Oxford Parks and Rec collects feedback for master plan, possible new TRI Center

The City of Oxford has launched a Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment Survey in partnership with Talawanda Recreation Incorporated (TRI) and ETC Institute with the help of PROS Consulting.

The survey will use community feedback to shape a Parks Master Plan for projects to come over the next five to 10 years.

Oxford Parks and Recreation hosted a public meeting at the TRI Community Center on April 22 to introduce the survey and accept feedback.

Will Younger, principal at PROS Consulting, said the master plan is in the “discovery phase” now, as the firm looks at the park system as a whole and the city gathers community input and funding. At the same time, he said PROS is working with MSA Architects to decide what could be built on the site of the community center at 6025 Fairfield Rd., or if it should be expanded or renovated.

“We’re really just trying to get as much information,” Younger said. “What are the programs that people would like to see in the system, whether that could be either here (at the TRI Center) or outside at other parks? But also, what type of amenities would they want to see at an improved TRI and/or whether it be the community park or on the OATS trail?”

Younger said his firm will get the results from the survey this summer, after which it will host another public meeting with preliminary recommendations for the master plan and feasibility study. 

Chad Smith, director of Oxford Parks and Recreation, said the development of the master plan will conclude at the end of the year.  

“We know that there’s a lot of appetite for passive recreation, youth sports … just existing in our parks,” Smith said. “We know the community has a desire to see our park system grow, see it improve, and the last master plan was done in 1997 for the park system, so it’s time to do it.”

As for the TRI Center, Smith said the building, which was completed in 1967, has been a “beloved local landmark” for decades, but “I think the community wants and deserves a more modern community center."

Additionally, he said Oxford’s recreational programming has grown beyond the current center’s capacity, requiring more space for fitness, classrooms, meetings and other uses. 

Any project proposed by the Recreation Board would need to be approved and budgeted for by the Oxford City Council.

Mike Rudolph, a member of the Oxford Kiwanis Club, said his organization has previously supported similar projects.

“Part of our objective is to look for programs that we can help fund or support, like when the new aquatic facilities were put out at the community park,” Rudolph said, adding Kiwanis provided some funding for the slides and safety equipment, as well as a bike path and beaches at the Chestnut Street Station. “That’s really what we like to do, is help support youth in this community.”

Rudolph said he was around 10 years old when the TRI Center was built, and it became a second home for him and his friends, as there wasn’t anywhere else to play besides the school grounds. 

“I just feel like we need to help move this along to … that new generation coming in,” Rudolph said. 

Betsy Walker, a childcare provider and owner of Miss Betsy’s Play School, said an ideal community center would have a high-quality classroom with windows, a preschool room, toddler room and an infant room.

“We’re kind of a desert,” Walker said of childcare options in Oxford. “I get calls all the time (from) people desperate for childcare options.”

A survey mapping activity and vision board are now publicly available on the City of Oxford website. The feedback collected by these activities will go directly toward the development of the master plan.

Additionally, several randomly selected Oxford households have received surveys in the mail to complete and send back to Oxford Parks and Recreation.