Parks and Rec

There are 153 posts filed in Parks and Rec (this is page 6 of 16).

Taking to the stage?

One of the many things on my bucket list is to play a role in a musical. A friend let me know about upcoming auditions for Theatre in the Park’s production of A Christmas Carol. With encouragement from Kelly, yesterday I made an appointment to audition for a spot in the ensemble.

My last audition was over 25 years ago, at South Mecklenburg High School for a role in the musical South Pacific. I think I did well because there was discussion about me playing the lead role of Lieutenant Cable. Ultimately I opted not to be in the play because drama was the realm of my brother, Allen, and I didn’t want to crowd him. Probably more accurate, though, was that I was still extremely shy and had little self-confidence.

The kids were excited when I mentioned the play and now they want to audition, too! Picking out good audition songs for them is proving to be difficult but they sure have no problem performing before crowds.

While Kelly is sitting this one out, she has enthusiastically agreed to join the kids and I as we reprise our roles as zombies for the Haunted Mordecai trolley ride again this year. Boo!

Chief Dolan retiring

The first time I met retiring Chief Harry Dolan was the night of December 4th, 2007. The 32nd Raleigh City Council had just been sworn in at Memorial Auditorium and a young Travis and I were there. After the short ceremony, we both wandered through the hall only to come across a police officer as friendly as he was tall. Dolan warmly introduced himself to me and to Travis, kneeling down to talk to my son at his level.

Those two minutes told me all I needed to know about Raleigh’s new police chief: Dolan was going to engage the public, and kids mean a lot to him.
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Reelected by acclamation

I found out at this morning’s Parks board planning meeting that I was the only candidate for Parks board chair and the current vice-chair Kimberley Siran was the only candidate for vice-chair. We’re thus going to be reelected by acclamation at the upcoming Parks board election.

In addition, on September 4th the Raleigh City Council reappointed me for another two-year term on the board.

I’m grateful for the trust of my fellow Parks board members and that of the City Council. It’s an honor and a privilege to serve!

Pullen Park punch passes

Let’s get rid of these lines at Pullen Park


On the beautiful, fall-like morning that was Sunday morning, the family joined Kelly’s parents for a visit to Raleigh’s Pullen Park. Pullen Park went through a recent renovation and is now more popular than ever. So popular, in fact, that there are now long lines queuing up for its attractions.

I got to Pullen before anyone else, so I bided my time by waiting in line for tickets to the attractions.

“This is unproductive,” I thought to myself.

The woman in front of me gave me a tip to buy a bunch of tickets at once so I wouldn’t have to wait again. That seemed like a good idea, until I saw she was purchasing 60 tickets. The ticket machine spit out 60 tickets, one at a time. It took a while and the pile of tickets she was handed was a bit unwieldy.
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Pullen Park facelift is paying off :: WRAL.com

Yay, Pullen Park!

A $6.3 million renovation at Raleigh’s premier park is paying off for the city. Since reopening in November, Pullen Park has brought in about $725,000 in ticket sales alone.

Before the facelift, the 66-acre park averaged between $500,000 and $600,000 per year in ticket sales, concessions and shelter rentals. Ticket prices have remained the same.

via Pullen Park facelift is paying off :: WRAL.com.

Mr. Grump

I had a grumpy day today, start to finish. And it sucks. I should have felt better about things but I did not.

My work day started off with a bang as I discovered my laptop had a virus or two on it. I spent the majority of my workday carefully getting rid of those viruses and trying to determine how they got me. It made me curse the Windows laptop I have to use instead of the far more secure Linux one I’d prefer.

Though I finally got that problem solved, I spent the rest of the day stressing about all the other things I’ve got going on. This upcoming week has meeting after meeting and it’s got me looking ahead to next month’s vacation. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a big deal but the kids’ being out of school has upended our home’s usual schedule and thrown me completely out of my comfort zone. This is the first summer we’ve had two working parents in the family and it’s taken a while to work things out.

Tomorrow is another day, however. The sun will come up, and I will find reason to sing again. I always do, you know.

Parking Permit Process for Pullen Aquatic Center and Pullen Community Center

In my guise as Raleigh parks board chair, I had a concerned citizen call me two weeks ago asking if there was anything that I could do about the lack of parking around Pullen Aquatic Center. She had witnessed handicapped pool patrons turning away when all the pool’s handicapped spaces were full.

I told her that I would bring it up at this month’s Parks board meeting and that’s what I did. Fortunately, the Parks staff has already been working on a solution: a parking pass system will be give pool users exclusive access to the Pullen Aquatic Center parking lot.

This isn’t the only remedy being considered but it’s one that might offer immediate relief to the pool parking issues brought on by the wildly-popular Pullen Park.

Pullen Aquatic Center and Pullen Community Center will now be using a parking permit process to ensure patron access to the facilities. Parking permits will be issued to Community Center and Aquatics participants for the duration of their class, program, pass or rental.

Permits will be required during normal operating hours and for all after hour events at each facility. Signs will be placed at the entrance of each parking lot indicating that a permit is required. You may obtain your permit from Pullen Aquatics front desk for aquatic participation and from Pullen Community Center for community center participation.

via Parking Permit Process for Pullen Aquatic Center and Pullen Community Center – The Official City of Raleigh Portal.

House Creek Greenway opening in September now

I got the word about why Raleigh’s much-anticipated House Creek Greenway will be opening in early September now, rather than the July 19th I had initially mentioned. The delay comes as a result of the contractor needing to put up over 3,000 feet of railing along the top of the retaining wall.

House Creek Greenway covers some challenging topography. It’s a big project that has been anticipated for many years. While it would be great if it was open now, another few months are worth the investment to get it right.

House Creek Greenway to open in fall

Lots of people are excited about the new House Creek Greenway opening. I know I am! That side of town has been missing a good north-south greenway connection for years and now it’s about to take shape.

I learned this evening that this new greenway segment that was originally scheduled to open July 19th will now not be opening until early September. The contractor has alerted the city to a problem which will delay the ribbon-cutting, I’m told.

So it sounds like the greenway will be open for the cooler riding weather of the fall, but not as soon as I or many others would like!

Multi-Modal in Raleigh: Leading by Example #BikeRaleigh

Over at her Multi-Modal in Raleigh blog, Kristy blogged about Friday’s Bike To Work Leadership Ride around downtown Raleigh. Kristy even got a pic of me at the bottom of her post, too.

Thanks, Kristy!

A perfect Bike to Work Day in Raleigh, NC. We rode a loop from Centennial Mall around downtown Raleigh to raise awareness for cyclists and promote bicycling as a valid form of transportation. It felt really good to be among such great leaders in Raleigh and to show support for this nationwide movement to promote bicycling as safe, sustainable, healthy, and well – easy.

via Multi-Modal in Raleigh: Leading by Example #BikeRaleigh.