Austin Parks Foundation announces new grants for park projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  – July 13, 2011

CONTACT: Charlie McCabe, 512-477-1566 x2, cmccabe@austinparks.org

Restoring Grassland, Protecting Trees

Austin Parks Foundation announces new grants for park projects

AUSTIN, Texas—Today, Austin Parks Foundation announced $110,000 in grants for projects at 14 parks across Austin. All projects are initiated and led by volunteers. Project highlights include native prairie restoration at Commons Ford Ranch and tree protection at Zilker Park.

Restoring native prairie: In 2010, bird watcher and attorney Ed Z. Fair formed Commons Ford Prairie Restoration Organization to replace a 40-acre field of mesquite with vital bird habitat. “Native tall-grass prairies are on the verge of extinction,” says Charlie McCabe, Austin Parks Foundation Executive Director. “This project supports endangered plants and animals while serving the community through beautification and education.” Austin Parks Foundation will contribute $25,000 for native seeds and other expenses.

Disc golfers and tree-huggers team up: Disc golf is a favorite Austin park activity but flying discs can be hard on trees. Now Austin Heritage Tree Society and Waterloo Disc Association are teaming up to protect trees at Zilker Park’s disc golf course. Austin Parks Foundation is funding experimental tree cages and extensive mulching for tee boxes.

Austin Parks Foundation grants are funded by a percentage of Austin City Limits Music Festival ticket sales and more information about the program is available at http://www.austinparks.org/npg.html. The next grant application deadline is September 30, 2011. Community members are invited to attend a class on how to apply on August 16at 7 PM. Register on the calendar page of http://www.austinparks.org.

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Full list of July 2011 grantees:

• Commons Ford Prairie Restoration Organization, $25,000 to restore native grassland
• Gaines Creek Neighborhood Association, $5,000 for trail development and habitat restoration
• Off Leash Adopters, $40,000 for informational kiosks to be installed at off leash dog areas citywide
• Friends of Patterson Park, $8,000 for a community-built mosaic project in the pool area
• Pease Park Conservancy, $12,000 for stone, concrete and brick work
• West Austin Park, $14,500 for basic repairs to the bathrooms
• Austin Heritage Tree Society, $5,000 for tree protection and mulch at Zilker Park Polo Fields

Volunteers and Park Staff working together at Mary Moore Searight

We wanted to pass on the before and after pictures of the work of Parks Supervisor John Estrada and his crew, plus volunteers from South Austin Disc Association and the Friends of Mary Moore Searight Park to restore to the 15th hole and fairway this past Saturday, and this was on top of a week of work done by John and his crew.  Our thanks to Claire Sorenson for documenting this project!

These two pictures are obviously the before shots….

2 New Off-Leash Areas Proposed by the City Parks Dept.

We’re posting this note from the off leash area advisory community (OLAAC) committee. This note was originally sent by committee member Bill Fraser…

Two new off-leash dog parks are in the works for Austin, and we need your help in getting the word out to the community to support these new locations.   Please join us as well as the OLAAC (off leash area advisory community) in supporting these new proposed Off-Leash Areas

Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) have two “new” locations selected for off-leash consideration - Yett Creek (walking trail – North Austin) and Mabel Davis (fenced – South East Austin).   Stakeholder meetings for both begin this month.

These two locations represent a stepped up effort by PARD to expand on the number of off-leashed parks.  As park advocates for off-leash environments, it’s important we get the word out and have a strong show of support for these new locations at the community stakeholder meetings.

If possible, please make plans to attend these community stakeholder meetings shown below.  If you cannot attend, email your support to the email addresses list below.  We need a strong showing of support from the dog park community.

Yett Creek Park Proposed Off-leash Trail Community Stakeholder Meeting – June 13th

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 13, 2011, 6:00 – 7:30 PM, at Davis Elementary School Cafeteria, located at 5214 Duval Rd.

Email your support for Yett to YettCreekParkTrail@ci.austin.tx.us

Mabel Davis Park Proposed Off-leash Fenced Area Community Stakeholder Meeting – June 27th

This meeting will be held on Monday, June 27, 2011, 6:00 – 7:30 PM, at Linder Elementary School Cafeteria, located at 2800 Metcalfe Rd.

Email your support for Mabel Davis to MabelDavisParkOffLeashArea@ci.austin.tx.us

If you have questions, please call. Thanks for your support in this effort.

Bill Fraser

Off-leash Area Advisory Committee Member

Photo From the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Dept.

Waller Creek Bridge Project Completed

New trail and rock work on the eastern end of the bridge

I was walking to a meeting and decided to see if the new Waller Creek Bridge over Waller Creek along the trail at Lady Bird Lake was open.  It is, with new trail and stone work in place on the east side.  Yup, it’s the finish to the first (of many) projects for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, with the work on the new boathouse starting really soon, as the Austin Rowing Club is moving all of their boats out to a temporary fenced in location on the west side of the bridge.

This big limestone block placed to prevent any motorized vehicles from crossing the creek should definitely work.  No little metal bollard in a sleeve here.

Finally, a great view at the (current) mouth of Waller Creek, looking north to the nearby buildings of downtown.  A lot is going to start changing soon here.

Photos from the Blitz at Beverly Sheffield/NW Park

Last week, Parks Dept. staff worked on repairing bathrooms, spreading 500 cubic yards of much, painting picnic tables, sign poles, railings, repairing irrigation, replacing the playscape gravel with the new engineered wood fiber and much more.

They were joined by volunteer groups on Saturday March 26 and Saturday April 2 as well in working these tasks.  Our thanks to Jeff Larsen and his team of parks staff from the Northwest district as well as from other locations in the parks dept for making this effort possible.  Our thanks to Brian from the Parks dept, Linnea from the Allandale Parks Committee and Little Helping Hands for volunteering on 3/26 as well.

BMX/Skate Park Update 2/25/11

We posted a set of photos one month ago showing the progress of the BMX/Skate Park, being built by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department with funding from the 2006 City Bond Election.  Here’s a new set from Friday, 2/25, taken from the third floor of the ACC parking garage. A lot more of the ramps and special features have been poured and more are being formed.  Getting much closer.  The BMX/Skate Park is located next to House Park and the Austin Recreation Center just off of N. Lamar Blvd.  This will be one of the most popular new parks in the city when it opens.

 

New BMX/Skate Park Taking Shape

One of the most anticipated (well, by me) projects from 2006 bond election is the combination BMX/Skate Park that is now under construction across from the Austin Recreation Center and House Park.  It’s coming along nicely, it has a bowl area and a separate more urban area, along with a pedestrain observation center in the middle of the urban area.  I took these photos on my way home from the Greenbelt Guardians workday at Homedale Access Trail (Barton Creek) from the fourth floor of the ACC parking garage which gave me a good view of the work underway (yes, I climbed the stairs and didn’t drive up there.)

The park was designed by New Line Skateparks, Inc. and is under construction under contract to the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Dept by Prism Development and California Skateparks.

Photo Round-up: New & Pending Park Projects

On my way to and from various meetings today, I saw several projects in parks and wanted to share a few photos of them.  First, the Festival Beach Gardens, which we helped fund through a parks grant, working with the Sustainable Food Center, the Parks department and neighborhood / community gardening groups.

What was just grass and a few trees on Waller next to the Austin / Travis Health Center is now filling with gardening plots!

Next, a view of the currently under construction Pfluger Bridge Extension which will extend the span over Cesar Chavez and linking to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway (due to be completed in January 2011)  Can’t wait!

Finally, the completed Pfluger Circle Landscape Project funded by the Trail Foundation.  It looks great!

2 New Assistant Directors Hired for Austin Parks & Recreation

For immediate release

April 28, 2010

Contact:  Victor Ovalle, Program Manager, Public Information and Marketing,

(512) 974-6745

City names two Parks and Recreation Assistant Directors

The City of Austin announced today the appointment of two Assistant Parks and Recreation Directors whose diverse backgrounds will help bolster the programs and operations of Austin’s already nationally recognized department.

After a nationwide search, Parks and Recreation Department Director Sara Hensley has selected Kelly Snook, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Missouri City near Houston, and Kimberly McNeeley, Director of the Recreation Services Division for the Palm Beach County, Fla., Parks and Recreation Department.

Snook will start May 26 and McNeeley will begin June 21.  The two will fill vacancies from recent retirements.

“Their joint experiences in areas ranging from project management and facilities to wellness programs and community partnerships can only enhance what we are doing,” Hensley said. “Their can-do spirit will benefit our entire community.”

In Missouri City, Snook directed long-term planning including the development of a Park Master Plan, a Trail Master Plan and a Strategic Plan. The work included extensive collaboration with community groups.

Before Missouri City, Snook worked for the City of Houston as Senior Project Manager on parks and recreation projects ranging up to 100 acres and including recreation centers, community centers, public pools and golf courses.

She has also owned a landscaping firm and worked for the cities of Dallas and Plano. Snook has earned a Bachelor of Science in landscape architecture from Texas A&M and a master’s in city and regional planning from the University of Texas-Arlington.

In Palm Beach County, McNeeley was responsible for supervision of recreation centers, an historic park, nature centers, amphitheaters, athletic fields, water parks, neighborhood parks and playgrounds. She also oversaw the after-school, therapeutic recreation and employee/volunteer development programs.

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McNeeley co-chaired a countywide Employee Wellness Program for 5,000 employees.  She facilitated an agreement between the County and its school district for joint use of facilities for recreational activities, athletics and competitive sports. She also coordinated development of a comprehensive parks resources management plan ensuring environmental stewardship and historic preservation.

She previously worked for the cities of Greenacres, Fla., and Brook Park, Ohio. She has a Bachelor of Science in special education and a Master of Education in exercise science and sports management from Cleveland State University.

The two were picked from 270 applicants for the position.  Nine people were interviewed by various stakeholder groups.

They replace Stuart Strong and Farhad Madani.  Cora Wright is the third Assistant Director for the department.

Voorhees Associates of Illinois helped the City’s Human Resources Department in the recruitment.

New Trailhead at Pease Park

New ramp and trail connection at Pease Park / Shoal Creek

The Austin Parks and Recreation Dept’s Construction Crew is working on a new trail head and access point for the Shoal Creek Trail at Pease Park on Kingsbury St..  On Friday they constructed a ramp to provide easy accessible access to the trail from Kingsbury St. and also allow deliveries of mulch, trees and dillo dirt that the Trees for Pease folks ask for all of the time.  This replaces the old “route” which went up the middle of the park and is now populated with newly planted trees and in ground irrigation.

new trail looking south to new ramp at Kingsbury

Our thanks to James Young and his construction crew as well as Tony Arnold and Marty Stump of the Parks Department’s planning, construction and design team.  The crew has another day or so of work, packing down the granite gravel, refinishing the edge of the ramp and along the trail and installing another small section of trail deeper in the park to allow vehicles to turn around.