Join Lisle Park District June 20 in imagining the future of parks and recreation
The Lisle Park District is embarking on a journey to create a new strategic master plan to shape future park, recreation, and open space needs. Park district residents are invited to participate in this process to help the park district imagine what future parks, programs, special events, and recreation facilities could look like.
The park district has hired PROS Consulting Inc., a leader in parks and recreation consulting nationwide and their principal, Neelay Bhatt, will be leading this project along with ETC Institute, a statistically valid survey firm from Kansas City.
"Lisle Park District's wide array of offerings ranging from the award-winning Sea Lion Aquatic Park to Community Park and River Bend Golf Club to Fitness and Recreation Centers provide an enriching experience for all ages. This strategic master plan is a living document that will be shaped by the community and help shape the community now and for years to come," said Neelay Bhatt, a national leader in park system planning and the principal with Indianapolis based PROS Consulting. "The best plans are ones where the community is involved from the very beginning, and through this process, we will work with the district to ensure everyone who wishes to participate in the plan will have an opportunity to do so."
The park district will conduct a hybrid public input meeting to gather feedback from residents. This meeting will be open to all and will enable individuals to attend in-person or virtually and learn about Lisle Park District's future demographics and recreation trends while participating through live polling, Q&A, and public comments.
The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 20, with in-person participation at the Lisle Park District Recreation Center, 1925 Ohio St., and online via Zoom webinar.
"During this meeting, we'll be providing an overview of the project and facilitating discussion with attendees to help prioritize park district services. These services include parks and park amenities, recreation programming and events, and facilities, including Sea Lion Aquatic Park, Community Park Fitness, Senior Center, The Museums at Lisle Station Park, and more," says Dan Garvy, Director of Parks & Recreation. "With limited funding and considering the current labor and economic challenges, we need help from the community to determine where to allocate resources to assure we remain an accurate reflection of the recreational values of those we serve."
The consulting team has also developed an ADA-accessible, multilingual crowdsourcing website to guide this project at www.PlanLisleParks.com.
"This site will serve as a one-stop shop to provide all plan updates, list meeting dates, host online surveys, and ensure people can share their input any time during the planning process. Additionally, those who are unable to attend the public meeting can also view the meeting recording and share their feedback later," Bhatt said.
Meetings with key community leaders, staff, and user groups will also be conducted in June and this meeting will be followed by a statistically valid survey mailed to a random sample of Lisle Park District residents.
You can register for the virtual public meeting at www.PlanLisleParks.com or contact Dan Garvy, Director of Parks & Recreation, by email at dgarvy@lisleparkdistrict.org or call (630) 353-4310.
The Lisle Park District provides a variety of leisure activities for people of all ages throughout the year. Park district facilities include Lisle Community Park, home to the all-inclusive Discovery Playground and Community Park Public Boat Launch; the Recreation Center, which houses Gentle Learning Preschool, SEASPAR, the Senior Center, and multipurpose rooms; the Community Center, which contains Community Park Fitness and studios for dance and group fitness classes; Sea Lion Aquatic Park; The Museums at Lisle Station Park; River Bend Golf Course and numerous neighborhood playgrounds and park amenities, such as tennis courts, pickleball courts, ball fields, soccer fields, walking paths and picnic areas totaling close to 400 acres. It is the mission of the Lisle Park District to enrich the quality of life for people of all ages by providing constructive and creative leisure opportunities. For more information about the Lisle Park District, visit lisleparkdistrict.org or call 630-964-3410.