One of the all-time greats in baseball was Babe Ruth. He had a lifetime batting average of 342 and his record of 714 home runs remained unbroken until Hank Aaron came along. In time age took its toll and his popularity slipped. Finally the Yankees traded him to the Braves. In one of his last games against Cincinnati, Babe Ruth began to falter. He struck out and made several misplays that allowed the Reds to score five runs in one inning. As the Babe walked toward the dugout, chin down and dejected, there rose from the stands an enormous storm of boos and catcalls. “Loser! Get off the field! You bum! You has-been!” Some fans shook their fists. Just then a boy jumped over the railing onto the playing field. With tears streaming down his face, he threw his arms around the legs of his hero. Ruth didn’t hesitate for one second. He picked up the boy. He hugged him, set him down on his feet, and patted his head gently. The two of them walked off the field together and a hush fell over the entire park. I love what that boy did because he was nice when everybody else was mean. He was loving and supportive even though it wasn’t acceptable or popular. There’s a Proverb that says that “A friend loves at all times.” There is also a song entitled, “Greater things are still to be done.” How true that is. You don’t need great people to do great things when they work together great things happen. I am reminded daily of the need for strong, and dependable people. Great things are still to be seen in this city. Greater things are still to come and greater things are still to be done.
As we continue to pursue our individual goals this year, please keep yourself informed of the many projects and events that will be underway in your city of West Park. Our website is an easy and convenient way to explore your community while obtaining information about many subject matters. The City’s 2012 Capital Improvement Plan and many other items are easily accessible through our interactive website. You will be able to follow the progress of the city through the Capital Improvement Plan section which is an official statement of public policy regarding long range physical development in the City. CIP is a multi-year scheduling of major purchases, infrastructure improvements and construction of public facilities. The most common definition includes: “new or expanded physical facilities that are relatively large in size and cost and permanent in nature.” The CIP will be updated annually to add new projects, reevaluate programmed and projected priorities and to incorporate recommendations, taking into account new requirements and available funding.
The annual capital programming process provides the following benefits:
• The CIP serves as a source of information about the city’s physical development and capital expenditures.
• The CIP allows management staff to plan for future operating requirements to coincide with completed capital projects.
• The CIP provides mechanism for coordinating among projects with respect to funding location and timing, and ensures that the most crucial projects are developed first.
• The CIP is a tool for implementing the City’s Comprehensive Plan. • The CIP also focus on preserving the investment of the City’s infrastructure while ensuring the efficient use of public funds.
The features of the CIP include the following information:
• The description of the project or equipment to be purchased.
• The justification for the project or equipment to be purchased.
• Identified funding categories, such as unfunded or partially funded or funded.
• The projects are ranked in order of priority.
• A timetable for the completion of the project is provided.
A. McTyre Park Master Plan:
The City of West Park, a relatively young, but thriving, municipality, founded in 2005, has made one of its missions to develop a city with high community involvement with a keen interest in creating playground and recreational facilities for its residents and surrounding communities to enjoy, thus contributing to their maxim as a City of Positive Progression. The city was recently awarded a ‘Playful City USA’ designation recognizing their efforts in increasing play opportunities for children. In keeping with this commitment, the city has identified the 18.5-acre McTyre Park to be evaluated for improvements documented in the attached Master Plan report. The park property is located at 3501 SW 56 Avenue, immediately north of Watkins Elementary School; its bounding communities are: City of West Park to the West and Town of Pembroke Park to the east and north. The site now hosts a variety of scheduled sport activities for the City’s youth and adult population as well as senior, youth and community programs in its highly used, but gravely undersized community center, located in the NW corner. The majority of the existing Park is dedicated to open field sports activities and includes 4 outdoor basketball courts, 1 football field, 1 outdoor sand volleyball court; 3 rental pavilions, a covered tot lot area and a walking path. It also has a small community center which is highly used by the community, as well as a concession stand with restrooms and a press box, which are all non-ADA compliant.
The master plan is intended to address the feasibility of introducing an intensive athletic and community environment with various support facilities including expanded surface parking. With these interests in mind, the City has engaged the services of MC Harry Associates to develop a coherent and consolidated master plan for their 18.5- acre McTyre Park that could be implemented in phases as funding becomes available. Initially, the planning study focused on broadbrush scope issues which assisted in defining primary site constraints; key among them is adequate parking facilities to match the scale of proposed development as well as designing around the existing WLRN/MDCPS communications towers and related support structures in the northeast section of the property.
B. Traffic Calming Study Area “A”:
The City of West Park retained Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. to assess traffic conditions within the neighborhood bounded by SW 56 Avenue to the east, SR 7 (US 441) to the west, Hallandale Beach Boulevard (SR 858) to the north, and NE 215 Street (County Line Rd) to the south. The objective of this study is to determine if improvements are necessary to enhance the quality of life for the residents by managing traffic concerns in a manner to minimize through-traffic intrusion into the residential neighborhood and to maintain vehicle speeds at suitable levels. This report presents input from the residents and City staff, field observations, traffic counts, vehicle speed measurements, an analysis of existing traffic conditions, and a conceptual improvement plan.
C. Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study Area “B”:
The City of West Park retained Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. to assess traffic conditions within the Carver Ranches neighborhood generally bounded by SW 38 Avenue to the east, SW 58 Avenue to the west, Pembroke Road (SR- 824) to the north, and Hallandale Beach Boulevard (SR-858) to the south. The objective of this study is to determine if improvements are necessary to enhance the quality of life for the residents by managing traffic concerns in a manner to minimize through-traffic intrusion into the residential neighborhood and to maintain vehicle speeds at suitable levels. Again, this report presents input from the residents and City staff, field observations, traffic counts, vehicle speed measurements, an analysis of existing traffic conditions, and a conceptual improvement plan. As you can see the City is continually progressing and making plans for the future.
The Great Wall of China is the largest wall ever built in the history of the world. It took 1800 years to build it. They started in 220 BC and they got finished some time during the Ming dynasty in the 1600s. When it was completed, it was 6000 miles long. At one point, 800,000 people were working on that wall day and night. Some people spent their entire lives working on it. Not only did the wall keep the enemies of China from attacking but the wall stands as a great symbol of what can be accomplished when people work together.
GOD BLESS WEST PARK AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 954.889.4153 with any questions you may have.
