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eNews: Creating the Park of the Future

enews-logoThis eNews update provides a summary of the community survey conducted in January and introduces a new park improvement project.

COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS

At the beginning of the year, we conducted the first Redwood Heights Association (RHA) Survey, which focused on gathering community feedback about our environment. The survey included questions about your likes and concerns regarding parks, common areas, and arts in our community.
A big thank you to the over one hundred community members who participated in our survey. This information was of extreme value and helped guide the development of the RHA strategic plan. The table below provides a high level overview of the survey’s key findings.

Many of these items are beyond the scope of what the association can do, so we set out to create a strategic plan to help us identify what we can influence. Therefore, the purpose of the RHA strategic plan is to set overall goals for the association and to develop a plan to achieve them. After combining the information received from the survey with what we know about the neighborhood, the association board determined that its top two priorities, for the next five years, are 1) renovating the Redwood Heights Recreation Center Park and 2) hosting community events designed to strengthen our community. We believe strong local communities make for great cities and it has been well documented that communities in which residents experience frequent interactions are naturally stronger. This is what we aspire to achieve.

CREATING THE PARK OF THE FUTURE

By Carla Gerardu-Low, RHA President

In our recent neighborhood survey, a resident commented that Redwood Heights had no soul. At first I was slightly offended, but quickly realized it may be somewhat true. As a residential area, without a significant business center, we don’t have a central gathering place; a place where community members of all ages get together with friends, family and neighbors without the hassle of a commute. Wouldn’t it be great if we could create a place to play, hang out, garden, exercise and more? What if Redwood Heights Recreation Center Park (RHP) could become that place for this community?

eNews_table2_20170612Let’s dream a little… A great park has places to play sports, innovative play equipment, shade, places to eat, seating, water, restrooms, and more. While we have the basic components of a great park, let’s be honest, it could be so much more. We want to build more of a community center atmosphere. Therefore, the association wants to know what you would like to see in this park. We want to know what matters to you, so put your thinking cap on!

Here’s what we know… Of course, one of the first questions is “How do we pay for this?” With that in mind, an important detail here is that there is no money in the city’s 2017-2019 proposed budget for any RHP capital improvements. Zip, zero, zilch, nada. We can complain all we want, but that is unlikely to change. Therefore, if we want it, we are going to have to make it happen ourselves! It will take a little bit of imagination, ingenuity, resourcefulness, collaboration, perseverance, and community involvement, but I believe we can do it!

So now what… The RHA board took some time to wander through the park and put together some of our ideas on how we would improve the park. However, this is only the starting point, now it is time to get your ideas! This is an opportunity to dream and create our wish list.

The following steps will help us get this project going:
Step 1: Please review the presentation of our ideas. I think we have some pretty good ideas, but we certainly haven’t captured every possibility.

Step 2: If you can, go walk the park. It’s worth the 10 or 15 minutes to get a feel for the park’s potential.

Step 3: Add your ideas to our list by completing the Redwood Heights Recreation Park Project Brainstorming Survey. No idea is too big or too small. Think long-term. Be creative!

Step 4: Volunteer. This is a long-term project, so the more people that get involved, the greater our chances of success. Sign up HERE.

You can also start by joining us for the first project meeting, which will be announced shortly via the Yahoo Group and Nextdoor. Hope to see you there!

What we can do…
Make this park beloved.
Make it something we are proud of.
Do it together.
Think like the Golden State Warriors “Strength in Numbers” Go Dubs!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

RHA appreciates your interest in supporting the association! We are always looking for community members to volunteer talents or time, just a little bit or whatever you can give! We have a number of committees currently looking to fill the following positions:
* Social Media (posting articles of interest on social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
* Redwood Heights Recreation Center Park (RHP) project manager (leader or co-leaders to head up this project in conjunction with RHA leadership)
* RHP project (many people needed to help plan and work on this multi-year project - involvement varies as the project evolves)
* Community Events (plan and/or help with four community events per year)
* Writers (write short articles for RHA's eNews newsletter - frequency can vary)

If you are interested in one of these positions or other committees, please sign up HERE.

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RHA COMMUNITY PICNIC

June 3rd was a beautiful Oakland day - perfect weather for the 41st Annual Jordan Road & Bennett, Guido, Norton and Rettig Block Sale! It was also the first RHA Community Picnic. People of all ages passed through after shopping or playing at the playground. There was plenty of food, face painting, and crafts for the kids. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with neighbors! Hope to see you next year!

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SUPPORTING RHA

We are so much more than a collection of homes; we are a community. As the association that represents this community, we rely on your generosity to support our purpose - improving the quality of life for those living in and around the lower Oakland Hills. Your tax-deductible donation helps defray the costs of advocating for community needs, sponsoring community events, and funding community improvements. Thank you in advance for your support!

Contributing is easy! Just go to RHAOakland.org/contribute
to donate online (preferred method) or download the donation brochure HERE.

Together, we can do so much more. Thank you for your support!

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ABOUT eNews

eNews, the Redwood Heights channel for communicating association updates, community happenings, and other relevant news. eNews is published on an as-needed basis. Don’t worry, we won’t clog up your email box! If you would like to receive it directly via email, please sign up HERE.

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