Kenai begins community conversation about parks and recreation master plan

Work on a master plan for Kenai’s parks and recreation department kicked off Tuesday with a listening session at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce. Staff from Corvus Design, with whom the city has contracted to develop the plan, solicited input on the city’s parks facilities as well as hopes for the future.

The meeting is the first step, Corvus staff said, in a roughly yearlong process to create a guiding document for the next 20 years of outdoors and recreation development in the city.

A dozen attendees were asked to share what they like about Kenai’s parks, what they wish local parks had or what needs to be improved. People wrote their feedback on large sheets of paper representing each of the city’s parks and shared thoughts on bigger questions like “What new recreational program would you like to see in Kenai?”

Responses called for greater recognition of Indigenous culture and wildlife — like public displays of information of local birds in various areas or the archaeological activity at Kenai Municipal Park. There were calls to expand rugby infrastructure and acknowledgement at Millennium Square, where the annual Kenai Dipnet Fest Rugby Tournament is held, and an ask to consolidate some of the local ball fields into the Kenai Sports Complex — the soccer fields out on the northern edge of town towards Nikiski. Many responses called more simply for equipment upgrades in various areas.

At the Kenai Multi-Purpose Facility, people called for year-round ice, which hasn’t been available in recent years because of concerns of structural damage from condensation in summer months. For Kenai’s Ski Trails, during the winter months at the Kenai Golf Course, two people asked for “more snow.” There was also support for more programming and use of the Kenai Recreation Center.

Several notes called for development of more music, food truck and vendor offerings at Kenai’s parks.

A host from Corvus said Tuesday’s meeting was to receive initial input. Their staff are already working to understand each of Kenai’s parks, who they service and what condition they are in. They’ll spend the summer analyzing their findings and the feedback received, before holding more meetings next fall to present draft recommendations. The plan will ultimately return to the Kenai City Council early next year for consideration.

At a meeting of the Kenai City Council in February, when they approved the contract with Corvus, Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank described the plan as a detailed account of what Kenai’s residents, government and parks and recreation department want to see developed over the coming decades.

“We’re trying to engage through multiple avenues with all the people in Kenai and what they want to see in the city’s parks and rec, say, for the next 20 years,” he said. “I hope that the public takes the opportunity to participate in these things, because it really is about listening to them and getting their voice so we understand what the community is looking for.”

A digital survey, to collect similar feedback to Tuesday’s listening session, will soon be available online through Kenai’s parks and recreation department. For more information, visit kenai.city/parksandrec or find “City of Kenai Parks & Recreation” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.