THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Teenagers were well-represented at a meeting on the future of city parks and recreation this week, though most of the participants were over 50.
About 20 people turned out for the second of two public-input sessions for a Parks and Recreation master plan Tuesday night,
Many echoed concerns that 30 others had vented Monday.
But the hope that new recreational programs would coax youths off the streets in the central city was especially clear in the Tuesday forum at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church.
The church is in the heart of a neighborhood where idle teens roam after dark.
Meeting participants encouraged Wilmington master-plan consultant Howard Capps and Parks and Recreation Director Jim Overman to make sure adolescents who did not attend the meetings had a voice in the plan.
``To get their feedback would be good information for you,'' said H.W. Cooper, a substitute teacher in Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools, who says children have told him they have nothing to do.
``If we're going to meet the needs of the teenagers we're talking about, then we definitely need their input.''
``The basic thing that I'm interested in is establishing something for this teenager,'' Cooper said. ``This is where we need to put some emphasis.''
The Elizabeth City Council approved the master plan concept this spring after rejecting a $350,000 addition to the Knobbs Creek Recreation Center. Council members decided they needed more direction before making such an investment, Councilman Lloyd Griffin said.
This week's meetings are part of an effort to make sure residents' views are included in the master plan. The city also is distributing about 13,000 questionnaires through Elizabeth City and Pasquotank and Camden counties. Organizers will work on getting some of those forms into the schools, Capps said Tuesday.
Meeting participants on both nights chimed in overwhelmingly for a new facility somewhere in town that would include swimming and fitness equipment. Councilwoman Myrtle Rivers proposed a ``multi-purpose center'' that would have something for everyone.
Most of those at the meetings also indicated they would be willing to pay for a new center, through user fees and higher taxes if necessary.
Other ideas mentioned in the meetings included developing a greenway system of trails around the city, fixing up existing parks, building a skating rink and using school facilities for recreation activities.
Overman said the meetings had served their purpose.
``I was disappointed in the numbers, but I was pleased with the comments,'' he said. ``I think we had some real positive comments.'' by CNB