County seeks public input on vision for parks plan

The Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department is moving forward after receiving approval Feb. 11 for its master plan consulting contract.

The county approved the $299,800 contract with Toole Design Group, which will analyze the county’s current parks and assess what areas need additional services, such as ball fields or green space.

The analysis for the master plan will take about 18 months to complete, but Carolyn Brown, director of the department, wants to collect public input now while season is in full swing.

Brown wants to conduct a survey to get the community’s general opinions on what should be a priority and what individuals want out of the county park experience. 

Brown suggested multiple formats for the survey at the Parks Advisory and Recreation Council meeting March 5, such as mail-outs, an online survey and a possible phone survey. The master plan will also be getting its own page on the county’s website, which will include upcoming meetings, announcements and documents. 

Brown hopes to start the surveys in April.

Joan Piper, council member, said the county needed to keep in mind that parks need to be more than benches.

“People want parks to be an active place,” Piper said. “Hiking trails, water launches — it’s not just people who want to sit on a bench with their dog.”

At the Monday night Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations meeting, Jono Miller expressed concern about the impending study and ultimate master plan. Miller has served on the county’s Environmental Policy Task Force, the Parks Advisory and Recreation Council and the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee.

Miller gave a presentation to CONA about the history of conservation efforts in Florida and some of the successes Sarasota County has achieved — and some of the challenges it has faced.

Miller attended some of the county’s initial meetings with Toole. He said the firm had a large list of issues to address, and Miller questions whether the county has enough funding to accomplish projects. 

“It seems cruel to embark on a process to identify the county’s needs if the projects won’t get funded,” Miller said. “It seems like a potential train wreck.”

Brown said that the analysis completed by Toole will identify the county’s needs, and then it can prioritize, estimate costs and determine funding strategies to pay for new projects. For the 2015 fiscal year, the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department operates on $24.5 million.