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POSTED: 08:36 a.m. EDT, Sep 04, 2009
Meeting Report: August 12, 2009, Community Discussion
University Park Alliance, Park and Recreation Planning
Mason CLC, 6:30-8:30pm
Attending
Community Representatives:
Mary T. Holden
Vivian Neal
Michael Byun
H. S. Schreiber
Ms. G. Burton Gibson
Ethel L. Chambers
David Nelson
Andrea Wims
Yolanda Parker
Sham Rawindanath
Dane Jones
City of Akron Representatives:
Mark Moore
Jim Ashley
Jeremy Rowan
University Park Alliance (UPA) Representatives:
Ken Stapleton
Beth Houseman
Other:
Jeff Vengrow (Facilitator, Center For Nonprofit Excellence)
Observations
The majority of the responses to question 1 were focused more on tangible items rather than programs. For example there were several responses to enhance the parks by adding things like a basketball court, a cricket field, and a roller rink that would be available for residents.
The programming that is desired seemed to cover all age groups. There were suggestions made for programs geared toward youth as well as seniors. The responses to question 2 seemed to match up well with those from question 1. The attendees seem to participate in activities that utilize stationary equipment in park-like areas such as walking paths as opposed to structured programs. Most of the concerns reported in question 3 focused on maintenance of the park and its facilities, but there were several safety concerns as well.
Project Background and Overview
University Park Alliance (UPA) has engaged the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) to facilitate and promote a series of community meetings on its behalf. The objective of these meetings is to engage various stakeholders within University Park in discussions that will lead to public realm improvements, community and capacity building and communication and events programs.
These meetings, on a variety of topics, will be scheduled at various locations throughout the University Park area over a two year period.
The first group of four community discussions has been scheduled during the July-September time frame on the topic of Parks and Recreational Planning. This group of meetings is designed to inform and discuss plans to invest in neighborhood parks, program, and other recreational resources.
Meeting Process
The design of these meetings is in a town hall discussion format. While speakers will be present to outline existing conditions and current plans, the primary design is to engage attendees in a facilitated discussion in order to identify primary areas of interest. Meetings will include photographs and/or videotaping and posted to the UPA web site.
Second Meeting August 12, 2009 held at Mason Park
Those in attendance were asked to address four key questions associated with the topic. Their responses were captured on flip charts and those questions/responses are incorporated in this report. In addition, attendees were provided with adhesive “dots” and were asked to prioritize their responses to the last question by placing their dots on the top items of interest. The following are the responses given at that meeting.
Prioritized Responses to Question 1: What parks or recreation facilities & programs would you really like to have that is not currently available?
6 votes:
• Cricket field, practice and play
5 votes:
• Tennis/ basketball, multi-purpose court
4 votes:
• Beautiful programs, flowers, lot clean-ups
• Jewett Park Improvements
o Basketball courts
3 votes:
• Jewett Park Improvements - overall
• Grace Park, Sojourner Truth statue instead of Perkins
• Walking/historical walk, history of neighborhood
2 votes:
• Programs and facilities for seniors
• Multi-purpose building
o Projector, movies
• Picnic tables and chairs
• More advertising for current parks
• Consider mixed used area, like football and soccer
• Roller-skating rink
Individual Discussion Comments:
• Jewett Park Improvements
o Shelter open
o Playground
o Day camps
o Community awareness events
• Multi-purpose building
o Roller-skating, participate and watch, spectator area
o Indoor tennis
o Chess and checkers
o Picnic tables
• Community linkage from UPA area, from Thorton, from Grant to Towpath linkage
• Individual exercise program, kids and adults
o Monkey bars
• Resident discounts to Lock 3, downtown
• Grace Park
o Staff person/attendant
• Water sprinklers (like Cuyahoga Falls “Dodge”) where geysers’ pop up and children can play
• Bike trail from Dave’s Market
• Use public place to draw from particular sports like beach volleyball. Draw from outside into neighborhood
• Paint sidewalks- bigfoot trails, footprints
• League activity increase
• University art – go to art studio Grant St.
• Hopscotch at parks
• Skateboard opportunity (Piper)
• Transport skate park at Rubber bowl
• Kaboom site – big blocks for kids
• Maypole and parachutes
• Tennis child/parent programs
• Indoor sports for winter, indoor playground
• Winter carnival
• Cross country skiing
• Programming for girls
• Wheel chair tennis
• Programs and facilities for multi-age levels
• Jewett Park Improvements: benches, facilities, career camps, basketball leagues, shuffleboard, corn hole, art festival, singles night
Question 2: What recreational programs & facilities do you currently use including parks, university, churches, and others?
• Rollercade, East Market St.
• Firestone Park- walking path
• Goodyear Park- Hiking and sledding
• Running track, U of A
• Tennis
• Roller-skating
• Goodyear- cross-country skiing
• Line dance
• Hardesty and Goodyear- Music and ballet
• Cricket
• Open Door-building a multipurpose room
• Transportation between parks
• Chapel facility/ gym
• Legett School- basketball, gym, after-school program
• Alpha Phi alpha
• Univ. of Akron swim program, but expensive ($150/summer) discount for UPA resident
• JCC –weight room, gym/aerobics
• Cheerleading
• Towpath
• Track/walk at UA
• Walking sidewalks
• Softball field- Parks and Recreation
• Mason Center facility
• Arlington Church of God facility
Question 3: What concerns do you have that limit or affect your use of the recreational facilities and programs in University Park?
• Jewett
o Little lighting
o Damaged fencing
• Handicap Accessibility
• Under-maintained facilities
• Parking
• Restrooms (Clean!)
• Water faucets and fountains
• Soft enough surface under playgrounds
• General personal safety
o Gangs
• Late hours of operation
o (Open in the dark)
• Lack of programming, seniors, disabled
• Director for each park
o Telephone #s
o Who to contact
• Emergency phones
• Want trees, but of too big create safety hazard
• Concern about fencing at Boss Park
o “Cornered feeling…no way out…trapped”
o Consider removing fence
• Went to Firestone Park concert-afraid to get out of car-needs to be well lit
o (Leggett Amphitheater)
• Ability to project movie on wall/outdoors
o (“like a drive-in’)
• Bring movie shows out into community
• Vandalism
• $ for programming
• YMCA-Tearing down hotel
• Concerns that Limit Affect
• Safety after dark
• Community safety going to parks
• Consider mtg of Block Capt-what they could do-share ideas
• Build network of people that assists neighbors
• Insufficient promotion of community activities
• Market/Exchange St.. create a barrier-pedestrian friendly environment
• More “Blue Phones” emergency call boxes
• Police on bikes
• Parking
• Sufficiency of capacity at Mason Park
• Space restricts building community
• More “friendly “vegetation” ‘clean up
Question 1: What is your reaction to the preliminary concepts for Boss & Mason Parks?
• Enough study of population demographics in area of boss?
• Not enough focus on smaller parks in neighborhood
• Are CLC’s really being used?
• Smaller nonprofits can’t afford cost of CLC facility rentals
• Boss – safety of playground so in the park
• Dilapidated houses around Boss
• Boss- Tennis courts? Are facilities for long term residents or students? Can it be used more for extension of the CLL/School programming?
• Bike/Hike trail
• Shuffle board
• Bocce
• Would like a walking trail
• Grace Park: facilities for younger folks
• Why re-do Boss Park if Leggett is getting re-done?
• Should Boss Park be revitalized for seniors also? Other population groups – chess & check board (all weather – bring our own pieces, but painted on picnic tables), benches, pavilion.
• Sand boxes
• Universal approach
Meeting Report: August 12, 2009, Community Discussion
University Park Alliance, Park and Recreation Planning
Mason CLC, 6:30-8:30pm
Attending
Community Representatives:
Mary T. Holden
Vivian Neal
Michael Byun
H. S. Schreiber
Ms. G. Burton Gibson
Ethel L. Chambers
David Nelson
Andrea Wims
Yolanda Parker
Sham Rawindanath
Dane Jones
City of Akron Representatives:
Mark Moore
Jim Ashley
Jeremy Rowan
University Park Alliance (UPA) Representatives:
Ken Stapleton
Beth Houseman
Other:
Jeff Vengrow (Facilitator, Center For Nonprofit Excellence)
Observations
The majority of the responses to question 1 were focused more on tangible items rather than programs. For example there were several responses to enhance the parks by adding things like a basketball court, a cricket field, and a roller rink that would be available for residents.
The programming that is desired seemed to cover all age groups. There were suggestions made for programs geared toward youth as well as seniors. The responses to question 2 seemed to match up well with those from question 1. The attendees seem to participate in activities that utilize stationary equipment in park-like areas such as walking paths as opposed to structured programs. Most of the concerns reported in question 3 focused on maintenance of the park and its facilities, but there were several safety concerns as well.
Project Background and Overview
University Park Alliance (UPA) has engaged the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) to facilitate and promote a series of community meetings on its behalf. The objective of these meetings is to engage various stakeholders within University Park in discussions that will lead to public realm improvements, community and capacity building and communication and events programs.
These meetings, on a variety of topics, will be scheduled at various locations throughout the University Park area over a two year period.
The first group of four community discussions has been scheduled during the July-September time frame on the topic of Parks and Recreational Planning. This group of meetings is designed to inform and discuss plans to invest in neighborhood parks, program, and other recreational resources.
Meeting Process
The design of these meetings is in a town hall discussion format. While speakers will be present to outline existing conditions and current plans, the primary design is to engage attendees in a facilitated discussion in order to identify primary areas of interest. Meetings will include photographs and/or videotaping and posted to the UPA web site.
Second Meeting August 12, 2009 held at Mason Park
Those in attendance were asked to address four key questions associated with the topic. Their responses were captured on flip charts and those questions/responses are incorporated in this report. In addition, attendees were provided with adhesive “dots” and were asked to prioritize their responses to the last question by placing their dots on the top items of interest. The following are the responses given at that meeting.
Prioritized Responses to Question 1: What parks or recreation facilities & programs would you really like to have that is not currently available?
6 votes:
• Cricket field, practice and play
5 votes:
• Tennis/ basketball, multi-purpose court
4 votes:
• Beautiful programs, flowers, lot clean-ups
• Jewett Park Improvements
o Basketball courts
3 votes:
• Jewett Park Improvements - overall
• Grace Park, Sojourner Truth statue instead of Perkins
• Walking/historical walk, history of neighborhood
2 votes:
• Programs and facilities for seniors
• Multi-purpose building
o Projector, movies
• Picnic tables and chairs
• More advertising for current parks
• Consider mixed used area, like football and soccer
• Roller-skating rink
Individual Discussion Comments:
• Jewett Park Improvements
o Shelter open
o Playground
o Day camps
o Community awareness events
• Multi-purpose building
o Roller-skating, participate and watch, spectator area
o Indoor tennis
o Chess and checkers
o Picnic tables
• Community linkage from UPA area, from Thorton, from Grant to Towpath linkage
• Individual exercise program, kids and adults
o Monkey bars
• Resident discounts to Lock 3, downtown
• Grace Park
o Staff person/attendant
• Water sprinklers (like Cuyahoga Falls “Dodge”) where geysers’ pop up and children can play
• Bike trail from Dave’s Market
• Use public place to draw from particular sports like beach volleyball. Draw from outside into neighborhood
• Paint sidewalks- bigfoot trails, footprints
• League activity increase
• University art – go to art studio Grant St.
• Hopscotch at parks
• Skateboard opportunity (Piper)
• Transport skate park at Rubber bowl
• Kaboom site – big blocks for kids
• Maypole and parachutes
• Tennis child/parent programs
• Indoor sports for winter, indoor playground
• Winter carnival
• Cross country skiing
• Programming for girls
• Wheel chair tennis
• Programs and facilities for multi-age levels
• Jewett Park Improvements: benches, facilities, career camps, basketball leagues, shuffleboard, corn hole, art festival, singles night
Question 2: What recreational programs & facilities do you currently use including parks, university, churches, and others?
• Rollercade, East Market St.
• Firestone Park- walking path
• Goodyear Park- Hiking and sledding
• Running track, U of A
• Tennis
• Roller-skating
• Goodyear- cross-country skiing
• Line dance
• Hardesty and Goodyear- Music and ballet
• Cricket
• Open Door-building a multipurpose room
• Transportation between parks
• Chapel facility/ gym
• Legett School- basketball, gym, after-school program
• Alpha Phi alpha
• Univ. of Akron swim program, but expensive ($150/summer) discount for UPA resident
• JCC –weight room, gym/aerobics
• Cheerleading
• Towpath
• Track/walk at UA
• Walking sidewalks
• Softball field- Parks and Recreation
• Mason Center facility
• Arlington Church of God facility
Question 3: What concerns do you have that limit or affect your use of the recreational facilities and programs in University Park?
• Jewett
o Little lighting
o Damaged fencing
• Handicap Accessibility
• Under-maintained facilities
• Parking
• Restrooms (Clean!)
• Water faucets and fountains
• Soft enough surface under playgrounds
• General personal safety
o Gangs
• Late hours of operation
o (Open in the dark)
• Lack of programming, seniors, disabled
• Director for each park
o Telephone #s
o Who to contact
• Emergency phones
• Want trees, but of too big create safety hazard
• Concern about fencing at Boss Park
o “Cornered feeling…no way out…trapped”
o Consider removing fence
• Went to Firestone Park concert-afraid to get out of car-needs to be well lit
o (Leggett Amphitheater)
• Ability to project movie on wall/outdoors
o (“like a drive-in’)
• Bring movie shows out into community
• Vandalism
• $ for programming
• YMCA-Tearing down hotel
• Concerns that Limit Affect
• Safety after dark
• Community safety going to parks
• Consider mtg of Block Capt-what they could do-share ideas
• Build network of people that assists neighbors
• Insufficient promotion of community activities
• Market/Exchange St.. create a barrier-pedestrian friendly environment
• More “Blue Phones” emergency call boxes
• Police on bikes
• Parking
• Sufficiency of capacity at Mason Park
• Space restricts building community
• More “friendly “vegetation” ‘clean up
Question 1: What is your reaction to the preliminary concepts for Boss & Mason Parks?
• Enough study of population demographics in area of boss?
• Not enough focus on smaller parks in neighborhood
• Are CLC’s really being used?
• Smaller nonprofits can’t afford cost of CLC facility rentals
• Boss – safety of playground so in the park
• Dilapidated houses around Boss
• Boss- Tennis courts? Are facilities for long term residents or students? Can it be used more for extension of the CLL/School programming?
• Bike/Hike trail
• Shuffle board
• Bocce
• Would like a walking trail
• Grace Park: facilities for younger folks
• Why re-do Boss Park if Leggett is getting re-done?
• Should Boss Park be revitalized for seniors also? Other population groups – chess & check board (all weather – bring our own pieces, but painted on picnic tables), benches, pavilion.
• Sand boxes
• Universal approach
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