Last year, the Park City School District laid its foundation with a new mission, vision and values. Now, the district is ready to get to start building its master plan.

The Park City Board of Education recently created a master-planning steering committee, comprising parents, teachers, community members and other stakeholders, and selected GSBS Architects of Salt Lake City as the consultants for the master-planning process. The two groups met for the first time last week, and determined a timeline and process that aims to include the community throughout.

Anne Peters, a Board member who serves on the committee, said improving communication was one of the major differences Board members wanted to see with this master-planning process. In the past, there were concerns within the community about a perceived lack of information being shared, which contributed to the Board’s failed bond measure in 2015. Some residents said they felt like their feedback was not taken into account, Peters said.

“We are going to make sure that everybody is being heard and in the loop,” she said.

This time around, there will be four open houses, during which the public can meet with the steering committee and consultants to learn about the progress of the master plan. The first one is set to take place by early October, said Chris Guarino, managing director of NV5, an engineering consulting firm partnering with GSBS Architects on the master planning process.

An external communication consultant is being brought on to boost communication, Peters said, and committee members will be used as the primary messengers to the public. She said the committee also plans on posting videos of their meetings, as well as all documents pertaining to the process.

“We want the community to be as invested in this as we are, and it’s got to work for everybody,” she said.

Peters said another difference in master planning is the angle of approach. Instead of having buildings “dictate the process,” she said the educational vision of the community will.

“I think what we did last time is we went straight from buildings to bond, and this is really more about the learning environment,” she said. “It doesn’t mean a building, it doesn’t necessarily mean a bond.”

The master-planning committee intends to discover the vision of the community through a survey. Peters said once the committee determines the wants and needs of the community, it will decide whether new buildings are necessary.

The committee plans to have a draft of the final master plan available for the public to view by early May. It will include the community values and vision for education, an evaluation of facilities and an implementation plan to move forward.

For updates on the master planning process, visit http://www.pcschools.us/master-plan/steering-committee/.