2019 Comprehensive Master Plan

Plan to Play is the Oswegoland Park District’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which was adopted at the August 2019 Board meeting. Feedback for this plan was acquired through a variety of resident input channels including:

Statistically valid survey
Community open houses
25+ stakeholder group interviews
Benchmarking service analysis
Staff & Board workshops

This plan blends the analysis of parks and facilities with what we heard you say are your current and future needs for Parks and Recreation. The outcome of this effort will guide the District’s future growth and development while addressing the unique needs of our community.

This plan is a dynamic, living document that will allow the District to remain nimble in the face of change, and provides a complement to the District’s Strategic Plan, Purpose, and Values. While the Plan contains multiple recommendations in each of the seven themes, significant follow-up work will be required for various projects including additional research to determine the feasibility of the project at that time. Just because a project is mentioned in the Implement section, does not necessarily mean it will be completed.

Background

In summer of 2018, the Oswegoland Park District began developing a comprehensive master plan to establish a clear set of goals, policies, and standards for all of the Park District facilities, open space, and programs. The comprehensive master plan would provide a framework for investment in the park system over the next five to ten years.

The Park District engaged a team of consultants, led by The Lakota Group, who utilized their expertise to integrate community input, the knowledge & experience of the Park District staff, and the consultant resources & expertise to provide a comprehensive plan.

The project team included:

The Lakota Group: Project manager with experience in comprehensive planning, master planning community engagement, landscape architecture, and implementation strategies.
ETC Institute: For the design and administration of the statistically-valid community survey.
Gewalt Hamilton Associates: Providing comprehensive services in the fields of Civil Engineering, Land Surveying, and Construction Engineering.
Heller & Heller Consulting: Providing strategic planning services, recreation program assessments, operational assessments, and organization culture/change management services.
Dewberry Architects: Providing a full complement of services in architecture and interior design.

Planning Process

The planning process was organized into four phases: Analyze, Engage, Envision, and Implement.

ANALYZE

During this first phase, the team developed a comprehensive analysis of the Oswegoland community recreational offerings by working closely with Park District staff. This phase occurred concurrently with the Engage Phase and included a collection and assimilation of Park District information, including an inventory of parks, open space, recreation facilities, and program offerings.

ENGAGE

Community engagement is the foundation of a Comprehensive Plan. Throughout this phase, the team actively engaged the community in information gathering, idea and strategy generation, and action planning. While this second phase of the planning process was primarily focused on initiating the community engagement conversations, the team continued to involve the community throughout the entire planning process.

ENVISION

During the third phase of the planning process, the team created a shared long-term vision for the Park District based on the analysis completed in the previous project phases. The team also developed alternative strategies for recreation programming; existing parks and open spaces; new parks, recreation facilities, and open spaces; and area trail corridors.

IMPLEMENT

In this final phase, the team focused on outlining strategies into a long-term Vision. Recommendations for near and midterm capital and operational strategies were refined and spelled out in a clear and concise Four-Year Priority Action Plan. The Plan details schematic costs, priority level, and includes a concise action strategy for each project with dates, actions needed, funding strategies, and responsible parties.