It's Gone

The pavillion at Wagner Park is no more.  City crews demolished the structure on Wednesday. They even removed the walkway.  It's like it was  never there......

C.A.T.S. in Wagner Park

Bring a blanket and bucket of chicken out to Wagner Park this week for productions by Lubbock's Children and Adult Theatrical Studies (CATS).


http://www.catsplayhouse.net/

Children's Show in Wagner Park
Thursday
6:30pm
"Antic Spring"


Followed by annual melodrama in the Park
7:30pm July 22, 23
"Last Chance Inn, Calamity Gulch"


Both shows are free.

Wagner Park Hosts the Return of Two Popular Summer Events: Westwinds and Movie in the Park

The Westwinds Brass Band celebrated its 50th Anniversary and performed the first concert of 2011 at Wagner Park on Sunday evening, June 5th.  More than two hundred guests attended the free concert.  A vibrant, active Wagner Park is a complement to our passive green space at Tech Terrace Park.  More concerts will be held at 8pm on upcoming Sunday evenings---bring your lawn chair and join the fun!  And remember, Movie In the Park is this Saturday night at dark in Wagner.  The feature film is Night At the Museum.  Bug spray, refreshments, and a blanket are handy items for an enjoyable time at this favorite summer event.

Westwinds Brass Band Returns To Wagner Park On Sunday

The Westwinds Brass Band performs at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 5 at Wagner Park, 28th Street and Flint Avenue under the direction of conductor Phil Anthony will conduct.

The Westwinds band is an offshoot of the Lubbock Municipal Band, formed by Dean Killion in 1961. Thus, this concert marks the band’s 50th anniversary and the begining of its Golden Anniversary Season.

Mayor Tom Martin will be the guest conductor on June 5, and Chris Kabes will be trumpet soloist.



Shakespeare in Wagner Park

The CATS Playhouse wrapped a three day run in Wagner Park during the hottest days so far in 2011. Their production of Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor" certainly tickled the artsy fartsy crowd in Tech Terrace. Just like The Real Housewives of Tech Terrace, "The Merry Wives" explored themes of sarcasm, sexual innuendo, marriage, jealousy, revenge, social class and misunderstandings. Bravo! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Bounce House Update

The City of Lubbock Parks and Recreation Department issued a temporary ban on gasoline generators in City Parks such as the ones used to inflate bounce houses.  This complements the existing ban on grilling.  The City may take further action on bounce houses.  At the May 24th Parks Board Meeting, Scott Snider, Asst City Manager, noted that discussion will be taking place by the City with bounce house/party equipment vendors about a possible ordinance regulating placement of Bounce Houses in City parks.

Over the Weekend

At dawn on Sunday, the TTU dance troupe, "Caprock Morris" was discovered by serendipity performing in Wagner Park to welcome in "The Turning of the Year" (May 1st, 2011).

Also, out-of-town concerned Tech parents report more break-ins continuing to plague the 3000 block of 33rd. BE VIGILANT.

My son called and everybody around him got broke into again I think on Wednesday night. They even went into back yards and stole items. My son thinks it's someone that lives in the neighborhood. We think he didn't get hit because he has locks on the gates and has a coon hound. Here awhile back the dogs got sick, vet thinks food poising. I bought motion alarms from Harbor Freight and sent them to him. The guy across the street on the corner came over asking if he was broken into. They broke into his Hummer and even stole the radio out of his boat in the back yard. The police said the repeat burglars having something to disarm the alarms because no ones alarm went off. Hope to catch 'em soon! Thanks, Donna

Controversial Bounce Houses: Conversation Continues

Holle Humphreys, a resident of the 3000 block of 26th Street, compiled and submitted a detailed report including more than 200 slides in a multi-media photo documentary power point presentation to the City of Lubbock illustrating the effects of bounce houses on Wagner Park. UNIT News requested a copy and received the following.  Only some of the more than two dozen photos forwarded to UNIT News are included in this summary due to band-width constraints.  The TT/UNIT Neighborhood Association Aesthetics Committee has worked with vendors, city council and residents to encourage appropriate alternative bounce house set-up sites.


It has been noted that the following numbers of Bounce Houses have been dropped into Wagner Park in the past two years:

2008:   2
2009: 19
2010:  8 
2011:  6 (thus far) 

2009:  Wagner Park was reduced to large areas of barren dirt by the end of  September 2009.  This was due primarily to the complete disruption to its underground irrigation system.  The damage appeared to be in large part caused by Bounce House structures repeatedly hauled into and out of the park and perpetually sited in the park for up to 12 hours at a time, as well as by people driving unauthorized vehicles onto park grounds to haul in ancillary equipment such as BBQ cookers, cabanas, coolers, tables, chairs, and other supplies, in order to augment Bounce House parties.

2010: The effective reduction in number for Bounce Houses that year was due to the efforts of the Tech Terrace UNIT NA's Aesthetic Committee, under the leadership of Helen Liggett, to seek Councilman Todd Klein's assistance in communicating with Bounce House vendors to request that they seek venues other than Wagner Park for conducting their commercial activity.  This action was taken owing to the damage in Wagner Park observed the year before that had been caused by the vinyl structures, themselves, the tracks and rutted grass they left behind, the stakes pounded into the ground to anchor them, and all the extra traffic accompanying them, to include Bounce House vendors and party sponsors who drove over grass and grounds to haul in equipment.  Ultimately, this commercial activity in Wagner Park contributed to damage to below-ground irrigation systems and sprinkler heads, leaving the park's grass and grounds with little to no resources of water to ensure sustainability. 

Legitimate Bounce House vendors for the most part complied with this request.  

However, photo documentation conducted throughout 2010 revealed that there were several "mom and pop shop" independent Bounce House continuing to conduct commercial activity in Wagner Park.  Research suggested that they more than likely were not registered with the city as legitimate businesses, and it was observed that none adhered to city codes and ordinances.    

In so doing, these individuals contributed to the over 185+ trips taken by unauthorized vehicles driving over Wagner Park grounds in violation of city ordinances last summer alone.  This collectively contributed to the persistent problem of excessive wear and tear on grass and grounds, and caused damage once again to the park'sirrigation system.   Parks and Recreation irrigation crews worked for two full weeks in January 2011 to rectify the damage caused in 2010. 

2011: Already as of April 24, 2011, 6 Bounce Houses have been sited in Wagner Park.  This is of concern, because the Parks and Recreation irrigation crews have been to Wagner Park five times already this year in the effort to repair the irrigation system and get it functioning effectively.  However, their ongoing good efforts are being stymied by repeated placement of Bounce Houses once again in Wagner Park, as well as by people who continue to drive unauthorized vehicles on Wagner Park grass and grounds.  

By way of example:  On February 26, 2011, two Bounce Houses were sited east of the pavilion of Wagner Park.  When they were pulled out, photographs were taken to document the damage they had caused to fragile dry winter grass.  They left ruts cut into the grass, and caused damage to the sprinkler head beneath them that had just been repaired on January 2011, and which was now leaking upon their departure.  

Therefore, it seemed urgent to turn in a report to the City to seek relief of some sort from the onslaught of Bounce House vendors that seemed destined to return again to site their commercial activity in a small neighborhood park that is ill-equipped to withstand the load of Bounce Houses placed on its grass and grounds, over and over again.  That is why a report was compiled and turned it into city officials to bring this situation to their attention.

In summary, from 2008 to 2011, Bounce House activity has been observed to cause the following damage due to their repeated placement in Wagner Park:

Consequences of Bounce Houses and Bounce House activity in Wagner Park: 
The park's natural environment is compromised and damaged due to:

•Weight: of Bounce House structures, which exerts --
•Compression: on grass, tree roots, irrigation systems
•Suffocation of grass due to oxygen depletion
•Friction: caused by up/down jumping; buffeting by winds
•Heat: 4 -12 hours in one spot on summer days w/ 90+ temperatures scorches grass
•Scorching: to grass also is caused by hot engines and engine stands when on the ground
•Perforation: stakes driven to anchor BH’s into ground damage irrigation lines
•Transport: via vehicles and dollies driving/being hauled onto grass/grounds to take them into and out of the park
•Nuisance Noise: caused by Bounce House engines, which disrupt the natural environment provided by a green space neighborhood park, reducing it to the auditory equivalent of an industrial zone

One only has to compare the green grass of Tech Terrace Park to the yellowed grass of Wagner Park to perceive that Wagner Park experiences the challenges of withstanding a heavy load in terms of use; and therefore any additional strain -- such as Bounce Houses placed on its grass and grounds over and over again -- will only make things worse.

People who want to sponsor Bounce House parties would be well advised to consider not scheduling them for Wagner Park or Tech Terrace Park.  Otherwise, they will contribute to the damage of one of the very things we all value most about the Tech Terrace neighborhood: its green space natural parks.

Bicycle Polo at Wagner Park

LPD has received several phone calls regarding bicyclists playing polo on the Wagner Park Tennis Courts. Police have responded and found nothing illegal about the activity.  Several residents have concerns about possible damage to the court surface.  The boys play with plastic mallets, remove the nets prior to playing and replace them when finished.  Specifically prohibited activities in the park include golfing and horseback riding.  The polo players invite curious neighbors to stop by and learn more about this former Olympic exhibition sport.  

UNIT News received the following email from one of the polo cyclists:

Hello!

We really appreciate you coming out to see us and chat the other night. We get a bad rap because we have such a non-standard sport and there is a serious lack of understanding by most people, even other cyclists and it was good to see you out there interested and supportive of what we were doing. In addition to thanking you, I also wanted to make you aware that after talking to three different police officers on three different nights, and listening to all of them tell us that we just needed to keep it down and observe posted park curfew (12AM), we were finally asked to leave by a fourth unfamiliar officer who came with the City Code of Ordinances, citing ordinances that I have been unable to validate. I speak for myself and all of my cycling companions when I say that we were deeply offended by this, especially because there is no place in the Code of Ordinances citing our specific activity as unlawful. We look forward to your upcoming report on bike polo and the continued participation of cyclists and the community in our slightly haphazard event.

Best,Matthew Betz

City forbids grilling in parks, for now

The City of Lubbock's Parks and Recreation Department is temporarily banning outdoor grilling in all City parks until further notice. Due to the extreme dry conditions and heightened fire potential, the use of all types of outdoor grilling devices is not allowed. This ban applies to the permanent grills located in City parks as well as all portable grills.


Section 16 of the City's Code of Ordinances allows the regulation of park activities when necessitated by reason of public health and safety. The City's Code of Ordinances can be found on the City of Lubbock website, http://www.mylubbock.us/

Neighborhood Parks Update

The much welcome warmer weather brought folks to our parks the past few days.

 A burst water main on Gary between 22nd Street and 23rd Street creates water fun for dogs at Tech Terrace Park.