Grape Day Park: Press Release

Press Release

Community Involvement:

The planning process to re-vitalize Grape Day Park is underway! Several community meetings have already been held to get input from the nearby neighborhoods. The planning group feels the key to a successful plan is input from the community and organizations throughout Escondido. Community residents have been completing surveys to have their opinions, ideas and thoughts about the park recorded. These surveys are available to any residents upon request and also may be downloaded on the Grape Day Park website. www.grapedaypark.org If your group would like to learn more, contact the GDP administrative assistant to schedule a group meeting. A representative will present the park plan, provide park surveys, answer questions and have an open forum discussion to hear your group’s vision for the park.

A public community meeting is scheduled for December 9th at 7pm in the Mitchell Room at City Hall. This meeting is open to all to take part in and share the vision for the park future. The focus of the meeting will be to provide information about the planning process, listen to comments/ideas from the attendees, have a question & answer session and present data gathered so far.

A much needed website has been developed to for Grape Day Park for community residents to have access to the planning survey, park information, photos, events, park history, and more. In addition to the website a kiosk is planned to be built in the park to provide on the spot information about the park and events.

The park planning group has been discussing park issues with an advisory group consisting of Park & Recreation Department, Park Rangers, Police Department, homeless agencies, and more to ensure a well rounded and practical approach to the new plans. We have some park challenges that require a fresh approach while working within the guidelines of policies and guidelines.

About the Grant:

Funding for the new plans is made possible through a grant from the San Diego Foundation with an emphasis on arts & culture. This is a one year grant with the end result in June 2009 consisting of a new park plan to re-vitalize the park, a comprehensive park website and a new park kiosk. The goal is to bring Escondido’s oldest park back to the community hub it once was. The park is located in downtown Escondido and should be the heart of the city where the community gathers.

Please see enclosed packet materials for more information. We welcome reporters to contact us to schedule interviews, etc. for articles regarding Grape Day Park.