NBC's new TV Show: "Parks and Recreation"

Check out video previews of NBC's new TV show titled "Parks and Recreation" starring Amy Poehler from "Saturday Night Live." Show airs on Thursdays, starting April 9. I posted my favorite.

Here's a link to the show's fictional "City of Pawnee." Read Leslie's (Poehler) welcome. It's really good. Here's a blurb:

"Want to breathe some fresh air and toss a frisbee around? Visit any one of our terrific parks! (Except Ramsett Park, where frisbees are still prohibited due to the unfortunate dog-related incident last September.)"

Video Recaps Full Episodes Webisodes

Coming Soon: Corporate Sponsors of Parks?

Instead of playing soccer games in Cosmo Park, how about playing your games in Purina Park or maybe on the 3M Athletic Complex? It may not happen here in Columbia, MO but it could happen in Suffolk County NY.

As discussed in the Newsday.com website: "Lou D’Amaro (D-Huntington Station) has introduced a bill that would raise revenue by allowing businesses to sponsor suitable locations within county parks. Sponsorship would give business owners an opportunity to increase their exposure and involvement in the local community, while at the same time providing additional revenues for county parkland protection, management, and maintenance without raising taxes."

Considerations such as the type of business, sponsor amount and specific location are all critical to the success of such a venture. For example, many communities wouldn't want an adult bookstore as a sponsor but may be fine with sponsorships from alcohol products for adult sports leagues.

Not everyone is okay with this proposed legislation. In a blogger response, "Dale" states: "The trend of corporate sponsorship for civic spaces is very very troubling and simply plays to the fear our elected representatives have for responsible taxation, the short-sightedness of voters who want something for nothing, and the willingness of corporations to get inexpensive promotion."

Who knows what will happen down the road with this issue of corporate sponsorships? So maybe next spring, instead of planting your garden at Paquin or Fairview, you could be planting at Steel Reserve Park!

Philly: 207 apply for 9 seats on new Parks & Recreation Commission

Philadelphia is facing extreme budget problems and last year closed nearly all of their swimming pools. In July, voters approved a measure that would merge the Fairmount Park Commission and the Department of Recreation, creating a new Parks and Recreation Department. As noted in the article:

"The clamor of so many candidates for the parks and recreation panel is another positive step in the effort to remake a city jewel. That's what voters called for in November when they merged parks with recreation, as most cities do. The advisory panel will set policy in vital areas such as parkland preservation."

Philadelphia is finding that a combined, comprehensive parks and recreation department is the most economical and efficient method to provide recreational opportunities for its' citizens.

More information may be found at the Philly.com

Twin Lakes Fishing Dock Damaged

Guess the sudden micro-burst we had on Saturday, Dec 27, 2008 was a bit more serious than we thought.

The wind turned over the fishing dock located at the Twin Lakes Recreation Area. Park staff is working with several vendors to determine whether the dock can be partially save or if a new one is necessary. Park staff has flipped the dock back over.

Souteast Regional Park Planning Meetings Scheduled

The next step towards developing the Southeast Regional Park, individually known as the A. Perry Philips Park and the Gans Creek Recreation Area, begins next week with the first of two public meetings.

Both meetings as scheduled below will be held in the meeting rooms at the Activity and Recreation Center (ARC), 1701 West Ash Street.

• Wednesday, December 10, 2008 7:00 pm
• Wednesday, January 7, 2009 7:00 pm

Meetings will begin at 7:00 pm with a 30-45 minute presentation by park staff and following the presentation, staff will be available for comments and discussion. Participants will be asked to submit comments on specific forms that may be turned in during the meeting or at a later date.

These meetings are designed to introduce two concept plans as developed by park planners. These plans were created using information derived from two public meetings in November 2007, seven interested parties meetings in December 2007 and comments from a web based survey. Park planners also evaluated current facilities and compared them to future needs of the department and those that use the parks and facilities. A park natural resource inventory was conducted by staff from the Missouri Department of Natural Recources and these plans were developed in conjunction with their comments. These plans are available for viewing at the following location:

• Regional Park Plan Option 1
• Regional Park Plan Option 2

The natural resouce inventory is available for public viewing on the P&R Department's Southeast Regional Park Planning website. Much more information is available on this website as noted below.

• Report on the Natural Features Inventory of the Crane Property
• Philips and Gans Creek Parcel Tracts
• Council Report regarding Southeast Regional Park Planning Process 11/20/08
• Initial Regional Park Planning PowerPoint Presentation 11/8/07 and 11/12/07

For current information and updates, please join our Regional Park Planning Web Mail. Click here for the Web Mail link.

Two Historic Homes Move to Nifong Park

There's an excellent article in today's Missourian on the relocation of the Ryland House and the Lustron House. If you haven't see either one of these, please take time to look at the article. These are unique homes and will make quite an impact at Nifong Park.

More info on the all-steel Lustron houses may be found at:
-The Lustron Home
-Wikipedia
-Lustron documentary film

Douglass Park Improvements-Sprayground & Baseball

The department is getting ready to introduce park improvements at Douglass Park. These improvements include the construction of a "sprayground" and renovation of the baseball field.

The sprayground will certainly be a unique feature in Douglass. When the Douglass Pool is open for use, the sprayground will only be available to those that pay their $1.00 entry fee and enter the pool. When the pool is closed, we will have gates that will open to the park and allow park users to enter the sprayground area, but not the pool. This is done to provide aquatic experiences for a longer period of time. For example, Douglass Pool usually opens after school lets out and closes in mid-August. The sprayground will be open from May to the end of September providing park users more opportunities to enjoy themselves.

Improvements to the Douglass baseball field include grading work, new fence down the foul lines, additional storage for equipment and additional lighting. This program has grown over the years almost to the point of needing additional fields.

Our department strongly believes that positive activities will deter negative activities from happening. Last year we rarely had problems during the baseball league games and when the pool was open. There was just too many people there that cared about the parks. Research has shown that the worst thing you can do to prevent crime is to let the facilities deteriorate or shut them down. That only makes it less inviting to those that want to enjoy themselves.

There are more users coming back to the park as well. For example, we had 5,626 visits to the pool in 2008. This is a 54.73% increase over the 3,636 visits in 2007. Plus, 2008 was one of the worst seasons for pool use due to all of the rain!

Check out the proposed improvements and if you have any comments, please don't hesitate to post them or send them our way.