A new city of Missouri City initiative aims to bring residents and private entities together to help provide improvements to the city’s parks and green spaces.

The #PlayItForward initiative is in collaboration with the city’s parks and recreation department and follows objectives set forth in the City Council-approved Strategic Plan 2014-2019-2029 that include expanding leisure programs, activities and venues within Missouri City; providing opportunities to live a healthy and active lifestyle; and maintaining and upgrading city infrastructure, such as parks, streets and sidewalks.

“Last year, we did a parks assessment, which showed a number of improvements to be made,” City Manager Anthony Snipes told City Council on June 17. “This year, all of our funding with the parks, with citizen-improved bonds ended, so it is important to be creative to partner with our private entities, but also with our neighborhoods. We believe it allows all of us to be engaged to come up with funding to make parks and green space the best they can be.”

Through #PlayItForward, neighborhoods and individuals have the opportunity to sponsor city green space projects, helping to reduce the burden on the budget and to enhance local playscapes, Snipes said.

Missouri City has more than 20 parks and 14 miles of trails winding through communities, and #PlayItForward will showcase the amenities.

Companies and neighborhoods that join the citywide operation will work closely with the parks and recreation department to ensure specified projects come to fruition and that they showcase commercial partnerships with the city, Snipes said. Companies will also provide input in any initiative they sponsor.

“We will emphasize to business owners and neighborhoods that when you #PlayItForward, you further cement your legacy in Missouri City,” Parks and Recreation Director Jason Mangum said in a statement. “And that whenever somebody visits the greenspace your organization sponsored, they will know that they are enjoying the space because of your generosity.”

The city engaged M2L Associates Inc. to perform a Park Facilities Assessment Management Plan to develop a program to schedule repairs, or replace old or worn assets and provide estimated costs for such recommendations.