City of Charleston leaders have been working to update a master plan that will inform the future of parks and recreation in the city through a combination of public input, expert opinion and examples from other towns and cities across the nation.
The findings of the plan were presented to the parks and recreation committee July 13, and the One Charleston Parks and Recreation Master Plan is will be reviewed by City Council next Tuesday for final approval.
Generally, public response through various surveys issued from the Department of Parks and Recreation (PRD) were positive, but expert opinion shows that the city needs to do some rethinking about where their profits come from to be able to sustain the level of recreation offerings currently in place.
“We feel like there should be a position called ‘enterprise manager’ that actively seeks out thing to be done in your community that are going to bring revenue to this community,” said former PRD executive director Tom O’Rourke. “Right now, you have a very efficient system … but it’s certainly not lucrative when it comes to cost that is actually charged.”
The full master plan can be read online, and the July 13 meeting is available on YouTube.
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