January 2009 Update on Park Matters

COMMUNITY AND RECREATION CENTER SERVICES

 First Night: After a twelve year hiatus First Night is once again alive and well in uptown Charlotte. MCPRD was a member of the steering committee with Center City Partners to make this wonderful family event a reality. Our role was to provide the children's activities which included a duel giant slide, a bounce house and the wheel of fortune where “everyone's a winner”. Glow in the dark sticks and RAY stress balls were among the prizes. The children's events ended with RAY leading the First Night People’s Parade as the Grand Marshall. With over 25,000 people at First Night this promises to be another annual event for our Department.

 Women in Sports: First Ward Recreation Center hosted “We Girls Can Do Anything” on January 2. The program was designed to celebrate women in the sports industry while stressing the importance of education, networking, positive self esteem and hard work among young girls. Women from the Carolina Panthers, ESPN, CMS, YMCA and Park and Recreation spoke to a crowd of 50 girls. The girls received giveaways from the above organizations.

 Boys Club: Merry Oaks School Recreation Center Boys Club attended the Davidson Wildcats basketball game on January 3 courtesy of the Davidson Athletic Department. The 10 boys experienced their first live college basketball game.
 Buy, Sell, Trade and Trunk Treasures: East Haven Neighborhood Association is partnering with Albemarle Road Recreation Center for the first annual Buy, Sell, Trade and Trunk Treasures taking place this Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals and groups are welcome to rent a space to set up and sell items. Breakfast, Lunch and Bake Sale will also be part of the event to feed the hungry treasure and bargain hunters.
 Bojangles Basketball Tournament: Merry Oaks youth basketball teams (15 children and 2 coaches) attended the annual Bojangles Basketball Tournament at Marvin Ridge High School on December 29. Tickets were received through the Summer Hoops Foundation. The players were amazed at the level of excitement at the games.
 Meck Teens Team Bring in the New Year: On Friday, January 2, a group of Meck Teens from the Leafcrest Apartments spent an exciting day of skating, bowling and laser tag. It was a great opportunity for them to bring in the New Year on a positive note and to share stories about their Christmas holiday. Throughout the day the teens expressed ways that they would like to help their peers who are less fortunate. It was a great experience for all who attended.

 Meck Teens Bake-off: Meck Teens Youth at Risk were featured in a Charlotte Observer article for their recent “Teen Bake-off”. This intergenerational program focused on the art of baking as a community service project. The teens were taught how to bake cookies and then took them to a Christmas Party at Southview Recreation Center where the cookies were decorated. This program was a way for teens to impact their community in a positive way and demonstrate their way of giving back during the holiday season.

 January Fitness Center Promotion: Park and Recreation is offering a January promotion on fitness center memberships at the following fitness centers: Bette Rae Thomas, First Ward, Mallard Creek, Ray's Splash Planet, Southview, Tuckaseegee and West Charlotte. The Promotion offers 1 free month on a 6 month membership and 3 free months on an annual adult, senior or family membership. Patrons, friends and family are encouraged to take advantage of this great offer as it provides an affordable option for our citizens to improve their health, get into shape and keep those New Year's resolutions.
 Keeping Kids in Motion Update: A meeting was held on Monday, January 5 with representatives from Red Moon Marketing, Presbyterian Hospital and Park and Recreation to begin securing programming for the Keeping Kids in Motion, a four week program scheduled for the spring of 2009. Physical activity and healthy lifestyles will be the overarching themes of this program and should provide great exposure for many of the programs offered through Park and Recreation. Stay tuned for information on how you can get involved.
 NEW Beginner Running Group: The County employee fitness program is offering a beginner running group which started Monday, January 5. This group is open to all employees who are members of the Hal Marshall Fitness Center. The group leaves Hal Marshall at 6 a.m. on Mondays and runs in the uptown area. They are generally finished 6:45 a.m.

 Zumba: Zumba classes for county employee fitness center members will be held each Thursday at 12:30 and 6:00 p.m. at the Hal Marshal Fitness Center. Zumba is a 45 minute Latin-inspired dance fitness class that works almost every muscle in the body. Be adventurous and try this fun workout.



ENTERPRISE SERVICES

 Historic St. Mary’s Chapel: Staff met with Al Queen, a former resident of the Thompson Children’s Home on January 7 and discussed the possibility of conducting “living history” sessions of life at the home and the history of St. Mary’s Chapel. The Thompson Children’s Home was located on approximately 110 acres in the uptown area that included the existing Chapel. Mr. Queen has agreed to provide information on his stay at the Thompson Home to the after school students of Rama Road Elementary School on January 23 at the Chapel from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Staff is pursuing plans to conduct future public sessions that will include other information about the Home and the Chapel with a question and answer period.
 Revolution Park Golf Course: Staff met with Clyde Johnston, Professional Golf Course Architect and former President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects on January 7 to finalize plans to start Phase I renovation of the Revolution Park Golf Course. An erosion control permit has been approved and Mecklenburg County Flood Mitigation Department has reviewed and approved the proposed changes. Site prep work is projected to start as soon as possible. Staff is finalizing discussions with City Storm Water Services concerning an irrigation source for the golf course. The First Tee of Charlotte has started renovation of the existing clubhouse and plans to start site work on the practice facilities by January 31, 2009.


GREENWAY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

 Wayfinding Signage: Installation of the new signage package began this week on Mallard and Clark’s Creek Greenway. A press event was held on Thursday as the Greenway Maintenance Team was working on the installation at the Kirk Farm Fields entrance.

 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant Applications: Staff submitted applications for two CMAQ grants totaling $500,000 ($250K per project). The first is a pedestrian connection from Lower McAlpine Creek Greenway to the Ballantyne Corporate Park. The second is a pedestrian connection from Mallard Creek Greenway to a CATS park and ride lot on Mallard Creek Road. Matching funds would be applied from 2008 bonds, which included both of these projects.

 Irwin Creek Greenway at Revolution Golf Course: Greenway, Enterprise Services, and Maintenance and Operations staff met to discuss the use of maintenance vehicles on parts of the planned greenway through renovated Revolution Golf Course. Part of the greenway is being designed to follow the existing golf course maintenance path and will continue to be used by maintenance staff after the trail is open to the public. Appropriate signage will be posted warning greenway users of periodic maintenance traffic.

 McDowell Creek Greenway: Cornelius: Mecklenburg County citizens love their greenways so much that they often walk on them before construction is finished. In order to protect the public and the incomplete greenway surface, the Greenway Maintenance and Operations Team installed signs at McDowell Creek Greenway indicating that the Greenway is under construction and not yet open to the public.

 Little Sugar Creek Greenway: Midtown Section: T.K. Browne became active on site at Little Sugar Creek, Midtown/Metropolitan section. This section will most likely be the first urban section of Little Sugar Creek Greenway to be completed. Grading and stream restoration were completed under a previous contract with United Construction.

 Greenway Stakeholder Meetings and Public Workshops: Staff is working to identify stakeholders for Briar and McAlpine Creek Greenway and stream restoration projects, and to schedule the first public workshop for each project. Stakeholders will include a PRC member, GAC member, local residents, adjoining business owners, and other key individuals. The first stakeholder meeting for Briar Creek Greenway will be on Monday January 12, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the Mint Museum, and the first public workshop will be on Monday February 2, 2009 at 6:45 PM. The stakeholder meeting and public workshop for McAlpine Creek Greenway will be in late January or early February.

NATURE PRESERVES AND NATURAL RESOURCES

 Wildlife Sightings: A Common Raven was sighted and photographed during the Southern Lake Norman Christmas Bird Count on December 21. This never before documented species has now been added to the official Mecklenburg County bird list and is the 300th bird species to be documented in Mecklenburg County. Another rare wildlife sighting occurred at McDowell Nature Preserve in December, when two bobcats were photographed together.

 Historic Latta Plantation Civil War Winter Quarters and Homefront: Learn about how families survived while soldiers were away at war, the impact of the home guard on local communities and how soldiers spent their time during brutal winters encamped with the armies. Demonstrations of weaving, cooking, and more are free with regular admission. Don’t miss this event on Saturday 10-4 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m. ($6 for adults, $5 for seniors 62+ and students, ages 5 and under are free).

 Professional Development: Staci Clark, Environmental Educator at Reedy Creek Nature Center, is now a certified Environmental Educator by the State of North Carolina. In order to achieve this goal Staci completed 200 hours of professional development. She is also a Certified Interpretative Guide. Both certifications, held by many of our educators, help to ensure county staff are providing high quality public programming.

 Hike for Habitats: This event was held last Saturday at Ribbon Walk Nature Preserve and was featured on News 14. Participants who attended enjoyed a staff led walk through the preserve. Regular visitors say it is great to see more events like this being held in the preserves.

 K-8 Science Conference: Next week Reedy Creek Nature Center staff will present at the 4th annual K-8 Science Conference sponsored by Southwest Education Alliance held at UNC Charlotte. This annual event focuses on improving science education and provides outreach resources to teachers. 170 teachers are registered for this event.

 Carolina Raptor Center Reducing Hours: Carolina Raptor Center is a private non-profit organization located within Latta Plantation Nature Preserve and has announced that it is reducing its public hours. It will be closed on Mondays through mid-March.


PARK OPERATIONS AND ATHLETIC SERVICES

 Youth Indoor Football League: Athletic Services has teamed up with the Carolina Speed professional arena football program to offer Charlotte's first youth indoor football league involving children ages 9-12. All games will be played at the Bojangles Coliseum (formerly Cricket Arena) on Independence Boulevard on Saturdays beginning in April. Eight teams will compete in the league, which is endorsed by the Speed and the American Indoor Football Association. Park and Recreation's youth football coordinator Derichard McCoy will lead the program and registration is currently being accepted.

 Volunteer Services: Volunteer Services had a lot to be thankful for in 2008. Over one hundred coaches volunteered at our centers this past fall. CMS high schools have volunteered at the parks over 130 times since September and over 60 times in 2008 various companies and organizations have had groups volunteer in a park.

CAPITAL PLANNING

 Sycamore Commons Project at Ray's Splash Planet: Planning staff met Friday, January 9 with design consultants and CMS staff to review progress on plans for this new mixed use residential/office complex adjacent to Ray's Splash Planet. This is a public private partnership venture primarily with CMS who is the land owner for this parcel.

 Evergreen Nature Preserve Master Plan: Planning and Natural Resources staff met on Tuesday, January 6 to finalize design elements for this property's site master plan. Two community workshops have been conducted previously and input has been received. A final site master plan will be presented at a joint meeting of the Stewardship and East Park District Advisory Councils in late February to be followed by a presentation to the Park and Recreation Commission and ultimately to the BOCC for approval.