The master plan process for Powder Mills Park will likely begin later this spring. | The first step is to hire a consultant, and that should happen sometime in May, says Larry Staub, director of the Monroe County Parks Department. Legislation authorizing the consultant's contract must be approved by the County Legislature. | The parks department is looking forward to completing the Powder Mills plan, Staub says. | "It's the first master plan for the park," he says. | A master plan guides park projects and uses. Recommendations in the Ellison Park Area Master Plan, for example, included stabilizing the Irondequoit Creek bank in Ellison Park and opening Tryon Park up to off-road cyclists. | Powder Mills is an established park. While officials are starting the planning process from scratch, the bulk of the recommendations would probably involve rehabilitating existing facilities, Staub says. | The Parks Advisory Committee's June meeting will probably mark the official start of the master-plan process, he says. There will also, he says, be a public input session sometime in the future.