Community's Priorities and Strategies Shared in Public Session

The Greenhills Recreation Commission held a public session on Wednesday, October 26th, seeking public input for one final time in 2011 before it sets priorities for the 2012 year. In its role as an advisory body to council, the Recreation Commission, has worked over the past 6-7 months to garner feedback from the community on the programs, facilities, and opportunities for development of the Greenhills Recreation program.   Shared last night was a preliminary planning document that included over 70 different suggestions, recommendations and priorities.  Wednesday's meeting proved equally beneficial, with the addition of over a dozen and a half new suggestions which will be incorporated into the Commission's planning documentation.

The Commission will use this information to finalize its 2012 recommendations during the final two sessions of the 2011 calendar. 

Information Sources for Public Session

Below are sources for a participant's review in advance of the public session at the Municipal Building, 8pm tomorrow evening. 

• High Level Recreation Expenditures Summary (2011) 
• 2011 Expenditures by Line Item
• 2012 Proposed Village Budget (PDF)
• Greenhills Recreation Survey Summary - June 2011(PDF)
• Comprehensive Plan Review - refer to Pages 98-99, 105-106 (PDF)
• Recreation Idea Submission Review (Complete List)

Please Join Us Wednesday, October 26th for the Public Input Session

The Greenhills Recreation Commission continues to solicit input from the community for our 2012 Planning cycle.  This coming Wednesday, October 26th, we will be conducting a Public Comment Session, seeking one final opportunity before we finalize our planning for the upcoming year.  Please join us at 8:00pm at the Greenhills Municipal Building for this session.

 

Rules for Public Comment Session

• The October public input session is an opportunity for Greenhills residents to give their input / suggestions to commission for future planning purposes for 2012 and beyond. 
• We will record this info and combine it with other input that we received via other sources for use at future meetings as it pertains to planning.
• Each resident in attendance will be given the opportunity to speak for a maximum of three minutes and the content must be kept to input/suggestions pertaining to Greenhills Recreation. 
•  Alternatively residents can submit their proposals/ideas/thoughts in writing to the commission. 

Palma Park Playground in Full Use!

Below is a snapshot of the Palma Park playground from this past Saturday, October 15th.  What a fantastic addition to the Palma Park area!  This represents the best of what Greenhills is:  A focused effort combining volunteer support with a commitment to spend precious recreation levy dollars for a good cause.

Thanks go to Eagle Scout Sam Slaughterbeck, Councilman Greg Hermes, Mike Caster and the folks from the Village, and a host of other dedicated volunteers who worked together to make this a reality.

Public Input Session October 19th

The Greenhills Recreation Commission will be holding a public input session on Wednesday, October 19th, at 8pm at the Greenhills Municipal Building Council Chambers.  The Recreation Commission members will once again be soliciting input from the committee in advance of finalizing our 2012 planning.  Members of the community are invited to come to the session and comment, provide input and ideas. Presenters will be asked to keep their comments to 3 minutes. Greenhills residents can also provide input to Recreation Commission through the Greenhills Recreation website Idea Submission Form. 

August Minutes Posted

The minutes from the August Recreation Commission Board meeting have been posted, along with the agenda distributed and shared during this past week's Recreation Commission meeting.

A reminder that we will be having a open public session on October 19th, looking for one final review of perspectives from the community in planning for the 2012 budget cycle. 

2012 Recreation Commission Public Input Session

The Recreation Commission has worked to re-focus its efforts in 2011 toward a more focused and directed effort through the expansion of its membership, broader input from the community, and more scrutiny, insight and input into the manner with which the community's dollars are spent on recreational facilities and programs. 

In building toward 2012, we once again are inviting the citizens of the community to provide input, only this time in person.  In October we will have an open session where we will invite members of the community to provide further input and suggestions into the priorities for next year and the years to come. 

More information on this public session will be published via our online sources, in the October Greenhills Journal, and the Community Press.  If you'd like to have an opportunity to speak at the session, please drop us a line. 

Greenhills Recreation Commission

Second Dine & Dive a Success!

The last Dine & Dive the season took place on Friday, August 26th.  Topped off by great weather and live music from Gil's Variety Store, attendees also ate over 300 hotdogs.  Special thanks to the volunteer corp of Peggy & Gregy Hermes, Andy Hermes, Terry Berte, Maria Walther, Jeff Hansee, and Cindy Kamp. 

 

The Recreation Commission is identifying the dates for the 2011 Dine & Dive.  If you have a specific suggestion, please let us know. 

Doggy Dip Canceled for 2011

Due to a recurring maintenance issue with the pool pump, the Pool will be unable to host the Doggy Dip this coming Sunday. We look forward to hosting the event in 2012.

G. Miles and the Hitmen this Wednesday, 8/17

The second-to-last Greenhills Concert on the Commons is this coming Wednesday, August 17th, from 7pm to 9pm and will feature G. Miles and the Hitmen, a 7-piece group among the best in Cincinnati Blues and R&B. 

2011 Greenhills Recreation Survey

Please take some time to review the final version of the 2011 Recreation Survey, linked here. 

Identifying All Recreational Facilities and Green Spaces

I've taken the liberty of trying to identify all of the green spaces and recreational facilities in Greenhills, but am not sure the attached is accurate. Please review the attached, and drop us an email with your suggestions or corrections.

Update: Evonne Kovach faxed over this very useful document which appears to be a few years old (judging from the time frame it indicates the pool is open -- til Labor Day) but reflects the complete list of park areas and recreation facilities in the community.


View Parks and Public Spaces in Greenhills, Ohio in a larger map

Big Weekend in Greenhills Coming Up

Wednesday, June 28th

• Greenhills Concert on the Commons 7pm-9pm featuring the UC Community Band. 

Friday, July 1st

• Dine and Dive at the Greenhills Pool from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. The fee is $2.00 per person with Pool Pass, $4.00 per person without a Pool Pass. Price includes entrance to the Pool and Hotdogs or Chilidogs.

Saturday, July 2nd

• Greenhills Pioneer Run starting at the Commons.  Run Starts promptly at 8am.  Registration begins at 7am if you intend to Run, Walk or amble.  
• Greenhills Community Parade along the traditional route through Greenhills begins at 11:00am.   All participating units should beet at the middle school at 10:30am
• Greenhills Pioneer Day Celebration will be held at the Greenhills Commons immediately following the parade until midnight. There will be a large tent with food, drinks and beer, plus  4-5 additional booths. Bands will be performing at the Commons until midnight.

Greenhills Concert on the Commons - June 28th

This was the message that went out this afternoon regarding tomorrow's Greenhills Concert on the Commons:

Hi this is Bob Bass of the University of Cincinnati Community Band, an 80-member strong unit affiliated with the University Bands program under Director Terry Frenz. The UC Community Band will be performing tomorrow evening, from 7pm to 9pm at the Greenhills Concert on the Commons. Our performance will feature music from the Beatles, a Medley of Movie Themes including the beautiful voice of Amy Lewkoarcz singing Over the Rainbow, and in the theme of the holiday, we'll be performing the 1812 Overture and Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever. We look forward to seeing you there, tomorrow evening at 7pm, on the Greenhills Commons. Thank you.

Family Fun Night at the Greenhills Pool!

Start the long weekend off right with a night at the pool from 6pm-10pm, this coming Friday, July 1st. Food/concessions and music! $2 pool members / $4 non-members. More details to follow.

OneCallNow Communication Tool Used

The Greenhills Recreation Commission initiated the OneCallNow System for the first time on June 22nd.  The messsage was as follows:

This message is to let you know that tonight's Greenhills Concert on the Commons has been canceled due to the threat of inclement weather.  The performance of the University of Cincinnati Community Concert Band has been resheduled for one week from tonight, June 29th, at 7:00pm at the Greenhills Commons. Again, tonight's Concert on the Commons has been canceled, and has been rescheduled for next Wednesday at 7:00pm. We hope to see you there!

The Recreation Commission is hopeful that we can facilitate promotion of community programs and events through the use of the OneCallNow system, as well as other announcements (perhaps of the last minute variety as indicated above).  The Village may also use the system for emergencies if the situation calls for that use. 

If you would like to have your phone number added to the system, please contact the Village Office at 513-825-2100. 

The Evening of June 15th in Greenhills

It was fairly easy to see first hand this past Wednesday how special a place Greenhills is.  Within 200 yards of the Village Commons, you could take in a baseball game at the Community Building, catch the intra-squad meet for the swim team at the pool, or get a quick 9 holes at the golf course. See all of the photos after the jump (click on "more", below).  

Revised Times for Recreation Meetings

The Commission voted to revise the times for our upcoming meetings for the balance of 2011 to 8:00pm.  I have revised the start time on the Meeting Schedule Page. 

Greenhills Recreation Commission Idea Submission Form

If you have an idea that you'd like the Commission to consider,  Click on this link and submit your idea.  We are pulling together a list of all of the ideas we've received coming out of our survey earlier this year, as well as any other ideas we receive as a result of our efforts in support of our mission to continue to develop the community's recreation options.

If however you want to bypass submitting an idea, and simply want to review the list of ideas submitted, go here and see the list. 

The Greenhills Recreation Commission receives a number of suggestions.  Our hope is that we will be able to catalog them and work through the development of a comprehensive list of ideas, mapping against our priorities and pace the best ones in the months and years to come. 

Summary Comments Provided to Councilman Hermes

Councilman Hermes asked that I provide a report from the Commission for the monthly council meeting.  Below was the information I provided to him, most all of which was shared at the May meeting.

• One Call Now, the automated voice messaging system has been populated with phone numbers and will be operational for the first time in advance of the June 22nd Concert on the Commons.  We want to make sure that we have everything working correctly before we use it for the first time.  That includes ways for other citizens whose phone numbers are not listed to add their number to the list.  As it stands right now, 814 local residents are on the distribution list.  If you want to put your phone number on the list, contact the Village Office. 

• Improvements to Palma Park are on plan, with the purchase of playground equipment approved by the Commission at our April meeting.  Sam Slaughterbeck, an Eagle Scout candidate, will be landscaping the area where the equipment will be installed as his badge project.  We continue to look for donations for the project to mitigate the cost of the rubber fill necessary in to fill in the space around the set. 

• We are completing the analysis of the Recreation Survey conducted in March.  Two members of the Commission are preparing a full report which we will review at our June meeting, and will deliver the final report to council in July, but I wanted to share and have some preliminary data:

• Respondents indicated that the Swimming Pool (79%), followed by Concerts on the Commons (62%) were the Highest Priority programs/services provided by the community.  After those two key programs, Baseball (54%), SAY Soccer (52%), GATORS swim team (52%), Pioneer Days (52%) and Light Up Greenhills (50%) followed, all above the 50% threshold.

• With regard to Key Future Priorities, respondents indicated that the “Exten(sion)/Expan(sion) of our Affiliation with Park (e.g. Hike/Bike Trails)” was the top priority (68%).  This was followed by the “Expansion of Special Events at Swimming Pool” (56%) and “More Events During the Spring & Summer on the Commons” (51%).

• Again, this is just some of the data.  There was a lot more information and perspective shared, and we want to thank all of those who responded to the online survey.  We'll continue to improve the survey and ask for perspectives again next year. 

• The biggest event of the summer will be the NSSL Championships in Greenhills.  The Swim Team will be hosting this event, but for this to be a success, will need the community support.  If you are interested in helping out, you can go to the GATORS website, at greenhillsgators.com, and click on "Become a Championship Volunteer" to help out or send a note to greenhillsgators@live.com.

• The Recreation Commission passed a motion approving soccer at Spoils Field for the summer and the fall, on an interim basis, until development of a second baseball field can be funded.  The Commission also passed a motion resolving that any long range development plan of the Spoils Field property must include the development of a soccer field.

Greenhills Deploys Community Wide Messaging Application

Ed: A variation of this information was published in the Greenhills Journal and the Community Press online edition.

Greenhills, May 28, 2011:  The Village of Greenhills today announced an agreement with One Call Now to deploy a community-based voice messaging communications service.  This program will assist Greenhills in the promotion of local events within the Village through the use of One Call Now's communications platform. 

The Village will have the ability to send a recorded message to hundreds of Greenhills residents whose phone numbers are publicly listed.  A 45-second message can be recorded, announcing a major community event, such as the very popular Concert on the Commons, Light Up Greenhills, or the Pioneer Day Celebration.  That message will be delivered over the course of a day or evening well in advance of the event.  This solution is intended to supplement other promotional efforts in an affordable and flexible manner. 

Greg Hermes, a member of the Village Council said that the solution is a long time coming. "We've worked very hard to find creative ways to drive greater participation to our community events.  One Call Now will allow us to get the message out quickly and efficiently."

Administration of the One Call Now platform will be the responsibility of the Village of Greenhills, under the guidance of the Greenhills Recreation Commission. Evonne Kovach, Village Manager added that although the primary intended use of the system is for recreational purposes, the Village could – during times of emergency -- use the system for public safety announcements as well.

One Call Now, a Troy, Ohio-based firm, was selected as a result of a competitive bidding process through the Greenhills Recreation Commission.  The service will have the capacity to hold up to 1,600 phone numbers when fully provisioned. 

Initial participants will have the opportunity to opt out of receiving messages, while those with unlisted phone numbers, or who have requested their numbers be included on the US Government's "Do Not Call" list will be able to request that a phone number be added to the One Call Now list.  

For more information, please contact the Village office at (513) 825-2100.

Upcoming Recreation Committee Meetings

The following are the dates and times for the upcoming Greenhills Recreation Committee Meetings.  All meetings will be held at the Greenhills Municipal Building, 11000 Winton Road, in Greenhills, Ohio.  

Wednesday, June 15, 8:00pm
Wednesday, July 20, 7:00pm
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 7:00pm
Wednesday, Sept. 21,  7:00pm
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 7:00pm
Wednesday, Nov.  16, 7:00pm
Wednesday, Dec.  21, 7:00pm

As a result of the need to achieve a forum at our meetings, we have moved our June meeting back to 8:00pm.  A decision on the balance of the meetings for the year will be made at an upcoming meeting. 

2011 Concert on the Commons Schedule

Wednesday	June 1	Jump N Jive Show Band	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	June 8	Cold Smoke	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	June 22	The University of Cincinnati Community Concert Band	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	July 13	Eight Days A Week	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	July 27	Tex Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	August 3	Miaimi University Steel Drum Band	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	August 10	Magnolia Mountain	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	August 17	G. Miles and the Hitmen	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm
Wednesday	August 31	Greenhills American Legion Post 530 Concert Band	7:00 pm	-	9:00 pm

Recent Calendar Announcements

• Great initial response via Social network sites to survey request. Great first wave! Respond now: http://bit.ly/ghsurvey
• Make a splash this season with a membership to the Greenhills Pool. Applications are available now! http://bit.ly/hjXWDZ
• Greenhills Knothole Baseball signups going on now. Forms available at Ameristop, Greenhills Post Office, Wright Patt Credit Union
  
• Take the Greenhills Recreation Survey! We need your feedback! http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BY63CYF96
• Adults 30 and Over: Open Gym at Winton Woods Middle School starting Feb 9: http://www.junedale.com/invision2/index.php?showto