Oakhurst Neighborhood Association
Upcoming Events & ONA Information
JOIN THE CELEBRATION!
Oakhurst Neighborhood Association Fourth of July Parade and PicnicSaturday, July 4, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Oakhurst Park
WHEN:
Parade around the park, then join us for family friendly games & contests, along with a cookout!
Hot dogs and drinks provided by ONA, we need you to bring chips, side dishes and desserts.
To be a part of the parade, decorate your bike, wagon, yourself or any other non-motorized item. Sign in at the registration table at 10:45 a.m.
Awards will be given for the most creative, most unique, most patriotic and best overall entries.
Volunteers needed, Please contact Glenda Shelton at 817-975-4653 or ghartsell@charter.net.
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Riverside Park Master Plan Meeting
Thursday, July 16 at, 6:30 p.m.
Fort Worth Harvest Church, 620 N. Chandler
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President’s Notes: Why You Should Come to the Public Input Meeting on Riverside Park
Libby Willis
The City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department will hold one public input meeting to hear your opinion about what improvements should be made to Riverside Park on Thursday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m. at Fort Worth Harvest Church, 620 N. Chandler. I will be there and I hope you can be there to listen and ask questions as well.
As we think about a master plan for Riverside Park, a number of questions have occurred to many concerned about what‘s in the interest of Riverside citizens for this regional park:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and City of Fort Worth plans for the Trinity Uptown Project now include plans to excavate Riverside Park (16 to 25 feet down according to the Corps’ report) to accommodate flood storage or valley storage for the project. The flood storage decision appears not to be an engineering decision, having been made by City staff without input from the City Council or local residents. It’s a question of where the flood storage should go and why it has to be in a public park
* A judgment in a lawsuit years ago determined that Trinity River water near Riverside Park contained contaminants damaging to Sparto Family crops. Even today, you can’t eat the fish from the river at Riverside Park. There are still questions about the contamination levels in the river sediments at the Park. What is the impact of water with those sediments periodically flowing onto parkland? Has there been testing of those sediments to determine whether they may contain toxic contaminants? Would our children and other residents be exposed to such contaminants if flood storage were allowed to flow into the park?
* Recent park improvements (new ball field lights, etc.) will be taken out and then put back in if the flood storage is installed. Why should taxpayers have to spend that money twice? Electrical lines and a sewer line would have to be taken out temporarily to excavate for the project necessitating blocking traffic for a period of time on Oakhurst Scenic Drive.
* Why can’t any necessary improvements at Riverside Park be made WITHOUT having to install the flood storage? Can gas drilling lease bonus money dedicated to the park be used for improvements there?
We need a strong showing of Oakhurst residents who care about Riverside Park to come to the meeting. The questions above and more are appropriate for the upcoming meeting. I hope you will ask them.