[quote=SGB;227105]Note that although there a lot of issues to be debated at the BCC meeting, Mission Playpark! is early on the agenda, before any of the lenthy discussions - So we don't have to worry about waiting all night for our 5 minutes. Please be there! If we want more recreational facilities we have to show our commissioners how many people (voters) are asking for them.


I call it "talking for a good cause" as opposed to my ususal, just talking. Lucky for you all, I won't be singing.

If you are on Spring Break and are still here, make this an educational field trip for you and your family. This is a great lesson on government, where they can take pride in the community and see how to make a difference! And it's free to come!

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

Parents of Cub/Boy Scouts, Daisy/Brownie/Girl Scouts, please bring your kids to this meeting. I'm sure they can earn a badge being involved with the process. To be able to see this go from an idea to a grand opening/park dedication will be a powerful, first hand lesson! They will be able to take ownership of what community involvement means! This is a great legacy for all of us!

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

We'll be there b/c not leaving til tomorrow!

Citymouse, can you post also on meetup? I am going to do it also but that would be a BIG help too!

See you all with my crazy, they don't need no shugga to be hyper , kiddies!

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

I've posted again on meetup and as of this morning, it had 30 views....


JDarg, be glad neither of us is singing... there's a reason Mr. OM is the Rockstar and I'm not.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

OM-
I'm so glad you are still here! See you there!

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

Good luck gulls and kiddos!

Now we are starting to look forceful!

Hey, where is CKHagan? We were wondering about her yesterday!

Just emailed her again. She may be able to be there

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

I had been thinking the same thing and was about to hunt her down on mdc's message boards. How is she?

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

We have no clue!

BUMP!!! Be there!!!

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

Board of Commission Meeting - April 10, 2007
4/5/2007 location: South Walton Courthouse Annex 31 Coastal Centre Blvd., Santa Rosa Beach FL


4:40 PM
1.Introduction of the Mission Playpark! Organization

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Thanks to the hard work of the Mission Playpark! group, South Walton is getting a playpark by next Oct/Nov.!!!!!!

SGB, Supermom, and Beachmom outdid themselves. We should be so thankful for their hardwork!

Beachmom needs to post pics of her cool signs painted for the meeting! They were so funn!

Anybody that wants to be part of the planning and implementation can PM one of us or call Cindy Meadows office. We will keep y'all updated about our next move!

Oh boy,

LET'S PLAY!!!

Great work team!!!

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

Quickdraw McGraw! I started to post, lost my connection!

Recap: Jenny did a GRAYT JOB, sharing our history, our committment to planning, outlined our wish list, and told them we will do whatever it takes to work with the County to make this a reality! It was short but sweet! Commissioner Brannon addressed the swimming pool element, giving a contact person who had success with Freeport and Defuniak's pools! Cindy Meadows said " They will start the playground component of the wish list soon and will contact us to get the park moving along! It was GRAYT!
My friend said we did very well to get approval on the first try!
Thanks Beachmom, Jdarg, SGB ( grayt proposal- I think she has a new career in Park Planning) Organicmama, CKHagen and the rest of the moms who have worked so hard to make this happen!
Look at the moms and kids in action:

Attached Images

4-10-07 008.jpg (35.1 KB, 24 views)

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

Here's another!

Attached Images

mission playpark.jpg (42.5 KB, 28 views)

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

One more:

Attached Images

4-10-07 010.jpgplaypark2.jpg (45.7 KB, 20 views)

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

http://

Grayt job everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! This could be really cool ]

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

Grayt Job Moms!!! I spy several kiddos we met last week!!! Love the posters too!

Beachmom is my rockstar!!!

Are you kidding me???? What you did was awesome!!!! I could not have done that to save my life and you did it wonderfully!! SGB wrote up a proposal that could win anyone over and supermom is the constant cheerleader and organizer. All I did was a poster You were all grayt and did SoWal proud! and OM- always there to do anything and do it well with 3 smiling faces beside her. I'm just graytful to call you friends

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

I'm still in shock about the pool comments! I cannot wait to see how this all develops. It feels like we need to plant our flag with Beachmoms painting on it to declare our space. I know I'm tired but that image of all of us trying to plant a flag, like on the moon brings a smile to my face! I know I am sick, feel it coming on, sore throat, sore eyes.
Good job Ladies and good night!

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It was kind of like Meat and Potatoes - Simon Cowell

is that jenny doing the talking???
did ya'll hoot and holler?

Beachmom - this picture is really great!!

thanks for the update and pix!!! i'm so proud of you all!

this is such awesome news! civic involvement is really the only way to get this kind of thing done here :) i've not heard of any local officials or government, except cindy meadows, supporting interest in public spaces or infrastructure.

in nyc, though we had several playgrounds and a 600 prospect park, we were really lacking something convenient for families that offered a good pedestrian/jogging walk and good recreation services, so they decided to turn more riverside property into greenspace. anyway, i volunteered with them and they had such great ideas, i thought i'd share! here's a great link to the proprosal they drew up.

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/do...0B900E5D478A76

congrats on your victory and many more!

that link may have been kind of dry, but this has lots of pictures :)

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/in...FFCF51D62FC0BF

SGB put together a wonderful proposal outlining our "wish list"- maybe she will post it! She really pulled this together so well!

And thanks for the links, mf. We are very early in the planning stages for how this park will look, so I am very interested to see what other groups did with design.

Of course, I think there should be HUGE mural space somewhere with Beachmom's art.

Okay, I've had my 1st cup of coffee this morning, so I can post....

I am so dang proud to even be able to be a little part of this group. Just being the crazy woman toting 3 kiddies around to show support is funn! Everyone did such a grayt job!

I will be here this whole summer, as our plans won't take us away from here, so PLEASE add me to the planning group!

After it's all said and done, won't it be incredible to sit at the playpark and think about how the process of just a few people who said, "We want this!" could get the whole ball rolling and see it done?

Again, I am just proud to call y'all my friends.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

I can't wait to for us to get started planning out the park - it's exciting to see things moving forward. Jdarg did a great job representing us. All the rest of us were shaking in our shoes at the thought of speaking at the meeting! Thank you jdarg! Having all the kids there lending their support meant a lot.

Before too long we're going to need a contact/information place to point people to if they want to lend a hand or get information. Right now we have this thread, but I think we need a "missionplaypark.com" web site and email address. Anyone know a good web designer? We already have some gryt artwork for our web site!

I tried to attach the current version of our playpark specification but it was too big. Is there somewhere else I can deposit a Word document? Keep in mind it's an evolving document that will improve and change over time. Any input you want to give is gladly accepted!

Godaddy.com is a grayt place to register domains. You can also build a site from there, if you want. We've used them a number of times and they are wonderful. If you want a basic one from templates with hosting, yahoo.com has a lot available.

I have VERY basic website building experience, for just a basic "here's the info" kind of setup. I can help in any way possible.

In getting to this point, are we going to need a checking account to keep up with expenses like this? We can't just expect 1 person to take responsibility of it all.

I would have needed JDarg's margarita BEFORE the meeting to get up there and talk. At least for the first couple of paragraphs....

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

I must say that I stopped reading this thread after page two, which was long ago. I had no idea that you ladies were doing anything serious other than talking about it on SoWal.com. Then, yesterday, I saw it on the BCC Agenda, and now I see the pics of you ladies getting jiggy with it, looking all professional before the BCC. I am proud to know you! Congratulations!!! One question, can I play at the playground or is it kids only?

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Yeah, me too SJ! I had no idea the issue had snowballed so much. Good job ladies!

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Fantastic news!!!! I so badly wanted to attend with my 2 kids in tow and show support. I have been following this thread closely for obvious reasons.

Grayt news and CONGRATS!!!!!!! Let me know if and how we can help!!

These gals don't mess around. I just trot along behind them.

And I just drag my 3 hooligans along behind everyone else!

Everyone was excited about the playpark at storytime at the library. I took the proposal from Tuesday along with me & they all said to tell all of you, "Grayt job!" Of course, they didn't spell it that way....

But they were excited to see all the items that "moms" added in because, as it was said, if the planning committee were making the decisions themselves, they wouldn't have had so much detail to what was desired. Y'all should be proud... There were ear-to-ear grins on the mommas' faces.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

Mamas rock!

SJ & Skunky, there's a special play area for the two of you.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

I think we should send this group to fight stoopid seawalls and dubious developers.

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

is there going to be a kickball field at this playpark?

I would love to help with park. Please let me know if you all meet.
Brenda....598-0106.Thanks!

Just wanted to say welcome & thanks! If I am correct, we should be hearing something soon.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

We met with Cindy Meadows and Parks and Recreation last week and things are moving ahead. The county is working on a layout for the new 10 acres at Helen McCall. They are trying to figure out how to fit the playground and football/soccer fields on the land. The next meeting with them is June 7th. Before that meeting, I think it would be a good idea for us to all meet up at the playground site and do some thinking and visualizing about how we'd like to see things laid out. There are a lot of nice trees on the part of the 10 acres that will be used for the playground. How about if we all meet at Helen McCall on Monday the 21st at 10am? Everyone that has an opinion is welcome to give one!

SGB and Supermom have done a FANTASTIC job!!!

See you on the 21st!

I second that!

See you all there and the architect will be there too!

There may be some conflicts with end-of-the-school-year stuff. I know that Bay is having an awards ceremony Monday at 9:00 a.m.

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If you are lucky enough to live by the sea, you are lucky enough.

Hi all--- I have been admiring what you are doing for your community from afar, and I know someday our family will enjoy it while visiting. I thought I would forward a link for a grant program by hamburger helper. I think there is a short time left to apply. They are awarding money for things exactly like what you are doing. The link is http://www.myhometownhelper.com/LearnMore.aspx. They are giving away up to 15,000 per project per month.

Congratulations with your success so far!!!!

Hi everyone,
I too am admiring everything you are doing as well. We are moving there sometime this summer and would love to be involved with this project!!! Wish I could be there now to go meetings and such with all of you wonderful moms that are doing great things for your kids as well as others in your community. Keep your fingers crossed that we have alot of traffic this weekend to view our house here in Georgia!!!

See you guys soon!!!

.

Reminder - We're meeting at Helen McCall at 10am tomorrow (Monday). Hope to see you there!

Bump- meet at Helen McCall in about 1 hour (10 am). Here is your chance to make suggestions!

Report please!?!? Had to go to honors day.........2 hrs. with a 2 year old

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"where did all this mop water come from?" (mom)
"the potty" (little beach with toy mop in hand...!)

Bumping it up. I was there but in a baby daze....

Remember when there was lots of green space in Seaside? My kids used to play in the little parks all around the Seaside. I first started coming in 92. I remember reading about the masterplan for seaside and how there would always be controls to insure the "just sitting on the porch" mentality. I guess the almighty dollar trumped that ideology. BTW, I know that all the growth is good for the local merchants, but how do the locals feel about the incredible amount of construction that is taking place on 30A? I can remember driving across 30A to Seaside and there was nothing until you came up the hill and around the bend. I always expected to see St. Peter standing next to the population sign that proclaimed the 256 or so people, dogs and cats that lived there. I say I expected to see St. Peter because I knew I was arriving in Heaven. So glad to hear you got a sprinkle. I coming in two weeks and history says it will rain some more while I'm there.

As one who was born in the area and spent summers at the beach, usually in Grayton, my heart hurts at what has happened to "our" beach...I try not to think of it too much, and do everything I can to preserve what's left.

We got some rain tonite, so that is good.

That is a whole lot fit on a property that is approximately 360' wide by 1300''. A buffer space is likely to be required on both east/west sides as well. Practically speaking you must consider how much land will be chewed up by access dirves and drainage requirements. Most importantly has anyone even considered the how much space will be required for parking requirements? Currently some people feel it is acceptable to park on the private property next door when ball games and practices are being played across the street. You will also need handicapped access and public restrooms. Maybe some of that can be placed on the east side of Moll Dr.? There are a lot of considerations.....

All of your concerns have been addressed and discussed. Since there are several groups that will share this space, maxing it out correctly is obviously going to have to happen. When we looked at the property Monday, we discussed parking, restrooms (even family restrooms), the buffer space of tree line, where and how diferent components could go, etc. From what I understand, the actual measuring and drawing will be done by people who know how to do that.

Keep watching this thread for the next meeting info and please come and see what has been accomplished and make your suggestions about what you would like to see. The biggest consideration of all is that SoWal does not have a decent public place to play or gather, and this group is making that happen.

Agreed. I would like to see it better than decent.

I will try to make the next meeting. June 7th?

I think the June 7th meeting will be with Cindy Meadows and a few people to firm up some plans. SGB could explain more I am sure. Once there have a better plan of the lot (with trees ditches, etc drawn in), then I think we will be meeting again in a larger group. Watch this space for a date and time.

Hi All,
I have been wanting to submit some photos of the playpark that we go to when I am visiting Trussville, AL for consideration and ideas or have we passed that process already?

Who should I send the photos to, Cindy Meadows?

It's so grayt to see so many people interested in the playpark! We have to tell you that Cindy Meadows and the Parks and Recreation people have been wonderful so far and very receptive to our input. They have included parking, rest rooms and even a community center type of building.

As jdarg mentioned, the June 7th meeting is with a few representatives (Supermom, Beachmom, myself, and an architect mom) and Cindy and Parks and Rec. Parks and Recs has been working on a layout that they will show us at the June 7th meeting. We will try and get a copy of this layout to share with everyone else at another meeting that we will set up via sowal.com. The drawing that they show us is not final by any means, so we have a chance to make changes.

In addition to the playground, we are trying to impress upon Parks and Recs the need for a swimming pool in our area. Our wish is a pool that is competition sized so that we can have lots of swim lessons and swim teams. It is yet to be determined if the county has the space and/or the money for the pool, especially a competition sized pool. My personal feeling is that we need to hold out for the competition sized pool so that it will fulfill all the needs of the area. A much smaller pool would really limit its use. After checking out the big pool over at Frank Brown park, I would love to have one like that. (Although I think we won't be able to get the kids' pool that Frank Brown has.) Anyone have any opinions about getting a pool in the area (many of you suggested the pool in another thread or in this one) and the required size?

If anyone has photos of parks that they love, probably the best way to get them to us is to put them in the photo gallery on this site so that we can all see them.

Thanks everyone!

to everyone who is helping to make this happen! Awesome work you're doing on behalf of everyone who loves/visits/lives in SoWal.

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Paula

I am sorry I missed the meeting on the 21st. I want to get involved again, I guess I dropped the ball. I would like to see a pool here. It really can be hard to find swim lessons without going out of the county or going to a private pool....

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Which is why my kids haven't had lessons yet.

While it would be nice to have a long course meters set-up (50 meter long pool) you can run a perfectly nice comprehensive swim team program with a six lane, 25 yard long pool. (you don't want fewer lanes than that because it limits your ability to hold dual meets)

A deep end with a diving area would be nice, but new diving boards are pretty much uninsurable these days unless it's a school or univeristy pool. So instead of an L or T-shaped pool with a diving area, go with an L-shaped will with a 25 yard x 6 or 8 lane set-up with water depth of 3'6" at one end, and about 6-7' (or whatever the minimum is for competitive diving blocks these days) at the deeper end as the main body of the pool, with the small part of the pool being a shallow/zero entry kids area with some spray areas for the kids to play in.

If you've got a little bit left in the budget, you can install a small waterslide that ends in the deeper part of the kids area. (For whatever reason, they're much easier to get insurance for than the diving boards are)

Thanks so much SGB! I attended the meeting in April with the commissioners showing support for the playpark, did I meet you?
I have given the photos to one of the Moms you mentioned via email and I posted some in the photo gallery so everyone can view. Good luck at the meeting on June 7th and I hope you guys come up with something GREAT for our community !!

I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years on summer, winter (during school year), and high school teams (until I ran out of joints to damage), so I've seen/swam in quite a few pools. Here's my 2 cents:

I highly recommend a 25 yard x 8 lane setup with a separate kiddie pool and/or diving well.
-50 is too long for the littlest kids as it forces all relay and IM events to be 200 long and all individual events to be 50.
-8 lanes means more room for practices and gives you the option of having an adult lap lane or 2 during practice times. Meets take forever w/only 6 lanes. Each kid typically swims 2 individual and 2 relay events in every dual meet.
-A separate wading/kiddie pool allows kids to cool off during a long swim meet, keeps kiddie/diaper debris out of the main pool & keeps waves/big kids away from little ones. It also allows you to build in stages.
-Unless you have a diving team, a board is a constant pain, maintenence issue, and liability. If I had a dollar for everytime we weren't supposed to be on it or a coach yelled at us for improper use I could donate the locker rooms.
- A slide is fun, but expensive. Our mayor inaugurated our new pool by donning an old fashioned bathing costume and sliding down!

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The enemy is ignorance.

I really have to get a picture of Parkwood pool next time I'm out there. They've got pretty much an ideal set-up for a small town community pool. 8 lanes/25 yards, and then a shallow L to one side.

If money was no object, I'd say copy the Ft. Lauderdale aquatic complex:



Two seperate 50M x 25 yard pools, plus a 25x20 yard diving well with eight different competition springboards and a 10 meter diving tower, plus a small, shallow, warm teaching pool to the south of the diving well. Go a block east of there, and you're at the beach where they finish up open water races.

My college team used to go down there to train after Christmas every year, and I loved nearly every painful moment.

What's the latest?

Funny you should ask. Yesterday we met with Commissioner Cecilia Jones. When we last met with Cindy Meadows, we were told that there was money to complete the first phase of the Helen McCall project, which the playpark was a key component of that phase. Last month we met at the new gorgeous Hammock Bay park with engineers from Preble Rish and we looked at that equipment and discussed what we liked for our park. We were still under the impression that the money was still there for the playpark.

Imagine our surprise when we were told in yesterday's meeting that there is only about $47K left to buy playground equipment. Even more surprising was finding out that the county is currently working on a new "public" park in the Driftwood neighborhood, to the tune of about $160,000, a gift from Cindy Meadows. Like anyone will ever use that park besides Driftwood residents, and we would love to know where that money came from---like maybe it should have gone to Helen McCall first?

Commissioner Jones was very understanding of our frustration, and we will be meeting soon with Ronnie Bell and others to figure out what we are going to do. However, it is going to be hard to find money right now.

do the financial records not show what happened to the money?

did it go to Driftwood?

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

Let us know how this meeting goes. Admittedly, I haven't read this whole thread (9 pages? ), but I have been under the impression that the Helen McCall playpark was a done deal, just taking a while.

Maybe raise a stink about this in the Sun paper? That usually seems to chap the county's hide. Seriously though, if funding was available and now seems to be redirected to Driftwood of somewhere "private" (less public), well that gets me a little P.O.'ed!

Also, can someone more involved with this tell me if a volunteer type program would work for building this park? I know the project is on county property, so that may make things difficult. I guess what I'm saying is - I'm a woodworker/builder, I know there are many builders, designers, landscapers, etc. on this forum. If we have to build the D*** thing ourselves, then I bet we can pull it off! Not to give away any secrets , but it really doesn't cost as much to build this stuff (not as much as it costs the county to build it ).

Sorry if this has already been discussed here. Somebody please let me know if
this could be built by volunteers.

We are still trying to figure out what exactly is going on- how is this Driftwood park being built before the playpark at Helen McCall??? For over 2 years, our group has been working on this project, with Cindy Meadows- attending meetings with engineers, workshops, planning sessions- a lot of work and some money has already been spent. We never heard anything about a park in Driftwood. I have asked several friends who are regular BCC attendees if they remember any discussion about a park/playground at Driftwood, and nobody can recall anything. We do have $132k which is earmarked for paths, restrooms, and pavilions. It is the playground equipment money that is coming up suddenly way short.

The $160K figure for the Driftwood park comes from Andy (don't know his last name) who was in our meeting yesterday. I believe he works under Ronnie Bell. He made a phone call while we were in the meeting to confirm this figure.

Regarding volunteers- thanks for the offer, but we are planning on ordering the high-tech super safe manufactured playground equipment, which most likely will require professional installation for liability reasons. We may be able to use volunteers for landscaping, sand spreading, etc- I will check on that.

Wow, Driftwood Park. That sure is a blast from the past. If I remember correctly, that park area was set aside as part of the original Adams Homes/Olsen buildout plan way back when. I remember seeing it in the marketing materials of the project at least 5-6 years or so ago and inquiring about it from the real estate people. They told me it was to be developed as a public park, not a community park so that it would be for everyone. Due to its location, I never thought it would actually get to far off the ground. Interesting stuff JDarg.

Sounds like you might not be able to afford it anymore.

Lumber and building materials are pretty cheap right now (and will be for a while it seems) ....

Have you ever seen the play structure at Watercolor - not that big of a deal for a few volunteer builders over a few weekends and evenings.

I'll admit I know nothing about the liability issues. I'm kind of "old-timey", so I think it's ridiculous that this is such a problem, but - I know, I know.....

Anyway, there's people here with the tools, heavy equipment, and know-how that would volunteer for the "right effort" - just so you know. Don't spend all your money in planning, though. We can look at it too. (Preble-Rish for a playground, pavilion and bathrooms? ) Also remember things can be added to and uprgaded later.

Lastly, are there any other links to your effort (this project). I don't expect you to explain the whole thing to me! I may read these 9 pages later, but don't have that kind of time right now.

The Beach Breeze has a front page article about the latest playpark news- things are moving right along! Pick up your copy today for the whole story!

Kudos to Leah Stratmann of the Breeze for sorting out the spaghetti mess of background to write this story.

Cecilia Jones is quoted as wanting the park open by April 2010- the equipment will be similar to Hammock Bay, which is pretty sweet. The park will also have parking and restrooms! From start to finish will be a little over 3 years, but it's really going to happen!

When moms want something for their kids AND community, look out!

Congratulations to all who have worked so hard and long on this project. It is going to add so much to our community.

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

On to the pool!

This is really good news - community in action, eh?! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Tangent - This was the very first Sowal thread I ever posted to (see post #138). I was very inspired by all of you, your commitment to improving your community, and it made me more determined than ever to move here.

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"My life has been a huge adventure, always. I like them bold, I'm done with creepy." - Seagrovegirl

And SoWal is better with you in it.

Thanks jdarg for getting us some publicity! We will be pushing for a pool and will need some help! Oh, for the good old days when money grew on trees...

No kidding. We moved here after those days, I think.

my hope is that they have been replanted and with a little tender loving care, will grow again...perhaps not as huge and with a better root system this time.

Congrats to the village that made this happen!

WCW...I remember being inspired by this thread and group of peeps, as well!

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

Is this project still a go? Do you happen to have a copy or a link to the article?

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You can check the beach breeze website i'm sure and find the story, but yes it is still a go. We should have a very nice park by next year.

Yes- park on! I will try and get the full story from the Breeze to put on this thread!

From the 9/24 Beach Breeze


Spring Playing Planned for South Walton

By LEAH STRATMANN
Sometimes a great notion coupled with a great deal of patience results in something an entire community can use, enjoy, and be proud of. Take the case of a group of women, mothers all, who came up with the idea of trying to get a park in the south end of the county. According to Rhonda Cloutier, one of the forces of nature behind Mission Playpark, the idea was born when a post on the popular message board SoWal.com asked citizens to comment on what they would like to see in the community.
“I think we all came up with it at the same time. There was a post on SoWal asking for what people wanted to see in the area that wasn’t here. Many people relocated here from areas where public parks were commonplace. I thought the park was a big missing piece. You are not always at the beach. We were having to drive a long distance to find a park and by the time we packed the kids up to take them to the park and spent the time driving there and driving back, there was less time to play. A bunch of other people felt the same way and we started meeting to come up with a plan to make it happen.” The progress of the movement was all documented on SoWal.com.
Another of the participants, Jenny Dargavell, recalls the entire movement started in January 2007. “We started meeting and called the group Mission Playpark. The group started out with more moms, but after the first year the group solidified into a core of Cathy Potter, Rhona Cloutier, Denise Leblanc-Bock, Lisa McBride, Allison Craft and myself. In June 2007 we brought our proposal to a meeting of the county commissioners and Commissioner Cindy Meadows approved getting a master plan completed using Helen McCall Park and including the 10 acres that had just been purchased and was hopefully going to be the site of the new play park. Grants were applied for and won, and in January 2008 public workshops were held to figure out what the public wanted in the re-design of the park. Our focus was primarily a playground and maybe a pool, but there were others representing football, baseball, and soccer groups, as well as skateboarders,” she said.
Cloutier recalls it was Cathy Potter who put the proposal in writing. In addition to appearing before the county officials, the group traveled to Tallahassee in search of funding. Potter said, “In the end we got less money than we hoped for. The info we put together was for more than just a playground. We would like to get a swimming pool eventually, perhaps in Padgett Park, located near the high school and which could be used by a swim team. We are moving forward with the planning,” Potter said.
Dargavell said after the completion of the workshops, it seemed everything came to a screeching halt. “We heard nothing,” she said. “When Cecilia Jones was elected to the Board of County Commissioners, we asked her about the park and had several meetings with her. Nobody seemed to know what was going on and the funding seemed to have disappeared,” she recalled.
Jones said the funding did not disappear and even though the group heard nothing, forces were at work getting the necessary permits to build the park. “Cliff Knauer of Preble-Rish had been hired to oversee the project and he was working on getting the permits necessary to proceed. The money came from grant funds allocated to Helen McCall Park and the remainder from Parks and Recreation plat fees. We have $150,000 to work with and GameTime has been selected to supply the equipment,” she said.
GameTime uses a great deal of recycled material in the construction of the playground equipment, so the new park will be green on several levels.
The group of women provided Jones’ office with a wish list of equipment after a field trip to Hammock Bay to look at the playground located there. Jones said the equipment they are buying is very similar to the equipment in Hammock Bay.
“We are going to have a spider climber, a rock climber, slides, swings, seesaws, and we plan to build a large pavilion with picnic tables. It is top of the line equipment made of heavy-duty material. I want to have it open by April 2010 so it will be ready for the next tourist season,” Jones observed. “We have no parks in this area and we need more. It is one of my priorities,” she asserted.
The park will also have public restrooms and parking areas. Future plans and funds would be dedicated to the construction of a community center and perhaps a basketball court. Only about six of the 10 acres is available for use, as the remaining four acres are wetlands.
Both Cloutier and Potter said the amount of time it has taken thus far has aged their children beyond the age of those usually found on a playground, but this does not deter Cloutier’s enthusiasm. “I’m looking forward to kids finally being able to enjoy this park,” Cloutier said. "I can’t wait to attend the grand opening. My kids will be there regardless of their age. I’m thankful there is such a hardworking dedicated group of parents who want us to have a place to go in south Walton.” Cloutier said she also wanted to acknowledge the help and support the group was given by Ronnie Bell and all the employees at the Parks and Recreation Department.
“We’ll be extremely fortunate to have it in south Walton. Cindy Meadows did so much to help us get this. I hope she will be there when it opens. We appreciate what Jones is doing too. I still believe it is going to be a huge benefit to this community to have our own park where people can go and meet. There are a lot of young families looking forward to it. It is very exciting and I’m proud to be a part of the group. Moms don’t give up,” Cloutier said. “We will have the biggest picnic on that opening day and I hope that everybody takes part in this community effort.”
Leah Stratmann may be reached via leahwrites@gmail.com

Progress is being made and it's very exciting to see! Commissioner Cecelia Jones and her assistant, Jason, have been a huge help in getting this accomplished. Attached is a preliminary, proposed plan for the new playpark at Helen McCall. I thought it might give everyone a good idea as to the size and scope of the project. Note that it is "preliminary & proposed" so it is subject to revision.

We're working within a budget here and trying very hard to get the most bang for the buck. The big play structure is for kids 4-12 (with some parts more appropriate for the little ones), the small playstructure with shade is for the tots. There are a couple of see saws, various cars/planes for sitting in and rocking back a forth, a round thing to hang on and to go round, swings for tots and older, tire swing hung horizontally, tetherball, huge spider climb, pavilion with picnic tables, benches with backs.

Attached Files

Mission Play Park Overview.pdf (334.2 KB, 23 views)

Wow! It looks pretty great!

I was sure hoping the county park they built in Driftwood would be similar, but it didn't end up that way. The playground is big enough for about six 2-4 year olds, with 3 swings for bigger kids. There is a basketball court and lots of grassy space for running around in, but I was sure hoping for more of a playground.

I am still trying to figure this out. Why would the county build a public park all the way back in Driftwood, where a) nobody will find it or know about it and b) the Helen McCall park was first out of the gate according to our info, and it is still not built? It is not really a public park, IMO- it will be public for the few outside of the neighborhood that find out about it.

a) Because Driftwood wanted a "neighborhood park" and donated money for a portion of its cost - it included no public parking.

b) Ask Cindy Meadows - I think you will find she prioritized the work and reallocated funds for its work prior to leaving office.