The Briarwood Park Forest Patio Project is nearing Phase I completion. At the end of this week the landscape beds completion is on schedule. The picnic table concrete area and river bridge will be pressure washed and cleaned. More landscape timbers for creating stairs in the Park Trail are on schedule for Saturday.

Phase II will begin once the Office of Watershed Management delivers and installs the water meter. The old playground has been removed and the meter fee has been paid. It was expensive and our account has a negative balance.

Phase II will include placing landscape timbers and river rock for the trail walkway between the beds and installing the irrigation system. A new roof is going on the picnic tables. The community garden design includes decorative fencing around the perimeter. The Park Trail is a project by itself but it is on track to encircle the whole park.

Haven Construction, http://www.havenrei.com is preparing a proposal for a bathroom on the new playground. DeKalb County will review their proposal and coordinate the installation. Haven Construction has full artistic license to create whatever they like on the bathroom. The Friends of Briarwood Park’s only request was a time lock to close after sunset or thereabouts. Beggars can’t be choosers and Haven Construction’s name is on it. THANK YOU Haven Construction. DeKalb County continues construction of the pavilion, safety fencing and landscape of the new playground this week under the supervision of Revonda Moody, DeKalb Co. Parks and Rec.

We’d like to thank Ferguson Enterprises for the irrigation supplies and Revonda Moody from Dekalb County Parks and Rec who has been delightful. Additionally, Lowes, Buckhaven Construction, Casey Tree Experts and K&H Homes have been invaluable partners on this extremely tight time schedule. Please utilize all of our corporate sponsors any chance you get. In addition to supplying the needs of Briarwood Park, they are our neighbors. Thank you.

We work Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Saturday starting at 9 am. Come by and help or just to say hello. We value your input.

Chad Boles, CFP®

President

Friends of Briarwood Park

www.briarwoodparkGA.org

http://www.facebook.com/BriarwoodParkRevitalizationProject

Visit our Donations page or click the link: http://bit.ly/100atI3 to make a donation to help continue our revitalization efforts.

THANK YOU FOR DONATING TO THE FRIENDS OF BRIARWOOD PARK

Briarwood Park Forest Patio Project

Chad Boles and all the dedicated volunteers of the Friends of Briarwood Park announce the beginning of a beautification project to renovate the old playground area of Briarwood Park. The new playground area has been relocated to the upper portion of Briarwood Park next to Briarwood Road. The space resulting from the old playground removal allows for a landscaping project. The area will hence more be called the Forest Patio.

The project includes a walkway down to the river bridge bordered by landscape, repainting and re-roofing the picnic area and staining the river bridge. The mission of the project is to utilize landscape plants from razed home renovations or new construction. An irrigation system will follow the water meter installation by Dekalb County. All donated landscape plants will remain temporarily in the nursery area while plans are made for their placement around the park. The project starts tomorrow afternoon, 4/15/013, around 4 pm. We’ll work on the project almost every day and Saturdays for the next 2 weeks from 4 pm til’ dark. Project work progresses every day the Briarwood Park Work Day sign is on the fence.

Construction services and landscape plants are donated by K&H Homes, Greenpoint Contracting, Wood Partners Alta Apartments and Buckhaven Construction. Brookhaven United Methodist Church is also involved in an ancillary project taking place at the same time. Their focus is the family sidewalk along Briarwood Way as part of their Bless Brookhaven Initiative.

The remaining list of materials needed includes:

• 15 gallons of Olympic Deck Wash
• Hand held sprayer
• 20 gallons of Cabot Australian Oil (Cedar Color)
• 30 –  8’X6”X6” landscape timbers
• Truckload of river rock
• Irrigation System
• Bobcat and Loader equipment
• Large project mulch tiller
• New roof for picnic area
• Donor homes providing landscape plants
• Labor, labor, labor

The project is designed, supervised and funded by the Friends of Briarwood Park. Please contact Chad Boles with services, materials or monetary donation proposals (contact information below). Total project cost from donations and proceeds should ranged between $15-20,000 which includes the water meter cost required by Dekalb County. Park Pride is our pass through hosting organization for all tax exempt monetary donations.

For more information about our benefactors please contact them directly:

www.briarwoodparkGA.org

Green Point Contracting – Rory O’Halloran – Arborist and Tree Services -  404-783-0960

K&H Homes, Inc. – Houston Feaster – 770-318-8879

Wood Brothers Alta Apartments – Bennett Sands – www.woodpartners.com

Buckhaven – Jared Levitt – www.buckhaven.com

Brookhaven United Methodist Church – Pastor Sara Webb Phillips – www.brookhavenumc.org

Chad Boles, CFP®

President

Friends of Briarwood Park

www.briarwoodparkGA.org

http://www.facebook.com/BriarwoodParkRevitalizationProject

Contact Evelyn Ellington at Briarwood Park

404-679-5911

Park Open: Mon-Fri 11-6, Sat 10-2

Bring your toddler playgroups – basketball, volleyball, tennis and swim teams – Domino and Bridge Tournaments – neighborhood assocation meetings

Go Briarwood Bulldogs!

REMINDER !! Briarwood Park clean-up day tomorrow morning (Saturday) beginning at 9:00 AM . We have Dekalb County joining in to provide equipment and personnel. It’s going to be a beautiful day so come on out and join the fun and get a first hand look at the new playground areas. See you there !!

The Friends of Briarwood Park is holding its monthly meeting Tuesday night, April 2^nd at the Rec Center from 6:30-7:30. We meet the first Tuesday of every month.

Saturday we are holding our biggest work day ever.  Flyers are posted all over Brookhaven. Please bring loppers, leaf bags, blowers, snippers, wheel barrows, weed eaters, rakes, etc. Dress comfortably to battle ivy, privet and vines. Gloves and long pants a must. We’ll meet at the Rec Center at 9 am to sign release waivers and review work opportunities. Dekalb County has mentioned a Bobcat and personnel for the day.

The focus of Saturday is creating a walking trail along Briarwood Way up to the new playground and revitalizing the old growth forest. Thanks to all involved to date. Briarwood Park looks better and better every time we work. There should be some city as well as county representatives available if you have questions about Briarwood Park going forward, Summer pool opening and Rec Center hours. Some maintenance work has begun on the Pool area. The chairs and tables with umbrellas have returned and some pressure washing of the deck surrounding the pool has taken place.

Come to work, say hello or just hang out and enjoy Briarwood Park and Rec Center. Please forward this to your neighborhood groups for their involvement.             (click the photos to view full size)                                  

B-Park Flier    (Click Link to view flier in English)                                                                        Flyer – Spanish – Rev-1  (Click Link to view flier in Spanish)

Friends of Briarwood Park President, Chad Boles has created fliers for our next clean-up days at Briarwood Park. They are being distributed around the Community in both English and Spanish versions and have been placed at locations such as Brito,  El Progresso, Pueblo Mercado, El Potro, and United Auto Sales. They are to also be handed out at McDonald’s Saturday morning and  door to door throughout the Community.

Dekalb County is  joining in on the April 6th clean-up day providing equipment and workers to help with cleaning up and creating new hiking trails throughout the Park.

As the play ground installation nears completion, we invite everyone to come out and join us April 6th from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM  for our clean-up day and get a first hand look at the new Play Ground areas.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/new-hire-draws-ire-in-dekalb/nWtXM/

Chad Boles, President of the Friends of Briarwood Park  comments in this AJC article about Dekalb County funding a brand new position for Public Affairs at a six figure salary with money from the Parks Dept.  The City of Brookhaven  is close to an agreement on an IGA for Dekalb County to continue to run City Parks for 11 months for $400,000.00.

From the Brookhaven Reporter………………By Melissa Weinman

“Brookhaven is close to inking agreements with DeKalb County for temporary police and parks services.

At a Brookhaven City Council work session March 12, City Manager Marie Garrett told council members that DeKalb County has agreed to continue parks and recreation services for the city over a period of 11 months at a cost of $400,000.

Interim City Attorney Bill Riley said he negotiated with the county to provide police services for $525,000 per month.

Riley said the intergovernmental agreement calls for the county’s police coverage to end June 30. Afterward, Brookhaven’s own police department will take over jurisdiction.”

http://brookhaven.patch.com/events/briarwood-park-revitalization-day#comments

Article in the Brookhaven Patch on our upcoming April 6th clean-up day at Briarwood Park.

Briarwood Park Revitalization Day

Saturday, April 6, 2013, 9:00 am

Briarwood Recreation Center and Park, 2235 Briarwood Way NE, Atlanta, GA | Get Directions »
FREE

Dekalb County will provide equipment and personnel to aid The Friends of Briarwood Park. We will build out the perimeter trail, continue the beautification of the old growth forest and create natural entry ways to the new playground.

Come join us in revitalizing Brookhaven’s most improved park.

Event Details

Posted by: Briarwood Bulldogs

Where	Briarwood Recreation Center and Park 2235 Briarwood Way NE, Atlanta, GA 30319
Next on	April 6, 2013
Time	9:00 am–3:00 pm
Website	http://­briarwoo­dparkga.­org/­
Email	chad.­boles@­comcast.­net

Briarwood Recreation Center and Park

2235 Briarwood Way NE, Atlanta, GA

404-679-5911

Briarwood Recreation Center offers a variety of enrichment and community programs for adults and children. Enveloped by a wooded setting, the center is equipped with a pool and park and picnic area that the entire family can enjoy

While out on errands today, we looped through Briarwood Park and found the woods on fire down in the gully between Briarwood Way and the Rec. center. A Postal worker was in the parking lot taking a break and saw teenage kids down in the woods. He said they disappeared and several minutes later the fire and smoke started billowing. The Fire Dept. was called and they were able to knock down the flames in short order. As most of you are aware by now, the Friends of Briarwood Park sponsor periodic clean up days at the Park where we are concentrating on the removal of underbrush in the wooded areas that provide cover for vandals. Our next clean up day is April 6th, so we invite everyone to come out and help with clean-up efforts at the Park to discourage future acts of vandalism at our Park. If not for the alertness of the Postal worker and one of the Park attendants this could have turned into a real disaster……………