Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

The Kern County Parks and Recreation Department hosted two evening meetings at the Lake Isabella Senior Center on Wednesday, February 25. Parks and Recreation is currently developing a Master Plan to guide decisions about Park Development in the county for the next 20 years. Last week’s meetings were just two of several focus groups that were conducted throughout the county to obtain input from the public on the proposed plan.

The first meeting, held a 5:00 p.m. was by invitation only. Among those in attendance were representatives of local sports organizations, various property owners associations, conservationist groups, business owners and the media. The 7:00 p.m. meeting was open to the public and with approximately 50 attendees had almost double the number of people than at the earlier session.

Bob Lerude, Director of County of Kern, Parks and Recreation offers some insight to focus group participants at one of the Maaster Plan meetings held at the Senior Center in Lake Isabella on February 25.

The meetings were facilitated by Mark Sillings, a Project Manager with MIG, a Pasadena based consulting firm that has been entrusted with the creation of the Master Plan. The company, which has been in existence since 1981, has extensive experience in parks and recreation master planning throughout. California. The overall cost for the Master Plan is estimated at $400,000. According to a recent county press release, the Department of Parks and Recreation felt the need for the creation of such a master plan citing, “The unprecedented levels of growth and the changing demographics in Kern County.”

Sillings provided additional background on why the County felt that it was time to undertake such an initiative and the various stages involved in the process. He also led participants through a discussion about the current park system, a future park system and possible improvements that could be made to current parks. The findings from the meeting were recorded and will ultimately be incorporated into the final master plan.

Bob Lerude, Director of County of Kern, Parks and Recreation was on hand at both of the meetings to answer questions and address key issues of public concern. John Wilbanks, a planner with the Department was also in attendance and had some valuable insight to contribute to the small group discussions.

When asked if he had any words of advice to offer the community members present at the meeting, Sillings stated, “Start small at first. Begin by making small improvements to what you currently have. And remember, the best improvements begin with the community itself.” He also encouraged creating partnerships within the community to increase the chances for positive change. When asked by one of the participants if the old saying “The squeaky wheel gets the grease“ was applicable in this case, he readily agreed.

From the interaction and agreement amongst many of the participants at both groups, it would appear that a common vision already exists with regards to what valley residents would like to see in terms of improved recreation facilities in our valley. All that remains is to make sure that proverbial remains “squeaky.”