Residents invited to give input on PenMet Parks’ Comprehensive Plan

Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District officials are in the midst of updating the district’s Comprehensive Plan and want input from area residents.

The district will host a community meeting at 6 p.m. May 24 in the Volunteer Vern Pavilion at Sehmel Homestead Park, 10123 78th Ave NW. Residents of all ages are invited to attend and voice their opinions and ideas for the future direction of Pen Met Parks’ parks, trails and recreation programs.

The district Comprehensive Plan will guide the district’s efforts and establish a path forward for providing high quality, community-driven parks, trails, natural areas and recreation amenities across the district. The new plan will reflect community interests and establish long-term goals and priorities for land acquisition, facility development, recreation programming and parks management.

This is the second of three public meetings being held as part of the public planning process. The meeting will give community members an opportunity to learn more about the planning process, review findings from recent focus group discussions, and offer ideas and opinions about priorities for the district’s parks and recreation system. This input will play an important role in developing the plan update.

“Public input is essential in developing a plan that is a roadmap for providing high-quality, community-driven parks, trails, open space and recreation programs across the Peninsula over the next 6-10 years,” Terry Lee, executive director of PenMet Parks, said in a release.

To reach out to more residents, PenMet Parks also launched a social media tool called mySidewalk as part of the project, which can be access via the district’s website and Facebook page. With mySidewalk, the project team will post questions to the community, and participants can submit answers and comments or bring up their own ideas. Also, the questions will change frequently.

Also, a community survey is available. PenMet Parks is encouraging the local community to complete a short survey about recreational needs on the Peninsula. The survey consists of 16 questions focused on satisfaction, preferred activities and needed improvements for parks, trails and recreation programs. Visit penmetparks.org to take the survey.

For those with questions or comments about the District Comprehensive Plan or the community meeting at Sehmel Homestead Park, contact Eric Guenther at 253-858-3400 (ext. 1222) or e-mail eguenther@penmetparks.org.

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Residents invited to give input on PenMet Parks’ Comprehensive Plan."