Just received this email from our neighborhood association, SOSNA, about our neighborhood park, Julian Abele Park:

One of the concepts under consideration, from the Park’s website:

“Take the JULIAN ABELE PARK SURVEY on Park Designs today by 6pm.
www.julianabelepark.org

Here’s the full message from the Friends of Julian Abele Park:

Hello Friends & Neighbors.

Some of you may already know about this, but we just wanted to be sure the message gets out to anyone else.

At our general meeting last Wednesday night, in which we reviewed some park design ideas and discussed potential ways we might spend the $150,000 grant money the Park recently won, we decided to follow-up by soliciting input from the community via an online survey.

The survey is now posted at http://www.julianabelepark.org/.

If you have already answered it, please refrain from taking the survey again, as this would skew the results. However, do feel free to pass this along to other neighbors or anyone else you know who may be interested.

A little background for those who did not attend the meeting:

In the survey you will see renderings of 4 proposed plans. [These are also now posted here (http://www.julianabelepark.org/PLAN/PLAN.htm) for further review by anyone who has already completed the survey, or if you are not interested in taking it.]

The Friends’ Design Subcommittee is obviously more fleshed out than the other three, but we’re asking you to vote more on the basic ‘bones’ of the park rather than on any specific landscaping issues. Also, keep in mind:

• All potential designs will maintain clear sight lines into the park, to maximize safety for all its users.
• Each plan includes a ‘stage’ area that can be used for concerts and other events, but these areas are not raised platforms – rather they are paved areas that can be used on an everyday basis as well.
• You will also note a rectangular shape drawn over the stage area in the Design Subcommittee’s plan. This depicts an open-work pergola, essentially an open roof on four posts. This structure would not diminish visibility, but would offer a shady spot to sit under.
• The designs offer varying amounts of lawn space, paths through and around the park, seating areas, etc.

Our grant will not pay for everything we want to have; that will require fundraising in the future. What we want to do now is carefully spend this grant money in ways that will provide the underpinnings of long-term park design, so what you’re voting on is not so much about any one specific/final plan, but on the park’s future shape and form.

Community participation is also an important factor when we apply for grants, so in addition to having a voice in the process, your survey responses will be helpful for future fundraising.

NOTE THAT WE WILL BE CLOSING THE SURVEY TO TABULATE RESULTS BY 6PM TODAY, MARCH 7TH, SO WE CAN REPORT BACK TO THE CITY IN A TIMELY FASHION. SO PLEASE DON’T DELAY, RESPOND AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Thanks in advance for participating!

Friends of Julian Abele Park
www.JulianAbelePark.org“