Georgetown residents invited to share priorities for recreation programs, services

Sep 28, 2021

The City of Georgetown invites the community to attend one of a series of workshops in October that will help prioritize parks and recreation facilities, programs, and services as the Parks and Recreation Department plans for the future. Due to limited space, RSVPs to the workshops are requested.

The City has engaged the services of GreenPlay, a nationally renowned parks and recreation management consulting firm, to assist in developing a Cost Recovery Philosophy and Policy based on the community’s values for recreation programs and services.

The workshops involve small-group discussions to collect the community’s input on how each of the facilities, recreation programs, and services benefit the community. Participants in the workshops will examine the various programs and services provided by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and will provide input on the community benefit verses individual benefit of each program. City staff will use this input to help develop resource allocation and cost recovery options to present to City Council in early 2022.

“A cost recovery policy for parks and recreation programs and services is important to ensure we are good stewards of public funds and are allocating resources appropriately,” Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett said. “This policy will give the community an understanding of our pricing structure and how our services are categorized based on benefits to the community.”

The workshops will be held at the Parks and Recreation Administration Building, the Public Safety Operations and Training Center, and the Georgetown Public Library. Light refreshments will be available. Please RSVP at gtxparkplan.com. Space is limited to 25 participants per session.

Meeting dates and times are as follows:

6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11, in the Community Room at the Parks and Recreation Administration Building, 1101 N. College St.
8:30 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, in Training Room C at Public Safety Operations and Training Center, 3500 D.B. Wood Road
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the Hewlett Room at Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.

Parks and Recreation Master Plan development

The Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department has been working for the last several months to develop a 10-year master plan. When completed, the master plan will create a blueprint for where Georgetown Parks and Recreation can improve, how it can grow responsibly, and what programs and recreational activities the Georgetown community needs. In August, the team presented results from the mailed and open surveys, data collection from facility and park inventories, and other project analysis. More information about the master plan process is available at gtxparkplan.com.