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Date: 10/21/2020
EASTHAMPTON – The city is updating its 2013 Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) and the Steering Committee is looking for help from the public by filling out a survey posted on the city’s website, it is open until Nov. 15.
City Councilor and Steering Committee Member Salem Derby said the survey asks questions like, where do residents recreate, what do they do, what would they like to be able to do, and what other resources they would like to have available.
The committee is also asking residents to attend their zoom meeting on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. Derby said there will be a short presentation and then focus groups where the residents will have a chance to have their voices heard and reflected in the plan.
He also said they are keeping the survey open 10 days after the meeting just in case people attend the meeting and realize they did not fill out the survey. The committee wants to make sure that as many people as possible can complete the survey.
“We are hoping to get an idea of the resident’s priorities as it relates to recreation opportunities. Where to focus the cities attention and resources,” Derby said.
The Steering Committee is collecting information to inform the OSRP. The OSRP guides city decisions about growth over the next seven years. The plan is a master plan for how to prioritize resources. Derby said an example is, their last plan did not mention mountain biking but there are many places in town where people mountain bike and that should be reflected in the plan.
While there is no specific project that will come from this, the survey and the meeting will allow the committee to look at future projects and funding targeted to the needs that are identified. Once the information is collected, it will be given to the planning department who then will have the necessary information needed to secure funding for projects.