AL MOLL~ Executive Director DIRECTOR WILL PROVIDE A VERBAL RECAP AT THE BOARD MEETING

CHUCK REDDINGER~ Deputy Director, Recreation

Services

Administrative Attended Northern District Meeting on October 25th hosted by New Haven Parks

and Recreation Department Served on a panel to provide feedback to IPFW students on November 12th. As part

of their class group projects, they had prepared Riverfront marketing and promotional materials that included posters, flyers, handouts, websites and social media platforms. About 12 groups of 4-6 students did presentations and I was amazed at the great creativity. Most groups provided us with extra samples of their marketing ideas.

Travel Services 38 travelers went to Louisville October 7th -8th with stops at Derby Café, the Derby

Museum, and Churchill Downs. We have 38 travelers making this trip. Everyone who went on this trip had a great time.

On October 15th-17th 104 travelers went on our signature trip to Mackinac Island. On October 21st 53 people went on the Covered Bridge Festival. The traffic was

greater even than last year and there are no super highways in and out, so we were on the bus much longer than planned. Then there was construction on Interstate 69 on the way home that brought us down to one lane between Fisher’s and Noblesville. Therefore we are not going to offer this trip anymore, even though the town is quant and fun, due to the congestion.

Youth Athletics Jason Smith and Daryn Swartz spent November 28th at the Public Safety Academy

training for our drone pilot licenses. They worked the a few police officers that have their licenses or are studying for the test.

Jason Smith has been working with Mike Fritch, Fort Wayne Pickleball President in regard to Pickleball and the potential need for a dedicated facility. Below is a summary status report.

o The Pickleball Committee has: Taken an inventory of the existing facilities both indoor and outdoor. Currently reviewing hours of operation for these facilities They are gathering growth trends over the last three years and future

projections locally, regionally and nationally. Reviewing the needs of a new or repurposed facility. Looking at potential number of courts needed for future growth and

the ability to host large tournaments Reviewing needed amenities that include parking, restrooms, lights,

and storage facilities Riverfront Coordinate the Donor Recognition Event held at the Botanical Conservatory on

December 6th. Met with local Boy Scout, Noah Arnold, to educate him about Riverfront and how

Boy Scouts can get involved

Met with Eric Link and Bruce Kingsbury to discuss Environmental Resource Center, Citizen Science initiatives, and general IPFW relations.

Attended Riverfront ideas presentation at Memorial Park Middle School Met with Matt McClure of Artlink to continue ongoing discussion of art in

Promenade Park/art events at Riverfront. Met with Hop River Brewing Company to discuss Educational Series and other

events to partner with in the future.

Community Center Halloween Haunt was held on October 21st and had about 50 volunteers assisting

with the event. The event went smoothly and it was a beautiful day, but was slow until about 2:15 pm. The attendance for the event was 650-700 people and was significantly lower than years past. The weather was very nice, everyone seemed to have a great time and things went very smooth thanks to the great support of our staff and volunteers!

The Veteran’s Breakfast was held on November 10th and had about 100 people in attendance. Everyone was very thankful for the breakfast and had a great time listening to the Great American Legion Band. About 50 stay for bingo and gave out event shirts for all veterans courtesy of Senior Helpers.

Santa’s Workshop was held on November 22nd. It was a warm evening with an estimated attendance of 1,900. American Senior Community provided individual milk cartons for 800 and Park Place provided 1100 cookies. Zander Shirmeyer was chosen to light up the building for the night because of the 40+programs he has registered for here at the Community Center. He was interviewed by both Kevin Kilbane from News Sentinel and News Channel 15.

Holly Trolley Shopping was held on November 25th. There were approximately 700 shoppers, and 32 Vendors. In addition there was cookie decorating and a crafts for kids.

Winterval will be held on January 27th. This is the 7th year for the event. New this year are hikes at Lindenwood, the Heartland Mushers dog sled group, dueling ice carvers, and giant inflatables that include a 30 foot tall bounce house snowman.

The Community Center will be closed December 27th-Januanry 5 for annual cleaning and painting.

Outdoor Recreation The Free Lindenwood Intro to Winter Hiking on November 11th was full with 26

attendees and 12 on the waitlist. Participants received coupons from Fort Wayne Outfitters and Earth Adventures

Kellie Adkins and Eden Lamb visited Turner Farm (Cincinnati, OH) and Carriage Hill (Dayton, OH) to look for different ideas for the various expansions that will be happening at Salomon Farm Park. Turner Farm is focused on farm operation & teaching kitchen programs and events. Carriage Hill focuses on interpretive 1880 farm life.

Christmas on the Farm at Salomon Farm Park on December 2nd had 1,109 attendees. There were wagon rides, Father Christmas, dog-sledding demonstrations, food for purchase, free hot cocoa, children's crafts, Christmas music by Mike Conley, a holiday market.

“Parks on Tap!” was held on December 6th. This is a new 21+ program that pairs

public parks and local pubs for hikes and trivia. The program begins with a guided

hike at one of our parks, highlighting native wildlife/plant life, local history, and

alcohol. The hike gives clues to trivia questions that will be featured at the partner

pub. The first “Parks on Tap!” brought 18 people (7 teams of varying sizes) to

Lindenwood Nature Preserve and Deer Park Irish Pub. Deer Park raffled prizes and

the winning team was awarded a parks "swag bag" with parks branded items and

various park facility/event passes. The next “Parks on Tap!” is January 20th and will

feature Foster Park and Curly's Village Inn.

McMillen Park Community Center

The McMillen “Little Kickers” Soccer Program for youth ages 4-6 and 7-10, had a successful first session. The program had 104 youth participants. The program was facilitated on Saturday mornings from 9:00 am-11:00 am. Caleb Schannep, Program Coordinator and an intern from Saint Francis University facilitated the program.

Food Service Community Unity Dinners

o Neighborhood Program hosted 3 Community Unity Dinners along with the Fort Wayne Police

Dept. and Fort Wayne United, for each meal Food Service planned the menu, shopped, prepped & cooked the food. The dinners were held at Weisser, Jennings and Cooper

Thanksgiving Dinners o Nov. 21st Neighborhood Program and McMillen Park Community Center served the

students a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We cooked 50 turkeys with all the trimmings. This

effort took a lot to planning and coordinating. The children also were a big help, in prepping the meal.

o Neighborhood Program actually served their meal family style; we actually had an individual

place setting for each student.

MITCH SHEPPARD ~Deputy Director, Foellinger

Theatre/NeighProg Botanical Conservatory: Metrics – October

o Current Conservatory Attendance Stats: January-October 2016: 66,886 visitors January-October 2017: 67,980 visitors

A difference of 1,094 visitors = an attendance increase of 1.6% o Current Conservatory Membership stats: January-October 2016: $21,095

January-October 2017: $27,852

An increase of $6,757 (32%) o Admissions Only Stats: January – October 2016: $133,839 January – October 2017: $139,342

An increase of $5,503or 4.1 % o Gift Shop Stats: January – October 2017: $76,722 January – October 2016: $68,933

An increase of $7,789 or 11.3 %

Metrics -- November o Current Conservatory Attendance Stats: January-November 2017: 73,453 visitors January-November 2016: 71,694visitors

A difference of 1,759 visitors = an attendance increase of 2.5% o Current Conservatory Membership stats: January-November 2016: $30,651

January-November 2017:

$23,121

An increase of $7,530 (32.5%) o Admissions Only Stats: January – November 2017: $156,592

January – November 2016: $149,173 An increase of $7,419or 5.0 %

o Gift Shop Stats: January – November 2017: $82,664 January – November 2016: $74,353

An increase of $8,311 or 11.2 %

New Projects/Business - The Conservatory, Science Central, the History Center and Fort Wayne

Museum of Art, have joined in a new joint membership program. The Museum Access Pass (MAP)

will grant visitors unlimited access to each of the museums for one year, and includes reciprocal

benefits for each, with the exception of FWMoA. This program launched on November 1st, and is

available for purchase at each of the museums for $185.

o Our building is experiencing storm water infiltration at several points, resulting in structural and

mechanical degradation. We have entered into a contract with MSKTD for an engineering

assessment of these infiltration points. The assessment will reveal each of the problem areas

and will generate a list of recommendations to remedy each. Minor demolition of select areas

has begun in an effort to pinpoint the areas of failure.

Koi swim in the tropical house pond A bat flower blooms in the tropical house

Landscape and Horticulture - We have installed a new bio-filtration system in the Tropical

house waterfall, allowing us to reintroduce fish to the ponds. Six golden orfe and four large koi

have found a new home in the ponds. The koi, three of which measure in excess of 30”, were

generously donated. Three more are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks.

o Show change was successfully carried out from ‘Blumengarten’ to ‘Snow Days’. As

usual, the holiday display is a huge crowd-pleaser, and was made possible by contributions from

30-40 employees across five divisions within the department and our great volunteer base.

Fifteen snow people and animals are carrying out their favorite snow day activities among the

2000 poinsettias on display in the showcase garden and atrium.

Holiday décor in the Arid house

Facility - House Keeping: We assembled the new fire pits to be used outdoors on the new patio.

o HVAC: Allied mechanical was awarded the bid for the repair of our controllers for the HVAC

system. Dan Brenner sent out the RFQ and Allied Mechanical was the single bidder. They

should complete the repair late December.

o Strategic Plans: We are seeking bids for a new tent structure for the upper portion of the

Terrace. This would replace the current tent that has constant trouble with weather issues.

Business Development - Conservatory Fund Raising: Submitted a $5,000 grant to the M. E. Raker

foundation for 2018 “Bold” exhibit on 10/27/17.

o Working on applications to Rolland Foundation and the Journal Gazette Foundation for the 2018 Bold exhibit ~ they are ready to submit once we get the required Park Dept. budgets.

o Working on concept letter to the Auer Foundation for the Bold exhibit. Auer says we can submit it for the January 2018 cycle.

o 2018 Roots - Sent proposal for 2018 Roots to PNC Bank; working on proposal to Barnes & Thornburg. Status of Roots asks: AEP/I&M: under review, decision mid/late January 2018

Barnes & Thornburg initial request sent for meeting Do It Best: need to follow up with their marketing division

Fort Wayne Metals secured, final budget commitment in April 2018 Horizon Bank: declined, interested in smaller project Lincoln Financial Group: under review, decision January 2018 Lutheran Health Network: under review, decision November/December 2017

PNC Bank under review, decision December 2017 NIPSCO declined, not funding special events right now Seeetwater declined

o 2018 Special Events - Sent proposal to Horizon Bank for Easter in the Garden - working on sponsorship proposals for JazzWorks, Pumpkin Zone, Rocky and HKOP. Possibly Once Upon a Tale ~ need to find appropriate match for funder

o Rentals/Catering: WEDDING SEASON - All wedding season (mid-May – mid-October) Saturdays

for 2018 have been sold; Friday is now the new Saturday. o Gift Shop: October gross revenue closed the month at $3,923.71 a slight decrease from October

2016. November gross revenue totaled $5,933, $513 over November 2016 and our best

November since 2012.

Gifts continue as the sales leader for October $2,176, Toys $852, shop plants $1,134 and

sales garden winding down for the winter at $127. Floral continues strong at $366.

Programs – Events - During Fort Wayne’s downtown Fright Night at our morning event, Pumpkin Zone, 841 people (452 adults, 389 children) attended, an increase of 10% over last year. Participants made pumpkin necklaces, decorated mini-pumpkins, played candy corn bowling and other games, planted a mum or jade plant to take home, and enjoyed juice boxes, popcorn, and salted pumpkin seeds. Youth and adult volunteers from the Allen County Farm Bureau staffed several interactive activities for guests to learn about pumpkins and gourds. PBS 39 showed a brand new episode of “Arthur” and let children make a spider craft. Fantasy Faces provided face painting as well. The Fun 101.7 radio mascot showed up as the “Mummy Monkey.” o Over 1000 participants showed up for our Fright Night screening of the Rocky Horror Picture

Show, 857 adults and 155 children 17 and under. Dressed and ready to interact with the movie, the guests were a happy crowd.

o In early October, the 26 members of the Fort Wayne Maennerchor/Damenchor presented a German Chorale Concert in tandem with German native Christel Gehlert’s telling of how our sister city relationship with Gera, Germany, came to be. About 50 people attended this program, adjunct to our Blumengarten display.

o Philharmonic cellist Jane Heald held a “Pop-up Concert” in our Atrium on a Tuesday midday as a musical experiment. Although very few patrons were visiting at the time, Jane felt it was a good experience and will explore future lunchtime “pop-ups” with us.

o This year’s “Holiday Kick-Off Party” was attended by 1,313 a 20% increase over last year. Participants enjoyed seeing the “Snow Days” garden exhibit, getting a professional-quality photo with Santa, meeting Mrs. Claus and two live reindeer, and hearing carols sung by special guests from the Fort Wayne Youtheatre’s Charlie Brown Christmas cast. Our volunteers made and served lots of hot chocolate and handed out casefuls of cookies donated by Ellison Bakery.

Exhibits o The Punkin’ Path Display was installed on a mild, sunny Monday with the help of six volunteers

and several Lawton staff. We expanded the display into further reaches of the Exploration Garden and integrated the décor of straw bales, mums, grasses, and lots of pumpkins and gourds more fully into the existing garden beds. Some of the many gnomes, added for a lighthearted touch, were given German names for our scavenger hunt. Attendance during the exhibit was 3,933 with highest numbers in the final week.

o All the program staff had an active role in production of “Snow Days” and the adjunct holiday displays. Snowdays features groups of snow people (snow dogs, and snow cats too) enjoying the pleasures of a winter’s day when the schools are closed and fun abounds. All indoor gardens are in full holiday spleandor, along with a charming outdoor light show synchronized to music on the terrace garden.

o In conjunction with the Snow Days exhibit, S’more Kits will be available for customers to purchase and toast over firepits on the new Conservatory patio during the cooler season; we hope that guests will begin to discover our patio and enjoy the ambiance as well as a s’more or two!

Education and Outreach: Our Creepy Critters Garden Close-Up was reasonably popular. Volunteer Judy Doell staffed the Desert Garden activities table, busting bat and spider myths and sharing world statistics and pictures of Indiana species. 32 people (14 adults, 18 children) created their own bat or spider using origami paper, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and googly eyes. Judy reported that everyone wanted to make both!

o In honor of our Sister City Gera, our $1 Night program invited participants to taste a variety of German Mustards from mild and sweet to very spicy. About 50 of the public stopped to taste and talk with Fort Wayne Herb Gardeners Nadine Scholz, Jane Coffee, and Louise Rennecker.

o We offered several pre-registered workshops in October. Liz tried out two new instructors. Fourteen people attended the very successful Fall Flower Arranging workshop, and 8 attended an Essential Oils class. Participants were pleased with both, and we are likely to

invite both instructors to offer other classes. Our Forest Bathing walks continue to subscribe and each time they receive exceedingly high praise. Tai Chi attendance has been good over this month and the drop-in rate has been higher than in the recent past.

o “Garden Close-Up: Snowflakes” was held on the warm, sunny 4th Saturday in November. 72 people (38 adults, 34 children) visited the table Missy staffed in the Showcase Garden. We offered a snowflake craft, holiday treat, and snowflake science website information. Many adults as well as families with children created snowflakes from blue and silver pipe cleaners and enjoyed a choice of chocolate chip cookie or candy cane.

o The November “DNI: Mandatory Mum Meeting” was attended by 16 adults and 15 children, 31 total and higher than expected on an overcast, chilly evening. Lynda Heavrin gave information about mum care and overwintering, and volunteer Judy Doell helped participants with the mum flower craft. We also gave out child-friendly activity sheets and flower-shaped cookies.

Foellinger Theatre:

Finished the closing process of the theatre for the season. Stage house closing was completed by September 30th, but work in front of house and in the out buildings continued throughout the month of October.

Booked two tribute bands for the 2018 season, and have researched many more.

Booked The Lettermen.

Researched pricing for new benches and trash cans for Foellinger.

Conducted a site visit to MOKB’s venue at Fountain Square in Indianapolis.

Reviewed projection systems and LED walls for 2018 movie series. Community Youth Centers and Outreach :

Metrics – October, Days of Service = 22

Sign In -- Total of 3,076 o Daily Average Overall 140 o Per Center

Weisser 92 Jennings 31 Cooper 17

Home Work – 1019 o Daily Average Overall 47 o Per Center

Weisser 21 Jennings 14 Cooper 12

Snack – Total 1,487 o Daily Average Overall 68 o Per Center

Weisser 40 Jennings 16 Cooper 12

Kids Cafe – Total 2,159 o Daily Average Overall 98 o Per Center

Weisser 61 Jennings 22 Cooper 16

Metrics – November, Days of Service = 20

Sign In -- Total of 2,588 o Daily Average Overall 129 o Per Center

Weisser 76 Jennings 31

Cooper 22

Home Work – Total 870 o Daily Average Overall 43.5 o Per Center

Weisser 16 Jennings 12 Cooper 15

Snack – Total 1355 o Daily Average Overall 68 o Per Center

Weisser 36 Jennings 16 Cooper 16

Kids Cafe – Total 1,694 o Daily Average Overall 85 o Per Center

Weisser 44 Jennings 23 Cooper 18

The centers daily sign in numbers are continually increasing. There were over 700 more sign ins in October than Sept. With the weather changing, the youth will now come to the center instead of hanging out outside. Cooper Center attendance topped 25 several times in November. More students are coming in with work to do from school. If there is no homework, the youths still sit quietly and read or do mind game puzzles until the homework time is complete. Snack time continues with great options such as fresh fruit, granola bars, and some fun items like chips, pretzels and other goodies.

Highlights: On October 5, all 3 sites closed and attended the Greater Kids build Greater Communities Conference at the Memorial Coliseum. The topic was Trauma. There were some interesting speakers and we picked up some good information on youth engagement. We would like to look into other conferences for the staff that deal more on youth engagement, socialization and staff engagement. o Oct. 22nd The Girls on the Run Program hosted at Jennings Recreation Center participated with

the Girls on the Run NE Indiana group in the 5k (3mile) Rat Race (put on by the YMCA) The Girls did an AWESOME job. This was the first 5k for all of them (and the 3 staff) 2 of the girls came in under 43minutes and 1 right at 60 minutes (with 2 staff). The staff had never done a 5k so it was a new milestone for them as well. They received a medallion.

o Oct. 2017- Each site participated in the DAC contest for “I have better things to do than drugs” poster contest. We had a great turn out of posters overall and the centers had a lot of youth win. Cooper had 7 winners (3- 1st place, 2- 2nd place and 2- 3rd place) Jennings had2- 3rd place winners and Weisser had 1- 1st place winner. These winners range from Elementary through High School, though all our winners were elementary and middle school. The posters were displayed at Glenbrook Mall for 5 days.

o Oct. 30th Jennings and Cooper held a Harvest Fest at Jennings o Oct31st Weisser held a Harvest fest at Weisser o Community Unity Night events were held this month at all 3 sites (Weisser- Nov 1, Jennings Nov

8, and Cooper Nov. 15) Each site has a specific topic discussed such as being safe in your home, being safe in the community, and being safe while out holiday shopping. Though the attendance was fairly small, the conversation was in depth and the participants were listening and taking in the information given by the officers.

o November 21st Neighborhood Programs Holiday Dinner- Dinner was served family style at Weisser Park Youth Center for all 3 sites. The idea was for the students passed the food around the table as they would if they did a family style dinner at home. The intention was wonderful. It was very different than what they are used to at the centers. I think they enjoyed.

GARRY MORR ~ Deputy Director, Finance & Administrative Support Services

The 2018 Parks General Fund budget was approved by City Council on October 31, 2017. Council

made some minor adjustments and one small cut.

Continued working on the IPRA conference which will be held in January 2018 in Fort Wayne at the

Convention Center. Not only will Fort Wayne be hosting the conference but there will be a large

social event held at the Botanical Conservatory on January 31, 2018 in the evening. In addition to

the socials there will be offsite visits to various department facilities including McMillen Community

Center, Children’s Zoo, Lawton Park. Non department tours include Turnstone and Tincaps stadium.

Discussions and planning are continuing for a new Futsal court in Packard Park. Recreation staff,

local soccer enthusiasts and the Indiana Soccer officials are all working together to make this

happen.

On November 11th, Veteran’s Day, we hosted a ceremony to not only honor Veteran’s but to

celebrate the replanting of the Memorial Grove in Memorial Park. The event was attended by over

250 people and by all accounts was a great event. Our department is very thankful to the Warrior

Breed motorcycle club for raising the funds to not only purchase these trees but to have them

planted as well. They have raised over $40,000 to date and hope to raise more funds in the future to

benefit the park.

Evaluation reports for spring and summer programs are being prepared by the front office staff and

marketing staff. These reports are shared with managers\supervisors and used for future

programming.

Total hits to the Parks & Recreation Department website for the month of October was 59,133 and

54,797 for the month of November.

Marketing staff hosted a booth at Indiana Tech to promote department offerings to international

students.

Main office staff is gearing up for a major upgrade to our registration\reservation software in

January 2018. This will be a major task with learning a new system which tracks all of our business

centers in the department.

The winter Fun Times was distributed and added to our website that lists the many activities and

programs offered by the department.

Received the first disbursement from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for the Land &

Water grant for Shoaff Park. That total grant will ultimately be $200,000.

STEVE MCDANIEL~ Deputy Director, Asset Management / Park

Maintenance

Promenade Park construction is moving forward with the south part of the pavilion slab poured and

block walls starting to go up.

Salomon Learning Center has started framing. Hope to have it secured by mid-December.

Staff and I are finishing up department goals, benchmarks, and performance evaluations.

The mowing crews are starting to wrap up their rotation for the season.

Crews started focusing on winterizing and storing equipment only used in the summer.

The crew moved the Zambonis from their summer storage to Headwaters to be used on the

ice rink.

The River Greenway experienced flooding once this month after heavy rains.

Courthouse has new led lights installed.

Ivan Lebamoff Reservoir Park Sidewalk and seawall Improvements: under construction.

McMillen Roof Improvements: Under construction. Work shall be completed mid-December

pending weather.

McMillen Park New Entrance Monument: Under construction.

Shoaff Restroom Improvements: Building ordered. Break ground this winter.

Franke Park Harris Road Roof and Siding Improvements: Complete.

2017 Bond Playground Surfacing Improvements: Reviewing bids.

2017 Bond Playground Improvements: Reviewing bids.

Johnny Appleseed ADA Path to Pier: Under construction.

Harris Road Barn Improvements: Under construction.

Foster Bridge ADA Improvements: Under construction.

Col Foster Monument Improvements: Complete.

Salomon Barn Improvements: Wood floor sealed. Working on fence improvements.

Spy Run Shelter Improvements: Painting punch. Railing approved.

Shade trees unlimited have approximately 200 trees remaining to complete the plantings scheduled

for the fall of 2017.

Prioritizing Riparian Master Plan projects at Bloomingdale Park, Headwaters west, and

Lawton Park for design and construction during 2018 and 2019. Focus will be on bank

stabilization, invasive removals, and native plantings.

Parks to partner with the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo to commission a master plan for Franke

Park. Master Plan to address circulation, Foellinger Theater expansion, parking, land use,

signage and feasibility of new park entrance on Goshen Avenue. Steering Committee to be

assigned in January.

The “Snow Days” holiday display was installed November 13th

through the 16th

at the

Botanical Conservatory; 2,000 Poinsettias were installed in the show. Gardeners also

assisted the Conservatory in the week leading up to show change, helping to install outdoor

light displays.

Park tree plantings began this month. 125 trees total are being planted in 16 different parks.

Planting will finish in December.

Approximately 350 yards of mulch were spread at Memorial Park in preparation for the MP-

125 event that took place on Veterans Day to celebrate the re-dedication of the Memorial

Grove trees planted.

Fall displays were removed from the 157 Downtown Planters and winter displays were

installed before the annual “Night of Lights” event downtown.

3362 pots of bulbs for the Conservatory Spring Show were planted and put in the cooler

along with 100 pots for Easter in the Gardens and 183 pots for The Gift Shop, Home &

Garden Show and the Conservatory Sales Garden.

Mark Becker ~ Deputy Director, Riverfront Coordination of Effort

Continuing work with the City Attorney, the Hall Family, City Redevelopment and Allen County to finalize the transfer of the Cambray Building to the Halls, to be moved to the SE corner of Harrison and Superior.

Continuing work to assist in the effort to monitor/expedite permitting required for Promenade Park.

All signage related to naming rights has been finalized and approved by each donor.

Scheduled and attended a meeting with Parks, One Lucky Guitar and the City Engineer’s office to coordinate development of wayfinding signage to be placed on bridges in the downtown area to identify bridge/street names as part of a river wayfinding system. The City has acquired new technology that will enable us to produce the new specially- designed signage in-house – and the City and/or County will provide support with installation of signage. The plan is to fabricate and install signage in the Spring of 2018.

Continue to assist in coordinating meetings of the “core group” responsible for advancing the second and third phases of Riverfront Fort Wayne – goal is to send out a request for proposals for design, engineering and planning services by the end of January, 2018.

Ongoing assistance and sponsorship fundraising for the Mayor’s Donor Thank You Reception scheduled for 12/6.

Continuing work to coordinate Parks and Recreation branding process/meetings with One Lucky Guitar.

Funding

Scheduled a meeting with leadership at Brunswick on 12/13 to continue discussion regarding interest in naming rights and/or partnering on a pontoon boat for Parks/Riverfront Fort Wayne.

Continued coordination with Park Foundation on launch of Community Campaign to establish a maintenance endowment for Promenade Park.

Attended Park Foundation meeting on 10/23 to update on the Park Foundation Pavilion in Promenade Park and general progress on the Park.

Continued work with Sarah Nichter to develop/refine system for monitoring grants received in support of Promenade Park.

Continue to work to schedule an appointment with City Attorney to focus on the grant agreement for Regional Cities funding.

Met with Chuck Surack, John Hopkins and Ron Dick on 11/8 to finalize design for the Sweetwater Bandshell

Dawn Ritchie ~ Greenway Manager

The Bluffton Road Trail from West Foster Park to Lower Huntington Road is paved. Dirt work

continues. Restoration will be completed in the spring. We walked the trail on 12/6 to check the

construction and created a punchlist (items to correct) for the contractor.

The Pufferbelly Trail from north of State to Fernhill and Franke Park is paved. Restoration work will

be completed in the spring. We will walk the trail on 12/11 with Parks and the Zoo to check the

construction.

The Hanna Street Trail from Burns Blvd to north of US 27 is paved. Restoration work will occur in

the spring. We walked the trail on 12/6 – no punchlist items.

The Pufferbelly Trail from Wallen Rd to Ludwig Rd is paved. We will walk the trail in the spring with

the contractor to generate a punchlist.

The Gump Rd Trail from Lima to Coldwater is paved.

We now have 107.5 miles of trails in our regional network.

We had the annual “thank you” party for volunteers on 11/30. It was well attended.

The Google Trekker images taken of the trails and parks in 2016 should be viewable on Google Earth

the week of 12/11.

Media Coverage:

For release: Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017 Contact: John Perlich, Mayor’s office, (260) 427-6957, john.perlich@cityoffortwayne.org

Mayor Henry recognizes 45 City employees for years of service

Fort Wayne, Ind. – Mayor Tom Henry today hosted a special ceremony to recognize milestone years of

service for 45 outstanding City of Fort Wayne employees.

“I respect and admire the work that our excellent City employees perform each day,” said Mayor Henry.

“I continue to be encouraged by the commitment and dedication that these public servants demonstrate to

meet the needs of residents, businesses and neighborhoods. The 45 employees we’re honoring today are

great people and valuable members of our community.”

The following individuals were honored today:

40 years

James Berning, Radio Shop

Kevin Okleshen, Street Project Management

35 years

Jack Barbour, Police

Timothy Bogenschutz, Police

Jerome Bostic, Police

Timothy Russell, Police

Jeffrey Tipton, Street Department

30 years

Jeffrey Burton, Police

Darrell Caudill, Police

Danny Hines, Police

Teresa Trimble-Holloway, Police

Randall Hosford, Police

Rickie King, Traffic Engineering Sign/Signal

Marsha Gold-King, Community Development

Kathleen Morales, Police

William Murphy, Traffic Engineering

Sign/Signal

Arthur Norton, Police

Donald Orban, Community Development

Katherine Pargmann, Parks Kim Phillipson, Police

Timothy Sensibaugh, Water Maintenance

John Simonis, Transportation Administration

25 years

Michael Adams, Fire

Michele Arnold, Water Pollution Control

Maintenance

Shawn Atkinson, Water Maintenance

Daniel Barnett, Water Filtration Plant

Douglas Brewer, Water Maintenance

Richard Byrd, Jr., Fire

Rebecca Canales, Botanical Conservatory Julie Ebbing, Street Department

David Esterline, Fire

Sondra Falcone, Water Maintenance

Timothy Gallaway, Water Pollution Control Plant

Eric Harris, Citizen Services/311 Call Center

Cynthia Huss, Water Maintenance

Steven Koenes, Fire

James Kohrman, Fire

Douglas Mounsey, Fire

Nancy Niemann, Community Development

Kevin Owen, Water Maintenance

Kari Ramsey, Fire

Patrick Riley, Fire

Mark Scheumann, Fire

Creager Smith, Community Development

Larry Walker, Water Maintenance

Mayor Henry Leads Celebration: Completion of Franklin School Park Project

Fort Wayne, IN: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 - Today Mayor Tom Henry and Parks & Recreation Director Al Moll, along with neighborhood advocates and community leaders, dedicated the new David Hefner Pavilion and celebrated the completion of the $1.8 million Franklin School Park project.

“The Franklin School Park project has been an excellent partnership between the nearby neighborhoods and our team at the Parks & Recreation Department,” said Mayor Henry. “I’m encouraged to see the excitement from residents as they enjoy this new community asset. The City continues to be committed to collaborating with neighborhood associations to provide unique quality of life amenities to enjoy.”

The William J. and Bonnie L. Hefner Foundation donated $300,000 toward the cost of renovating the pavilion named after their late son, David Hefner.

“We were thrilled when the Hefner Foundation approached with assistance to make the pavilion a

reality,” said Parks & Recreation Director Al Moll. “We were told that Mr. and Mrs. Hefner created

the foundation to support organizations and activities that benefit and improve the quality of life in

the community. The Hefner family thought the pavilion would be a great way to help support the

neighborhood as well as to honor the memory of their son, David, since he attended school at

Franklin.”

The pavilion, part of the second phase of development, was the former Franklin School garage. It

was converted into a rentable, year-round pavilion available to the neighborhood and other

groups. A small office for the FWPD was also

included in the floor plan, to provide a place for

officers to stop for a break and take care of

paperwork.

The architecture of the pavilion was designed to

complement the entry arches, which were

maintained and restored from Franklin School, and

still in their original locations. The pavilion has

transparent garage doors which can be thrown

open on warm days, expanding the space outside

Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department Staff Reports from November/ December 2017

onto a large event plaza. The plaza will be able to accommodate a variety of events, including

farmers’ markets, neighborhood fairs and concerts, but also includes seating areas and more

intimate spaces with lush plantings. Solar voltaic panels mounted on the roof of the pavilion will

help reduce the cost of electricity. A small parking lot has been installed to serve the pavilion, as

well. Phase 1 included a splash pad and new sidewalks.

Reservations for the pavilion will be accepted

beginning December 18th at 8 am online at

www.fortwayneparks.org or by visiting the Parks &

Recreation office at 705 East State Blvd. The

first reservation date available is January 1,

2018. Franklin School Park was designed by Fort

Wayne Parks and Recreation Department

landscape architect, Alec Johnson; construction

documents by Earthsource, Inc. The David Hefner

Pavilion was designed by Fort Wayne Parks and

Recreation Department Superintendent Steve Schuhmacher; construction drawings by Elevatus

Architects. The general Contractor was Schenkel Construction.

Annual Community Kwanzaa Celebration

Thursday, December 28, 6 pm

Fort Wayne, Ind.--Bring the family and join the fun for the Annual Community Kwanzaa Celebration at

Weisser Park Youth Center, 802 Eckart St. This free event is open to the public and will include music,

dance, poetry, a musical performance by Fatima Washington and a Kwanzaa Feast.

Kwanzaa was established by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan

African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Its origins are in the first harvest

celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase

“matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most

widely spoken African language.

Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African “first fruit” celebrations:

ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration. Kwanzaa then is:

A time of ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them

A time of special reverence for the creator and creations in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation

A time for commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors

A time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideas in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice

A time for celebration of the good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social

Sponsored by B96.9, Fort Wayne’s NBC and the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department.

Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department Staff Reports from November/ December 2017

JG, Dec. 4, Samuel Hoffman| The Journal Gazette Isaac Cottrell, 4, points out a

poinsettia for his mother Heather, as his sister Michaela and father John enjoy the colorful flowers at the Botanical

Conservatory, Friday. The Cottrells are from Auburn. The Current display, “A North Woods Christmas” runs

through Jan 3.

JG, Nov. 28, 26 Acres sold as New Haven Parks Plans shift http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20171128/26-acres-sold-as-new-haven-parks-plans-shift

JG, Oct. 26, Celebration for trail’s 100th mile; Officer, dog in national calendar http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20171026/briefs JG, Oct. 26, Indiana Tech lands deal to buy golf course – To turn into athletics facility after Memorial Park rejected http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/schools/20171026/tech-lands-deal-to-buygolf-course NS, Oct. 26, What’s hip? Turns out Fort Wayne is and that’s good for all of us http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local-news/2017/10/26/whats-hip-turns-out-fort-wayne-is-and-thats-good-for-all-of-us/ WPTA, Oct. 25, Council approves 2018 budget http://www.wpta21.com/story/36678055/fort-wayne-city-council-approves-2018-budget WPTA, Oct. 25, 100th mile of regional trail network paved http://www.wpta21.com/story/36682333/100th-mile-of-regional-trail-network-paved NS, Oct. 25, Nov. 13 event celebrates 100th mile of Fort Wayne area trails http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local-news/2017/10/25/nov-13-event-celebrates-100th-mile-of-fort-wayne-area-trails/