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- Nephi City Recreation Facility Master Plan is ready for public comment, August 25th
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
It is time for the public to view and comment on the draft of the Nephi City Recreation Facility Master Plan.
The city will be holding the open house to solicit comment on the draft recreation facility master plan.
That hearing has been set for Thursday, August 25, from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the senior citizen center in the basement of the Juab County Building.
"The draft Nephi City Recreation Facility Master Plan is currently being developed," said Randy McKnight, city administrator.
The consulting firm, JUB Engineers, Inc., Orem, has been working with the city to develop the recreation plan.
McKnight said that all utility bills sent out the first of August held a notice of the public meeting.
Recreation is important in promoting quality of life; enabling participants to become involved and feel part of the community; and in bridging the gap between just living in or participating in the community.
It allows people to contribute their skills and feel a sense of belonging and accomplishment and promotes friendships through shared experiences.
"There will be an opportunity at the meeting for residents to provide feedback on this draft plan," said McKnight.
The format will be similar to the scoping meeting held in May where residents were asked to identify and rate recreation needs.
The recreation facilities master plan will serve as a blueprint for future recreation decisions. The plan will be finalized and adopted by city council and will be the guide for the city for the future.
"The draft plan was created using feedback from the public gathered at the scoping meeting held in May as well as from the recreation surveys completed by the public between May 19 and June 20," he said.
Recreation is about activities, pastimes, and experiences which are freely chosen and are opportunities to express creativity, achieve and master new things and feel good about doing so. In addition, community-based recreation offers an opportunity to meet people while enjoying a range of social, cultural or physical activities.
Those who are interested in adding to the municipal swimming pool, those who would like walking and biking trails, those who would like more parks and playgrounds, those who think there should be more ballparks or multipurpose playing fields, those who think there should be a recreation center for basketball and indoor sports and those who think the golf course should be expanded should all plan to attend the meeting to provide input for the recreation facilities master plan.
"One important note," he said, "is that the meeting will be conducted in an open house format and no formal presentation will be held."
Council members will receive a draft plan to consider before the open house, said McKnight.
Following the open house, he said, council members, planning commission board members and consultants working on the project will meet to discuss the draft in light of the comments received from the public.
"In 1995, the city prepared and adopted a recreation master plan," said McKnight. "The plan has been the basis of the city's recreation developments."
Surveys were used to accumulate resident comments beginning in 1994. Other surveys followed in 1995, 2008 and 2011.
There will be components at the open house where residents may offer comments on various aspects of the recreation facility plan, he said.
The plan is being designed to provide a long term strategy for managing the city's recreation resources in a cost effective manner that is responsive to both the current and future needs of the community as identified by its residents.
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