Washington Park might be overlooked by many but it was square in the sights of the City of Warren Parks & Recreation Commission on Tuesday.

The commission at its last meeting approved city staff exploring a possible grant that would fund a site plan for the park overlooking Warren.

“The city was awarded that grant,” City Manager Nancy Freenock told the commission during Tuesday’s meeting.

That site plan is a piece of the city’s recreation plan which is currently in the works which is being drafted by Mackin Engineering.

“Washington Park is a passive use park,” Commission member Kirk Johnson said.

He cited a draft of the plan which says Washington Park is “suitable for intense development. Now that’s contradictory to the primary purpose of a passive use park.”

He said that reflects a mistake in the plan but Freenock called it a “recommendation.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she said, calling the park one of the “things they see in the pan that can be (improved). I don’t think it’s a mistake.”

She told the commission that the site plan would entail the consulting firm to “find out what does the public want,” noting the 65 acre area might not ever be developed.

“What this is is just a look at what can be done there and what you would like to see done there,” she added. “Nobody has plans to develop it at this point.”

Freenock emphasized that the plan — in addition to developing ideas and construction costs for development — will include public input.

Johnson argued that the area should be set aside as a “nature preserve” to “be permanently preserved from all forms of development.”

“I think Kirk’s option is very worthy of consideration,” Commission chair Mike Suppa said. “The most important thing to me is to listen to all the possibilities and options” before the city’s residents “make a final determination.

“I just don’t want to see a limitation at this point,” he added, noting the entire discussion is in the “embryonic stages.”

Johnson called on the city to be transparent in the process and said all city residents should be involved and “everybody has to be able to agree.”

“I think the thing is you try to build some consensus,” Suppa countered. “Not everyone is always happy where that consensus goes.

“I think we have a wonderful place up there” that many don’t know about, he added, recommending that the city look to put signage in the downtown to make the park more known.

“We have so many people coming into town now,” he said. “I think so many of those people would love to go to someplace like that but they have no idea it’s up there.”