City seeks community feedback
By Angie Landsverk
Waupaca’s Parks and Recreation Department continues to seek community input for the update of the city’s outdoor recreation plan.
An online survey is available to Waupaca area residents, and boards are up in two city spaces to offer people another way to give feedback.
One board is in the lobby between City Hall and the Waupaca Area Public Library.
The other one is in the Recreation Center’s lobby.
A variety of amenities are listed on the boards.
Area residents are being asked to place stickers in the Boulder, Pebble or Rock columns based on whether they think the city needs more, less or is fine in each of the areas listed.
“This is an avenue to have a say,” said Andrew Whitman, the city’s parks and recreation director.
He said it will help the city know what community members think Park and Rec should focus on during the upcoming years.
That is a big part of a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP).
The plan gives the city direction and also allows it to seek grants for improvements.
An updated CORP is a requirement for many Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources grants.
Waupaca’s original plan was created in 2011.
“A big part of the plan has always been getting information from the community,” Whitman said.
Online survey
He said about 300 people have responded to the online survey so far.
The online survey is open to Waupaca area residents, and people may still complete it.
Click on www.getfeedback.com/r/eU25EJJK to do so.
It takes about 10 minutes to complete the survey.
Whitman said the city will start going through the information from the survey around the end of this month.
In regard to the two boards that went up this past week, the plan is to leave them up for about three to four weeks, he said.
Whitman said public input is such a big part of updating the city’s CORP.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is unable to hold the public meetings it typically would have had during this process.
That is why the boards seeking input were also added to two city spaces.
“We wanted to give another option,” Whitman said.
Area residents are able to provide input about such amenities as ball diamonds, fishing areas, basketball courts, boat/kayak launches, playgrounds, picnic areas, multi-use trails and more.
The city’s CORP will include its parks, green spaces, facilities and programs.
Its 2021-25 action plan is expected to be finalized this fall.
“Everything seems to still be on track, so I think things are progressing well,” Whitman said. “We’re just trying to figure out ways to get input during this unique time.”