City of Jacksonville: Recreations and Parks Commission Meeting: March 23rd Notes
The City of Jacksonville’s Recreation and Parks Commission met at 6pm on March 23rd at the Senior Center located at the Jacksonville Commons Recreation Complex.
The minutes from the January 26th, 2009 meeting were approved.
The Recreation and Parks Director, Mr. Tim Chesnutt, reported several items. He covered the Recreation and Parks Commission recommendations in the City’s FY 2010 Capital Improvement Plan (to be presented to the City Council at last week’s meeting). There was some confusion as to the priority assigned to some projects and questions related to the results of last year’s (FY 2009) Plan.
Mr. Chesnutt also provided the supplemental budget requests for FY-2009/2010, a proposal for contracting a firm to develop a Recreation Master Plan and Levels of Service and the schedule for Advisory Commission reports to the City Council. The Recreation and Parks Commission will report to the Council during the August 5th meeting.
Each member of the Commission monitors a number of City parks or recreation facilities. As a new member, I did not have assigned facilities. Councilman Randy Thomas allowed me to take over his list of parks and facilities. They are : Riverwalk Crossing, L. P. Willingham Waterfront and Sturgeon City parks. This is fortuitous for me, as these parks are within walking (and well within bicycling) distance.
The Recreation and Parks Commission may not seem like a glamorous place to spend some time and energy, and it may not be in reality (the jury hasn’t had time to decide!), but I believe that a City’s recreation programs and parks facilities are important to the health and welfare of a community. I also believe it’s important to have representatives from community that actually use the programs and facilities.
If you’ve got ideas, suggestions or questions regarding the City of Jacksonville Recreation and Parks programs or facilities, please comment.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Just an FYI… Maybe you’d want to push this for downtown Jacksonville.
For Neighborhoods to Receive Funding and Guidance to Improve Pedestrian Safety
The UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) is seeking up to 10 communities or neighborhoods interested in making their environment walkable and safe for pedestrians. Each selected site will be provided $2,000 for their participation, as well as technical assistance from pedestrian safety experts. Funding for this project is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). HSRC received this funding from NHTSA to pilot test the newly developed guidebook entitled A Resident’s Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities. The Resident’s Guide is designed to be used by anyone who is looking for ways to improve the pedestrian safety and walkability of their neighborhood, whether they are just beginning to learn about pedestrian safety or are already part of an established community safety group. HSRC will conduct a pre-award conference call on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 1PM ET to offer applicants an overview of the RFP as well as answer questions from applicants. Completed proposals are due on May 29, 2009. Proposals must be submitted in one document in a PDF or WORD format using our online proposal submission form. HSRC anticipates selecting the awarded communities in mid-July 2009. http://www.walkinginfo.org/res_guide/index.cfm