An OPEN HOUSE will be held in the Commission Chambers of Weston City Hall:
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 between 
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Our city team and consultants will be on hand to answer questions and concerns residents may have regarding the Weston Parks & Recreation Master Plan and/or its process. 

We encourage you to read/review the Master Plan.   Many of the improvements that residents are asking for, are in the plan. 
Home - Weston Parks and Recreation Master Plan

The Parks and Recreation Master Plan (PRMP) is a guide, but does not commit any future City Commissions to fund any specific project. The projects in the PRMP are recommendations that may be presented by staff during each year’s budgeting process. 

• One advantage of adopting a Master Plan is that it is a key criteria when the City submits applications for grant funding.  As many resident may know, the City aggressively pursues grant funds to assist in funding Capital Improvements.  Gator Run Improvements going on now are a prime example. 

The PRMP is incorporated into the City’s Strategic Value and Business Plan, which is the City's roadmap that guides capital improvement projects in the near future.  That plan has incorporated a millage rate that shows no proposed increase this year and no increase in Fiscal Years 2025, 2026, and 2027.  That would mark nine years of no increase in the City millage rate. 

Some people have seen the total dollar number in the Plan and wonder how Weston can afford it. 
The total estimate of ALL identified capital projects AND proposed programming improvements is approximately $206 million but that is not a budgeted amount.  That is an estimate of the capacity that would be needed if all of the projects were approved by future Commissions.  The current City Commission cannot obligate future funds.  Each project in the plan would have to be presented to future City Commissions and approved as part of the annual budgeting process.  Should this City Commission adopt this Master Plan they would be setting a vision for the future of our park system, but that vision will likely change many times over before Weston reaches the 10-year horizon. 

Green Space 

Fortunately, Weston has a generous amount of green space. The County requires three acres of recreation use per 1,000 residents and the City of Weston has 28.3 acres per 1,000 residents (when including the conservation areas) and 3.53 acres per 1,000 residents (when excluding the conservation areas).

When Weston is compared to other communities of similar size across the county and throughout the United States, Weston meets or exceed many of the benchmarks for park and recreation amenities such as ballfields, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc.  Where Weston does not meet or exceed those benchmarks is around indoor facilities.  Some of that data is show in the PRMP (starting on pages 85).  That is something the PRMP attempts to address, and the City is very sensitive to looking for ways to mitigate or replace any amenities that might be impacted by the construction of indoor spaces.  

 THE PROCESS 

The City made many efforts to engage the community in this process going back to May of 2022: 

The Parks and Recreation Master Plan process has been ongoing and has sought to include residents and community stakeholders from the onset. The public engagement began with focus groups including:

*City Commissioners
*Parks and Recreation Administration and Staff
*The Weston Sports Alliance
*The Weston YMCA
*The Arts Council of Greater Weston
*Drysdale Tennis (Operators of the Weston Racquet Club)


May, 2022 - August 2022 -  Two Public Surveys were conducted (one, statistically valid survey distributed to 8,000 random Weston addresses, one third of the residences in Weston, and a second, open link survey available online for approximately 3 months). *In total, the city received over 1,200 responses.
June 9, 2022 - an advertised Public Workshop (held at the Weston Community Center)
April 3, 2023 - Draft Presentation at a publicly noticed City Commission Meeting (The draft Parks and Recreation Plan has been available on the City's website since this date)
June 7, 2023 - Publicly Noticed City Commission Workshop
November 11, 2023 - Publicly Noticed City Commission Workshop
March 4, 2024 - Publicly Noticed City Commission Meeting (Item pulled; to be rescheduled April 1, 2024)

March 14 - City Manager and Parks and Recreation Director attended an open meeting conducted by the Americas Community Center and advertised via Facebook.  Approximately 20 people in attendance. 

In addition to having larger banners in our parks that had a QR code for the survey, postcards were handed out at all of our events for several months.  We also took advantage of our social media channels, along with information onscreen at the Movies in the Park, at City Commission Meetings, and the Government cable channel, and of course the old fashioned flyer. 

SOCIAL MEDIA - 

 Twitter / Facebook / Instagram  

CONSTANT CONTACT - City Newsletter   (12 issues)

 Newsday Tuesday: 5/24/22, 5/31/22, 6/7/22, 6/14/22, 7/19/22, 7/26/22, 8/2/22, 8/9/22, 8/16/22, 8/30/22, 4/11/23, 7/11/23

 eNotifications: 6/8/22, 8/3/22  (2 issues specific to Master Plan alone)

Website Calendar  - all meetings posted on City website calendar

Website NEWS  - Information posted on Website NEWS articles 

Bulletin visuals of Master Plan survey and QR code went to both the Weston YMCA and Bonaventure Town Center Club to air on their internal TV systems.  

Banners in City Parks with QR codes.

Postcards with QR codes in buildings, at events, and concession stands.