- May 3, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
The Palm Coast City Council is looking to develop a comprehensive plan for the city's parks and recreation.
In its last meeting of the year on Tuesday Dec. 13, the City Council combined the year's last workshop and business meetings, where they reviewed and approved a service agreement to develop a master plan for Parks and Recreation. The service agreement will be with the consulting firm BerryDunn, and was approved in a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Nick Klufas absent from the dais.
Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Brittany McDermott presented the agreement to the council. McDermott said during the presentation that the end goal is develop a five-year plan for growth.
"I'm very pleased to see that the county and the city are partnering on this initiative," Councilwoman Cathy Heighter said. "I do believe that it will be a great thing for the community and the people that live in the city of Palm Coast."
The master plan is one of Palm Coast's new commitments for the 2023 fiscal year, and is a combined endeavor between the city and Flagler County. BerryDunn will essentially audit the county and city's current parks and recreational services and resources and then use that to develop a master plan to grow both participants' parks and recreational services, according to meeting documents.
Part of their services is also to search out funding sources for projects, including grants, as well as conduct a cost-benefit analysis, McDermott said.
The service will cost in total $189,920, to be split between Flagler County and the city of Palm Coast, with the city paying $100,000 for the consultation study, McDermott said.
The county and city entered into an inter-local agreement for the initiative and organized a committee to manage it. The committee, McDermott said, is named "POP," or "Plan Out Play," and features three representatives from Palm Coast and two from the county.
BerryDunn was chosen, McDermott said, in part because the consulting company has a lot of experience working with governments and parks and recreation departments. The company has conducted similar surveys in Martin County, West Palm Beach and Parkland, Florida.
The survey will identify what parks and recreation needs are missing from the community and help prioritize projects for the communities to build out. According to meeting documents, it has five steps, one of which requires public involvement and comment.
That, McDermott said, will take place mainly through needs-assessment questionairres, both mailed out and online.
"We'll ensure that there's a robust campaign that goes out as we're going through this process to make sure we're communicating to the public every step of the way," McDermott said.
BerryDun and the POP committee have agreed to an accelerated timeline to finish the survey by June 2023.
Denise Calderwood of Palm Coast, who ran for the county commissioner this last election cycle, expressed her concerns that the survey and comprehensive plan would not amount to any growth once it's completed.
"Palm Coast's over the years has had beautiful plans," Calderwood said. "But when it comes to actually implementing those plans once they're written they have not been accomplished."
