Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW AHS breaks ground on new field ... Jackson County elected officials to get pay raises ... Making ancient stories new again ... AHS breaks ground on new field ... Jackson County elected officials to get pay raises ... Making ancient stories new again ... PARKS & RECREATION Ashland Parks moves rec division to The Grove Building looks better than ever after $111K renovation Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 24, 2016 at 7:47 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 24, 2016 at 7:47 PM » Social News To Ashland Parks and Recreation Director Michael Black, The Grove building, which sits across the street from Garfield Park, has been underused for years. Thanks to a move that went into effect Thursday, that’s about to change. In an effort to make better use of its facilities, the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission has moved its recreation division headquarters to The Grove from its Lithia Park office, which will remain open and staffed, but will direct most recreation-related customer service questions to The Grove. Besides being more centrally located, The Grove, at 1195 E. Main St., also has more room for classes it hosts, such as fitness bootcamp and ballroom dancing, looks as good as ever following a recent $111,000 facelift and has plenty of parking. For all of the above reasons and a few more, Black, who spearheaded the change, says the move was a no-brainer. “In evaluating our assets, (The Grove) was underused,” Black said. “The recreation division of Ashland Parks and Recreation until now has been spread all over Ashland. The superintendent is in one spot and then she’s got employees that are scattered all over the place in various different buildings all over town. So trying to take advantage of an underutilized building is one reason. Trying to consolidate one of our divisions to one place, and then also the ease of access is much greater there than it is at the top of Lithia Park.” The office in Lithia Park at 340 S. Pioneer St., will now serve as the administrative offices for Ashland Parks and Recreation, but people will still be able to stop by to grab maps and ask questions. Those with questions about parks and trails in Ashland can also download APRC’s new park and trail finder web app. The Grove, which also has a classroom equipped with a 64-inch monitor, has served as the primary location for the APRC’s wide variety of classes for years, but people still had to go up to the Lithia Park office to sign up. Now, The Grove is where people will go to register for a program, apply for a scholarship, reserve an APRC facility and just about anything else parks related. That, explains Black, is another reason for the change. “It’s nice to be able to go and do that stuff where the activity is happening,” he said. “It all kind of just builds on itself because it’s nice to go down there when activities are happening, and by people being there more activities will be going on because our staff will be taking notes and seeing how they can use the facilities better and how to keep people in there all the time.” The move began to take shape about a year and a half ago after Black delivered his pitch to the parks commission. Once the parks commission bought in, in January of 2015, Black approached the City Council and city Administrator Dave Kanner. The council, said Black, agreed that The Grove was a great asset that was being underused. “The council was totally on board with it, thought it was a great idea,” Black said. So the city transferred operating responsibilities of The Grove to the APRC from the city, and also budgeted for the remodel. The city also spent $15,000 to upgrade the Lithia offices. It makes a huge difference, says Black, especially since The Grove — originally built to serve as a teen center as part of the Community Development Block Grant program — is now the official face of Ashland Parks and Recreation. “It’s amazing, very nice,” he said of the building, which also includes a recording studio and a gym space. “It looks like a brand new building. When you walked into it before it seemed really industrial or institutional. Now, when you walk in it’s very welcoming, the spaces I think are proportioned a lot better. And the colors are actually a lot better. We’ve got a really big customer service area down there now so you’re not walking into an empty building anymore. You’re walking into people who can greet you and answer questions. “Besides adding the customer service, carpet, paint, we added a conference room and then we just put in some cubicles and a wall around the cubicles and then the furniture.” The Parks department will hold off on a grand opening ceremony until Garfield Park’s upgrades are completed, probably near the end of the summer. At that point, the APRC will organize a ceremony to celebrate both improvements, Black said. Garfield will look a little different by then. The city has earmarked $9,239 to expand the sand volleyball courts and another $686,950 to replace the water feature and add shade structures and public seating. Black hopes the close proximity of Garfield Park and The Grove is something that the community takes advantage of for years. “If you’re thinking about coming down to Garfield Park,” Black said, “you can also stop in over across the street at The Grove and see what’s going on and take a look at the calendar and ask the people there what other kinds of events we’ve got going on.” Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Zavala99. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 24, 2016 at 7:47 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501