August 22, 2008

D8CRT August 12 meeting: Mike Keirstead - District 8 Volunteer of the Quarter and update on District 8 Parks

By Larry Cargnoni
Special to the Times

District 8 Community Round Table recognized Mike Keirstead as its Volunteer of the Quarter at its monthly meeting on Aug. 12. Mike was recognized for his tireless effort to keep Evergreen free of graffiti. Mike started out 16 years ago, purchasing his own supplies and started cleaning up and painting over unsightly tags left by gang members and other “organized” taggers. Over the years, Mike has established a positive working relationship with the San Jose Police department, providing pictures and other evidence of the tags before cleaning them up. Mike finds and cleans up graffiti daily before work and generally seven days a week. Mike was recognized for his initiative and his unselfish giving of his time. Mike exemplifies what it means to be a community volunteer.

District 8 Community Round Table recently recognized Mike Keirstead as its Volunteer of the Quarter.

Mike received a $150.00 gift certificate courtesy of MHD Home Furniture and Décor, Inc. at 565 E. Brokaw Road in San Jose and a certificate of recognition from the D8CRT

The D8CRT recognizes those volunteers in our community that improve the quality of life in District 8 through their personal dedication and initiative. If you want to nominate a “star” volunteer in our community, please visit http://www.d8crt.org and click on the Volunteer of the Quarter line for the nomination form.

Brian Hartsell, Parks Manager for the City of San Jose, also gave District 8 residents an update on three popular parks in the District: Aborn Park, Falls Creek Park, and Fowler Park.

The design for the new play area for Aborn Park is targeted in the March 2009 time-frame with final completion scheduled for spring 2010. “The new play area is funded,” says Hartsell. The Parks department is currently evaluating whether swings can be added to the play area while keeping the project in budget.

Falls Creek Park, one of the newest parks in District 8, was vandalized almost immediately after its opening this spring. The Parks department worked with the community and installed boulders, which match the park’s look and feel, around parts of its perimeter to discourage people from driving on the park’s grass.

“Fowler Creek Park is one of the most active facilities in the District,” said Hartsell. “The Friends of Fowler Creek Park is a very dynamic group of volunteers.” Park staff met with the community on March 12 and discussed park closure and “jump house” violations, tennis court operating hours and lighting, and pedestrian safety issues. Hartsell communicated that improved signage is helping with the park closure issues and that the City has funded a part-time staff member to spot check city parks looking for jump house violators. He also told residents that the timer for the tennis courts has been fixed. The City analyzed the parking and cross-walk situation in the area: validated that parking on Altia is adequate, added red curbs at fire hydrant and park driveways, and will conduct an “uncontrolled cross-walk warrant study” on Cortona in the fall.

Hartsell reminded the residents to report all violations to the San Jose Police Department (311 for non-emergency situations) to Park Concerns (408) 793-5510, and/or the Graffiti Hotline at (408) 277-2758.

Hartsell encouraged residents to “Adopt a Park”. “One of the major ways for the community to help is through the Adopt a Park program,” communicated Hartsell. A volunteer program can be customized based on the number of people, their time commitment, and their interest. The program is very flexible. Volunteers make an immediate impact by picking up litter and cleaning up graffiti. Community groups and residents can get more information at www.sjadoptapark.gov.

The next District 8 Community Round Table meeting will be held on Sept. 9 at the Evergreen Branch Library from 7-9 p.m. For more details on the D8CRT, visit www.d8crt.org. Larry Cargnoni is an officer of the D8CRT.