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Last updated 7.7.09 Update to Little Mountain Masterplan gets underway! – October 1, 2007 On October 1, 2007 the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation convened an advisory committee of citizens and stakeholders to kick off an update to the masterplan for Little Mountain Park. This advisory committee is made up of individuals with an interest and expertise in part or all of Little Mountain Park. The goal of the advisory committee is to provide feedback and direction to the process which is charged with seeking public input and integrating that input into an updated masterplan. If anyone is interested in committee work please contact MV Parks and Recreation at 336-6215. This planning process was initiated for several reasons including: ¨ Acquisition of 27 acres near north entrance provides opportunity ¨ Quarry operations scheduled to conclude and reclamation plan to commence ¨ Park users requesting improved access ¨ Increased populations will have impact on park and an updated masterplan can be a guiding tool in future decision making The goal of the process was agreed as the following: provide opportunity for public input and direction in the preparation of a masterplan which will help provide guidance for future decisions. During the first meeting perception of general strengths and opportunities for improvement were discussed as well as a tentative outline of a public process to gather input and solicit feedback Please click hereto see the agenda of the first meeting Please click hereto review the notes of the first meeting Please click hereto see the most recent timeline To assist in the development of this Masterplan update the Parks and Recreation will be working with Eccos Design, a landscape architecture and planning office located in Mount Vernon. Little Mountain Masterplan Update Hosts first open house – October 22, 2007 An open house for the community to share their comments about the current configuration of LM Park was hosted at Hillcrest Lodge. During this open house a series of boards and graphics were placed around the lodge which addressed the following components of the park o Viewpoints o Trails o Eagle Rock Challenge Course o Silver arrow Bowman Archery course o On site natural resources o Park infrastructure o Park operations o Tentative reclamation plan from DNR for gravel extraction area o Other general comments Each board or station was hosted by a person who encouraged participants to write down on a post-it note what they liked and what they would like to see different at the park in each area. The host was also available to answer any questions participants may have had. This meeting was advertised by: · Placing signs at the park · A repeating information announcement on TV 10 · An ad placed in the Skagit Valley Herald · A public service announcement on KAPS and KCRC · Information on the Parks and Recreation Website. Between 25 and 30 individuals participated in the event Little Mountain Masterplan Prepares to Launch Survey – November 5, 2007 The LMMP advisory committee met at 6PM at Hillcrest Lodge for the two main purposes of reviewing the public input received at the open house as well as reviewing the working draft of the online survey. During this meeting a representative from the International Mountain Bikers Association gave a presentation. Please click here for meeting agenda In review of the open house materials, the advisory committee agreed that the following themes were present. · The community appreciates the specialness of LMP · All current and planned use should be done responsibly and with consideration of natural features. · There was significant interest in the refinement of existing trails and creation of additional well designed multi-use trails. · A diversity of trails was desired which could serve users of all ages. · The special use areas, Eagle Rock Challenge Course and the Silver Arrow Bowman Archery Course are community assets. Some buffering of these areas and signage is desired. · The reclamation plan proposed by DNR should be revisited. · Interpretive elements would be beneficial. · No more large viewpoints are desired. · Graffiti and inappropriate use of the park continues to be a concern. · Road speed is also a concern. The survey was discussed which is scheduled to be launched this week. This particular tool is a 'public input' survey and not a statistically valid survey. It is just one more opportunity for members of the community to share thoughts and suggestions on the update to the park master plan. Results will be tallied and categorized to look for trends. Responses will be limited to one per household. The survey will be open through the 26th of November. The survey will be advertised by; o Placing signs at the park o A repeating information announcement on TV 10 o A link from the City of Mount Vernon home page o A link from the City of Mount Vernon Parks home page o An ad placed in the Skagit Valley Herald on 4 separate dates o A mass e-mail distribution list of all city employees Other mass e-mailings are being explored such as the Mount Vernon School District. Any other interest group is encouraged to advertise this link themselves. The presentation from the International Mountain Bile Association centered on the safe and responsible use and design of multi-use trails. The representative shared some resources with the committee addressing these issues. The other main topic was the idea of a mountain bike skills area. This is an area where mountain bikers can practice various skills including slow riding, balance, and climbing techniques. These areas are generally one acre or less in size or integrated into one of the trails. Little Mountain Masterplan Launches Web Based Public Input Survey!! (click the link below) November 7, 2007 Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation is in the process of updating its masterplan for Little Mountain Park. The last plan was completed in 1990 and several things have changed since that time including acquisition of 27 acres near the north entrance, quarry operations are scheduled to conclude allowing for the development of a reclamation plan, and increased population trends mean use is likely to increase!
Increased populations will have impact on park and an updated masterplan can be a guiding tool in future development decisions. It is the goal of this process to provide opportunity for public input and direction in the preparation of a masterplan which will help guide future development decisions. To accomplish this, we need to hear from you!
We request that one member from your household complete the following survey in order to gain feedback on your perception Little Mountain Park. Please have the person who is most familiar with the park complete the questions. Your response will be limited to one per household.
Data from this survey will be used to make recommendations for changes within the park masterplan.
Your input is very valuable and important to us. This survey will take approximately 3-5 minutes of your time.
If you have any technical problems with this survey please contact your Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department to arrange for a printed version. Thank you for your participation.
Web Survey is now closed Little Mountain Masterplan Public Input Survey Complete November 27, 2007 Thanks to the all who took our citizen input survey. We had over 275 households respond! Our next task will be to organize and synthesize the open ended responses and review the other data for direction and trends. If you were unable to use our online survey during the weeks it was available and would still like to complete one, please call 336-6213 to have one mailed to you.
Please continue to visit our website. As we generate more information we will continue to post it. Once we have reviewed all the data, it is our hope to integrate this information with other information gathered to produce a draft masterplan for public review and comment. Please watch this website, local newspaper adds, and local radio stations for more follow up information and additional chances to share your input! Little Mountain Masterplan Prepares Public Input Summary – December 3, 2007 The LMMP advisory committee met at 6PM at Hillcrest Lodge for the main purposes of reviewing the Online Survey Data and determining what the overall direction of all the public input to date has been. Please click here for responses to multiple choice questions Please click here for responses to open ended questions Please click here for a summary of the open ended questions Please click here for meeting agenda Please click here for meeting minutes Upon review of the survey and other information gathered to date the group was able to agree upon the following direction for the masterplan update. HIGHEST PRIOITY (the following statements received the greatest amount of support in the survey, the open house, and during advisory meetings): · Preservation of natural areas is important to the vast majority of park users. · Some variation exists as to the extent, but all proposed new recreation should incorporate respect and preservation of natural areas. (Sa, OH) · There is a significant interest in seeing a more refined hiking and biking trail system. This includes organization of existing trails and increased quality of those trails. New trails will occur in a manner that reflects statement above. (Sa, OH) · There is strong interest in seeing parking developed at base of park and explored in other areas as needed. (Sio) · There is significant interest in maps, signage and interpretive elements (Sio, OH) · There is no groundswell of request for a new recreational program element (S, OH) · There is no stated dissatisfaction with existing opportunities (S, OH) PRIORITY (the following statement received a high level of support in the survey, the open house, and the advisory meetings): · There is strong interest in walking and biking connections TO the park from the city and other parks (Sio) · There is strong interest in increasing the feeling of safety and reducing graffiti and trash in the park (Sio, OH) · There is interest in addressing the speed of the cars on the main access road. (Sio, OH) · There is interest in improving restrooms (Sio ADDITIONAL DIRECTION GATHERED (the following statements were not necessarily mentioned a large number of times, but is direction supported by the advisory committee) · Opportunistic property acquisition should be a priority · 'Friends of Little Mountain' and 'Trails Committee' would be valuable outcomes of this process · There is a strong interest in the community assisting in park trails maintenance. · Mountain Bike Skills Center would be a positive park addition and community service to teach riding skills. · Additional Park Benches would be appreciated · Low key, Peek-a-boo views can be established, no additional large scale viewpoints are desired. · Forest Maintenance and Native Plant restoration is worth addressing · Reclamation plan needs revisiting. · Eagle Rock Challenge Course would benefit from upgrading of support facilities. · Silver Arrow Bowmen Archery course would benefit from better established separation. The next step will be the development of a draft to the masterplan map. The above direction will be the basis for this update. It is anticipated that the next meeting will take place in January, 2008. Please check back here for updates. Little Mountain Masterplan Advisory Committee Meeting – February 4, 2008 Please click here for meeting minutes Upcoming Little Mountain Masterplan Open House March 24, 2008 -There will be an Open House on March 24th to review the updates to the Little Mountain Park Master Plan. The open house will be held in the Hillcrest Park Lodge from 6pm to 7:30pm. There will be a presentation and an opportunity to make comments on the updated plan. If you have any questions or would like more information please call our office at (360)336-6215. Proposed Little Mountain Park Master Plan April 1, 2008 The link below will take you to the Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update that was propsed to City Council on March 19th and presented at the Open House on March 24th. We would like public feedback on the updated plan and will be accepting public comments through April 30th. If you have any comments you would like to share with us regarding the updated plan please email them to mvparks@mountvernonwa.gov or mail them to: Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation 1717 South 13th Street Mount Vernon, WA 98274 Proposed Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update Draft #2 December 10, 2008 The link below is the second draft of the Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update. It has been sent to members of the steering committee for review and will be sent to City Council for adoption in the beginning of 2009. Draft#2- Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update, Final Draft July 7, 2009 The link below is the final draft of the Little Mountain Park Master Plan Update. Little Mountain Master Plan Update, Final Draft
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