Commissioner Christian Super opened the conversation at the Oct. 8 Parks workshop with statistics from the Master Plan Survey. Twelve-hundred emails were sent to about 700 unique emails, and Parks had 10,000 social media hits with 219 responses. Of those, responses 71 individuals said they were local and 205 had visited a Eureka Springs park in the last year.
Super also said that commissioners would receive email with the “raw” results of the survey, available on the Parks website. He said everyone will have time to draw their own conclusions from the results.
Commissioner Dave Hartmann asked if a public meeting was still on the table. There was a collective of soft nods and “yeses” from commissioners before Super said that Director Justin Huss wants to do a town hall in November. Super said he doesn’t like the format of town halls and does not want to run it, but if someone else runs it he’s happy to participate.
There was a short discussion about whether a town hall was needed after the survey, with Chair Bill Featherstone interjecting that it was another way to reach more people. Commissioner Steven Foster said that he liked the idea of getting input earlier in the process.
“So you are suggesting a town hall sooner rather than later?” Featherstone asked and Foster nodded. Hartmann said he would put in on the agenda for the regular meeting on Oct. 15.