2014 Parks and Recreation Annual NewsletterAnnual Newsletter
Welcome
Steve Siddoway
Director
Meridian Parks and
Recreation
Inside...
Director's Message
Staff
Honors, Awards & Grants
Department Achievements
Meridian Parks & Recreation
Commission
Photo Gallery
Volunteers and Partnerships
Looking Toward the Future
Parks & Recreation By the Numbers
Wow! What a year it has been. There are so many
things to celebrate and to be thankful for at this "most
wonderful time of the year"! We live in the premier city
for families with many opportunities to do things
together, from activities in our beautiful parks to
recreational sports to a variety of classes and camps to
lively community events that bring us all together.
We have seen new park amenities open in 2014,
including 8t" Street Park—with a new playground,
restroom, and picnic shelter. We have a new pathway
section along Five Mile Creek. We have a new restroom
in Centennial Park in Downtown Meridian. We are
wrapping up a major new tennis complex in Settlers
Park—which we will celebrate with a Grand Opening
next spring. Our recreation programs are growing and
offering more opportunities to Meridian residents. And
we have just finished a wonderful week of Christmas in
Meridian events, including the 2nd Annual Winter Lights
Parade, the Children's Winterland Festival, and the
Holiday Classic Volleyball Tournament that raises funds
for Meridian children in need at Christmas time!
I hope that you will look for these and many more
exciting stories of reasons we all have to celebrate and
to be thankful this year!
Finally, I want to turn our thoughts to the future of
Parks & Recreation in Meridian. We are beginning a
very important effort right now—the Meridian Parks &
Recreation Master Plan—that will set the vision for
what we want to accomplish and build together over
the next decade. What is the legacy we want to leave
for our children and grandchildren in the form of parks,
recreation opportunities, and other amenities as our
city grows? I hope you will join us, take our surveys,
attend our town hall meetings — in person and online
— and help us envision the future of Parks &
Recreation in Meridian!
Parks and Recreation Staff
Director:
Steve Siddoway
Recreation Coordinators:
Patrick Dilley
Colin Moss
Garrett White
Parks Superintendent:
Mike Barton
City Arborist:
Elroy Huff
Parks & Pathways Manager:
Jay Gibbons
Marketing Coordinator:
Shelly Houston
Parks Maintenance Foreman:
Roger Norberg
Parks Maintenance Staff:
Jeremy Aldrich
Jeremy Anselmo
Dave Cereghino
Brad Day
Kevin Gallivan
Phillip Harris
Frank Keeney 411111111
Debbie Miller
Terry Whipple
Dan White
Recreation Staff:
Ross Cipriano
Brian Schreiner
Administrative Assistants: Providing, fi,to ,doornommon,l, in
• a timely, friendly, professional,
AI i A l d a pe and solation rented manner.
Rachel Myers o
Congratulations to
Recreation
Coordinator Patric
Dilley and Seasonal
Worker Eric
Jurgensen (below
right) for both
earning Meridian
Way coins from
Mayor De Weerd
during 2014. A
Patrick was
recognized for his
work on the City's
Trunk or Treat even
and Eric for his
outstanding upkeep
of Heroes Park.
Year of Achievement
The year 2014 was a year of growth and
refinement for several of Meridian's parks and
recreational facilities.
Most notably, work was completed on the
Settlers Village Square tennis court project
(below left). The complex now features six full
-sized tennis courts; a set of three smaller
multi -use courts which will accommodate
young tennis players ages 10 and under, as
well as pickleball for all ages; and a
championship court outfitted with larger run-
out areas, higher fences, and bleachers for
spectators.
These courts, along with a new picnic shelter
and 36 additional parking spaces, quietly
opened for use in late 2014 and will be
celebrated with a large grand opening event
and ribbon cutting in the spring of 2015.
The tennis court completion was not the only
improvement in Settlers Park during 2014.
Nearby, a new sign identifies the horseshoe
pits as the "Don Titcomb Memorial Horseshoe
Pitching Courts." Landscape improvements
were made to the Meridian Youth Baseball
roundabout. Improvements were made on the
splash pad and a charcoal grill was installed at
Shelter 1.
Over at 8th Street Park — Meridian's second
oldest City park, dedicated in 1985 — CDBG
funding paved the way for a new restroom
building (below right) and 20' x 20' picnic
shelter. These, along with new playground
equipment made of recycled materials and
funded by a grant from the Solid Waste
Advisory Committee's Community Recycling
Fund, were celebrated in November with a
neighborhood ribbon cutting and barbecue.
A restroom building was installed in Centennial
Park, thanks to CDBG funding, as well. Both
restrooms are heated and will remain open for
year-round use.
Kleiner Park also stepped up its game this year
with new tree plantings in its arboretum,
improvements to its drainage system near
shelter A-4, continued goose management
efforts, and the addition of charcoal grills to its
two largest picnic shelters.
Closer to downtown, the Generations Plaza
water feature received necessary upgrades,
seven downtown trees that had outgrown their
tree wells were replaced, and landscaping was
enhanced along the split -corridor. Last but not
least, a Little Free Library community book
exchange box was installed in City Hall's
outdoor plaza. It operates on a "take a book—
return a book" basis and has been popular with
readers of all ages. A similar Little Free Library
is also planned for the future dog park.
During the year, dedication plaques,
acknowledging the mayor, council members,
commissioners, and other partners responsible
for the creation of each City park, were
mounted in permanent locations within each
park. Updated park site plans were prepared
for each developed park within the City's park
system.
We also continued laying groundwork for the
future. The City successfully acquired well
rights and installed an irrigation well out at its
77 -acre property site, and some preliminary
site work and habitat studies have been done
on the 50 -acre future Margaret Aldape Park
site along the Boise River.
Most recently, the City successfully negotiated
a Land/Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) land
swap in the Storey Park area which will allow
construction to begin on Meridian's new dog
park (below) in early 2015 as soon as weather
allows.
Logo designs for the dog park are about to be
unveiled, and a community fundraising
campaign to help off -set the cost of several
dog park amenities will be launched soon.
Meridian
Bark Park
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Honors,, Awards & Grants
USTA Tennis Grant Award
$7,500 To promote youth tennis in Meridian
January 2014
Idaho Tennis Association Grant
$1,000
January 2014
Tree City USA Award
April 2014 (Photo below)
12 Years as a Tree City
Arbor Day Grant
$300
2014 AIC City Achievement Award
for Park Ambassador Program
kAp.
TIME CITY USA
y Arbor Day Foundation
A Year of Achievements
Pathways & Trails
Connectivity in Meridian continues to improve
as work continues on expanding the City's
pathways and trails system.
The City currently maintains 14.8 miles of
multi -use pathways. Of these, 7.9 miles are
within parks, 6.9 miles are in other areas, and
12 miles are maintained by others such as
highway and irrigation districts.
During 2014, extensive work was done on the
Five Mile Creek Pathway Extension which runs
from the west end of Bridgetower Subdivision
to Linder Road. The design of this project was
funded through an Energy Efficiency
Conservation Block Grant.
To help pedestrians, runners, bikers, and dog
walkers find their way, directional signs were
installed along several pathways. These include
Segment E of the Five Mile Pathway, the Diane
& Winston Moore Pathway, and the H.R. Bud
Porter Pathway. Additionally, distance markers
were placed at 1/10th mile intervals into the
asphalt along the Bud Porter Pathway.
A significant stretch of sidewalk along W. Idaho
Avenue also received much-needed
improvements during 2014, allowing
neighborhood children a safer walk or bike ride
to and from schools in the area.
As part of its continuing exploration of a future
Rail with Trail pathway project along the rail
line, the City commissioned and completed an
arterial crossing study to identify alignment
options and safety solutions that might be
involved with such an undertaking.
Urban Forestry
From park trees to downtown trees, the
Meridian Parks and Recreation Department
currently manages approximately 4,000 trees
in our urban forest.
Under the guidance of City
Arborist Elroy Huff (left),
the Meridian Parks and
Recreation Department
maintains an inventory of
all trees within the City,
> hosts annual Arbor Day
tree plantings at local
elementary schools, and
E participates in Idaho
Power's annual Strategic
Tree Planting Initiative which gives free shade
trees to local homeowners to help shade their
homes during the hot summer months.
On April 15, Elroy was presented with an
Environmental Excellence Award by Mayor
Tammy de Weerd for his leadership role in the
health and future of our urban forests, streets,
parks and pathways.
Elroy works hard to expand the City's tree
planting program. In 2014 he planted 104 new
trees in parks, the golf course and schools. As
a result, Meridian maintains its 'Tree City USA"
status which must be applied for each year.
Elroy has also worked regionally assisting with
the Treasure Valley Tree Canopy Study that
tracks the health of our urban forests. This is
important because trees are effective at
reducing both ozone and particulate matter -
air quality issues that impact our Treasure
Valley.
By planting the right trees in the right spots,
s practicing integrated pest management,
} implementing correct watering principles, and
supervising all pruning operations, our urban
forest continues to thrive.
Sports
The past year was incredibly busy for our
adult sports programs under the leadership of
Garrett White. In all, 5,615 participants on
578 sports teams took part in our league play
and tournaments.
Our sports offerings during 2014 included:
• Basketball — Men's and Women's
• Spring Men's Basketball (New!)
• Dodgeball — Open and Co -Ed
• Flag Football — Men's and Co -Ed
• Spring Softball — Men's and Co -Ed
• Fall Softball
• Volleyball — Women's and Co -Ed
Additionally, we hosted a number of
tournaments including Girls Fastpitch, a Red
Eye Softball tournament, and our 4th Annual
Holiday Classic Volleyball Tournament which
raised funds to purchase Christmas gifts for
the participants of Meridian's Head Start
program. In all, our department raised $2,400
and was able to purchase, wrap, and present
322 gifts and books to 80 low-income children
aged 3 through 5 (below).
The high volume of adult and youth players
wishing to take part in sports activities in
Meridian has filled our indoor sports facilities
and outdoor playing fields to maximum
capacity, making it necessary for us to begin
exploring options for additional playing fields
and gym space... a process that will continue
well into the new year.
Classes, Camps & Activities
Our diverse menu of classes, camps, and
activities engaged participants of all ages and
interests in pursuits designed to enrich the
body, mind, and soul.
In addition to our popular dance, fitness,
martial arts, tennis, yoga, art, and musical
theater classes, we introduced new programs
including family kayaking, women's self-
defense, Spanish instruction, and game
programming for kids.
Our spring break and summer camps kept kids
(and their counselors, pictured above) occupied
with activities at Siena and Prospect
Elementary Schools, as well as in Chateau,
Heroes, and Kleiner Parks, plus the Meridian
Community Center.
For the third summer, musical theater camps
for youth were held at the Kleiner Park
Bandshell, resulting in lively stage productions
of Beauty and the Beast and Annie.
We also launched a new summer reading pilot
program at our camps, in partnership with the
Meridian Library District. It is designed to help
kids maintain their reading momentum during
the summer months when school is out.
While we had to say goodbye to our Recreation
Coordinator Patrick Dilley in mid-December, we
owe him a great deal of gratitude for the
energy and innovation he brought to our
recreation programs during the past several
yea rs.
A Year of Achievements
Special Ever
Meridian residents and visitors always like
a good celebration, and no one puts on
better local events than the Meridian Parks
and Recreation Department!
Under the masterful guidance of Special
Event Coordinator Colin Moss, the
department hosted a number of
community events, which included Unplug
& Be Outside Week, an Arbor Day Tree
Planting, CableOne Movie Night, Gene
Kleiner Day, the Barn Sour Fun Run, the
Independence Day Celebration, the
Community Block Party, and the many
activities that combined to form the week-
long Christmas in Meridian celebration.
Our department also provided assistance
to the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council's
Teen Activities Committee who put on
successful events including Ignite Youth
and Trunk or Treat & Dance to the Beat.
New events this year included the Kleiner
Park LIVE summer concert series in the
Kleiner Park Bandshell, the Fall Classic Disc
Golf Tournament in Kleiner Park, and the
Winter Light Fun Run which preceded the
start of the Winter Lights Parade.
4
Several other events, coordinated by other
organizations, took place in our parks, as
well. In all, the City issued 68 Temporary
Use Permits (TUPs) for events including car
shows, cook -offs, charity walks, Easter egg
hunts, church events, and even a kite
festival and food truck rally.
Promoting all these events, along with the
many other activities of the Parks and
Recreation Department, has gradually
become a full-time job in itself. This
spring, Shelly Houston, a long-time
employee of the Meridian Mayor's Office,
joined the Parks and Recreation
Department as our Marketing Coordinator.
Meridian Parks and Recreation
Commission
No group is more deserving of our thanks
this year than the men and women who
serve on the Meridian Parks and Recreation
Commission.
These community members, along with our
City Council liaison Luke Cavener, meet
monthly and offer the Mayor, City Council,
and Parks and Recreation Staff valuable
advice on park planning, capital
improvements, policies, recreation
programs, and budgeting issues.
Their meetings are generally held on the
second Wednesday of every month at 6:00
p.m. in the City Council Chambers at
Meridian City Hall. These meetings are open
to the public and agendas are available at
the Parks and Recreation Office the Friday
prior to each meeting.
You can learn more about the Commission
on the Parks and Recreation Department
portion of the City of Meridian website at
www.meridiancity.org/parks—rec.
Pictured Left to Right:
Treg Bernt, Kent Goldthorpe, Creg Steele, Matt
Stoll (Commission President), Sharon Borton,
William Fitzgerald, John Nesmith, and Phillip
Liddell. Not pictured: Tiffany Coleman
On February 12, 2014, Treg Bernt was
recognized for serving as past president of the
Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission.
Matt Stoll served as president in 2014.
Little Free Library '
Idaho Power Shade Tree Project
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Children's Winterland Festival
Game Programming Class
\ Tennis Grant Presentations
are beginning the process of updating the City's
Parks and Recreation Master Plan. With the
assistance of national experts and our own
citizens, we will assess the current state of our
parks and recreation programs and facilities,
determine our needs for the coming decade,
and chart out a plan for achieving our vision of
the future.
Upon completion, we will also have concept
plans for several of our future parks, including
the Borup property, our 77 acres in South
Meridian, and the future Margaret Aldape Park
Progress will also be made in the coming year
on new neighborhood parks in development.
These include the new parks in the Bainbridge
Subdivision and the Bellano Creek Subdivision.
Our search will continue for additional gym
space, as we have filled our current facilities to
capacity with our adult sports programs which
continue to grow in popularity. Potential
partnerships with the YMCA and the Boys and
Girl Club are under way, as well as other
potential partnerships.
Parks 9 Recreation
By the Numbers in 2014
• 23 Year Round Staff
• 46 Seasonal Staff
• 34 +/- Independent Contractors
• 240 Acres of Developed Park Land
• 38 Acres of Other Landscape Maintenance
• 3.0 Acres of Park Land per 1,000 population
• 141 Acres of Undeveloped Park Land
• 14.3 Miles of Maintained Pathways
• 3,999 of Activity Guide Enrollments
• 578 Sports Teams
• 5,615 Sports Participants
• 53 Temporary Use Permits Issued
• 1,556 Picnic Shelter Reservations
We will also continue to expand our pathway
system, with special emphasis on segments of
the Five Mile Creek Pathway. Distance sign
markers, appreciated by walkers, joggers and
runners, will also be added on the sidewalks
connecting to the Five Mile Creek pathway. ro
We also look forward to welcoming a new full-
time administrative assistant to our staff, and
to finding just the right person to fill our
currently vacant Recreation Coordinator
position. bw
As always, we will continue to welcome ideas,
comments, questions and suggestions from the
residents we serve, and look forward to finding
dynamic and innovative new ways to engage
them in our parks, events, and activities as we -
move into the future.
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This Annual Newsletter
is published by the
Meridian Parks and
Receation Department
33 E. Broadway Avenue
Meridian, ID 83642
(2089)888-3579
www.meridiancity.org/parks_rec
Editor and
Primary Photographer: