A strong strategic plan has the potential to do more than outline projects — it can bring a community’s vision to life. During a recent webinar for parks and recreation professionals, Chris Nunes (The Woodlands Township) and guest speaker Chase Ellis (Trophy Club, Texas) shared how a more intentional approach to master planning can build trust, spark engagement, and lay the groundwork for successful funding and implementation.
Here’s what stood out most — and how you can put these ideas into practice, whether you’re leading a small team or a large department.
Rather than treating the master plan as a final deliverable, Chase encouraged professionals to view it as a starting point — an engine that helps move priorities forward over time.
When thoughtfully positioned, a parks and recreation master plan can:
In Trophy Club, aligning the parks and recreation master plan with the town’s larger strategic plan helped broaden support beyond traditional parks advocates. It reframed the conversation from “parks projects” to community-wide impact.
One recurring theme throughout the conversation was the importance of hearing from more than just the most vocal users. While loyal participants are essential voices, they’re only part of the picture.
To truly understand community priorities — and to prepare for future funding conversations — departments benefit from engagement strategies that reach residents with different schedules, interests, and levels of familiarity with parks and recreation.
That broader perspective leads to stronger data, clearer priorities, and decisions that resonate more widely.
Some of the most effective engagement examples shared were also the simplest.
During a pool renovation project, Trophy Club gathered feedback by meeting residents where they already were:
This approach recognized an important reality: how and when people use facilities shapes their perspective. Gathering input across different times, seasons, and user groups helps paint a more accurate picture of community needs.
As Chris noted, timing matters just as much as location — early-season users may differ from late-season users, and weekday participation can look very different from weekends.
Another key takeaway was the value of simplicity. Shorter surveys with higher-level questions reduce friction and make it easier for residents across life stages to participate meaningfully.
Rather than narrowly defined questions that lead to “not applicable” responses, Trophy Club focused on prompts that allowed:
to all share input through the same framework.
Chase also highlighted the importance of looking beyond basic demographics. Understanding how people live, recreate, and connect — not just who they are — helps explain why certain amenities rise to the top and others don’t.
Engagement doesn’t end when data is collected. To build trust, residents need to see how their input shows up in the plan.
Both speakers emphasized the importance of closing the loop:
Even when someone’s individual suggestion isn’t selected, seeing it reflected in the broader conversation helps residents understand the process — and builds confidence that their voice mattered.
Visual storytelling plays a powerful role in community buy-in. Renderings, infographics, and visuals help residents imagine future spaces — especially when those visuals reflect the people who will use them.
Chase shared an example where his team worked closely with designers to ensure representations included:
When residents can picture themselves in a space, support becomes more natural — and enthusiasm grows.
For many communities, evening town halls are no longer the most effective way to gather input. Busy schedules, family commitments, and fatigue can limit participation.
Trophy Club experimented with alternative formats that lowered the barrier to entry:
Community groups hosted their own guided discussions during regularly scheduled gatherings. This approach expanded reach, captured structured data, and engaged residents who might never attend a traditional meeting.
For a large nature park, Trophy Club created a digital, self-guided experience that mirrored an in-person open house. Residents could explore maps, drop pins, and share feedback on their own time — often after kids were in bed.
These approaches not only increased participation but also reduced costs by limiting consultant travel.
Transparency doesn’t require expensive software. Sometimes, it starts with a well-maintained webpage.
Trophy Club created simple project pages that included:
Showing the “why” and the “when” behind projects helps residents understand that progress takes time — and reinforces accountability along the way.
Robust engagement also plays a critical role when projects move toward funding.
By pairing an open community survey with a statistically valid survey, and seeing the results closely align, Trophy Club was able to reinforce confidence in the data. As Chris described it, hearing the same priorities echoed across multiple sources creates clarity and credibility.
That foundation matters when departments begin talking about capital investments, bonds, and long-term funding strategies.
A well-designed master plan does more than document priorities — it creates momentum.
When departments:
Meet people where they are
Share information clearly and visually
Show how feedback influences decisions
Stay transparent about progress and challenges
they build something more powerful than a plan: they build trust.
And when trust is in place, communities are far more willing to support what comes next.
Tune in to watch the full on-demand webinar at the link below.
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