Final Parks and Recreation Plan calls for $28M Investment Over Ten Years

Plan before Parks and Recreation Commission tomorrow

Tomorrow night, The Oro Valley Parks and Recreation Commission will discuss final draft of the 2021 Parks and Recreation 10-Year Master Plan. The town has engaged in one year  process of building this plan. 

One of the final steps before council hearing

The discussion tomorrow night will be one of the final steps. The next one likely will be a discussion before town Council in a few weeks. What the council decides will be the basis for Parks and Recreation investment at least for the duration of the current council’s terms. After that, future councils will have their opportunity to opine as they see fit.

Total recommended investment spending is $39.1 million. The study estimates that three quarters of the funding will be paid by the town. The rest will come from grants and partnerships.

Investment increases annual operating cost $365,000

There will be a net increase of $365,000 annually to the Parks and Recreation operating budget annual operating budget if each of the prioritized projects is implemented. This estimate assumes that the community center will generate an added $1 million annually once improvements to the center are completed.

Study recommends seven best practices

The commission will also discuss an implementation plan that has seven major categories of “best practices“. These best practices provide guidelines for managing the implementation of the plan: for example, one of the guidelines under “financing a park system” includes “ensuring a financially sustainable park system by leveraging financially-driven decisions.” 

Other best practices in this area include “continue to seek partnerships and grants; and establishing a performance measure for the recreation system to "...recover 150% of direct costs from user fees, permits, reservations, earn income and effective partnerships.”

Plan does not include former Vistoso Golf

Note that the plan does not include the future former Vistoso Golf preserve as this property has yet to be purchased by the town. The town will modify the plan to accommodate this new facility if and when the purchase is done.

There is still time for you to opine

The town encourages residents to present their views during the process. You can do this now by attending tomorrow's meeting. The final report is available online.