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Starts in the Park:  Call for National Arts Program Entries

DEQ Issues Permit for Forest Hill Lake

Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities

Farmer's Market at Forest Hill Park

2008 "Music in the Park" at Forest Hill Park

Summer Camps Offered by Department of Parks

Online City Job Application System Available at Community Centers

Dogs and Parks: Know the Rules

An Investment in Our Future: Forest Hill Park Re-investment

Also read Kathy's OpEd article, Richmond's Treasure

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Friends of James River Park Newsletters

Currents:  Vol 1, Issue 2 [Summer 2007]

 

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STARTS IN THE PARK: CALL FOR NATIONAL ARTS PROGRAM ENTRIES

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities announces a call for entries in its 10th annual National Arts Program® at Richmond. More than $3,000 in prize money will be awarded through the program to artists of all ages and levels of experience. The program is free to enter, and all artwork submitted according to the rules will be exhibited in one of two shows that will hang from June 23 to July 18.

Youth ages 5-17 are invited to submit their works of art to compete for awards in the Youth and Teen Showcase, to be held at the Science Museum of Virginia, while adults may submit their work to compete in Creative Reflections, which will be held at Pine Camp Arts and Community Center.

The National Arts Program® is one of the most innovative grassroots arts projects in the country and has achieved widespread recognition for successfully nurturing creativity and fostering self-confidence among artists. It is sponsored by the National Arts Program Foundation of Malvern PA and here in Richmond by the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ art program. Additional sponsorship is provided by VSA Arts of Virginia, CVS Caremark/All Kids Can, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the James River Art League.

Registration brochures providing details on how to enter are available at Pine Camp, which is located at 4901 Old Brook Road, or by calling 804-646-3674.

Anyone who wants to enter their artwork, must register to enter by June 4. For more information, call 804-646-3674.

 

DEQ Issues Permits for Forest Hill Lake

Richmond City Council Member Kathy Graziano today announced that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has approved a permit to restore the lake at Forest Hill Park to its historic boundaries.

The project has been in the planning stages for more than three years by the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. The Department will move forward to commission engineering drawings and specifications, and start the bidding process within the next two months, with work to begin this summer.

The restoration will include the removal of approximately 40,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment, the construction of two silt collections areas within the lake, the creation of wetlands on the east side of the lake, the relocation of Reedy Creek to its historic channel, and the enhancement of forested wetlands south of the lake.

The lake and Forest Hill Park are among the significant historic landmarks south of the James River. It has been used as a street car terminus, an amusement park, and in recent years as a neighborhood hub of activity.

 

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities offers a variety of affordable summer camps.

A nine-week day camp will be offered at community centers throughout the city from June 23 to Aug. 22, as well as camps specializing in tennis, soccer, football, swimming, cheerleading, basketball, science, art, photography, dance, teen activities and more.

For more information, call 646-1125 or visit the department’s website at www.RichmondGov.com/parks.

 

Online City Job Application System Available at Community Centers

Individuals who do not have Internet access and wish to apply for a City job online using the City’s new job application system powered by NEOGOV can use computers at the following Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ Community Centers: Battery Park, Bellemeade, Blackwell, Calhoun, Hickory Hill, Highland Park, Hotchkiss, Humphrey Calder, Pine Camp, Randolph, and T. B. Smith.

The department’s community centers are open Mondays through Fridays. Call for computer lab hours as they vary at each center.

The centers with Internet access are as follows:

Battery Park - 2803 Dupont Circle, 646-0944.
Bellemeade – 1800 Lynhaven Ave., 646-8235
Blackwell - 300 E. 15th St., 646-8630
Calhoun – 436 Calhoun St., 646-4083
Hickory Hill – 3000 E. Belt Boulevard, 646-8874
Highland Park – 3300 First Ave., 646-4824
Hotchkiss - 701 E. Brookland Park Blvd., 646-4466
Humphrey Calder – 414 N. Thompson St., 646-1780
Pine Camp – 4901 Old Brook Rd., 646-3672
Randolph – 1415 Grayland Ave., 646-1080
T. B. Smith - 2015 Ruffin Rd., 646-8490

Dogs and Parks:  Know the Rules

In an effort to increase safety and minimize risk to all users of our parks, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and Animal Care and Control would like to remind the public of the city’s laws regarding dogs in parks and on playgrounds.

Now that the weather is warmer and more people, including dog owners and their pets, will be outdoors, it is especially important for the public to remember these laws that are intended to prevent any unfortunate events from happening in our city’s parks.

First and foremost, dogs and cats must be licensed in the City of Richmond, and no unleashed dogs are allowed in any city park – other than Barker Park, which is the city’s dog park located adjacent to Dogwood Dell.

In addition, no dogs at all – leashed or unleashed – are allowed at Byrd Park, Maymont, the Azalea Gardens at Bryan Park, park recreation areas, children’s play lots, athletic fields, or any area posted as an area where dogs are not allowed. This is especially important to remember now that so many children will be playing outdoors in city parks and on playgrounds during the summer and participating in summer sports on the city’s athletic fields.

Also remember, it is not just good manners to clean up after your pet, it’s the law. Section 10-86 of the city’s code requires dog owners to pick up and remove animal waste.

The laws regarding dogs in parks are set forth in Section 10-174 of the city’s code, and individuals who break these laws can be fined as much as $250.

To report a violation of these ordinances or an animal in need of assistance, please call Animal Care and Control at 646-5573. For an after hours animal emergency, call 646-5123. And of course, in any emergency you can always call 911.

Visit the city’s website at www.RichmondGov.com for valuable information on this and other city services, or visit Animal Care and Control.

An Investment in Our Future – Forest Hill Park Re-investment

Richmond is blessed with a park system that is a real treasure, and those of us in the Fourth District are doubly fortunate in having two of the crown jewels in our neighborhoods.

Forest Hill Park and James River Park are assets for our families, for our neighbors and for our future, but time, neglect and events have diminished the value of our assets.

As the city in the past decades has turned its attention to other important issues, our parks have been left behind.

As catastrophic events of the past two years have inflicted serious damage to our facilities, there have been no tools or resources available to repair the damage and rebuild our facilities.

One thing has remained constant, and that is the devotion and commitment of time and resources by the neighborhood associations and the friends of the park groups. They are owned a debt by all of us, and I would like, on behalf the city, to extend my thanks for their devotion

Today I am announcing a commitment of time, resources and events on the part of the Wilder Administration and me, to some of the damage, to invest in our facilities and to redirect our efforts in Forest Hill Park and James River Park. We have specific plans and the financial commitments to make a difference, and this time, these are commitments, not promises.

First, we have a solid commitment from the Department of Parks and Recreation for the dredging and repair of Forest Hill Lake, the dam and spillway, and a solid revenue source for that work.

The Department has set aside $500,000 for the lake restoration work in the Capital budget. First, the Reedy Creek project will be bid and work completed in the next 12 months. During that period, the Department will begin to complete the long-delayed design and permitting process for the lake restoration. Work can then begin next year, on a timely, scheduled basis, with no further delays.

On the storm damage to the dam and spillway, the design work is under way now, and will be bid early this summer. FEMA funding will pay for the majority of the costs, with the remainder included in the city’s capital budget and available July 1st. The storm damage repairs will be completed as Phase One; the lake restoration will be Phase 2.

Our next effort deals with the need for replanting in the park.

There has been no systematic replanting of trees and shrubs in Forest Hill Park in recent memory. The plans have been on the shelf, but never funded.

I have authorized the use of Discretionary Funds of $15,000 to pay for the majority of this work. Friends of the Park and the neighborhood groups will work to match as much as possible of this amount to provide even greater resources. The plans are in place, and have only been waiting for funding.

The money will be committed now. The work will begin in the fall during the best planting season.

Our family facilities at Forest Hill Park have become shabby over the years. We intend to make some repairs and some upgrades.

We will invest in some new equipment and mulch at the tot lot, playground area, to make the facility safer and more attractive to small children.

At the picnic area, we will provide funding for repair of the cobblestone grills and other damaged cobblestone areas through the park. We will replace the present trash can system with permanent maintenance free enclosures, to cut down on litter and vandalism.

The Stone House is a priceless asset, yet there have been few concerted efforts to preserve this asset. The Friends of Forest Hill Park have invested in an architect’s survey of the needs of the Stone House, and made recommendations for vitally needed repairs. We will spend $29,500 to protect the Stone House from the worst of its damage and to make immediately needed repairs, and we will ask the Parks Department to make certain that the Stone House figures prominently in department budget requests for the future.

There are other initiatives to make the parks a safer, more attractive part of our community.

Both Forest Hill Park and James River Park have been the subject of illegal use after dark for years. Our parks have become magnets for illegal purposes, rather than for families and friends. Working with the Police Department, the Department of Public Works and the Parks Department, we intend to make a difference. I have requested, and will provide funding for, automatic gates at Forest Hill Park, Reedy Creek and the Headquarters area of James River Park. The gates will close at dusk, and open at dawn.

I have asked the police department to start a regular patrol visit to the parking lots and to begin towing cars left after dark. If the towing doesn’t work, I will introduce legislation authorizing the use of boots on illegally parked cars. If booted they will stay overnight, and the fines incurred will be significant.

We can and we will make our parks safer, for families, not drug dealers and sex traffickers.

The source of the funding for these projects will be the Fourth District Capital Improvement Budget. I have discussed these projects with Mayor Wilder and his staff, and they have agreed to these projects.

The Mayor and I are absolutely in agreement that our first priority for our city will be public safety, and that is why these projects are the first use I have made of any discretionary funding.

This park is a part of my family history. My children sledded on these hills, and we walked these trails and paths as a family. I want to make certain that my grandchildren, and all the families of Richmond, have the same opportunities to enjoy these parks as I did. We can make the investment in infrastructure, we can rebuild and repair, we can enhance public safety enforcement. But most of all, and first of all, we can recommit ourselves to our parks and open spaces, as the vital part of our community that they are. I intend to do that.