Putnam Parks And Rec First Master Plan In Works

The Putnam County Parks and Recreation Department is in the preliminary stages of developing its first master plan.

Director John Ross Albertson said the department has contacted all its stakeholders for discussion on future facility needs.

“We are wanting to do is to focus really on all of the different facilities we have,” Albertson said. “All the way down to the different community centers, and all their athletic fields, parks and playgrounds. We hope to be able to improve all these facilities over the next however many years.”

Albertson said he will meet with each youth sports board for their comments. Then, the department will review all the considerations and decide on the direction of the plan. Albertson said surveys will be available in the future for public comment, as well.

“Then, mesh our ideas internally from our department with theirs,” Albertson said. “Then hopefully from that point, we will form some different surveys for all the users of that facility can be able to fill out a survey to help us prioritize.”

Albertson said the process to create the plan will be lengthy but ultimately, save time and money. Albertson said having a master plan will open more options for grant funding on projects.

“This will actually help tremendously with grant applications, because, of course, that is one of the major things grantees like to see is to be able to see you have a master plan,” Albertson said. “That you are being able to work on it. That this is one of the things in the master plan that you can check off.”

The department has no timetable for when the plan will be complete.