Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 28, 2016, edition 1 / Page 8
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Phmo by Todd Luck Happy Hill Park will get $5 mil lion in renova tions from the voter approved 2014 bonds. Bond projects will transform city parks BO\I>PR<MKCT Grant BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE The next few years will see a transfor mation in parks across the city thanks to bond projects currently in the works. The bonds will address many capital needs at aging local parks while also creat ing new amenities and three new paries. The recre ation and parks bond was one of five bonds approved by vot ers in 2014. It garnered 69 per cent of the vote. Only the street and sidewalk bond received more votes. "That tells you that the community val ues your recreation and parks facilities," said Recreation and Paries Director Tim Grant. The recreation bonds totaled $30.85 million. There are bond projects in every ward in the city, with most of the money being spent on the east side of the city. The East Ward is the biggest recipient with $113 million dollars for projects like the Happy Hill Park renovations. Happy Hill Park is among the largest recreation bond projects at $5 million. The project is currently in its design phase and will over haul the park, which is in need of repair. Improvements will include new picnic shelters, playing fields, more parking and expanding the park to Liberia Street. The tennis courts, which are currently unuseable, will be done away with. Grant said that Recreation and Parks wasn't able to get the money to repair them in the past. He said other tennis courts at other places, such as Hathaway Park, are also closed because they're in disrepair. He said because of limited resources, the department focuses on maintaining courts that are heavily used or that host league and tournament play. There's also a $5 million project cur rently under construction for a Winston Lake Aquatics Facility. Other projects in the ward are Winston Lake Golf Course renovations, building a gymnasium at Sedge Garden Recreation Center, and water spraygrounds at both Sedge Garden and Rupert Bell parks, Spraygrounds are enclosed areas with motion activated sprinklers. Grant said they'll be a great place for parents to take their kids to play in the water without hav ing to get dressed for the pool. The new bond projects will let Winton-Salem join cities like Greensboro and Charlotte in having spraygrounds located around the city. The Southeast Ward is the second largest recipient with $8.23 million. This includes $4 million for Quarry Park con struction, which will turn the former 220 acre Vulcan Quarry into a park with a freshwater lake surround by cliffs, which is expected to be a major draw to the area. "It's going to be a totally unusual expe rience for people," said Grant. Also in the ward is a $4 million project for Salem Lake Marina. A large section of the popular park is currently closed for construction, which will add a new play ground, a new multifunctional marina cen ter, new restrooms and expanded lakefront activities. Nearby Reynolds Park will also be getting a spray ground. The Northeast Ward got $1.73 million split among many bond projects. These include a water spraygound at Mineral Springs Pool, Winston Lake Golf Course renovations, Carver tennis court resurfac ing and improvements at Bowen Boulevard, Fairview, Nichols and Blum Parks. There are many other improvements and additions to parks in the rest of the city, along with new parks. There's $3 mil lion for the construction currently happen ing to create the new Jamison Park on 36 acres of land the city owns on Meadowlark Drive. It will include parking, a picnic shelter, playground, amphitheater, access to the Muddy Creek Greenway, a walking trail and a dog park. There's also $1 mil lion used to acquire land near the intersec tion of Bethabara Road and Shattalon Drive for a new park. Along with the bonds, Recreation and Parks also got $992,000 for capital improvements from the city's general fund this fiscal year. These improvements include ceiling and roof repairs at the Sims Recreation Center. There'll be basketball court resurfacing at Crawford, Sky land, Reynolds Park, Old Town, Hanestown, Blum, Belview and Hathaway parks. Bolton Park will have walking trail resur facing, a ne\V hydration station and exer cise equipment replacement. The money also covers expanding parking at the pop ular South Fork Recreation Center, replac ing a wall at Grace Court, picnic shelter renovations, Softball field improvements and soccer field renovations and irrigation. Grant said the money from the bonds and the city budget only addresses some of the capital recreation needs. He said the city is aware of the need to update decades-old recreation centers and hopes to address that in the future. He said the money going to improve parks is a good investment that will make the city an even more desirable place to work and live. Winston Lake Park Aquatic Center |jp / !*? ? {'? ^ ^ accessible v 120 making ffflB&S / ' =? ^ ^ ??,, ?ucn r .1 "*? ^s~3u,ou?v : ;*? ,#? * -'e * v 'A' "sajCrf?/ /? "C^K" ?' varying cotok * size GRAVEL RIVERSTONE " t . ?'. j* mrirw.it* / ?' tvm?iitriei /?p ^ existing trees to? /vk msf - ' '? j} remain. typical <?? ^ .jfy - " ' wfe. flush crossing W/ ? height bukck vinyl coated STORMWAIER My $ decorative crosswalk chain unk perimeter fence " feature ? ? / # treatment ' /jtt . ? PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE v ' llil ?*! fir jp*" new walk to existing P*J,K,NG crosswalk v.'".' Photo by Todd Luck City Council members and residents shovel dirt during the groundbreaking for the Winston Lake Aquatic Park on Friday, July 22. Park from page A J to 5.6 feet. *A shallow, zero-entry pool that's 70 feet around with a 22-foot- tall water play structure with sprin klers and slides. *A water slide that will be more than 16 feet high and 111 feet long. ?A 625-foot lazy river complete with inner tubes provided. *A 5,800 square-foot bathhouse with a covered outdoor concession area. ?A "water journey" simulated river with a waterfall and bamboo spray misters and water jets along the river channel. There will also be new parking lots with 182 new parking spaces added to accommodate the expected crowds. Recreation and Parks Director Tim Grant said he expects Winston Lake to become a major draw. Grant, who retires next week, said the park will have something for every one. "When this project is finished, I want ycyi to find every person who can't swim and get them over here," he said. Construction on the park was delayed earlier this year as the City Council looked for a bidder that could meet its criteria for minority participation. Winston Lake Road between Waterworks Road and the lake is closed for construction on Monday and is expected to remain closed for 60 days. Customers renting shelters 2,3 and 4 can access them by taking Greensboro Road to Winston Lake Road. W-S community partners host Community-Police Town Hall Series SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE The Winston-Salem Urban League announces Black & Blue, Community-Police Town Halls. The three town-hall series is designed to allow members of the communi ty, community leaders and the police department to channel frustration into a constructive solution-ori ented dialogue. The first town hall is scheduled for 6 p.m., today, Thursday, July 28, at the Winston-Salem Urban League, 201 W. 5th St. It will be an opportunity for the community to present concerns and solutions to challenges that harm healthy relationships between police and com munities of color. The event will be led by Dr. Kimya Dennis, a crimi nologist and sociologist and assistant professor from Salem College; the Rev. Willard Bass, execu tive director of the Institute for Dismantling Racism; and James Perry, president and CEO of the Winston Salem Urban League. Registration is encour aged but not required. Go to https://www.eventbrite.co m/e/black-blue-town-hall 1 -tickets-26695365557 to. register. The second town hall is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, also at the Winston-Salem Urban League. It will pres ent solutions to the chal lenges raised at the first town hall and will be led by the same team. Go to https://w ww.eventbrite .co m/e/black-blue-town-hall 2-tickets-26695376590 to register. The third town hall will be held in mid-fall on a date to be announced. It will feature a keynote by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt. Eberhardt, is a Stanford University professor who was awarded a 2014 MacArthur fellowship for her study of the of racial biases in criminal justice systems. The series is supported by several collaborating organizations and support ers including: Black Chamber of Commerce, Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Dismantling Racism, N.A.A.C.P., Winston Salem Police Department and Winston-Salem Urban League Young Professionals. Funding support has been provided by the United Way of Forsyth County, Winston-Salem Foundation and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. James Perry remarked, "Resolving tensions between police and the African-American commu nity is of the utmost impor tance. African-Americans residents in Winston-Salem seek a trusting relationship with police. And the Winston-Salem police department is committed to protect and serve. I am confident that through con structive dialogue', we can overcome challenges and prevent the atrocities that have afflicted Baton Rouge, Dallas, St. Paul, Ferguson, Chicago, New York and countless other cities." HAIR 10 rwtoon nrwiobes SALIVA 8 million microbes in a single drop HANDS 5 rmHon rracrobes > 140mttlion mtaobes HELP KEEP GERMS OUT OF THE WATER AND WATER OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. I'la Fofijrth County Environmental Health *BT3 Urn us one (336) 703-3225 U facebook.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 28, 2016, edition 1
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