A survey has been sent out regarding the Middle Carbon County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.

The survey asks for residents' opinions about the parks and recreation in their area. The results of the survey will be used to create an improvement plan for parks and recreation in the area.The Middle Carbon County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan is in correlation with the Middle Carbon County Comprehensive Plan.The municipalities which are a part of the Middle Carbon Comprehensive Plan are: Summit Hill, Lansford, Jim Thorpe and Penn Forest Township.Ann Toole of the Comprehensive Plan stated, "The survey is a way of trying to assess public opinion in terms of improvement for parks and recreation."The survey is about what people want in a park or recreation areas.It also asks questions about how residents find out about recreation activities and which activities that they participate in.Around 1,600 surveys have been sent out to random residents in Summit Hill, Jim Thorpe, Lansford and Penn Forest Township."We hope that recipients of the survey are interested and send the survey back as soon as possible," stated Toole.The results of the survey will be used to develop the 10-year Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.Once the plan is developed and accepted, the plan will start to be implemented within a year."We want to know what the residents think. We will be using the public's opinion to create the plan," she added.The survey states, "The plan will make recommendations for providing recreation opportunities while preserving our scenic beauty and natural resources."Toole said the plan will help the area with economic development, cleaner environment, and building strong families and communities."The (parks, recreation, and open spaces) plan is important and it will only take a few minutes to fill out the survey and send it back," said Toole.