Erie is developing a multimillion-dollar plan to improve city parks. How it will be funded

The city of Erie is hiring a consulting firm with nationwide experience to help develop a comprehensive, multiyear plan for enhancing the city’s public parks.

Mayor Joe Schember discussed the plan at his weekly news conference on Thursday. City officials announced Design Workshop, a landscape architecture, urban design, planning and strategic services firm, will work on the plan.

Design Workshop has offices in Colorado, Texas, Nevada, California and North Carolina.

The firm will be paid up to $237,743 for its work; $187,743 comes from American Rescue Plan dollars the city has set aside for the parks plan and the remaining $50,000 was provided by a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant.

Federal funding to help pay for parks improvements

Jackie Spry, the city’s planning director, said the city has set aside more than $4 million in ARP funds for the parks improvement plan.

The city in 2021 received roughly $76 million from the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill, signed into law by then-President Joe Biden to aid in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Erie Times-News reported in December 2021 that Schember’s administration planned to use up to $5 million of that money for parks improvements citywide, and that the money could also be used to upgrade various sidewalks, streetscapes, school crossings, street lights and to create public art.

City officials have said that as part of the parks enhancement plan, the city intends to gather extensive input from city residents about the types of improvements they want to see and make budgeting decisions based on that feedback.

“It has taken us time to finalize our scope of work and to find the right consulting firm,” Schember said.

Spry added: “The plan will provide a system-wide approach to prioritize financial strategies to maintain existing parks and recreation facilities, expand recreational services based on current and future funding scenarios, and evaluate the need and sustainability of our Bureau of Parks.”

City officials and Design Workshop representatives are expected to start meeting soon regarding the plan.

What will the parks plan examine?

The parks plan has been in the works for several years; the city’s last comprehensive parks plan was conducted in 2003 under then-Mayor Joyce Savocchio.

The city’s parks collectively comprise roughly 385 acres, city officials said. The city also operates two public golf courses, the J.C. Martin Golf Course on Shunpike Road and Downing Golf Course on Troupe Road in Harborcreek.

According to the city’s request for consultant proposals regarding the plan, the initiative will look at suggested improvements/strategies over a 20-year time frame.

The plan “should create a roadmap” that examines the level of financial investment needed to sustain Erie’s parks; recreation facilities and programming; and the city’s current staffing capacity and policies regarding parks in order “to equitably maintain these facilities and meet the recreation needs of diverse city residents, community groups, and other stakeholders now and into the future.”

Renee Lamis, Schember’s chief of staff, said the ciry should have Design Workshop’s recommendations/a draft report in early 2026.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie is creating a comprehensive, citywide parks improvement plan