Press release from the People’s Park Foundation:
The People’s Park Foundation (PPF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation of a public park on Asheville City property at the downtown intersection of Haywood Street and Page Avenue. “Our aim is to garner private donations and grants to fund design, redevelopment and long-term maintenance of a park opposite the Asheville Civic Center and the Basilica of St. Lawrence,” said PPF Secretary Cecil Bothwell. “Unlike the Pack Square Conservancy, which bungled redevelopment of the area fronting the county courthouse and city hall, we will operate as volunteers and set aside 20 percent of all donations for long term maintenance of the park.” (The Pack Conservancy had a well-paid staff, left the City with over $1 million in unpaid bills and set aside no money for maintenance, triggering a rancorous dispute between Asheville and Buncombe County regarding that maintenance.)
The current fundraiser is a partnership with Charlotte Street Computers, which is providing free tickets to the Asheville Community Theater performance of The Groundlings on August 23. Any donation to PPF will get you a pair of tickets to the comedy. Go to http://peoplesparkavl.org/donate to participate in the funder.
Asheville has selected Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects for design of the park. NBW is an internationally renowned firm based in NYC, but two of the architects hail from Asheville and Waynesville. They are clearly interested in making a lasting contribution to WNC.
The PPF Board of Directors includes Ellie Richard (education consultant and director of the annual Americans Who Tell the Truth event at the YMI Cultural Center), John Russell (Founding director of the Montford Park Players), Elaine Lite (Executive Director of the Mountain Voices Alliance), Jay Fields (Member of the Haywood Street Visioning Committee and various other City boards and commissions), Ron Ogle (Portraitist and resident of the Battery Park Apartments), and Cecil Bothwell (Former Asheville City Council member).
For more information, contact Cecil Bothwell at 828-713-8840 or peoplesparkavl@gmail.com.
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