a much smaller percentage,” said Roe. “With past public survey results, we would get anywhere between 100 to 125. We've certainly exceeded that with this master plan.”
It is not too late to give input on the future of Kokomo’s parks. The adult and teen surveys are still open through Aug. 11. To take part in the survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KokomoParksandRecreation2023PublicSurvey for adults and https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KokomoParksandRecreation2023TeenSurvey for teens.