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Mission...Playpark in SoWal!!
- Thread starter Beachmom
- Start date
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And we can be called the Funn Parkers!
The meeting with Cindy Meadows went very well. Supermom26.2 did a great job in introducing the group?s mission to Cindy. She was definitely in support of getting a playground in our area and although there is a lot of other recreational needs, this is one of the top priorities.
The first thing Cindy told us about was a small fenced playground that is going in at Helen McCall, near the new concession stand. It is deemed a ?temporary? fix. It will be great to have this playground for the little ones while their siblings are playing ball. I don?t remember exactly when this equipment is slated to go in, but the equipment is here and is waiting to be installed. I think that it?s supposed to be installed sometime in March. Perhaps the target date was opening day, which is March 17th.
We discussed possible locations for the ?permanent? playground. Helen McCall park (Moll Drive), the government center near the library, any County owned parcels along 30A, and Cessna Landing were all discussed. It quickly became clear that the top contenders were Helen McCall park and the government center area. The county is about to close on a 10 acre parcel on the west side of the current Helen McCall. They are also trying to buy a parcel of land in the government center off JD Miller road, near the Boys and Girls club and the library. The negotiations for this parcel have been bogged down, but it is still hopeful that this land will be purchased by the county.
In order to get a park quickly, we focused on the Helen McCall land. This land is also slated to be used for more ball fields. As you can imagine, there?s lots of ways the county could use the land and it?s a matter of prioritizing what the county and its residents need first. There is already a group of local parents that have been working with Cindy and the county to create more ball fields and sports facilities. They?re a good group of people and it would probably be best for us to work with them to help design what we would all like Helen McCall to be.
The access to/from Helen McCall was discussed. We were trying to come up with additional accesses besides from Hwy 98. Perhaps a road from 393 or a path from Thompson road. With the increase in traffic, a light might be required at the intersection of Moll Drive and 98.
Besides a playground, we discussed the need for basketball and tennis courts, an area for skateboarders, and a running path for cross country and recreational runners. Cindy indicated that basketball and tennis courts were some of the recreation equipment that had been envisioned for the government center area parcel. The running path could be created around Helen McCall.
Cindy then gave us an idea of the sequence of events that would have to happen to create our park. She also told us what a possible shortest timeline would be. Note that this timeline is only valid if everything goes smoothly and usually these things don?t. The timeline is outlined below.
Hopeful sequence of events:
Now - Research options to improve access to the Moll Drive property
March 15th - Close on Moll Drive 10 acres
March 15th - Start planning.
March 15th - April 6th - Do survey (3 weeks)
April 9th - Create conceptual master plan ? hopefully by a local firm that donates their time so they don?t have to take the time to go out to bid.
April 9th - Work Session ? put everything down and then planners put it all together. Group Meeting ? meet with our group to get input
May 15th - Finalize design
June 1st - Submit to county planning and DEP permit (3 month process)
August 15th -Start construction
Apparently the county can get playground equipment rather quickly, so that shouldn?t dictate the schedule.
Cost:
Recreation plat fees are paid by developers to the county. These fees that have been collected will be used to pay for the park enhancements/equipment. This means that we don?t have to wait until the new budget in October. Yeah!
What our group can do:
? Get on the BCC agenda for the 2nd meeting in March. This BCC meeting is held in the county courthouse here in South Walton.
? Decide on a name for our group.
? Go before the BCC as a group, a very large group with children! Introduce ourselves and explain to the BCC what our mission is why it is so necessary. This in the place to get our desires known and garner the support of the BCC. We need to impress upon them how important the play park is to the residents and children of south Walton.
? Decide if we?d rather have the playground at Helen McCall or the government center property.
? Find a landscape architect that will donate their time. (If the architect donates their time, then the county doesn?t have to go out to bid, which shortens the timeline.)
? Look through some catalogs that Cindy lent us and make a list of all the equipment we?d like to have.
? Create a complete prioritized list of everything we?d like to have in the park. (rest rooms, picnic tables, bike racks, etc?)
That's everything I can remember! When should we all meet again? Unfortunately, this coming week is extremely busy for me. After the half marathon, I'll have lots of time!
The first thing Cindy told us about was a small fenced playground that is going in at Helen McCall, near the new concession stand. It is deemed a ?temporary? fix. It will be great to have this playground for the little ones while their siblings are playing ball. I don?t remember exactly when this equipment is slated to go in, but the equipment is here and is waiting to be installed. I think that it?s supposed to be installed sometime in March. Perhaps the target date was opening day, which is March 17th.
We discussed possible locations for the ?permanent? playground. Helen McCall park (Moll Drive), the government center near the library, any County owned parcels along 30A, and Cessna Landing were all discussed. It quickly became clear that the top contenders were Helen McCall park and the government center area. The county is about to close on a 10 acre parcel on the west side of the current Helen McCall. They are also trying to buy a parcel of land in the government center off JD Miller road, near the Boys and Girls club and the library. The negotiations for this parcel have been bogged down, but it is still hopeful that this land will be purchased by the county.
In order to get a park quickly, we focused on the Helen McCall land. This land is also slated to be used for more ball fields. As you can imagine, there?s lots of ways the county could use the land and it?s a matter of prioritizing what the county and its residents need first. There is already a group of local parents that have been working with Cindy and the county to create more ball fields and sports facilities. They?re a good group of people and it would probably be best for us to work with them to help design what we would all like Helen McCall to be.
The access to/from Helen McCall was discussed. We were trying to come up with additional accesses besides from Hwy 98. Perhaps a road from 393 or a path from Thompson road. With the increase in traffic, a light might be required at the intersection of Moll Drive and 98.
Besides a playground, we discussed the need for basketball and tennis courts, an area for skateboarders, and a running path for cross country and recreational runners. Cindy indicated that basketball and tennis courts were some of the recreation equipment that had been envisioned for the government center area parcel. The running path could be created around Helen McCall.
Cindy then gave us an idea of the sequence of events that would have to happen to create our park. She also told us what a possible shortest timeline would be. Note that this timeline is only valid if everything goes smoothly and usually these things don?t. The timeline is outlined below.
Hopeful sequence of events:
Now - Research options to improve access to the Moll Drive property
March 15th - Close on Moll Drive 10 acres
March 15th - Start planning.
March 15th - April 6th - Do survey (3 weeks)
April 9th - Create conceptual master plan ? hopefully by a local firm that donates their time so they don?t have to take the time to go out to bid.
April 9th - Work Session ? put everything down and then planners put it all together. Group Meeting ? meet with our group to get input
May 15th - Finalize design
June 1st - Submit to county planning and DEP permit (3 month process)
August 15th -Start construction
Apparently the county can get playground equipment rather quickly, so that shouldn?t dictate the schedule.
Cost:
Recreation plat fees are paid by developers to the county. These fees that have been collected will be used to pay for the park enhancements/equipment. This means that we don?t have to wait until the new budget in October. Yeah!
What our group can do:
? Get on the BCC agenda for the 2nd meeting in March. This BCC meeting is held in the county courthouse here in South Walton.
? Decide on a name for our group.
? Go before the BCC as a group, a very large group with children! Introduce ourselves and explain to the BCC what our mission is why it is so necessary. This in the place to get our desires known and garner the support of the BCC. We need to impress upon them how important the play park is to the residents and children of south Walton.
? Decide if we?d rather have the playground at Helen McCall or the government center property.
? Find a landscape architect that will donate their time. (If the architect donates their time, then the county doesn?t have to go out to bid, which shortens the timeline.)
? Look through some catalogs that Cindy lent us and make a list of all the equipment we?d like to have.
? Create a complete prioritized list of everything we?d like to have in the park. (rest rooms, picnic tables, bike racks, etc?)
That's everything I can remember! When should we all meet again? Unfortunately, this coming week is extremely busy for me. After the half marathon, I'll have lots of time!
Wow! Now that is some information. Great job gulls!!!!:clap_1:
Grayt Job SGB!:clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1: Thank you for doing that-I don't think you missed a thing (My notes- or lack of where a mess of scribbles from our wiggly little visual
) I thought Ms. Meadows was extremly supportive of the whole thing, we just need to be prepared to show them that there are LOTS of us who really want this.
) I thought Ms. Meadows was extremly supportive of the whole thing, we just need to be prepared to show them that there are LOTS of us who really want this.
I spoke to the BCC admin today and we can probably get on the March 13th meeting agenda, which will be held at the Courthouse Annex here. It starts at 4pm. However, for those of us with kids in school, that is during the 5 day weekend the kids have off from school.
Will people be able to attend this meeting or will you be out of town?
The next BCC meeting down here isn't until April 10th, which is after the county closes on the Helen McCall property.
Also, we need to decide on a name for our group to put on the agenda application. Any other suggestions?
Will people be able to attend this meeting or will you be out of town?
The next BCC meeting down here isn't until April 10th, which is after the county closes on the Helen McCall property.
Also, we need to decide on a name for our group to put on the agenda application. Any other suggestions?
Organicmama, IBD, Beachmom, ckhagen, camp creek kid, jdarg, sunny456
and anyone elso who wants to be involved, will you be here for this meeting on March 13 @ 4 pm? We need to have as many people as possible there, friends, neighbors, relatives, to show support for this new park. A handful pf people just won't do it. We need to turn out in full force. If we can't get a good turn out for March 13 , then we go into April.
Please respond to this if you can. Unless anyone has ideas for the name of our group, I guess SGB and I will decide.
Also, we need someone to be a spokesperson at this meeting and read our notes. Anyone interested? I will do it if no one else wants to, but I prefer not to. Someone has to be a better public speaker than me!
and anyone elso who wants to be involved, will you be here for this meeting on March 13 @ 4 pm? We need to have as many people as possible there, friends, neighbors, relatives, to show support for this new park. A handful pf people just won't do it. We need to turn out in full force. If we can't get a good turn out for March 13 , then we go into April.
Please respond to this if you can. Unless anyone has ideas for the name of our group, I guess SGB and I will decide.
Also, we need someone to be a spokesperson at this meeting and read our notes. Anyone interested? I will do it if no one else wants to, but I prefer not to. Someone has to be a better public speaker than me!
I am really worried that there will be so many people out of town on that date. I was hoping that we could FLOOR them with turnout when we came, however, I don't want to wait until everything is already spoken for. Personally, I don't have a plan that is set in stone, so I can be there...
As far as speaking....that is probably the thing I do the WORST...toastmasters is not me. I get so nervous my lips shake !
them with turnout when we came, however, I don't want to wait until everything is already spoken for. Personally, I don't have a plan that is set in stone, so I can be there... As far as speaking....that is probably the thing I do the WORST...toastmasters is not me. I get so nervous my lips shake
!
Did you see the small playground that is the process of being installed near the ballfields at Helen McCall? It will be great for baseball/softball players' siblings!