R-14-39 RESOLUTION NO. R-14-39
A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE CITY OF FAIRFAX STRATEGIC MASTER
PLAN FOR PARKS, RECREATION, TRAILS, OPEN SPACE, EVENTS, AND
CULTURAL ARTS
WHEREAS, The City of Fairfax has never adopted a Strategic Plan for Parks,
Recreation, Trails, Open Space, Special Events and Cultural Arts; and
WHEREAS, the Parks and Recreation Department, Parks and Recreation Advisory
Board, and their expert consultants engaged the community in an unprecedented six public
workshops, 20 stakeholder groups, web surveys, statistically valid random sample survey,
social media, and online civic engagement; and
WHEREAS, the Parks and Recreation Department received the National Recreation
and Park Association Gold Medal for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management in
2011 and this Plan provides strategic direction to extend and maintain a gold medal standard
of excellence for all existing and future parks and recreation facilities, programs, and events;
and
WHEREAS, the demographics of the City of Fairfax are becoming more diverse and
the population is becoming older, resulting in changing and growing needs for services; and
WHEREAS, the City's parks, recreation facilities, trails, special events, and cultural
arts activities provide a unique sense of place and identity for the City of Fairfax; and
WHEREAS, the City's parks, recreation facilities, and trails provide opportunities to
improve the health and wellness of area residents; and
WHEREAS, the City's parks, recreation facilities, trails, special events, and cultural
arts contribute to the economic vitality of the City; and
WHEREAS, parks, recreation facilities, and open space provide unique opportunities
to improve our community through conservation and stewardship of our natural resources;
and
WHEREAS, the Strategic Master Plan emphasizes the leverage of strategic
partnerships to maximize efficiency, increase participation, and provides outreach to our
citizens; and
WHEREAS, the Strategic Planning process involved analyses of the City's needs
based upon the extensive public engagement, benchmarking to similar communities, analyses
of current trends in parks and recreation services, conditions of the existing parks and
recreation facilities, analyses of existing program and event offerings; geographic distribution
of parks and facilities, review of previous planning studies; and
WHEREAS, City Council has been involved in the process through a stakeholder
meeting on June 22, 2013 and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and staff presented
progress of the planning process to City Council on January 14, 2014, and June 3, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the process resulted in the development of a revised vision, mission, six
goal areas, 29 objectives, and 130 strategies that are based upon the public engagement and
analyses; and
WHEREAS, the strategies are coordinated with the adopted City of Fairfax
Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and staff reviewed the plan at
ten regular and five special meetings, held a final public workshop on May 14, 2014, a work
session with City Council and held joint meetings with the School Board, Senior Center
Council, and Commission on the Arts to review the proposed strategies; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
Fairfax hereby accepts the City of Fairfax Strategic Master Plan for Parks, Recreation,
Trails, Open Space, Events and Cultural Arts dated June 24, 2014 without prejudice to future
consideration and action by this body.
Adopted this 24th day of June 2014.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
The vote on the motion to approve was recorded as follows:
VOTE:
Councilman DeMarco Aye
Councilman Drummond Aye
Councilman Greenfield Aye
Councilman Meyer Aye
Councilmember Schmidt Aye
Councilman Stombres Aye