Parks starts gathering input for master plan | Derby News
Derby parks were feeling the love last week, as the parks department and PROS Consulting held a kickoff event Feb. 15 (at Derby’s Madison Avenue Central Park) to launch the community engagement portion in forming the new Parks Master Plan.
The crowd on hand was not shy in giving input, either, which is exactly what PROS representatives said they are looking for throughout the planning process.
PROS assisted Derby with its previous master plan and President Leon Younger commended the community’s reputation as a “can-do city.” Considering that, Younger said his company is looking forward to engaging the community once again to form a plan that will be embraced in Derby.
“We have a great team of people that are here to help you really kind of create the vision for the next 10 or 15 years, whatever it ends up being,” Younger said. “We’re all here to do our best job for you.”
“Essentially what we’re doing is building a level of service and financial preparedness around being able to not just have a great plan, but to be able to implement a great plan – something that is dynamic,” said PROS Principal Brian Trusty.
At the onset, both Younger and Trusty noted there will be plenty of opportunities for community engagement. The kickoff event was the start of a nine-month process, Trusty noted, with PROS looking to gain insight for the master plan through public forums, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, a community survey and more.
That goal for PROS is to understand exactly what the Derby community is looking for in the parks system.
Among the frontrunners for parks features at the kickoff event were pickleball courts and baseball/softball fields, along with some other favorites.
“Obviously this is your park system, so this is your plan,” Trusty said. “The input that we receive from you is really the heart of this process, so there’s a number of ways through which we are trying to make sure that we collect input and engagement from the community throughout the process.”
“This is the very beginning of this entire process and so we really want to try and engage people at every possible moment in time,” said Director of Parks Steve White.
City staff have noted one of their goals is to reinvest in neighborhood parks. Some of the crowd on hand agreed, while also suggesting a number of other additions to PROS Consulting at the kickoff event. Among the features suggested were a BMX track, additional disc golf course, more connected trails (with the advent of e-bikes), easily accessible parks, year-round restroom facilities, etc. – wanting Derby to stay on the “cutting edge.”
PROS also had a number of its own ideas for attendees to vote on regarding new design ideas for the Derby parks. The top vote-getters at the kickoff event were (in no particular order) pickleball courts, softball/baseball fields, trails and a natural water feature. Attendees could also vote on features they did not want, with hammocks, way finding and interactive panels among the least popular.
More opportunity for input remains, as Trusty noted PROS and parks staff will not start review for the final master plan until September. Along with more public events, Derby residents also have the opportunity to provide input at derbyparksplan.com and see updates throughout the Parks Master Plan process.
A natural water feature (like the one shown) was another design idea members of the public noted they would like to see added to the parks system.
Kelly Breckunitch is the managing editor for the Derby Informer. Contact him at [email protected] for questions and news tips.
