Sparta is using a unique sticker-based system to gather feedback from local students as the city develops a comprehensive parks and recreation master plan.
City Administrator Tonya Tindle said the city contracted with McGill and Associates to create the five-year plan. The firm is hosting drop-in community meetings this Thursday at Woodland Park Elementary during school pickup. A second chance comes Friday during a bluegrass event on the square to reach a wide range of residents.
“They’re going to have just variations of pictures of parks, you know, maybe kayaks, bicycles, playgrounds, swimming pools, you know, bicycle trails,” Tindle said. “And they’re going to give little stickers, maybe like you would have at a yard sale, to these kids as they’re going to get into their on the school buses or for their parents, and they’re going to let them choose which one of these activities they want to see in a park in the City of Sparta and just put the sticker on there.”
Tindle said the visual method allows children to participate without needing to read or fill out a traditional survey. McGill and Associates has utilized this strategy across the country because it is less time-consuming and more engaging for young park users.
“They get excited, and they really get true answers, and all it is is just a sticker,” Tindle said. “They have done these studies all over the United States and they said this has been one of the most effective because it’s least time-consuming, and it’s vibrant because they make the posters, you know, look really good and everything and the kids want to come and look at them and they want to point and say, ‘I’ve done this,’ or ‘I want to do this,’ or ‘I really like the way this looks.’”
The feedback will help the city prioritize projects and determine where to allocate funding. Tindle said the master plan will address immediate needs while working toward long-term goals over the next five years.
“Well, it is a five-year plan, and it will actually help us determine what the public that is actually using the parks wants to see the most,” Tindle said. “What they’re going to do is put these in priority based on the surveys that we have and the input sessions of what the citizens want us to concentrate on first and where they want us to spend the money.”
Tindle said the city decided to develop its own individualized plan after the State of Tennessee changed grant qualification requirements. Sparta previously used the White County master plan, but a grant from TDEC provided the necessary funds for the city to create its own document.
“Well, it takes a long time to do parks and to plan parks, and if you plan a park that nobody’s going to use, you’ve just wasted taxpayers’ dollars,” Tindle said.
In addition to the in-person events, an online survey is available on the city’s Facebook page. Tindle said the city is hoping to reach at least 100 responses to ensure a representative sample of the community.