Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan

PROS Plan – Final Steps to Completion

We’re almost there! As we look toward the end of 2021, the completion of the PROS Plan project is taking shape. Here are the next and final steps in the process:

• December 2, 2021: Parks Commission Meeting for full Plan review and to review the draft hand-off memo to the City Council
• January 6, 2022: Parks Commission Meeting for final Plan review and to finalize hand-off memo
• January 18, 2022: Hand-off to City Council
• February 2022: City Council Review/Discussion
• March 2022: PROS Plan Adoption

Keep following along here as we begin to wrap up this exciting project!

At the November 4 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting, the PROS Plan project team presented an overview of the of the proposed 2023-2028 Parks Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). In the days following the meeting, staff updated the presentation to include a handful of minor corrections, updated images, and additional context on the PROS Plan.

We’re sharing this updated version of the presentation to provide information on the many projects identified in the proposed 2023-2028 Parks CIP. View the presentation here and the accompanying spreadsheets here.

The Parks and Recreation Commission will continue their review of the PROS Plan and is anticipating handing off a recommendation to the City Council in January 2022. As the project nears the finish, we welcome your continued feedback and suggestions!

At the November 4, 2021 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting, Commissioners and the PROS Plan project team finalized amendments to the draft Goals & Objectives chapter, and discussed the draft Capital Improvement Plan for the years 2023-2028.

Agenda materials can be found here. Presented materials from the meeting are located in the document library on the right side of this page, and the video is here.

We're in the home stretch!

The results are in! The PROS Plan project team is pleased to the share the results of the second PROS Plan community survey.

Conducted between August 23 and September 17, 2021, the survey was mailed to a random sample of 2,500 households within the boundaries of the City of Mercer Island and available to all members of the public online. In total, 1,329 survey responses were recorded- a great turnout!

Highlights from the survey include a high level of satisfaction with Parks & Recreation on Mercer Island, a strong interest in trails and open space, and a desire to upgrade and fully utilize our beaches and waterfront spaces.

Check out the full report here, and join us at the October 14, 2021 Parks & Recreation Commission Special Meeting to hear more.

The Parks & Recreation Commission will hold a special meeting on October 14 at 5:30pm to focus on the next steps in the PROS Plan. The project team will present a summary of the results of the second PROS community survey, and we'll kick off discussion of the six-year Capital Improvement Plan, a crucial component of the Plan.

Meeting materials are available here, including the link to join us on Zoom. We hope you'll follow along as this project approaches the finish line!

Update: This special meeting is available to view on the City's YouTube page here.

The City of Mercer Island is hosting a second Virtual Open House to gather more input on the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan.

We heard from the last public meeting about the importance of taking care of and upgrading existing parks, including playgrounds and docks, and we want to explore these and other topics at our second PROS Plan public meeting. Also up for discussion are strategies to balance new park uses while also protecting important greenspace. This virtual public meeting will be on Tuesday, September 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Zoom. The meeting will begin with a presentation followed by a series of polling questions and a small group discussion.

In order to organize breakout groups ahead of time to facilitate good discussion, folks may register for the meeting here.

We hope to see you there!

Update: Thank you for joining us at the second Virtual Open House! You can check out the presentation here. We'll include a summary of the meeting in the Document Library in the coming weeks.

At the September 9, 2021, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, the Commission will continue work on the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan update. The discussion topics will include:

• Reviewing and providing initial feedback on the draft of Chapter 4 - Goals & Objectives.
• Receiving the draft Capital Facilities Plan with projects ranked according to the Project Prioritization Criteria and a discussion of next steps.
• Reviewing and confirming the areas of focus for the September 28 Virtual Public Meeting.

This is the initial look at the draft of Chapter 4 and the draft Capital Facilities Plan. We share both drafts with the understanding that they have been prepared prior to receiving the results of the second community survey and prior to hosting the second virtual public meeting (coming up on September 28). With support from the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Arts Council, and the Open Space Conservancy Trust, the staff will review outcomes of both public engagement opportunities and further refine the recommended goals and objectives and the CFP for consideration at a subsequent meeting.

Please find the meeting agenda and materials here. We hope you’ll follow along. If you'd like to provide comments or feedback, you can do so on this page, or register to speak at any upcoming Commission meeting.

UPDATE: The September 9, 2021 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting recording is here.

Stay tuned for more details and registration access for the September 28 Virtual Public Meeting!

The online, community-wide survey is now live- right here!

Folks have been out enjoying parks all summer long, and as we head into back-to-school season, this is a great time to share your experiences and feedback for the future. See the article below (posted August 23) for more information on the background to the survey, an important piece to engaging our community.

The community survey closes at 11:59 pm on September 17.

Thank you for participating!

We're pleased to announce the release of the second community survey for the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan update. The first survey wrapped up just prior to the pandemic in early 2020. Given the time that has passed and all that has transpired in our community the past two years, the decision was made to run a second survey to inform the PROS Plan update. The second survey drills down a bit more than the first one with the goal of validating data from the first survey, gathering input on capital project priorities, further refining recreation program community needs, and exploring revenue and funding alternatives.

Because we want to be both statistically valid and inclusive, we are conducting a mail and an online survey. 2,500 randomly mailed surveys will hit mailboxes this week. If you receive a paper survey in the mail, please fill it out! Your mailed copy also provides two ways to take the survey digitally: use your unique ID number on the survey to access it online or scan the QR code to take it on your smart device.

If you do not receive a paper version, you can still complete the survey online! The identical, community-wide survey will be available to all residents here on this page this Wednesday, August 25. Check back then!

Responses will be published on this Let’s Talk page in October and results will be compiled and included in the final draft plan presented to the Parks & Recreation Commission and the City Council.

At the July 1, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, Commissioners reviewed and discussed the revised Capital Project Prioritization Tool and the questions for the second community survey. Both of these documents were revised and amended based on Commissioner feedback from the June 3^rd meeting.

The Parks and Recreation Commission will take a break from meeting in the month of August, and will meet again on September 2^nd. PROS Plan next steps at that time will be to introduce goals and policies and to review a draft of the 10 to 20-year preliminary capital project list.