Cortez Parks and Recreation is taking a fresh look at its priories.
The last parks, recreation and forestry master plan was finished in 2007. Since then, the city taken on 10 projects including adding playground equipment at Centennial Park and new trails at Geer Natural Area.
Now the city is going back to the community to find out what it should focus on.
“If it is true that one of the best things about living in Cortez is all these parks and trails ... what can we do to make it better?” asked City Manager Shane Hale.
Parks and Recreation department started sending out surveys in October and recently setup an online survey, said Dean Palmquist department’s director.
The survey lists projects that residents have already asked for such as an expansion to the skate park and increasing the lighting at Parque de Vida. But the survey also poses an open question to the public.
“I would be hopeful there’s other things that come to light,” he said.
This feedback will help guide how the city uses the $75,000 to $85,000 it receives each year from state lottery funds.
However, the city also takes into account how many people will benefit from each project and the likelihood of receiving additional grant funds to support the project, Palmquist said.
The master planning process will likely wrap up over the summer.
The online survey will remain available through May, but it will likely be updated based on additional public feedback, Palmquist said.
The Parks, Recreation and Forestry advisory board will also weigh in on the issues.
The survey can be found at http://bit.ly/CorParks.
