Updated scheduled event for Oak Meadow Park Ribbon Cutting SCENARIO will be December 20, 2023 at 3:00pm.
- Date / Time: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2023 / 3:00p.m.
- Site: Oak Meadow Park, 500 Ahrens St., Houston, TX 77017
- Point of Contact: Oneika Peters, Sr. Community Liaison, HPARD, 832-755-0293(cell)
- Chanelle Frazier, Outreach Manager, Houston Parks Board, 713-
- Parking: Speaking program participants and VIPs will park along Ahrens Street near the playground; general public parking will be around the park
- Weather Provisions: Event will be outdoors; umbrellas will be provided in case of light rain; in case of moderate rain, speaking program will be under the park’s picnic pavilion
- Language Provision: This is a bilingual speaking program through interpretation headsets provided to people who prefer to listen in Spanish
- Confirmed Speaking Program Participants (in order of appearance):
- Kenneth Allen, Director, Houston Parks and Recreation Department
- The Honorable Mayor Sylvester Turner, Mayor, City of Houston
- Mayor Pro-Tem and Council Member Dave Martin, District E
- Beth White, President and CEO, Houston Parks Board
- Dean Corgey, Commissioner, Port Houston
- Michelle Garcia, Vice President, Oak Meadows Civic Club
- Confirmed Elected Officials, Partners, and Guests
- Sara Cronin, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs; Gwendolyn Kimble, Communications Coordinator; Nick Gill, Houston Operations Plant Manager; Jason Sanders, Environmental Manager, TPC Group
- Sara Montelongo-Oyervidez, Manager, Refinery Public Affairs, Valero Energy Foundation
- Jesus Gonzalez, President, and Rita Snow, Secretary, Oak Meadows Civic Club
- Eileen Puente, Principal, Rucker Elementary School, HISD
- Scenario Snapshot
- 01:30 p.m. Event Load-in Begins
- 02:30 p.m. All Event Elements in Place 03:05 p.m. Opening Remarks Begin
- 03:26 p.m. END of Program & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony BEGINS 04:00 p.m. Event ends
- Speaking Program – 21 minutes
- 3:05 p.m. Kenneth Allen, Director, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, thanks participants for coming and offers remarks (4 mins)
- 3:09 p.m. Mr. Allen introduces The Honorable Mayor Sylvester Turner, Mayor of The City of Houston (1 min)
- 3:10 p.m. Mayor Sylvester Turner offers remarks (3 mins)
- 3:13 p.m. Mayor Sylvester Turner introduces Mayor Pro-Tem and District E Council Member Dave Martin (1 min)
- 3:14 p.m. Mayor Pro-Tem Martin offers remarks and turns program back to Mr. Allen(2 mins)
- 3:16 p.m. Mr. Allen introduces Beth White, President and CEO, Houston Parks Board (1 min)
- 3:17 p.m. Ms. White offers remarks (2 min)
- 3:19 p.m. Ms. White introduces Dean Corgey, Commissioner, Port Houston (1 min)
- 3:20 p.m. Mr. Corgey offers remarks and turns program back to Ms. White (2 min)
- 3:22 p.m. Ms. White introduces Michelle Garcia, Vice President, Oak Meadows Civic Club (1 min)
- 3:23 p.m. Ms. Garcia offers remarks and turns program back to Mr. Allen (2 min)
- 3:25 p.m. Mr. Allen offers closing remarks and thanks everyone for attending! All
- speakers, VIPs, and electeds move to the ribbon cutting location (1 min)
- 3:26 p.m. Ribbon Cutting Photo Opp
- PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: All Program Participants gather at the ribbon-cutting location
- Oak Meadow Park Improvements Description and Background – This event celebrates the grand opening of improvements at Oak Meadow Park, located in the Oak Meadows Neighborhood.
- Improvements made by the Houston Parks Board and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department
include:
o Replaced the playground’s equipment for ages 2-5 and 5-12 and the adjacent concrete plaza
o Replaced swing set and added adjacent site lighting
o Upgraded asphalt walking trail to new concrete and installed two new benches along the trail
o Renovated basketball area with resurfaced court, repainted lines, new backboards and posts, and
installation of new seatless benches for players to lean on
o Converted the baseball field into a soccer field and established new turf
o Added picnic pavilion area with lighting and four new picnic tables
o Enhanced volleyball court with new sod, posts, and corner markers
o Refreshed and reconfigured site furnishings, such as benches, picnic tables, and grills
o Repaired park water fountain
o Addition of bollards around the park perimeter
o Detention area for improved drainage for the park - Houston Parks Board served as the project manager, with Times Construction as the construction
firm. The landscape architect was Clark Condon Associates, Inc. The overall total project cost is
$1,095,000. - Upgrades to this neighborhood park were made possible by 50/50 Park Partners, a Mayor
Sylvester Turner initiative led by the City of Houston, Houston Parks and Recreation Department,
Houston Parks Board, and Greater Houston Partnership. - The 50/50 Park Partners framework provides an opportunity for corporations to play a
leadership role in supporting neighborhood parks and their surrounding communities, catalyzing the
process of reinvigorating an under-resourced park. - In addition to a City of Houston public investment of $14 million to the 50/50 Park Partners
Initiative, we would like to acknowledge over 30 philanthropic partners who together invested over
$10 million, including Houston Endowment, Port Houston – the official Park Partner for this park. - Houston Endowment has played a leadership role in parks across the city through its history of
investments and recognizes the value of smaller neighborhood parks. - Port Houston played a pivotal role in this park’s transformation by pledging $1 million to the
50/50 Park Partners program, partnering with both Oak Meadow Park and Hidalgo Park, and inspiring
the maritime-themed playground. - In addition, three companies contributed funding towards improvements at Oak Meadow Park:
INVISTA, TPC Group, and the Valero Energy Foundation – collectively contributed over $30,000 to the
project. - The initiative included a coordinated process for determining park improvements focused on
collaboration with the Oak Meadows Neighborhood and the District E Office. - For this park, an initial community listening session was held on December 8, 2021, during
which residents provided their ideas and feedback on key aspects of the park. - An in-person pop-up on December 14, 2021, and additional meetings were held with the community
to refine the park’s improvements and design further. - A survey was also distributed to the neighborhood via email and yard signs.