Wednesday evening, much of the Perry community made their way to the McCreary Center for the Parks and Recreation master planning open house.

The public was able to stop by between 4-8 p.m. to take a look at the work done thus far by SVPA Architects and the ISU Community and Regional Planning studio class. There were an assortment of boards set up around the lobby of the McCreary Center that outlined information such as: the expansion and repurposing plans for the McCreary Center; the public survey results; the assessments and recommendations for each of the City’s parks; and the proposed outdoor pool.

Representatives from SVPA and the ISU class were on hand to take attendees through each board, and there were also formal presentations given at 5 and 7 p.m. The representatives said the consensus from the community was they wanted an outdoor pool first and foremost, so that will be the priority moving forward. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson said there could be action on the master plans as early as next year, and he’s anxious for some revitalization with Perry Parks and Rec. “I’m really excited for this project. I feel like this is definitely one of those community pride projects, because I know I have great memories of the parks growing up as a kid, as well as the McCreary Center. So it’s definitely fun to be able to help shape that and invest in that for our next generations in town.”

Around 900 Perry residents contributed in some way to the master plan, which the ISU students said represented around 9% of the population and was a great show of community involvement.