Last month the North Fork Pool, Park and Recreation District initiated the first steps for completing a district-wide recreation master plan. The district board hired Ken Ballard of Ballard King & Associates to assist with compiling the data, preparing a survey, interviewing and conducting community meetings with residents, and ultimately drafting the district master plan.

The goal of the master plan is to identify the top priority recreation needs and desires of North Fork Valley residents to guide facility development, grant applications, and decision making for the next five to ten years.

In September, Ballard interviewed a wide range of district stakeholders to get their input on the critical recreation needs and problems. Next on tap are three town meetings to elicit community wide recreation ideas, priorities and concerns. Mark your calendars for Nov. 10 and 11 and plan to attend the meeting that best fits your schedule: Crawford, Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Crawford Town Hall; Hotchkiss, Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall; and Paonia, Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at Paonia Town Hall.

A written survey will also be sent to approximately 1,200 district residents selected at random by an independent survey company. While the individual survey responses will be kept confidential, the results will be compiled, summarized and used along with the stakeholder interviews and the community meetings to develop the master plan.

You can also contact the North Fork Pool, Park, and Recreation District directly with your suggestions by calling Esther Koontz, district administrator, on Tuesdays or Thursday at 872-6122 or sending them to P.O. Box 2093, Hotchkiss, CO 81419 or by e-mail to nfpool@tds.net.

Research indicates that the availability of outdoor recreation opportunities leads to healthier, active lifestyles for people of all ages. So weigh-in and make sure your voice is heard during the master plan process.

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