Park Plan to be Discussed Today
Vol. III, No 233 - Master Parks and Recreation Plan Discussions Continue
Troy’s parks and recreation system is entering a new chapter as a new plan is being discussed for the city’s park and recreation systems. Last month, city leaders, consultants, and residents gathered for a work session to review a draft Park and Recreation Master Plan and to start shaping priorities that will guide investments for years to come. Their next major step comes today on January 21, 2026, when the Board of Park Commissioners and the Recreation Board will meet in a joint session to sort through those priorities in the plan. The meeting will be at 4:00 p.m. and will be held at the Bravo Room in Hobart Arena.
Last monnt’s work session featured presentations from consultants from American Structurepoint and Legacy Sports Group. The consultants presented the draft master plan, outlining how Troy’s parks compare to national standards, what residents said in surveys and which facilities need attention.
Park Board President Jordan Emerick chaired the meeting and framed it as the start of a longer conversation, not a final decision point. The written status report he submitted notes that the goal in early 2026 is for the Park Board and Recreation Board to finalize recommendations to Council so that design work and detailed funding analysis can begin.
The consultants explained that the master plan is meant to guide decisions about facilities, programs, maintenance, and funding over the next several years. Troy currently exceeds typical national benchmarks for playgrounds, athletic fields, and neighborhood parks for a city its size, and it offers about 17.7 miles of trails, slightly above suggested levels.
Yet the plan also outlines clear challenges. Many features are aging, some parks are underused or overlap in service areas, and residents called out gaps such as accessible restrooms, shade, and inclusive design. Survey responses highlighted both pride in the variety of parks and concern about outdated equipment, uneven maintenance, and the lack of a public splash pad.
Much of the discussion focused on prioritizing core needs rather than adding entirely new amenities. Council member Todd Severt described his top priorities as a major Duke Park improvement, critical pool work at the Troy Aquatic Park, repairs to the Joe Reardon Skate Park, playground updates, and a failed golf course irrigation system. He estimated that addressing these items could require on the order of 17 million dollars and argued that, as stewards of both finances and amenities, city leaders cannot ignore them.
Several officials and consultants agreed that the city should focus on upgrading and modernizing existing parks, consolidating or repurposing some small parks where there is overlap, and ensuring any expansion is maintainable with current or adjusted staffing levels. There was also support for exploring a new operations model for youth baseball at Duke Park, in which a single organization or partnership would coordinate youth sports, maintenance expectations, and tournament scheduling.
Duke Park emerged as the centerpiece of the plan. One of the most ambitious options (Option 1A), would reconfigure the park as a regional sports hub, adding five to seven new baseball or softball diamonds, four to six full-sized rectangular fields, new restrooms, concessions, storage, expanded parking, and improved circulation. The Consultant from Legacy Sports Group, William Knox explained that, with synthetic turf and lights, such a complex could significantly boost local play and attract travel tournaments, bringing more visitors and economic activity to Troy.
The Troy Aquatic Park was another major topic. Survey results showed strong interest in more seating, expanded restrooms and concessions, and more usable water space, especially a leisure-style pool area around four feet deep. Staff clarified that the recommended new pool area would not be a shallow “zero-entry” splash feature, but rather a deeper leisure pool designed to relieve crowding and better serve older children and adults.
The joint work session between the Board of Park Commissioners and the Recreation Board is designed to turn this broad conversation into a clearer set of priorities. Using last month’s discussion and the draft plan in place, the two boards will work toward a recommended sequence of projects so design can begin and the city administration can map out funding options for Council to consider.
Announcing our January Community Survey!
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