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Morristown Parks and Rec needs input from the public to help guide plans for both the short and long term; there are two meetings coming up that will provide input for a playground replacement at Fred Miller Park and another next month to help plan for the next 10 years.

Parks Director Travis Barbee said it’s good when citizens take ownership of how their parks grow.

“Every single person that comes into our park system, we want to hear about it,” he said. “(We want to know) what would make them come out to a park, or what thing they enjoy most. Is there a sport they want to play, an activity they want”

The first meeting is Monday at 3 p.m., at the Bishop Goodman shelter, the main shelter by the main playground, at Fred Miller Park, located at 441 W. Morris Boulevard.

The existing playground was installed in 1995, and while the park has been maintained well, there are things that can be upgraded and there is wear and tear that comes along with being “well loved” over the course of 30 years.

Half of the funding will be through a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant, which is a 50/50 grant with the state.

The new playground will cost approximately $300,000 and will be built within the existing footprint of the current playground.

Aimed at children 5 to 12 years old, the park will feature new, popular elements such as an 80 foot zip line and a merry-go-round type feature that should spin fun in every direction.

Barbee said the new park will be a nice balance and alternative option next to the very busy Jolley Park.

“We tried to incorporate the most popular attractions from Jolly Park and move them across the street, essentially,” he said. “Fred Miller Park is still an anchor for Parks and Rec in Morristown.”

The next public meeting Barbee would like to see people show up for is the Master Plan Meeting on April 2 at Talley Ward Community Center.

The session will let citizens give feedback on plans for the park system and the Parks Department will have “have a presentation, discussion and surveys for charting a course for what’s next for public parks and recreation in Morristown.”

Much of the current planning is centered around planning that was professionally developed through a state planning grant. It provides insight for a 10-year roadmap for capital investments, programming and staffing needs across the breadth of Morristown’s park system.

“(The grant allows a development/design/planning) group to come in and facilitate looking at what we have in the park system, talking to the public and seeing what we need,” Barbee said. “We really want to hear from the entire county (in addition to the city), because that’s who we’re serving.”

An email was sent out to everyone who’s signed up for emails throughout the park system and Barbee said around 9,000 invites to the meeting were sent out.

Between the Fred Miller’s playground upgrade, the new pickleball courts and other amenities being upgraded at Frank Lorino Park and a major expansion at Wayne Hansard Park, there is a lot of excitement about what’s going on and what is still to come for Morristown’s parks.