What is up with that building in Field Park?

Ever wonder what is going on with the old red brick building that is located at on the corner of Field Neighborhood Park? This is the Heibel-March building and it is located at the northeast corner of Rangeline and Wilkes.

There is a great article in the Missourian that explains the current situation. We also have a brief history of the building posted on the park website.

What will become of this building is unknown at this time. There are several options which, include, but is not limited to the following;

1. Demolish the building as originally proposed.

2. Sell the building to a developer for retail opportunities.

3. Find another tenant to restore the building for community activities.

4. Use City funds to restore the building.

5. Combination of any of the above (except for number 1 of course).

Comments?

Trails Condition Report 9/30/09

The MKT Trail and the Hinkson Creek Trail are all repaired and in excellent condition.

The Bear Creek Trail is repaired except for the section between the Garth Ave access bridge and the wooden boardwalk. The normal low water crossing we use to access this site is still too wet and soft for our rock trucks and equipment (at least we were able to pull out our stuck truck).

The status of the trails outside of the City's jurisdiction is unknown. If you'd like to post your experience with the trails, please do so by using the comment option below.

MU Trail Condition Report 9/25/08

I don't have any direct contact with the University on the status of their trail, but we do have a report from one of our Park Patrol members.

In a 9/25/08, 7:00 am email, Chris I. writes:

"The MU portion of the trail that connects from the MKT Trail to the bridge to the east of the soccer fields (east of Providence Road) is still very badly damaged with no evidence of any attempts at repairs (particularly the underpass and just east of Providence Road). "

I'll try to find out further info and post an update later.

If you have any updates on this or any trails, please do not hesitate to post your comments as well. Thanks.

Trail Condition Updates: Thursday 9/25/08

Good news. Crews got further along than anticipated.

MKT Trail: All of the MKT Trail has been restored and rolled. The thing left to do here is to roll and compact the gravel on the Forum Nature Area Trail.

Hinkson Creek Trail: Some of it had been compacted prior to the roller breaking down. Will finish it on Monday, 09/29/08.

Bear Creek Trail: All of the base and subsurface rock has been placed. Most of this trail is still very soft so park crews are using the roller here today to compact the subsurface layer prior to adding the final 3/8-inch surface rock. Anticipate that we will be done with the BCT by the end of the day on Friday, 9/26/08. The exception is the area as noted below where we can't get trucks to this section of trail.

Bear Creek Trail--Garth to Creasy: Park staff can not get to the trail located between the Garth Nature Area and the boardwalk near Creasy Springs Road. The bridges were not designed to handle our trucks so we have to cross the creek. In doing so, we found that it is still too soft and got stuck. Unfortunately, this section of the trail has some severe wash-out areas and users should take note.

Trail Condition: County and State Update

We also get a lot of calls on the condition of the trails that are managed by the Boone County Public Works Department and the Missouri State Parks. Here's a quick update on the current conditions as reported by these agencies:

MKT--Scott Blvd to McBaine. Boone County Public Works is currently grading the trail and hope to have it restored by the end of the week. However, they are also sealing the wood on the bridges and have several of them closed. The goal is to have the bridges open by the end of the day on Friday, 9/26/08. The best way to find out current condition of the County owned trail sections is to call the County at 573-886-4400. This number is good Mon-Fri, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Katy Trail State Park--Missouri State Park. There is a website that posts current conditions of the Katy Trail. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since 9/19/08. In calling the Mo State Park phone number, 800-334-6946, I found that the water has receded, the trail is open, but still rough in some places. State Park staff is busy working on the trail now. No time table for when repairs may be completed.

Trail Condition Updates: Wed 9/24/08

The roller has been repaired and park staff will begin rolling the surface rock on Thursday morning. Please watch for maintenance staff and equipment. They may not see or hear you depending on the equipment they're operating.

Here's an update on the status of the City's trails:

MKT Trail: All holes have been filled, including the one pictured above near bridge #13. All trail areas, including the Forum Nature Trail have been resurfaced with rock. Park staff will begin rolling the trail Thursday, 9/25/08. Area of concern with loose gravel is between Forum Blvd access and the Twin Lakes Recreation Area.

Hinkson Creek Trail: Same as MKT. Trail has been resurfaced and staff will begin rolling it on Friday, 9/26/08.

Bear Creek Trail--Garth to Creasy: Park staff can not get to the trail located between the Garth Nature Area and the boardwalk near Creasy Springs Road. The bridges were not designed to handle our trucks so we have to cross the creek. In doing so, we found that it is still too soft and got stuck. If you read this by 2:45 pm today, you can still probably find our truck still there! Unfortunately, this section of the trail has some severe wash-out areas and users should take note.

For other areas of the Bear Creek Trail: All three-inch rock has been placed and compacted. Staff is adding the sub-surface 1-inch rollstone and should have that completed by the end of the day today. Plan is to have all of the final surface rock 3/8-inch trail mix, placed by the end of the day on Friday. We will start rolling this trail on Monday, 9/29/08. This trail should not be as loose as the MKT due to compaction of the vehicles.

Bear Creek Trail Work Underway

On Monday, 9/22/08, park crews began rebuilding the Bear Creek Trail. By the end of the day Monday, all of the 3-inch base rock had been placed and graded out. See photos above.

Park staff started adding the 1-inch subsurface rock on Tuesday morning and should have most it installed by the end of the day.

The final top layer of rock will be added on Wednesday.

If all goes well, the trail should be completely restored by the end of the day on Wednesday.

TreeKeepers help out at Westwinds Park

In addition to having park staff work on the trails this weekend, we also had a TreeKeeper volunteer project at Westwinds Park. In addition to helping plant trees, prune existing trees and begin some honeysuckle removal, volunteers also assisted with the rebuilding of the Westwinds Trail.

What are TreeKeepers? The TreeKeeper program trains volunteers in proper care and maintenance of trees in exchange for the donation of at least 36 volunteer hours for City of Columbia tree care projects. All projects are scheduled on Saturday mornings. Training includes the following subjects, with Saturday labs:

• Tree identification
• Exotic & Vegetation Management
• Insects
• Disease and Soils
• Right Tree, Right Place
• Pruning Trees

Not only will you gain book knowledge, but you also will receive field training and experience to reinforce what you have learned. After completion of the course, you will be provided with opportunities to put your new knowledge into action in very visible ways, making a difference in your city.

TreeKeepers receive an official TreeKeeper polo shirt, a coupon for a large ball & burlap tree, and a signed certificate when they have fulfilled 36 hours of volunteer service to tree projects.

The 2009 class will be held Thursday, January 22, 6 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, January 24, 8 a.m. to noon and Tuesday, January 27, 6 to 8 p.m.

TreeKeepers applications are available here: 2009 TK Application Form

What was Cosmo Park before it was a Park?

Most long time Columbians or history buffs know that the Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area (or as most of us know it--Cosmo Park), once was the home of the regional airport. In fact the main roads in Cosmo are the former airport runways.

When the airport decided to relocate to its' current location between Columbia and Jefferson City, the Columbia City Council had to make a decision on what to do with the old airport property. There were many letters to the editor stating either that the land should be sold for development (it was too far out for a park many claimed) or kept for a park. Thank goodness the City Council decided to keep the land as I'd hate to think of our park system without Cosmo Park.

Anyway, this topic is back in the news as Don Adams and Don Miles are seeking to preserve an old airport light beacon that used to be in Cosmo Park. The photo above is from today's Missourian and you may check out the article at the Missourian website or in newsprint.

Weekend Trail Work: Sunday 9/21

Park trail crews were busy working on the trail when the drive train for the roller broke leaving about half of the Hinkson Creek Trail un-rolled.

Park mechanics will check out the roller on Monday and hopefully, we'll be back in business shortly afterwards.

Trail Update: 9/19/08, 4:15 pm

MKT Trail: All trail areas, including the Forum Nature Trail has been resurfaced with rock. Park staff will begin rolling the trail early Saturday, 9/20/08 morning. Staff spent more time than anticipated repairing the bridge approaches on #12. Will begin working on bridge #13 Monday.

Hinkson Creek Trail: Same as MKT. Trail has been resurfaced and staff will begin rolling it on Saturday morning.

Please watch for maintenance staff and equipment. They may not see or hear you depending on the equipment they're operating.

Bear Creek Trail: Underpasses have been cleaned out and most of the heavy mineral deposits (sand, mud, rock, ect) have been removed. We had hoped to begin hauling rock today, but the work on MKT Bridge #12 took longer than anticipated. Will start on Monday, 9/22/08. Trail is open but users should be aware that the trail surface is rough, uneven and has depressions.

Trail Status Updates: Friday

We will use this blog to update the status of the trails simply because I can access it from home and am able to quickly post updates. This is especially helpful as we will have park staff working this weekend on the trails.

MKT Trail: The MKT Trail repair is nearing completion. The Forum Nature Area has been resurfaced and should be completed by the end of the day if not sooner. All holes near bridges have been filled and compacted. However, please watch approaches to bridges as there may still be some settling.

Hinkson Creek Trail: Nearly 20 downed trees have been removed. Mud has been cleaned off and surface rock as been added. Trail repairs should be substantially completed by today.

Bear Creek Trail: Downed trees and limbs have been removed. Park staff started removing soil and mud from trail surface. We anticipate that we will start adding rock to the trail this afternoon. Trail still has rough areas so users should be cautious.

Blog will be updated as we hear reports back from staff.

Trail Flood Photos

We've prepared a presentation that documents the damage caused to the MKT, Bear Creek and Hinkson Creek trails. It's posted on our website, but be careful, it's a large 3.5 mg document.

Rock Quarry Park Improvements Meeting

Park planners have scheduled a planning meeting for interested parties to give input and learn more about proposed improvements to Rock Quarry Park, including the addition of basketball and tennis courts.

The meeting will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the park, 2002 Grindstone Parkway. We will meet at the south end of the parking lot opposite of the playground. Look for a small tent.

The original Rock Quarry Park Master Plan included the development of two tennis courts and a single full-sized basketball. These amenities were not funded in original construction budget. If you want to see the proposed location of the courts, check out our Capital Improvement website.

At the meeting, residents will be able to give feedback on the design and development of park improvements. Park planners also will be on hand to share preliminary concept plans and answer questions.

Flooded Parks and Trails in the News

Check out these recent stories on the parks and trails that were impacted by the September 11-13, 2008 rains:

Tribune 9/15/08: Water plays havoc with low-lying businesses
KMIZ-TV: Flooded Trails Costly to Fix, by Stephanie Schaefer

Watch this site later for photos on the damage.

Neighborhood Park Planning Underway

Check out today's Missourian for an excellent article on the new parks in the Grasslands, Cascades and Smiley Lane-Vanderveen neighborhoods. These parks were funded in the 2005 Park Sales Tax ballot issue.

If you want to see the actual plans for these parks check out our website at the below links:

Grasslands
Cascades
Smiley Lane-Vanderveen

Trails and Parks Closed Due to Flooding

It's really going to be nice to write something that doesn't involve rain, but unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case for a while.

As of Monday morning, the MKT Trail, Bear Creek Trail and the Hinkson Creek Trail all have significant water over the trail. Users should not attempt to use these areas until the water has receded and park crews are able to assess and repair the damage.

Additionally, the Twin Lakes Recreation Area is closed due to water over the entry road. The Bear Creek Nature Trail, located in the back or north end of Cosmo Park, has water over multiple sections of the trail.

Unfortunately, this doesn't just impact public recreation areas. Flooding has temporarily closed the Perche Creek Golf Course including the driving range, batting cages and go-carts. Wilson's indoor soccer facility located off of Forum Blvd has several feet of water in the facility and appears to be closed until further notice.

Check out the video from KMIZ-TV's Brynn Gingras on the flood's impact.

The Wizard of Oz Moved Indoors Tonight

Mother Nature 1, Parks & Recreation 0 (OK...it's more like 100-0, but you get the point)

Mother Nature wins again.

Due to the rain, the last movie in the Stephens Lake Outdoor Cinema Series scheduled for tonight September 12 will be moved indoors to the Stephens Lake Activity Center. The Center is at 2311 E. Walnut, just north of Stephens Lake Park.

The movie to be shown tonight is The Wizard of Oz, at 7:45 p.m. The price is $3 per person; children 6 and under are free. Bring a blanket or lawn chair if desired. Folding chairs will be available.

Movie-goers are encouraged to come early to enjoy pre-show entertainment from Chris Hatfield, starting at 7 pm. Also, bring a camera to get a picture with the characters from the movie.

The Outdoor Cinema Series is sponsored by Columbia Parks and Recreation, the Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau and U.S. Cellular.

Call Parks and Recreation at 874-7460 for more information or visit the Special Events page at www.GoColumbiaMo.com/ParksandRec.

How many games got cancelled this summer?

That's a question that we usually never get asked....until this year.

Check out these stats as provided by Carol Riney, Sports Supervisor.

Depending on whether Friday gets rained out (as this will increase Rainbow stats because that's are last summer league games):

For summer leagues only:
- 5.5 tournaments were canceled due to the rain
- 36 different league nights were affected by rain

During these 36 nights there were:
- 28 hours of rental time for practice at Rainbow during the week prior to season
- 430 games at Antimi were rained out - 236 of these games were not made up
- 665 games at Rainbow were rained out - 174 of these games were not made up

This is the first time we have never made up all games for the adult leagues at Rainbow. Those teams that were impacted were given several choices such as playing make-up games on other nights, playing in a tournament, or receive a letter of credit for the missed games. Overwhelmingly, the teams wanted a letter of credit.

Fall leagues are not starting off any better. So far, 32 games have been cancelled at Antimi.

In looking at the Old Farmer's Almanac long range weather forecast for our area, they're calling for alternating weeks of sun and rain.

Let's hope things improve for the remaining of the season.

It's Raining so it must be Thursday

I could not believe it when I woke up this morning to the sound of rain, especially when the forecast was for rain later in the day. If the rain keeps up as it appears and we have to cancel, this will be the fifth consecutive Thursday night that has had soccer, softball or baseball games cancelled. Each year it seems that Mother Nature selects one night of the week to pick on. Unfortunately, this year it has been Thursday followed closely by Friday.

For those of you that play on Thursday/Friday, this is the last week of summer leagues for our adult softball program. Once this is week is over, we'll calculate the actual number of games that have been rained out so check back later to see the results. I'm sure the number will set all new records. We have never had this many rainouts.

If you haven't signed up for our email listserves, please do so on our webmail page. It's easy to subscribe and easy to unsubscribe. This email is only for City use and you will not receive any advertisements or spam. You may sign up for any number of cancellation notices or information on our recreation programs. It's the easiest way to receive notifications on sports cancellations.

Our tried and true hotline phone number is 573-874-7663. Press "1" for cancellations....don't wait on the voice message. Just press "1" as soon as it answers.

Anyway, for those of you that play ball (or should I say, "played ball?") on Thursdays, thank you for your patience and understanding. If you're playing in the fall leagues on Thursday night, let's just hope that Mother Nature decides to fairly distribute the precipitation.

Rainbow Batting Cages will be Replaced for 2009

As mentioned earlier here, some punks thought it would be fun to tear up the batting cages at the Rainbow Softball Center. There was a lot of consideration given to not replacing them due to the amount of maintenance these machines require.

However, with the help of feedback from our softball league players, it was decided to go ahead and begin the process of replacing the elevator, token boxes and the four pitching machines. We'll put the items out for bid this month and should take delivery on the new equipment by the end of October or early November. Park staff will do the install and by the start of the 2009 spring season, Rainbow league players will have brand new pitching machines.

We'll also look at how we can better secure the machines so that this doesn't happen again in the future. Thanks again for your comments!

Springfield Cave Tours Cancelled due to Bats

Quick question: What is a group of bats called? answer below in bold

A large number of gray bats were discovered on a recent cave tour in Springfield's parks and caused the cancellation of the remaining tours. As reported in the 09/08/08 Springfield News-Leader newspaper, Outdoor Initiatives staff member Scott Hootman states "Sure enough we got about 300 feet into the cave and there was a very big population -- I'm guessing 1,000 to 1,500 bats right above the stream." The tours, given in boats, have been cancelled for now.

Most cave tours are sponsored in the late summer to early fall to avoid problems with distrubing the bats. Staff at the the Rock Bridge State Park sponsors several tours beginning in August and ending in early October. Complete tour information may be found at the RBSP website. If you haven't been in the Devil's Ice Box, it's certainly something you should do before leaving Columbia. A cave tour experience into the Devil's Ice Box can be found at the KC Grotto website.


As indicated on the Missouri Department of Conservation's website on gray bats, human distrubance can cause the bats to lose 20-30 days of stored fat greatly increasing mortality among the colony.

The gray bat is listed ENDANGERED by the Missouri Department of Conservation and ENDANGERED by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

VP Candidate Joe Biden at the ARC Tuesday

What in the world does a political speech have to do with the parks? Three answers: logistics, logistics and logistics. As Monday's Tribune and Missourian report, vice presidential candidate Joe Biden will be speaking at the Activity and Recreation Center (ARC) at 9:30 am Tuesday morning. Over 1,000 tickets have been distributed so the department is expecting a huge crowd.

Getting ready for this event has kept parks and recreation (P&R) staff busy since Sunday afternoon. The speech will be held in the ARC gym so protection of the gym floor is a must. Floor covers were brought over from the Armory Sports Center and were put in place Monday afternoon. Banners are being hung from the railings, ceiling, and walls so the ARC aerial lift has been kept busy.

Parking is the critical issue. The ARC has 295 parking spaces plus there's about another 100-110 at the Farmer's Market site. If we could talk all attendees to come 4-5 to a car that would be ideal. However, knowing that won't happen, we're encouraging everyone to park at the Gerbes parking lot and walk on over to the ARC. The doors open at 7:30 am, but because of the bus parking for all of the West Junior High students, we are asking the people refrain from arriving until 8:00 am. This will allow all of the buses time to vacate the ARC and free up valuable parking spaces.

For a map of the ARC and Farmer's Market parking lot, go to our ARC website.

There will be a few other traffic issues as Tuesday's Missourian indicates. We won't even begin to discuss the security issues with the Secret Service as well, you know, they're secret! It's just safe to say that there will be significant security and that attendees should follow the rules as posted on the tickets: no coats, bags, back packs, etc.

Unfortunately, there will be some inconvenience for ARC users. The gym closed at 1:00 pm on Monday and will be closed until 3:00 pm on Tuesday to allow for set-up and take down of the stage, electronic equipment, chairs, banners, etc. During the speech, the running track around the gym will be closed, but a shorter alternate route will be available. The pool, cardio, weights, aerobics, and meeting rooms will operate as usual.

This is a great chance to show the nation a P&R facility that Columbians are proud to call their own. The ARC is an excellent example of how a municipally funded facility can operate and cover all of the related expenses through fees and charges. And for those of you that are wondering, yes, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is paying for all of the rentals and any extra work above normal rental rates. The staff of the DNC has been great to work with and we appreciate their understanding of our need to recover costs.

Rain Gardens Work!!!

While the excess rain has caused problems in many other areas, it has at least allowed the department to demonstrate the effectiveness of rain gardens.

What are rain gardens?

Simply, rain gardens are designed to collect the storm water and allow it to slowly filter out into the watershed. Without rain gardens, rain water rushes from streets and parking lots into small ditches which eventually leads to streams and creeks. Unchecked, these flows cause problems such as flash floods, erosion and carries chemicals, fertilizers, and animal waste into the watershed.

Rain gardens are also attractive landscaped areas. Native plant species are planted to help filter and clean the water.

The department currently has demonstration rain gardens at Flat Branch Park, Louisville Park, and Stephens Lake Park.

The photos above show how the rain gardens in Louisville Park fill up and slowly allow the water to percolate into the watershed. The rain gardens are constructed to allow extremely heavy rains such as those in July to spill out without damaging the structure.

Kansas City is currently sponsoring a 10,000 Rain Garden Initiative. Mayor Kay Barnes, Johnson County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Annabeth Surbaugh and Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields came together to call for regional participation in the environmental initiative called 10,000 Rain Gardens. The goal is to actively engage homeowners, churches, businesses, non-profits and schools in a voluntary effort to reduce wet weather problems such as flooding, sewer backups and dangerous pollution of our streams and rivers. This site is a valuable resouce for any homeowner interested in creating their own rain garden.

http://www.rainkc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.home/index.htm

For more information on how to build your own rain garden, follow this link:

http://www.marc.org/Environment/Water/pdfs/raingardens.pdf