Parks & Rec board focuses on volunteer projects

Oct. 16—The reborn Parks and Recreation Board last week zeroed in on possible projects to undertake such as facilitating litter cleanup, supporting special needs fields and advocating to expand recreation centers' hours.

In the second meeting since the board re-formed in September, board member Daniel Frith said several people are interested in doing a cleanup of the Point Mallard Park walking/biking trail, including removing the trees the Tennessee Valley Authority cut down and left along Point Mallard Drive Southeast.

Parks and Recreation Director Jason Lake said Point Mallard is city property because the city leases the land from TVA, and only city employees would be permitted to use a chain saw to cut the trees into manageable sizes.

"We can't allow anybody to use chain saws on city property because of liability issues," Lake said. "They can pick up garbage, but we would take care of using chain saws."

Lake said there "are a lot of like-minded companies and individuals" who want to do projects that help the community like cleanup days and there are a lot of ways they can contribute.

He said other projects the board could possibly support are Jeff Sharp's special needs park near Oak Park Elementary and former Police Chief Ed Taylor's proposal to build a Field of Miracles, a ballfield for those with special needs.

"We have the largest special needs program in the area," Lake said. "But we ... just don't have the facilities. We should help (Sharp). It's our job to help him."

Lake said Cullman's parks and recreation board built its Field of Miracles.

"That's what got me fired up about this board," Lake said. "It's the reason I went to council and said I need a board or we need to get rid of it. Things that other people are doing are making a difference in their communities. You're talking about the infrastructure that means a lot to the people who live and die in those communities."

Board member Zach Cameron, an assistant principal at Decatur Middle School, said students and their school clubs are looking for ways to get volunteer credit hours.

Volunteering can help students when they apply for scholarships and college admittance. The Volunteer Center of Morgan County also recognizes students for their service.

Cameron said "it's easy" to manage the students' participation and to make sure they get credit for their service.

"They just show up and we supply a sign-in for their sponsors that shows how long they worked," Cameron said.

Cameron said Career Academies of Decatur students could also contribute with the skills they are learning like woodworking and welding.

Shane Stewart, who was elected the board's president at Tuesday's meeting, said students from other schools, like Priceville, West Morgan and Hartselle, may want to join Decatur's students in earning their volunteer service hours.

"Students from the Key Club at Hartselle may hear that we're cleaning up a trail and think, 'That's much better than flipping pancakes at 4 in the morning,'" Stewart said.

Misti Palmer, who was elected vice president, said one of the things the board discussed wanting to do is to "champion" additional staffing so the city could increase the hours of its recreation centers. After the 2008 recession, the city reduced the operating hours at Fort Decatur, T.C. Almon and the Aquadome.

"These centers are so important to our kids, especially during the holidays," Palmer said. "Instead of being out running around, they want to play basketball. This is great because they want to be active."

Cameron said "that can't ring more true" than after police arrested four teenagers in connection with a shooting reported about 6:40 a.m. last Sunday that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Avantae "Tae Tae" Alexander on Pennylane Southeast.

"Obviously, I understand the gyms won't be open at 6 a.m., but if they had an outlet where they could go, they could stay active and out of trouble," Cameron said. "If I didn't have something to do (as a teenager), I was going to find something to do. It rings true that our kids need something to do and to play, exert energy and have fun."

Lake said he welcomes all of the board's ideas but he warned them that they may have to find alternative sources of community funding.

"Y'all may have ideas but we don't have any money to do it," Lake said. "If there is a cost, what is it? Those are community-driven ideas."

Cleanup clearinghouse

Lake said the city needs a calendar, ways for people to sign up and a contact list that allows people to exchange advice about managing projects. This would help people embarking on a project to avoid the same mistakes made by others who have done similar projects before.

"We end up having the same conversation with different groups many times," Lake said. He said a contact list, especially on beautification projects, would allow a person who is planning a project to reach out to someone "who can answer questions like, 'I heard your project was really successful. How did you get the word out? If you had problems, what were those problems?'

"That type of organization doesn't just put together one cleanup day. It makes it easier to put together cleanup days every single day of the year," Lake said.

Stewart said separate calendars may be needed for small-scale cleanups like picking up trash at the ballfields or Pop Oliver tennis courts and large-scale events that cover a section or all of the city.

Councilman Carlton McMasters, the council liaison with the Parks and Recreation Board, said Parks and Recreation and the city can promote the volunteer activities on its social media sites.

"There are people looking for something to do," McMasters said.

Frith said the activities could also be publicized in The Decatur Daily.

Stewart said he would like for Lake to streamline the projects in which he and his department would benefit from board assistance.

"I want us to be able to build something with some consistency so, when all of us are gone, they've got vision and leadership to know what direction this needs to move in," he said.

Stewart said he also expects people in the community will tell the board members what they want from Parks and Recreation. This input should then result in new agenda items for the board, he said.

New officers

Ronnie Dukes, the only holdover from the previous Parks and Recreation board, had initially been selected president during the September meeting but decided he couldn't commit to the position, Lake said after Tuesday's meeting.

"Ronnie said he wants to stay on the Parks and Rec board but he's working on so many different boards he thought it would be best if he didn't serve as president," Lake said of Dukes, who was absent from the meeting.

Palmer was elected vice president after the board held off on filling that position in September. Palmer is a West Morgan Elementary School teacher and lives in District 5. Stewart works for Interstate Billing and lives in District 2.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.