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Currituck County Parks and Recreation held five public input meetings over three different days in an effort to create a comprehensive master plan to aid in recreation planning.

Just over 200 people attended meetings in Corolla, Jarvisburg, Currituck, Moyock and Knotts Island. LuAnn Bryan from McGill Associates, a group that works with communities in the arena of land planning and recreation, asked attendees to identify their preferred park amenities. A visual preference board with a dozen potential options was present, as well as a comment board for discussion or to write down additional facilities.

Recreational options on the board included trails, picnic pavilions, playgrounds, canoe/kayak launches, indoor recreational facilitates, disc golf, fishing piers, boat ramps and more. With limited financial resources, the county must determine what recreational amenities are most desired by residents and will get the most use.

“We can’t fund it all, but we can set aside money for larger programs through a capital investment plan,” said parks and recreation director Jason Weeks. “The comprehensive plan is a living, breathing document that helps us to take the pulse of the community now so we know what to prioritize.”

For residents who could not attend the input meetings, the county is requesting participation through a survey. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and asks questions about family size, current recreation usage, facilities that one’s family would utilize and what means of funding one would support. The survey is available at surveymonkey.com/r/currituckcorecreation. The survey must be completed once opened on a device; each device may open the survey only once.

The county is aiming for survey participation of 10 percent. For a county population of over 27,000 as of the 2020 census, that equals about 2700 people represented through the surveys.

The county is partnering with McGill Associates land planning and recreation team to gather data and create a ten-year parks and recreation plan. McGill will examine inventory of recreation facilities, current and projected population, and recreational trends. They will also be holding some smaller focus group meetings with county staff and other community members to gain input.

The information gathered will help Currituck County prioritize projects over the next decade. This critical information is what contributed to past projects like Shingle Landing Park, the Athletic Complex, boat ramp improvements and multiple playgrounds.

After McGill sorts through the data, Weeks hopes to put a master plan draft in front of the Board of Commissioners for their approval by October.

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