Noe Valley Rec Center

In This Issue

• Budget Cuts affecting our  Rec Center
  
• Volunteers Needed this Saturday to Garden
  
• Cat in the SandBox Issue
• Recent Park Improvements
  
• Soccer Tots Sign Ups
  
• Bring an Event to the Rec Center
  
• Billy Goat Hill Cleanup 7/31
  
• Sippy Cups in Dolores Park 6/19
  
• Volunteer with Friends Group?
  

Did You Know?

Greetings Friend of Noe Valley Rec Center,

Summer camp started this week at the Upper Noe Rec Center.  If you are at the park during the day you might see summer campers running around in green Rec and Park t-shirts. The featured photo shows summer camp director, Marisol Visalli with two of the campers, Journey and Michael, both age 6.

Read on to learn about budget cuts, a cat visiting the sand box, a new soccer program for toddlers on Sundays, and recent park improvements. There is going to be a concert of the Sippy Cups (kids love them) with the Friends of Dolores Park Playground on 6/19, a Billy Goat Hilly Clean Up Day on 7/31, and you can help Noe Valley Rec Center with some gardening - this Saturday 6/12.

Rec and Park Budget Cuts Mean New Staff for Rec Center

The City's financial crisis means fresh cuts for the Department of Recreation and Parks, and the effect on our park was featured in the June issue of the Noe Valley Voice.  The latest news is that on August 15th, the department will be moving to a new "Rebuilding Recreation Model" which is a bit hard to explain, but involves large amounts of staffing reorganization and a change to the way the city delivers programs to the rec centers throughout the city.  The effects on Upper Noe will be that our current Recreation Directors (Rocky, Tom, Sondra, Gayle) will likely leave the center, but there will be some new (but fewer) regularly-assigned staff to our facility.  At the same time, the department will be hiring new "Recreation Leaders" to provide classes and deliver programs to the community. 

Rec and Parks has a powerpoint presentation about the new "Rebuilding Recreation Model" at the bottom of this page.

The Noe Valley Voice ran an article about the new staffing situation and budget cuts in its June issue.

Volunteers Needed to Garden at the Rec Center, June 12th at 9:00 AM

Cat in the SandBox Issue at the Playground

Recent visitors to the playground may have noticed or heard that there has been some issues around a certain unknown cat visiting the sandbox at night and leaving "gifts" of his/her presence to find.  There have evidently been 2 incidents in 2 months of people finding cat poop in the sand box.  The bottom line is parents should take normal clealiness precautions when their children are using a park sandbox. Here is what we've learned Rec and Park are doing on the "cat in the sandbox" issue:

As part of our regular maintenance routine, sand boxes are checked and cleaned on a daily basis. The sandbox at Upper Noe has been drenched with water several times since the cat feces was initially reported. There are  safety concerns about using any cleaning products in the sandbox, so they have had to hold off on any type of 'disinfection'. We'll continue soaking the sandbox on a weekly basis in order to leach out any impurities that might be residing in the sand.  Rec and Park's Health and Safety division has been consulted on this issue.  For the near future, the staff will be putting a tarp on the sandbox for most nights of the week to discourage the cats. Staffing is the obstacle to installing a cover on the sandbox on a nightly basis.

All sounds fairly reasonable.  We've also learned that the City is planning on replacing at least some of the sand in the sandbox at some point this summer.  The sandbox is very deep and it is pretty hard to replace all the sand, but there will be some sand removed and hopefully nicer  sand added.  (The sand that is there now seems below par compared to sandbox sand in other parks... and the Park staff agrees.)  The Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center volunteers have mentioned "get us new clean sand" many times to Park staff... and they appear to be committed to doing so.  The latest feline visitor only renewed the conversation. As usual, please report any maintenance or safety issues with the park or playground to park staff in the park office and/or the City's 24X Customer Service Center: 311. Stay tuned/ watch out cats. 

Recent Park and Rec Center Improvements

Since the park reopened in the fall of 2008, the Friends of Noe Valley group has continued to advocate for the update and maintence of the facility and grounds.  Here are some recent activities that have or will occur:

• There is painting going on the outside retaining walls (the paint was starting to chip off).There is painting going on the outside retaining walls (the paint was starting to chip off).
  
• There were repairs made to the playground surface where the surface was chipping away. (these were covered under warranty)
  
• There was indoor lighting fixed in the rec center (again, a warranty issue from lighting that was not done correctly during the renovation)
  
• There is a new LCD projector available for groups to use during the events in the auditorium. There is also a working projector screen. (Movie night anyone??)
  
• The indoor heating was worked on throughout the winter, and is hopefully in good shape.
  
• The City has ordered some anti-skateboarding protectors for the small retaining walls that are getting used by skateboarders as slider surfaces.
  

Soccer Tots Sign-Ups Next Week

Sunday mornings on the field at the Rec Center have turned into an awesome sight with scores of young soccer players gearing up to learn how to play soccer through the group Soccer Tots. SoccerTots offers child development classes  for children starting at 18 mos up to 6 years old. MiniSoccer leagues for children aged 4 to 7 years old provide an opportunity to play soccer in a small team format to maximize playing time.

Here is what we learned from Soccer Tots:

Registration is taking place now and our classes start 6/16.  Our sessions last 7 weeks and we will start registration for the next session (our summer session) at the end of July.  We are a soccer themed child-development program offering children engaging motivational, games to help improve balance, coordination, agility, self-esteem, social skills and overall fitness.  We are hoping to expand our program to weekday classes in Noe Valley.

Bring an Event to the Upper Noe Rec Center

We would love to see you bring more events to the Rec Center.  Please let us know if you are interested in offering or hosting an event, we might be able to co-sponsor it with you.

The Friends group often frequently gets questions about how groups can rent the Upper Noe Rec Center.  Both the gymnasium and tiny tot room are available for rental.  Some groups rent the facility on a regular basis, and some groups just for one-off events.  To rent the space, the SF Park and Rec Department Permits and Reservations Office has created an Indoor Facility Request form in addition to the Outdoor Field Request form.

According to the flyer downloadable here, the cost of renting the indoor facility is as follows:

• Gymnaisum: $77/hour (if staff needed), and $50/hour (without staff)
• Auditorium (Tot Room/Stage): $72/hour (if staff needed), and $45/hour (without staff)

Friends of Billy Goat Hill Clean Up Day July 31st

The Friends of Billy Goat Hill (which is at the top of 30th Street) are sponsoring a Clean Up Day on July 31st.  Mark your calendars.

Coming up at Dolores Park Playground - The Sippy Cups!
June 19 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm

The Sippy Cups have graciously offered to take the stage for the benefit of Friends of Dolores Park Playground and our upcoming renovation. We are so close to reaching our financial goal that will assure we have the finest, most enduring play area! Our 3-year dream is about to be realized thanks to so many people. We've raised over $3.25m and need another $200k.

See the Sippy Cups!
Enter our raffle!
Tell your friends to come!

Call for Volunteers

The Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center is looking for a few volunteers to serve on our park. Please email me if you are interested in bringing events to the Center, identify issues for the newsletter, identify needs for purchasing at the park, etc. 

Thanks!

Thanks for your interest and support of Your Park! Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Let us know about any community events you are planning at the park so we can promote them.  Please forward this newsletter to your friends and neighbors who use the Noe Valley Rec Center. We want this newsletter to help build the park community -- please help us connect with members of the community.

Enjoy your Park!

Molly Sterkel ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Friends of the Noe Valley Rec Center

www.NoeValleyRecCenter.com

In This Issue

• New Spring Programs Just Started
  
• Garden at Rec Center on 4/10
  
• Registration open for Art & Sport Explosion Summer Camp at the Upper Noe Rec for ages 6-9
• Successful Tree Planting on Billy Goat Hill in January
• How You Can Rent the Rec Center
• Spring Eggstravaganza Event in Stern Grove
• Park Contact Info
  
• Volunteer with Friends Group?
  

Did You Know?

Greetings Friend of Noe Valley Rec Center,

Spring has sprung at the Rec Center! The flowers are blooming and the park has been packed with the recent great weather.

Registration for new spring programs is underway. Many programs still have space.

Registration now open for Upper Noe Rec Center Art & Sport Explosion Summer Camp.

The City-wide financial crisis is looming at SF Recreation and Park Department. Our park faces budget and staffing cuts along with every park in the city.  Every staff member has received a pink slip layoff notice.  Some staff will be rehired, but all staff face an uncertain future as the Department of Recreation and Parks seeks to fill a large budget shortfall by reducing the number of full time staff serving our park and every park. We will let you know when we have more information about how our park will be affected.

Photo: Billy Goat Hill Tree planting in January!

New Spring Programs Just Started

The new line up of Spring Programs at the Upper Noe Valley Rec Center has just begun.  The Rec center staff have worked hard to create an exciting line up of new offerings. Spaces are still available in many classes, although internet registration appears to have closed.  The SF Parks and Rec Website, says Contact the Rec Center to find out about Late Registration.

Garden at the Rec Center, April 10th at 9:00 AM

Do you have a green thumb?  Join the LadyBug Gardeners for an early morning gardening expedition around the Rec Center. In March the LadyBug Gardeners did an amazing job pulling out an entire truckload of garden debris from the Sanchez Street side of the park.  Many hands make light work -- and fun work!  Keep the park looking beautiful and stop by for an hour or more of volunteer time. Email Joanie Lionberger at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information -- or just show up!

Registration open for Art & Sport Explosion Summer Camp at the Upper Noe Rec for ages 6-9

Summer Camp is Back at Noe Valley Rec Center!  Create art through mask making, painting, paper crafts and other art forms. Learn the fundamentals of tennis, soccer, badminton, baseball and other sports. There may be additional costs daily for Muni or outings. A t-shirt is provided for each registrant for each week of camp. Each child will need to wear the shirt to camp each day. Please inform the Recreation Director of any medical issues prior to starting camp. Please bring a bag lunch and bottle of water to each day of camp. Drop off is no earlier than 10am and pick up is no later than 4pm. You must pre-register and pay for Extended Care for early drop off (8:30 AM) and late pick up (5:30 PM). See the Extended Care Activity to sign up. If you pick up any later than 4pm any day, your account will be charged for Extended Care.

Sign up for Summer Camp at the Upper Noe Rec Center.

Sign up for Extended Day as part of Summer Camp.

Successful Tree Planting on Billy Goat Hill in January

A few dozen neighbors turned out with Friends of Billy Goat Hill on January 16th for a tree planting event. (Billy Goat Hill is just up the hill from the Rec Center) With the aid of staff from the San Francisco Natural Areas Program, a division of the San Francisco Departement of Recreation and Park Department, and the Friends of the Urban Forest, the group successfully removed overgrown non-native plants and also planted a new garden at the 30th Street entrance to the park.  This issue's featured photo above shows volunteers planting one of the new oak trees in the park. The group also featured a clean up day on March 20th, check their web site for the next clean-up day.  Take a walk up the hill to see their beautiful new plantings.

How You Can Rent the Rec Center

The Friends group often frequently gets questions about how groups can rent the Upper Noe Rec Center.  Both the gymnasium and tiny tot room are available for rental.  Some groups rent the facility on a regular basis, and some groups just for one-off events.  To rent the space, the SF Park and Rec Department Permits and Reservations Office has created an Indoor Facility Request form in addition to the Outdoor Field Request form.

According to the flyer downloadable here, the cost of renting the indoor facility is as follows:

• Gymnaisum: $77/hour (if staff needed), and $50/hour (without staff)
• Auditorium (Tot Room/Stage): $72/hour (if staff needed), and $45/hour (without staff)

Spring Eggstravaganza Event in Stern Grove sponsored by SF Recreation and Park Department and San Francisco Parks Trust

Looking for Park Contact Information?

The Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center Web Site includes contact information for the Rec Center staff and also key SF Park and Rec Department numbers.

Call for Volunteers

The Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center is looking for a few volunteers to serve on our park.

• We are looking for more volunteers for the Ladybug Gardeners. The Ladybug gardeners meet on the second Saturday of each month at 9 AM.  Next event: April 10th. Joan says Email Joanie Lionberger at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information -- or just show up!
• We are looking for people to help an hour or two a month on the stewardship committe.  We need folks to help spread the word about our group, keep our web site up to date, issue this newsletter, identify purchasing needs for park, and continue our fundraising efforts. Please emai: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested in helping.

Thanks!

Thanks for your interest and support of Your Park! Please contact us with any questions or suggestions. Let us know about any community events you are planning at the park so we can promote them.  Please forward this newsletter to your friends and neighbors who use the Noe Valley Rec Center. We want this newsletter to help build the park community -- please help us connect with members of the community.

Enjoy your Park!

Molly Sterkel ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Friends of the Noe Valley Rec Center

www.NoeValleyRecCenter.com