Post updated at 1:53 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14:
Lawrence Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members opted to postpone their vote on a new comprehensive plan after suggesting some revisions and realizing that members of another board had not yet reviewed the draft.
The city has been working with consultants on the Parks, Recreation and Culture 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan since May 2023. A steering committee has been working on the plan, and city staff members brought a presentation to the Parks and Rec board on Monday evening.
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission was planning to take a vote on the plan during a special meeting Monday, but member Tim Metz said those board members had not received the draft and therefore had not seen what city staff members were asking them to vote on. Staff later clarified that Parks, Recreation and Culture Director Luis Ruiz had emailed the plan to the board members, but some of them did not receive it.
The draft plan was not included in either meeting’s agenda.
Draft plans are not necessarily subject to the Kansas Open Records Act unless they are “publicly cited or identified in an open meeting or in an agenda of an open meeting.” The draft was not included in the meeting agenda, but we requested the document at the conclusion of the meeting.
Some advisory board members had questions regarding accessibility, costs, equitable access and more. Board member Marilyn Hull said she didn’t see any references to public health in the plan.
“Parks and Rec is arguably the most powerful public health tool in this community, and I’m just wondering why that isn’t even mentioned,” Hull said. Consultants said that was not part of the original scope of the plan, but they can look into adding in some language about that.
The board recommended some tweaks, and the plan will come back to the board with revisions during their February meeting. The advisory board will then consider whether to recommend that the Lawrence City Commission approve the plan.
The Cultural Arts Commission might be able to vote on whether to recommend approval of the plan during its annual retreat, or it may have to set another special meeting.
The Parks and Rec advisory board generally meets on the second Mondays of each month. Find links to their agendas and more information at this link.
Update, 1:53 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14:
The draft plan has been uploaded to the city’s website and is available via this link.
The 201-page PDF may be a bit slow to load. There is a 7-page executive summary available at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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