My Meeting with Greg Weitzel (4/9/2010)

First, the Cedar Beach stuff:

1. Greg stated that the paths that have recently been paved will have their edges contoured beginning this week, so as to remove the cliffs that have developed. 

2. Extra paths have been removed, some at the request of Cedar Crest College.

3. Playground construction is beginning and an entire new system of runoff containment has been developed and will be implemented to prevent significant runoff from reaching the stream on account of the playground. I will have more details on this in the coming days/week, my meeting with Greg was unfortunately short due to a doctor’s appointment I had to get to.

4. The ribbon cutting on Cedar Beach Renovations is on schedule.

5. Greg has given me permission to create a large rain garden in an area of Cedar Beach that is frequently inundated with water.  I am currently speaking with various experts and master gardeners and developing a plant list and planting plan.  I look forward to officially announcing this event and I thank Greg for allowing me to do this.

6. About those paved paths…

Greg told me that prior to the implementation of the asphalt paths, a study was done by LandStudies LLC.  (Link to their website) That study revealed through multiple soil samples, that excessive gravel had built up as a result of the paths that had been at Cedar Beach.  It was decided that asphalt was the best solution to the problem.

Before I go on, a note:

I do not agree with this decision, environmentally or aesthetically.  The paths do not adhere to the guidelines established by the DCNR for sustainable community parks.

That said, I am very pleased that during our meeting Greg gave me a firm commitment to “Grow Zones”, the development of the Cedar Beach riparian corridor, the planting of a large area towards Cedar Crest Boulevard that will be a native meadow (planting this fall), and his permission to build what may turn out to be a large rain garden.  Much much much more on that to come…

I hope that Greg recognizes the environmental issues at Cedar Beach and follows through on these commitments. 

I can’t help but be suspicious of these commitments given everything that has happened at Cedar Beach in the past year. 

However, I’ll keep my eye on it and report on it as I have been and will continue to campaign loudly as a blogger and a citizen to see that the right steps are being taken to deal with the problems not only in Cedar Beach but in the entire park system.

In other Park News:

1. The trees covered in broken asphalt and concrete in the Parkway were not the result of anything done by the Parks Department.  I was the first person to bring it to the attention of Greg and as it turns out, given the location, it is public works who is to blame. 

2.  WPA structures at Irving Park and the WPA stairs from Fountain Park upwards, have had repair work quoted by three companies and the work will be awarded this week.  Greg pledged that the stairs will be fixed this year.

3. Volunteers will soon be needed to deal with the Knotweed at Trout Creek Parkway, again, Much Much Much more on that in time.

Before leaving the meeting I reminded Greg that there is a serious environmental task before him that needs serious commitment and as the projects thus far have developed they have only served to exacerbate existing problems.

While I am very excited to hear these things from Greg and support him fully I cannot help but feel as if I may have heard this song before.  We will see.

Let me again thank Greg for sharing his time with me, and thank him for the commitment he has made by allowing me the permission to construct new rain gardens. 

Let’s see it happen.