ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090095
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALESSANDRA SOLER STAFF WRITER
Although kids might not recognize Lynn Vernon if they saw him at a playground, they'd certainly notice if he wasn't around doing his job.
Vernon has been the City of Roanoke's only park planner for the past seven years. He works out of the Parks and Recreation Department on 210 Reserve Ave., drafting proposals to renovate Roanoke's 68 parks, plazas and "recreational sites," 39 of which are playgrounds.
Generally, he oversees maintenance, determines what needs to be improved, and decides how much and where money is going to be spent.
"I don't lead a very exciting life, but I do enjoy being behind the scenes," said 44-year-old Vernon, who has been working for the city for almost 20 years. "I get a great deal of satisfaction when I pass by and see a busload of kids playing at a park that I was involved in improving, and I'm very fortunate to be able to make that possible."
While Vernon, who graduated with an architectural technology degree from Virginia Western Community College, spends most of his time working out of his office, he often visits parks and attends neighborhood meetings to hear from kids and their parents about what they think needs to be changed.
"There's no way I can find out what the citizens and visitors of Roanoke are looking for without going out and talking to them about it," said Vernon, who was born and grew up in Roanoke.
These days, Vernon is working with the building maintenance and engineering departments to build a $35,000 playground at Eureka Park, 1529 Carroll Ave., N.W. Construction, which will begin in September, should be completed by January 1997.
Eureka is one of several parks scheduled for improvements. Back-stop and ball-field fencing at Thrasher, Garden City and Fallon parks also will be replaced. Vernon said one of his goals is to continue to renovate at least one or two city parks a year on a rotation basis, restoring the oldest and most needy facilities first.
Victory Stadium, the 53-year-old site on Reserve Avenue, also is in need of a $12 million make-over, he said. This month, Vernon is scheduled to present City Council with information in hopes of receiving funding for the project.
On-going plans to landscape the Mill Mountain area are under way, too. The Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association raised money to add benches and plant dogwood trees along the walkway from the zoo to the visitor's center. Vernon and the city's other departments will help oversee landscaping and construction for that project. Also, the city is working with the Women's Club of Roanoke to landscape the area underneath the star.
Aside from keeping up area parks, Vernon said he is trying to completely modernize existing facilities. He's working on making Eureka Park more handicapped-accessible and comparative to the surrounding architecture.
"A lot of these facilities were built in the 1950s and '60s, and we want to make them more contemporary so that the entire structure of the building blends with the neighborhood its in," he said.
CINDY PINKSTON Staff
Lynn Vervon, planner for the Roanoke Department of Parks and Recreation, drafts proposals to renovate parks, plazas and "recreational sites," and oversees the budget, maintenance and improvements.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Lynn Vernon, planner for the Roanoke Department of Parksby CNBand Recreation, drafts proposals to renovate parks, plazas and
"recreational sites," and oversees the budget, maintenance and
improvements. CINDY PINKSTON STAFF