The City of Monroe commissioned Beckett & Raeder, Inc. to update their Parks and Recreation Master Plan. A collaborative planning process was undertaken in order to address changes that occurred in the years since the City’s Recreation Systems Plan was approved. This process involved input from community members and City officials to develop a vision for the future. The project was undertaken so that the City could gain a clearer understanding of the facilities they operate and the citizens they serve in parks and recreation programs.

The City of Monroe has an extensive parks system, with over 40 parks spread throughout the city and neighborhoods. The resulting plan included a detailed inventory of the parks and recreation assets in the City of Monroe, a reporting of the administrative structure of the parks and recreation decision-making processes in the City, a description of the public input and planning process, an outline of the City’s recreation goals and objectives, and an action program with specific directives for the following five years to work toward these goals.

The City of Monroe’s goals for the future of their recreation system were to provide safe, high quality recreational experiences that increase the quality of life in Monroe, to fully leverage Monroe’s recreational waterfront assets, and to fully leverage the historic assets within Monroe’s recreation system. The recreation plan was designed to coordinate and build upon the recent “Resilient Monroe” master plan and the River Raisin Heritage Corridor master plan.