Rye's City Council and Recreation Commission will hold a joint meeting at Gagliardo Park on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m. to discuss plans for improving the park.

The session is separate from the council's regular Wednesday, Oct. 7, meeting at City Hall. The city posted the announcement on Friday, Oct. 2, but the notice included only a date and an image. No agenda has been released.

The Oct. 7 council agenda listed the Gagliardo session under its look-ahead section, describing it as a joint meeting to plan park improvements. The agenda did not specify whether the session will include a formal public comment period or follow a different structure than a standard council meeting.

Gagliardo Park planning has appeared on council agendas since at least mid-September. The Sept. 16 council agenda flagged an "Update on Gagliardo Park Planning" as a future discussion item. The Sept. 23 special council meeting agenda carried the same listing.

Rick McCabe, chairman of the Rye Recreation Commission, named Gagliardo the commission's top capital priority during an Aug. 28 interview on MyRye.com. McCabe listed Disbrow tennis courts, Rec Park playgrounds and updates to the main recreation building and bathrooms as additional priorities.

McCabe described the commission's approach as focused on durability and access over quick fixes. "… Let's make smart decisions," McCabe said in the podcast. "We're always going to have finite resources, finite space."

The Recreation Commission, which McCabe chairs, will sit alongside the City Council at the Thursday session. The joint format suggests the meeting is meant to gather input before any formal proposals move forward.

No renovation scope, cost estimate or funding source for Gagliardo Park improvements has been made public. The session is a planning meeting; no spending decisions have been announced.

The council's next regular meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, with an executive session at 6:30 p.m. A Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop is also scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14.