Some recent feedback from neighbors involved in the Grant Street Park neighbors meeting.
From Beth Anderson Moorehead:
Notes from last night’s Grant Park meeting with Parks and Rec, Chief of Police, five city council members, many SCPD officers, First Alarm, SC Neighbors, and MORE.
Director of Parks and Rec updated us since our last meeting in July:
- First Alarm has been hired to patrol the park 10 hours a day, every day. And this is just the start. Please come to our park and enjoy it! It’s fun and beautiful. Dog friendly. “Swing and cling” is the theme with climbing boulders and interesting dish swings plus more.
- New park equipment being installed now, better lighting in the whole park installed earlier (and it’s pretty!)
- Signage at Basketball court is working to encourage better manners
- “No dogs at picnic tables” signs going up soon
- Dog park will continue
- Suggestion to have a community bulletin board at the park approved immediately
- Funding for a Bocce Court will be brought before City Council soon
- We met Andrew Eisenberg, Eastside P&R supervisor, who loves our park and is determined to make it shine
- Mayor Bryant discussed the need for better communication between city and county, and she is working diligently on that.
- Deborah Elston of SC Neighbors reminded us that we have a lot of power as a group, as a community, and we need to use that to make our community stronger. Groups like Nextdoor have proven successful in sharing information and making the neighborhood stronger.
- People from Wendell and Sutphen came because they want to be part of our group, and spoke to me about the number of kids in their area, and their shared concerns.
- My neighbors are good public speakers, heartfelt and intelligent and I am proud of those who got in front of the mic to share their thoughts.
- My kids got to shake the hand of the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Chief of Police and were stoked! Especially when both the Chief and the Mayor commented on my son’s SC Skateboard, and the Chief mused “It’s been a long time since I’ve skated…” My son was thrilled to find out they knew all about skating.
- My daughter drew a picture for the mayor that said “I love Santa Cruz, thank you!” – and when Hilary said she was going to hang it in her office, my daughter’s face lit up with a huge grin!
- Making my kids feel proud of their city and happy about their park is priceless to me.
THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED!
It was a great event and came about because we voiced our collective concerns loud and clear, and were rewarded by a great showing from the city. It was especially touching to see all the uniforms! Hilary reminded us to wave and say thanks or whatever you can do to show them our support. Next up for us – neighborhood BBQ! We’re jazzed and strengthened and ready to move forward. This event showed us how much city officials care and how much strength we have as a group!
From Ellie Chapman:
The Grant St. Park meeting was good. There was a great turnout and we were able to get our concerns out. The best was watching the park come alive with laughter, not dead with zombies. Thank you to First Alarm for posting up and keeping the zombies away this week. It was my daughters first time there and she had a ball! (She is 2)
Aaron Whiting
We had a great meeting with Santa Cruz City government and SCPD officials. I post this pic because this is why I am doing this. This is why I think we are all doing this. We are working with our City to save Santa Cruz. We are working to make Santa Cruz a better place for the generations to come. After tonight I can say that I have never been more optimistic of seeing a positive change in our community. Come on over to Grant Street Park. We have a baseball field, basketball court , BBQ pits and a fun and unique playground for the kids! Not to mention security and now a safe kid friendly environment! Thank you to ALL that were able to attend this meeting.
