OKANOGAN – Okanogan County will hold community meetings across the county to hear from residents about recreation and gather comments to update the 2012 Recreation Plan.

The first meeting is scheduled for Oroville at the city hall on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. The next will be at Winthrop at the Liberty Bell High School multi-purpose room on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m. A meeting at Pateros will be held at the city hall on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. and at the Commissioners’ Hearing Room in Okanogan the next day, Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.

The county has a community survey available on the county’s website www.okanogancounty.org.

“As the state, counties and cities face declining budgets it is more important than ever to focus limited funding toward the greatest benefit to our communities. The recreation survey will help us to identify needs and level of service for existing facilities and future needs, said Ted Murray, Outdoor Recreation Coordinator for Okanogan County.

The 2010 census has identified a dramatic increase in the county’s population of residents ages 50 and above from just ten years ago. At the same time the population under 50 has declined substantially.

“What are the recreation interests of our aging population?” asks Murray, who adds the county is encouraging people to take the time to fill out the survey and share the link with friends who live or recreate in the county.