Camas OKs 6-year Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan with conditions

Maintain what we have. Fill in the gaps. Improve trail connections. And continue to develop and improve the city’s existing parks. Those were a few of the things Camas Parks and Recreation Director Trang Lam said she and city consultants “heard loudly” during their nearly yearlong outreach to the community in preparation for Camas’ updated, 6-year Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan.

The Camas City Council agreed to pass the bulk of the 255-page PROS Plan — the city’s guide for managing and enhancing its parks, trails, open spaces and recreational offerings — during the Council’s regular meeting on Monday, March 7, but said members wanted to take a closer look at a 20-year list outlining $130 million in potential capital facilities projects.

“It’s a hard number to swallow,” Lam told the Council Monday. “This is a 20-plus-year project list that the Parks and Recreation Commission will review every two years. It should not be stagnant … it’s not ‘one and done’ once you’ve approved this list.”

For the city of Camas to maintain its eligibility for grants administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), it must update its PROS Plan every six years.

Due to staff turnover, including the retirement of former parks and recreation department manager Jerry Acheson in December 2020 and the hiring of Lam, the department’s new director, in 2021, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the city is behind schedule in updating its PROS Plan. To apply for the current round of state parks and recreation grants, the city needed to pass its updated PROS Plan this month or risk waiting another two years for the 2024 grant cycle.

The Camas Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously approved the PROS Plan in its entirety on Feb. 23, and voted to send the plan, including the prioritized, 20-year capital facilities list, to the city council “as is.”

At least one city council member objected on Monday to the fact that the 20-year, $130 million project list included three specific, high-ticket projects — a $10 million feasibility analysis and redevelopment of the Camas Community Center; $43 million for site selection, master planning and implementation of a recreation/aquatic center; and $20 million for site selection, master planning and implementation of a sports complex.

“I’m good with the PROS Plan if we’re clear that it does not include those three projects,” Councilwoman Leslie Lewallen said Monday.

Unlike several other projects on the capital facilities list, the community center, aquatics center and sports complex are not listed as top priorities for the city in the next two to three years or even as “high priority as opportunity arises.” All three, in fact, have an asterisk pointing out that “additional public and policy discussion needed to refine project.”

Conservation Technix, Inc. principal Steve Duh, a certified parks and recreation professional and the city’s lead consultant on the PROS Plan preparation, told city council members on Feb. 22, that the PROS Plan had extensive community outreach that included mailed and online community surveys, an online open house, stakeholder focus groups and tabling at the farmers market and other Camas events.

20-year capital facilities list includes 12 ‘top priority’ projects

In addition to requiring an updated PROS Plan every six years, the state also asks cities to plan for future capital facilities needs. In January, Camas’ Parks and Recreation Commission prioritized the PROS Plan’s 20-year capital facilities list according to the data — including public comments and survey results — collected during the yearlong PROS Plan process. 

The final capital facilities list presented to the Camas City Council this month included 12 projects Commission members felt should receive “top priority” for the next two to three years:

• acquisition of link corridors to help connect trails;
• developing Crown Park according to the master plan;
• developing an open space management plan as well as an urban forestry management plan;
• planning for and developing trails and trailheads throughout the city;
• developing the east segment of the North Shore Trail;
• closing the loop between the Heritage and North Shore trails;
• planning access points on the Mill Ditch Trail;
• making minor repairs and replacements on trails throughout the city;
• upgrading the picnic shelter and drainage at Forest Home Park;
• redesigning and constructing a skate park at the city’s existing skate park off Northeast Third Avenue; and
• developing a trailhead at the Third Avenue Trailhead.

The Commission prioritized the following capital facilities projects as “high priority as opportunities arise”:

• shared-use trail development on the Mill Ditch Trail;
• a second phase of developing the skate park;
• installing a dog park at a selected site — possibly on land the city owns near the skate park;
• installing an all-inclusive playground at a selected site;
• making facilities, pathways and other amenities more accessible for people with disabilities throughout the city;
• assessing existing sports fields and planning for system gaps;
• modifying a dock at Heritage Park;
• conducting a site master plan for the city’s new Green Mountain property;
• making field improvements, including a new fence and infield dirt/grading at the Fallen Leaf softball field;
• working on the first phase of site master planning for the city’s legacy lands in the North Shore area; and
• implementing a wayfinding/park signage program throughout the city’s parks and trail systems.

Lam said in February that, before they prioritized the capital facilities list, the Parks and Recreation Commission members spent their winter holiday break reviewing the entire PROS Plan.

“They evaluated what was in the PROS Plan – from what they’d heard from the community and the data analysis (Duh’s) team did plus the evaluation of current conditions — then they prioritized the work we were to do over the next two to three years,” Lam told city council members on Feb. 22, adding that the 20-year list’s estimated $130 million price tag could be “scary” when reviewed alone, the list was meant to be re-evaluated every few years.

“The capital projects list is not intended to be a budgeted list,” Duh told the council in February. “It’s intended to capture what we heard from the public. We’ve sorted it by type, with dollar figures to give you some understanding of which project might need to be elevated in upcoming budget planning.”

Lam added that the city of Camas is growing large enough to have some serious conversations about the types of projects residents would be willing to fund and those they may be willing to forego in Camas — and need to seek out in other nearby cities.

“We are getting to that size where we have to have those conversations about prioritizing (which amenities) we will have in Camas versus those amenities residents may be able to drive to,” Lam said in February.

PROS Plan shows current challenges, changing demographics

After detailing the scope of the Camas Parks and Recreation Department – developing, operating and maintaining 16 parks, 12 miles of trails, three indoor facilities at the Lacamas Lake Lodge, Scout Hall and the Camas Community Center and more than 1,000 acres of parks and open space – the PROS Plan details some of the current challenges the Parks and Recreation Department is facing, including: 

• The COVID-19 pandemic: “Health mandates related to the pandemic had dramatic impacts on the City’s recreation programming and operations, requiring the temporary closure of some facilities, capacity and use restrictions, and the cancellation of recreation programming.” the plan states. “However, with improvements in local caseloads, Camas has now begun to offer in-person recreation programs and community events. 

• Being more equitable, inclusive and accessible: “Through this PROS Plan, the city of Camas made a concerted effort to reach out to and engage its historically underrepresented communities, and the City also invested in a dual language community survey to include Spanish. Also, portions of the City’s parks, trails and open space system were developed before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was implemented. The conditions assessment identified several deficiencies related to ADA compliance,” the plan states. “The City must continue to find ways to provide safe and equitable access to parks, trails, open space areas, facilities, recreation programs and other services.”
• A growing, changing city: “Over the past ten years, Camas has seen rapid population growth, which is expected to continue over the coming decade. More residents and new development will increase the need for recreational spaces and experiences across the city and increase the use of existing parks and facilities,” the plan states. “In response, the City should consider ways to improve recreation facilities and parks to adapt to emerging needs, complete (critical) connections in the City’s extensive trail network, and proactively (acquire) or preserve parks and open spaces in strategic areas.”
• Maintaining what it already has: “This Plan includes condition assessments of the City’s parks and facilities to provide a baseline of current conditions that then informs facility, maintenance, and operations policies and improvements,” the plan states. “Proper maintenance of park and recreation assets will prevent them from deteriorating thereby reducing long-term capital and operating costs, maintaining safety, improving public perception and increasing community use.” 
• Meeting the needs of the city’s active, older residents: “Camas’ relatively older population, low rates of disability among residents over 65, and high rates of participation among residents of all ages, indicate a potential local need for active recreation opportunities for active older adults,” the plan states. “To meet the needs of active older residents, the City will need to consider how the City’s park and recreation facilities and programming can meet the needs of this growing group.”

Plan outlines need for more parks & rec staff to keep up with city’s network of parks, trails and open spaces

The plan’s implementation chapter details other challenges, including financial and staffing constraints. 

“Despite flat staffing levels since 2010, developed parks have been well maintained; however, park amenities are aging out of their life cycle and levels of service for maintenance of open space have not kept up with acquisition,” the plan states. 

Though the city has financial mechanisms for funding its parks, recreation and open spaces – including the general fund, park impact fees meant to help new development pay for new parks and recreation needs, real estate excise taxes, grants, donations and special revenue funds, the plan states the city of Camas will likely need to find a dedicated funding source to fully maintain and upgrade its parks and recreation system as the city continues to grow. 

“Dedicated, new funding will be required to finance maintenance and operations, upgrades to, and growth in the parks system to meet community needs,” the plan states.