La Junta, Colorado – December 1, 2020 – To ensure that the parks system in La Junta meets resident’s needs now and into the future, the City has partnered with Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University to create a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. A draft of the master plan will be available for public review and comment December 7-31, 2020.
The park and recreation system is central to the quality of life in almost all communities. A formal plan allows the City of La Junta to assess the standards for park and recreation services and facilities in the city, identify gaps and future shortfalls, establish development priorities, and create an implementation strategy. This planning effort provides an opportunity to take an assessment of all the physical and programmatic resources in the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and determine the priorities for future investment.
Through extensive research and input from La Junta citizens, the project team, including La Junta officials and Eppley Institute staff, developed a long-term approach to delivery of recreation services that is inclusive, contemporary in design, and financially sustainable.
The public is invited and encouraged to review the draft system master plan and submit comments and feedback. The draft system master plan will be available to the public starting December 7 on the project website at https://www.lajunta.eppley.org. Comments and feedback on the draft system plan may be submitted through the project website until December 31.
The Eppley Institute project team will review the community’s feedback and make adjustments to the system master plan before presenting the final plan to the City Council in February for approval.
For more information about the La Junta Parks and Recreation System Master Plan, please contact Brock Hinkhouse, La Junta Parks and Recreation Director at brock.hinkhouse@gmail.com, Sarah Murray, Project Manager, Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at sarjmurr@iu.edu or visit: https://www.lajunta.eppley.org.
The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands is Indiana University’s unique outreach program for the park, active living, and protected lands management profession. Since 1993, the Institute has provided comprehensive planning services for parks and recreation agencies that balance the needs and desires of a community with practical, real-world constraints, and economic realities. The Eppley Institute is committed to designing plans that strategically align with industry planning and design standards, policies, and practices. Using a variety of public engagement strategies and prioritizing partnerships, the project team designs comprehensive plans that are uniquely built on a community’s identity, values, health, vitality, economics, and culture.
