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Members of the Mount Airy Parks and Recreation Commission will take their first public look tonight at revised plans that could bring pavilions, ball fields and a natural amphitheater that could hold up to 600 people in Windy Ridge Park.

The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. today in Mount Airy Town Hall, 210 S. Main St.

Consultants of JMT, a Baltimore-based engineering firm, will present the plans to commission members. Residents are invited to attend, but will not be able to ask questions. A public meeting is scheduled for Dec. 17 to allow residents to comment on the plan.

Last spring, JMT presented plans for the 89-acre park on the northwest end of town. Many residents were not happy with the possible noise and activity the sports fields would bring, along with traffic's proposed entry points into the park.

"There were several meetings in the spring that got pretty contentious," said Bob King, chair of the commission.

He said the plan has been reworked, and he thinks three options will be presented.

The revised plan includes parking, pavilions, restrooms, a camp site, basketball courts, playground equipment, multi-purpose fields, an amphitheater and trails.

King said the Dec. 17 meeting will be open to public comment, but tonight's meeting is for commission members to learn what the plan is about and clarify issues through their questions.

"I want him to be able to give his presentation before we start asking questions," King said. "[JMT has] never been able to get through one presentation without getting hammered with questions."

King stressed that the plan is not final. "It's a general idea of what we want to do," he said, saying that changes in area recreational situations or other things can impact what will ultimately end up on the property.

"We're talking years and years before we'll be able to afford to do anything with this," he said.

The plan will go through the town's other commissions in the future, including planning, and streets and roads.

For those unable to attend the summary or December meeting, the park's draft is available on the town's Web site at www.mountairymd.

org/documents.asp.

There is also a separate comment page on the Web site that can be completed for any who may want to provide input. Those wanting to do so can complete the "Comment Page," e-mail Town planner Kelly Ziad at KZiad@mountairymd.org, fax to 301-829-1259, or by mail no later than Dec. 1.

E-mail Angie Cochrun at acochrun@gazette.net.