Mayor Jackie Holcombe: For Parks and Greenways, It's Good to be Morrisville
One of Morrisville's greatest advocates for parks and greenways can be found in the Mayor's office. Jackie Holcombe is a proud supporter of the 2012 parks and recreational bonds, which were approved by an overwhelming 74% of voters.
"I strongly support our parks and greenways system, including our great community centers," Jackie stated. "The recreation and fitness opportunities, open space preservation, events and activities all contribute to our high quality of life. Parks and greenways are one of the big reasons that it's good to be Morrisville".
The town can count several
accomplishmentsattributable to Mayor Holcombe's collaborative leadership. Among these are:
- $5.7 million investment from the 2012 bonds (approved by an overwhelming 74% of voters) will fund Phase 3 of the Morrisville Aquatic & Fitness Center (MAFC) and Morrisville Community Park and enable the potential moving of MAFC to the Town Center (discussions about this possibility, including much public input, will begin soon)
- Morrisville's comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan was unanimously adopted in July 2011 and provides guidance for a vibrant parks and greenways system now and in the future.
- Morrisville currently enjoys six developed parks:Morrisville Community Park, Shiloh Community Park, Cedar Fork District Park (in partnership with Wake County), Indian Creek Trailhead Park, Ruritan Park and Sarah Woody Jenkins Park.
- The Town is well situated for the future with four undeveloped parks that will take shape over time: the as yet unnamed RTP Park that could honor Morrisville's founders (bonds sold in July of this year, construction bid recently awarded, groundbreaking very soon), the Northwest Park at Breckenridge (design approved in July),Cedar Fork Elementary School Baseball Fields (future plan discussion) and Crabtree Creek Nature Park, occupying 37 acres dedicated to the Town by Preston Development.
- Three community & recreation centers serve Morrisville citizens:Cedar Fork Community Center (in partnership with Wake County Schools), Morrisville Aquatic & Fitness Centerand Luther Green Center (in partnership with Shiloh Baptist Church).
- Our expanding greenway system includes 8 miles of completed greenways and multi-use paths; the Shiloh Greenway North (under construction now, partially funded with a federal grant); andShiloh Greenway South (also partially federally funded, currently in design)
- Morrisville’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee is one of our town's most active volunteer groups, providing volunteer staffing for community events and organizing work days for parks and greenways cleanup and maintenance
As illustrated in the brief video,
Good to be Morrisville – Parks & Greenways, our town offers a wide variety of facilities and activities to our citizens.
Jackie observes that "It's no accident that Morrisville has good parks, greenways and community centers and that we've worked hard in the past few years to make them even better -- because our citizens told us they value our parks and greenways. It takes careful planning, community investment and collaborative leadership to build our future, and I'm proud of our progress in this area".
As the town's
Parks and Recreation Master Plan says:
The availability of parks and recreational opportunities is one benchmark for high quality of life. This Region has been successfully providing many recreational opportunities for its residents for many years. The continued growth of the Region is testament to the success of creative and visionary leaders.
Want to learn more? Check out
Morrisville's Parks and Recreation Master Plan; the
Good to be Morrisville – Parks & Greenways video, and the
Parks, Recreation and Cultural.Advisory Committee. Or contact Jackie using one of the buttons at the top of this email.
