In order to serve the diverse recreational needs of individuals
and families and to enrich the quality of life for all residents,
the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District is committed
to providing park facilities, open space, programs, and activities.
Opening on the Board of Directors
Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District announces a vacancy on the Board of Directors. The District Board is requesting letters of interest from District residents who would like to serve on the Board. The term will be from January 22, 2009 until the next election in November 2010. The Board of Directors meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, except in November and December when it is changed to the 1st and 3rd Thursdays.
Qualifications for office, as required by the Public Resources Code, under which Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District is organized, are:
Persons must be 18 years of age or older; live in the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District, and be a registered voter.
The deadline for submitting a letter of interest to the Recreation and Park District Board is Wednesday, January 7, 2009. The current Board of Directors will interview and select the new member at the January 22, 2009 meeting of the Board of Directors. The meeting will be held at the District Administration Office, Conference Room, 147 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill with interviews beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Letters of interest should be submitted to Bob Berggren, General Manager, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District, 147 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. For more information, please call 682-0896.
Pleasant Hill Community Foundation – Youth Grants
At the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors Meeting, December 18, 2008, Jim Utz of the Pleasant Hill Community Foundation, proudly presented a check for two grants awarded to Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District. The grants were part of the PHCF's fall Youth grants using funds raised in this year's PHCF Golf Tournament. One award went to KIDSTOP, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District's before- and after-school program at Gregory Gardens Elementary School, and the other was for a retaining wall project by Robert Stewart Jr., a local Eagle Scout, at Pleasant Oaks Park.
Sprayground Cover – Teen Pirates
At the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors Meeting November 20, 2008, Board Chair Dennis Donaghu thanked Teen Council Members Allison Maeyama, Ben Altman, Brett Cantrell, and Taylor Jones for appearing on the cover of the Fall/Winter edition of the Spare Time Spotlight.
The Teens posed in costume as Pirates of the SCARE-ibbean, the theme for Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District's annual Haunted House.
Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District features local residents on the cover of the Spare Time Spotlight. Printed three times each year, 75,000 copies of the Spotlight are distributed to homes and businesses in Pleasant Hill and surrounding areas. The next issue comes out in August, 2008.
The photo and the cover of the Spare Time Spotlight were produced courtesy of Faye Donaghu of Donaghu Graphic Designs, in Pleasant Hill.
Sherry Sterrett, Pleasant Hill's Citizen of the Year
At Pleasant Hill's annual Community Awards Night, November 12, 2008, Sherry Sterrett was named Citizen of the Year.
Sterrett, pictured here with her husband Mike Sterrett, was nominated by the Pleasant Hill Lions Club, and has also served on the board of directors for Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District since 1996, including three terms as Chair.
In addition, she served for seven years on the Mt. Diablo School Board (1980-1987); then for eight years on the Pleasant Hill City Council (1987-1995). She also volunteers with local schools, Special Olympics, the League of Women Voters, Pleasant Hill Community Against Substance Abuse, StarQuest, the Pleasant Hill Senior Center Rebuilding Committee, and the Pleasant Hill Lions Club. In 2007, she won CSDA’s first Board President of the Year Award. Congratulations Sherry!
More Community Awards
Also at Pleasant Hill's Community Awards Night, the Board of Directors of Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District presented two well-deserved awards.
Pleasant Hill Baseball Association parent volunteers Mark Rolandelli and Jim Goonan won the Community Service Award for their efforts to build a 2,500 square foot sports building at Pleasant Oaks Park. They raised money, requested donations of building materials, and with their construction backgrounds, mobilized many volunteers to construct the building.
Verna Norris of the Pleasant Hill Senior Center won the Board Appreciation Award for her outstanding record of volunteering. For the 2006-07 fiscal year alone, Norris herself logged 1,181 volunteer hours. She joined the Senior Club in 2003, and has alternated served as President, Membership Chair, or on the Board. She is active in the travel program, volunteers for Bingo twice a week, and participates in over 15 special events during the year. She is always recruiting new members of the Senior Club and proudly proclaims that it is her second home.
Letter from Bob Berggren, General Manager
Dear Friends of Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park
District:
Throughout our 57-year history, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District has benefited greatly from our association with community groups. In difficult economic times, these partnerships are even more valuable. Consider these recent, noteworthy accomplishments:
Thanks to the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club, the tennis courts at PH Middle School were resurfaced this summer. Funding for the project was split three ways: contributions from the Tennis Club, funds from PHR&PD, and Mt. Diablo Unified School District. These pristine courts near the Library and Pleasant Hill Education Center are open to the public. Better yet, come join the Pleasant Hill Tennis Club!
Thanks to the Pleasant Hill Baseball Association, a 2500 sq. ft. sports building was completed at Pleasant Oaks Park. Funded by donations from members, contributions from the community, and PHR&PD; the building houses a snack shack, restrooms, meeting room, and storage space.
Thanks to Friends of Rogers Ranch, a renovation to the 1860s ranch house has been completed. The members’ perseverance on this project is the first milestone toward their goal of establishing a living history museum.
Recently, in the interest of public safety, five community groups that have been using the School House Theater will be moving from the building. After receiving reports from an engineer and a building safety firm, the board unanimously voted to close the facility. Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District is proud to co-sponsor Onstage Theatre, the Guild of Quilters, Friends of the Pleasant Hill Library, Friends Abroad, and the Pleasant Hill Historical Society. The District is doing its best to find alternate locations.
A community survey conducted earlier this year shows support for improving facilities and sports fields within PHR&PD. Please review an update on the State of the District.
The District would like to invite the community to a new series of Music in Pleasant Hill beginning in January 20 and our annual Holiday Festival on December 10. Please plan to join us!
Outstanding Senior, Mal Malpass
Long-time Pleasant Hill resident and former owner of Malpass Construction Company, Mal became volunteer Building Supervisor at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center when he retired in 1995. He has made major contributions to the Senior Center saving PHR&PD thousands of dollars in maintenance costs by managing budgets and schedules, working with contractors, and doing many projects himself.
Special Honor: Tom & Ruby MacDonald
Tom and Ruby MacDonald, owners of retirement communities Chateau of Pleasant Hill, Chateau II, and Chateau III, won the CARPD Special Honor Award for their efforts for a new Pleasant Hill Senior Center.
The MacDonalds recognized the need for a new Center and formed a grassroots committee of Park District leaders, City Council members, community leaders, and managers from their company. They helped plan the design, paid for architectural plans, and now support a public education campaign to spread the word about the need to replace the aging facility.
On May 27, the Central Contra Costa County Senior Coalition awarded Bev Malpass of the Pleasant Hill Senior Center a Mary Shockley Award for Outstanding Senior.
According to PH Senior Center Supervisor Kendra Luke, Bev has been active on the Pleasant Hill Senior Club Board of Directors for the past 10 years, currently as President. She also coordinates the Thursday boutique group, helps with the membership drive, and represents the Pleasant Hill Senior Center on several committees within the community.
"More valuable than all of the volunteer hours and services Bev contributes is the heart she has behind it all," said Luke. "She is a genuine advocate for the positive impact a Senior Center provides to its members and the community as a whole."
The annual Mary Shockley Memorial Awards are presented to senior volunteers for sustaining the heritage of tireless community service and advocacy exemplified by Mary Shockley, a 30 year advocate for older adults and community involvement.
Cutting Up Again! Some PH Senior Club members paid Bev Malpass (center with flowers) a little respect after the Senior Coalition's Award Ceremony on May 27
Teen Council Recognized
The 2007-2008 Pleasant Hill Teen Council was recognized by the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board of Directors on Thursday, May 22 for an exceptional year of community service. Under the supervision of Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Supervisor, Katrina Hunn, this year's Teen Council coordinated three high school dances, one middle school dance, one concert, planned classes and activities for their peers, and volunteered at a number of community events. Teen Council meets the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month from September through June, at 147 Gregory Lane at the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Office. Teen Council is open to middle school and high school students through out Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Martinez, and Concord.
Back Row (left to right): Brittany Goonan, Bojana Bozic, Brett Cantrell, Katy O'Keefe, Kelly McBee, Tom Bryan
Middle Row: Kaitlyn Malcom, Melissa See, Allison Maeyama, Sarah Power, Jillian Cary, Kaela Carson, Christanna Stafford, Bijan Shamai, PHR&PD Recreation Supervisor Katrina Hunn
Front Row: Nicole Thompson, Jenna Landry, Parisa Broomand, Nasreen Broomand, Priscilla Rodriguez, Julia Meilan
Thank You Pleasant Hill Community Foundation
Betty Geishirt-Cantrell, Vice President of the Pleasant Hill Community Foundation, presented a check for $1000 to Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board Chair Dennis Donaghu at the board meeting on May 22, 2008.
The grant was part of the Foundation's Spring grant program and will benefit Music in Pleasant Hill. The concert series will resume this fall at the Pleasant Hill Community Center.
Two Top State Honors for
Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District
The California Association of Recreation and Park Districts presented two top state honors to Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District in mid April.
On Friday, April 25, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District General Manager, Bob Berggren and PHR&PD Board Member Sherry Sterrett presented the statewide honors to Mal Malpass for Outstanding Senior, and Tom and Ruby MacDonald for Speical Honor Award at the monthly meeting of the Pleasant Hill Senior Club.
Long-time Pleasant Hill resident and former owner of Malpass Construction Company, Malpass was invited to take on the volunteer position of Building Supervisor at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center when he retired in 1995. Ever since that time, he has made major contributions to the Senior Center and saved Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District thousands of dollars in maintenance costs with his skills managing budgets and schedules, working with contractors, and doing many projects himself.
According to Bob Berggren, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District General Manager, “Mal has put in a tremendous number of hours maintaining the Senior Center. He has a love of the building and the programs that fill it.”
Sherry Sterrett, presented the CARPD Outstanding Senior Award to Mal Malpass on April 25 at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center.
Tom and Ruby MacDonald, owners of three Pleasant Hill retirement communities (the Chateau of Pleasant Hill, Chateau II, and Chateau III) were presented with CARPD’s Special Honor Award for spearheading the effort for a new Pleasant Hill Senior Center. They recognized the need for a new Center and put together a grassroots committee made up of Park District leaders, City Council members, community leaders, and managers from their company. They helped plan the design, paid for architectural plans, and continue to support a public education campaign to spread the word about the need to replace the aging facility.
The Pleasant Hill Senior Center was established in 1955 in a building built in 1942. Intended to be temporary, it is still in use. Three other buildings make up the center.
Sherry Sterrett, member of the Board of Directors for Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District presented the CARPD Special Honor Award to Ruby MacDonald and son Tim, standing in for his father, Tom MacDonald, owners of the Chateau in Pleasant Hill.
The new plans call for a single building to be built on the same site (at the back of the property, where the parking lot is now). It will have a large dining and a meeting room that can double as a second dining room with a capacity of 250 persons. There will be space for exercise classes, computer labs, offices for staff and spacious decks that take full advantage of the location adjacent to Pleasant Hill Park.
CARPD was established in 1958 and is dedicated to improving the quality and efficiency of California’s recreation and park districts. Through two joint powers authorities, the 65 recreation and park districts that are members of CARPD are eligible for reduced rates on worker compensation coverage and liability/property damage insurance – saving local communities thousands of dollars. Each spring, CARPD hosts an annual conference and awards competition to recognize outstanding programming, facilities, and service to the community.
For more information on CARPD, visit www.carpd.org. For more information on Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District, visit www.pleasanthillrec.com or contact the District at 682-0896.
Holiday Festival 2007
Rachael Holmes joined
Bob Berggren on the stage in memory of Oliver Holmes
and to recognize the tree that was planted to honor him
for his many community services. Participating in the
annual countdown to the lighting of the tree, she stands
with the enthusiastic winners of the annual Coloring
Contest and Gingerbread House Contest, and Board Members
Sherry Sterrett and Dennis Donaghu.
Community Awards
On November 14, at the Pleasant Hill Community
Awards Night, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District,
the City of Pleasant Hill, and the Chamber of Commerce recognize
those who have made outstanding contributions to this community.
PHR&PD is proud to bestow two awards, the Community Service
Award and the Board Appreciation Award.
Jim Utz and the Pleasant
Hill Community Foundation are the worthy recipients of the
Community Service Award for their fundraising efforts for
the new Sprayground at Pleasant Hill Aquatic Park. Jim Utz
researched grant opportunities, wrote proposals, organized
fundraising events, and promoted the project to any and all.
Three Board Appreciation awards are given this year. First
to Denise Koroslev, who, through her leadership and involvement
in Friends of Rodgers Ranch for many years, has kept the
history of Rodgers Ranch alive to the youth and adults of
Pleasant Hill. The second recipient is Brick Mason Dan Fitzgerald,
who installed the imprinted bricks for the Sprayground. Dan
helped to build the Snack Shack at the Pleasant Hill Education
Center Pool, and has volunteered for PH Dolfins projects.
Mark Celio is the third winner. Owner of Club 50 Fitness
Center, Mark spends countless hours volunteering at the Senior
Center. “He
always seems to be there when he is needed,” said Sherry
Sterrett, Board Chair.
On the Cover of the Spare Time Spotlight
At the Board of Directors Meeting at Pleasant Hill
Recreation & Park District on November, 1, 2007, the
pre-schoolers who were on the cover of the Fall/Winter
edition of the Spare Time Spotlight "signed" copies
for the Board.
Megan Ostrowski seems to be having a great time putting
her thumbprint on a copy.
Thanks, Pleasant Hill Community Foundation
The Board of Directors and staff at PHR&PD thanks the
Pleasant Hill Community Foundation for spearheading the efforts
to raise $160,000 towards building the Aquatic Park Sprayground.
The successful effort has raised over $174,323. “We
can all feel proud to be a part of a community that can rally
together and achieve such a large goal as quickly as this,” said
Christine Sampson-Hafner, President of the Pleasant Hill
Community Foundation.
Donations were received from individuals,
families, clubs, businesses, and corporations. The Dean & Margaret
Lesher Foundation was instrumental in the achievement with
its generous $20,000 matching grant. In addition to Pleasant
Hill Recreation & Park
District and the PH Community Foundation, other major donors
include The City of Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Hill Lions Club,
Rotary Club of PH, Pleasant Hill Senior Club, Magoo’s
Grill & Bar, Red Brick Pizza, Ted & Suzy Winslow,
and Valentine Capital Asset Management on behalf of Ron & Jennifer
McGarry.
Joe Hurd Takes Oath of Office
At the Board of Directors Meeting on August 9, 2007,
Joseph Hurd took the Oath of Office, administered by
Robert B. Berggren, Clerk of the Board.
Hurd was selected to take the seat that was left when
Greg Smith resigned in June, 2007.
Hurd is a 28 year resident of Pleasant
Hill and is now retired after a career in banking, finance,
and the telecom industry. He brings impressive skills
in data analysis, economic forecasting, demographic analysis
and preparing short- and long-term budgets. He earned
a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University
of Utah, and a PhD in economics from UC Berkeley.
From the Cover of the Spare Time Spotlight
At the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District Board
Meeting May 10, 2007, local children pictured on the cover
of the Spare Time Spotlight autographed copies for the board.
Left to right Becca Kefer, Jillian Kefer, Sean Taheri, and
Ryan Taheri. For the last three years, Pleasant Hill Recreation
& Park District has pictured local residents on the cover
of the Spare time Spotlight. Autographed copies are on display
at the Administration Office of Pleasant Hill Recreation &
Park District at 147 Gregory Lane, in Pleasant Hill.
Paso Nogal Off Leash Dog Park Information
For
information regarding rain closures and Park Maintenance
activities impacting the off leash dog park, please
call the 24-hour information
hotline. 925-210-6130
A New Senior Center for Pleasant Hill?
Tom MacDonald, owner of three Pleasant
Hill retirement communities, Chateau Pleasant Hill, Chateau
II, and Chatueau III said he had, “always known the Pleasant
Hill Senior Center to be an excellently-run operation, but
he also knew that the facility was lacking. “You ought
to have a first-class building to operate a first-class operation,” he
said.
That was the motivation behind his generous move to have
plans drawn up for a brand new Pleasant Hill Senior Center. “I
know that it’s easier to get things done when people
have the visual tools,” he said.
After reviewing the
District Master Plan, MacDonald and Steve Harriman, AIA,
designed a 20,800 square foot Senior facility. The plans
include a multi-use room (245-person capacity), a dining
room (capacity 90), offices; a library, a large commercial
kitchen, plus exercise, computer, and game rooms.
According
to PHR&PD Supervisor Kendra Luke, the plan would
be to build the new facility on the back parking lot. Existing
buildings would continue to be used as construction progressed
and would be removed later to make way for a new parking
lot.
“I hope that within the next year to 18 months
there might be shovels in the ground,” MacDonald said. “The
big unknown is, how do we fund a facility that might cost
between $3.5-$4.5 million?”
The Spraygound: The Dream is Becoming a Reality!
At the Board of Directors Meeting of Pleasant Hilll Recreation
& Park District (PHR&PD) on March 15, Joe Lesher of the Dean
& Margaret Lesher Foundation presented a $20,000 check that
was part of a matching grant for the Sprayground at Pleasant
Hill Aquatic Park. Pictured above, Lynn Spatz, PHR&PD Park
Superintendent, Aquatics Supervisor Korey Hayman, Joe Lesher,
and Jim Utz leader of the fundrasing drive for the Pleasant
Hill Community Foundation. Fundraising efforts are almost complete,
but there is still time to order a brick with your name on
it for $50.
Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District
Associations and Organizations
The Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District belongs
to several national, state, and local organizations. These
memberships serve as valuable resources to the development
and evolution of our services to the community. Please
visit their web sites for more information.
The mission of the District Arts Commission is to act
and advise the District Board of Directors and staff concerning
the promotion and encouragement of programs supporting
the arts.
The Commissioners for 2007 are: Joan Alexander (Chair),
Donald C. Flynn, Patricia McConnell, Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff,
Beverly Lauderdale, and Bob Rezak.
Public meetings are held three times a year on the fourth
Tuesday of February, May, and September, 7-8 pm at the
Board Room at the District Office, 147 Gregory Lane, Pleasant
Hill. For information, please call the District at 925-682-0896.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The
Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District welcomes persons
with disabilities. 5% of rental fees and $1 per person/per
class is designated for facilities improvements and services
to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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