The community is invited to attend an open house at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 at Lake Wilderness Lodge to explore the opportunities for enhancing the value of parks, trails and recreational programming in Maple Valley.

Members of the community are being asked to review a comprehensive plan that will guide decisions about parks, trails, greenways and recreation services in Maple Valley for many years to come.

The purpose will be to review the preliminary findings and recommendations of a new parks and recreation system plan to be presented to City Council later this winter. Residents of all ages are invited to comment on findings to date, review recommendations and give additional input about the planning, design and future direction of the city park, trail and recreation system.

This is the second of two public meetings being held as part of the public planning process. The planning team is wrapping up the work started in the fall, including a community survey and inventory of current parks and recreation facilities.

Survey results indicate that Maple Valley residents are satisfied with parks and recreation services and placed the highest priority on maintaining existing parks and trails when asked to compare with other priorities, such as protecting open space, developing trails, acquiring land and building a new community center.