Showing posts with label Westminster Rec Parks Dir Schroers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westminster Rec Parks Dir Schroers. Show all posts

Saturday, December 6, 2003

20031200 Westminster City Recreation Office: New Programs Since 1994



Westminster City Recreation Office: New Programs Since 1994

Photo caption: Westminster Recreation and Parks’ Ron Schroers

Westminster City Recreation

July 1994 – December 2003

Westminster City Recreation Office New Programs Since 1994


1. Westminster Family Center

2. Westminster Skate Park

3. Creation of full day Summer Camps

4. Creation of Dutterer’s Family Park

5. Upgrade 3 city parks

6. Creation of Mother Son Dances

7. Creation of Tea Parties and Fashion shows

8. Fallfest to new levels (midnight madness shopping, more money for nonprofits)

9. Flower and Jazz to new levels

10. Creation of Lock – Ins and all night parties for teens

11. Creation of Youth Leadership Carroll

12. Creation of Year Program Guide

13. Creation of Month of Sundays

14. Creation of Movie Nights

15. Summer Slam Car Show

16. 5k Walk Run

Activities office currently operates

1. Family Center

2. Skate Park

3. City Pool

4. Swim Team

5. Fallfest

6. Flower and Jazz Festival

7. Daddy Daughter Date

8. Swim Lessons

9. Music on Main Street

10. Outdoor Movie Nights

11. 3 on 3 Summer Basketball League

12. Summer Day Camp

13. Summer Tot Camp

14. Month of Sunday Concerts

15. Mother Son Dance

16. Veterans Day Service

17. Holiday Sports Camp

18. Mother Daughter Tea

19. Holiday Workshop

20. Holiday Luncheon

21. Retirement Parties

22. Annual Tree Lighting

23. Easter Egg Hunts

24. Annual Store Front Decorating (Mayors Cup)

Partnerships For Events and Activities

Human Service Programs Inc

Kiwanis Clubs of Westminster

Carroll County Recreation and Parks

Optimist Football & Cheering

Westminster Jaycees

Girls Jaycee Softball

Circle of Friends

Red Cross Blood Drives

Christian Home School Group

Konigsberg Tennis Tournament

Carroll County Tennis Association

Corbit’s Charge

Carroll County Health Department

Eric Byrd Day

Carroll County Arts Council

Carroll County Farm Museum

Heroin Action Coalition of Carroll County

Mrs. Maryland

Women’s Club of Westminster

The Arc of Carroll County

Greens Homeowners Association

Holiday House Tour

Junction Inc

Aging Grace

Cystic Fibrosis

West End Place

Four Square New Life Church

New Hope Fellowship

Core Service Agency

Westminster Speed and Sound

Mental Health Fair

Stand For Children

Carroll County Public Schools

Change Inc

St. Johns Catholic Church

Westminster Area Lacrosse

Charles Street Community

Timber Ridge Summer Playgroup

Carroll County Chamber of Commerce

Bands For Benefit

East Middle School

Carroll Hospice

Carroll County Public Library

The Rotary Club of Bonds Meadow

Downtown Promotions Committee

Carroll County Youth Service Bureau

Family and Children’s Services

Pray in the Park

Sunday in the Park

Estonian Partnership

Relay of Life

City Police Department

Recreation Office Accomplishment

Attorney Generals Award

Heath Department Award

Best Park Playground

Best Community Festival

Outstanding Recreation Professional Maryland Recreation and Parks

Silvia Canon Humanitarian Award

Creation of the first camp medical program

State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The Recreation Office Has Represented The City Of Westminster In The Following

Skate Park Development: Manchester, Hampstead, Mt. Airy, Taneytown, Sykesville, Annapolis, Dallastown, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County,

Armory Development: Caroline County and City of Frederick

Maryland Municipal League: Speaking at annual convention, Treasure (Recreation and Parks Branch)

Maryland Recreation and Parks Association: State Convention, Strategic Planning

Community College of Baltimore: Chairman, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Advisory committee, Guest Speaker

Other Related Office Duties

Supervise 22 year round staff

Supervise 34 part time summer staff

Furnish capital and operating budgets

Manage over $1,000,000,00 operating and capital budget

Supervise 10 parks

Supervise 5 tot lots

Parks Board

Support Estonian Partnership Fundraising

Hiring and firring

Supervise rentals of Community Building, parks and pavilions

Manage Web Site

Marketing of Programs and Events

Prepare daily deposits

Future Plans

Already added to dates at Martins for additional dances.

More involvement with other communities in Westminster.

Over see all activities that are happing in Westminster.

Develop additional events on Main Street and Pennsylvania Ave.

Continue involvement with existing communities because of change in board members.

Continue to develop Open Space for the growing sports programs in Westminster.

Continue to monitor the value of each program and event offered to the public.

Tuesday, April 9, 2002

20020408 “Skate parks fill the void” Boris E. Hartl, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

20020408 “Skate parks fill the void” Boris E. Hartl, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

Skate parks fill the void

By Boris E. Hartl, Times Staff Writer
April 08, 2002

Ronald J. Schroers knows the Westminster Skate Park has filled a recreational need in the city since it opened in May 1999.

The city's administrator of recreation and parks also knows, however, that operating a skate park isn't a sure moneymaker.

"I didn't build the skate park to make money," he said. "It was to provide a needed service to the kids."

That's the same attitude shared by Manchester leaders who continue to operate their skate park, but they have yet to recoup their costs.

Manchester officials said their $35,000 skate park, which opened in June 2001, will make money in the future. Finance Director Kelly Baldwin said the town has made about $2,000 from June 20 to Dec. 1. The costs have been kept to a minimum because no full-time staff members have been hired in connection with the park, Councilwoman Mary Minderlein said.

The council could decide in the future whether to hire personnel for the park, she said.

Schroers said a bulk of his operating expenses came from salaries for employees, insurance and maintenance. Last year, Westminster operated the park for $19,000 and generated $13,600.

He said the revenue figures have increased yearly, however. The city did add $19,000 worth of new equipment ranging from a street spine to a kicker ramp in 2000. "I set it up to break even to cover my expenses," Schroers said. "Right now, I'm bare-bonesing it as much as I can."

Westminster Councilman Gregory Pecoraro said the skate park is just one component of the city's recreation program, and officials realize that some programs make more money than others do.

"The point is we are doing a number of things to provide the recreational opportunities that the people of Westminster want. We are providing an opportunity for young people to use skate parks in a place that is safe."

In Mount Airy, town officials have used the revenues generated from the park to make improvements when needed.

"There's no hesitation because the park is making money," Councilman David Pyatt said.

The town used some of the $100,000 officials collected from developers and a $32,000 county award to build the park with 10 ramps and other equipment in 1999.

The town has sold 52 nonresident passes and 13 resident passes which help to contribute to a $3,680 earning so far in 2002, according to Town Hall numbers.

From July 1 to Feb. 28, the town received $19,700 in revenue compared to $6,907 in expenses, but the figure doesn't included wages for the park attendants, since the money is taken from the town's Parks and Recreation budget. In Fiscal Year 2000-2001, the town made $35,574 with $7,852 in expenses.

Councilwoman Laurie V. Hager said it was her opinion that the park is doing well financially because, in part, the town had a large base of people to draw from including those in Frederick County.

"There seems to be a lot of interest in skating and this, in of itself, is a reason for a park," she said.

Carroll County skaters could gain another skating option as Sykesville leaders are looking to build a facility soon.

Between 15 and 20 municipalities in Maryland operate skate parks, said James Peck, director of research for the Maryland Municipal League.


Reach staff writer Boris E. Hartl at 410-751-5902 or bhartl@lcniofmd.com.
©Carroll County Online 2002

Thursday, May 20, 1999

19990519 Skateboard Park by Kevin Griffis, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

19990519 Skateboard Park by Kevin Griffis, Carroll County Times Staff Writer

First published in the
Carroll County Times Wednesday, May 19, 1999

Skateboard park rolling strong

By KEVIN GRIFFIS,
Carroll County Times Staff Writer

By all accounts, Westminster's new skate park has been an overwhelming success, but city officials say they aren't surprised with the demand for the facility.

Skaters are roundly happy with the park, but many want to see its street course expanded.

``The skate park has been received extremely well; we're overly pleased,'' said Ronald J. Schroers, supervisor of Westminster's recreation office.

The park has already sold 40 season passes, good April through October, at $40 a pop and there's been no shortage of daily users who have to pay for a $5 one-day pass, Schroers said.

Westminster Mayor Kenneth A. Yowan joked that the city should franchise the parks.

``Every time I talked with a group of youngsters, whether it was a scout group, a church group or whatever, the subject of a skate park seemed to come up,'' Yowan said.

``Skateboarding is popular and it's not going away. Now youngsters have a place to go and skate without being hassled, a place where they also have to wear the proper safety attire.''

But don't expect to see the 56-year-old mayor on the halfpipe anytime soon.

``I tried it once, 10 or 20 years ago, for about five seconds, and managed somehow to get off without breaking my neck,'' Yowan joked.

Although it's only been open since Friday, some of the problems people predicted the park would have - fights and skaters using loud, abusive language - have not materialized, and Schroers said he doesn't think they will. Even though the skaters often have to wait quite a
while for their turn on the equipment, Schroers said there appears to be an understanding among the park's users.

``There's such camaraderie out there,'' he said. ``These kids have a code of ethics. Yes, they all have to wait, but they're working this thing together.''

Westminster Police Capt. Randy Barnes confirmed Schroers assessment. He said the department has been making patrol checks on the facility and no problems have been reported.

Westminster police headquarters is located less than a block away from the park, on Locust Street.

Early Tuesday afternoon there were already 10 skaters riding the park's halfpipe and small street course. The street course is made up of two mini-ramps and a short, flat obstacle skaters can jump and grind the bottom side of their boards on.

Jesse Peltzer, 17, was one of the best on the course. On one of the two small ramps, he could flip the skateboard underneath him while he turned in the air and find the board with his feet to stop the spin and ride back down the ramp in the opposite direction.

``Yeah, it's pretty rad,'' Peltzer said about the skate park.

It gets a little crowded at times with ``little kids'' just learning how to skate, Peltzer said, but on Tuesday everyone waited politely for their turn.

Michael Cassell, 15, who arrived at the park with Peltzer, said he believes one of the ideas of the people who built the park was to keep people from skating on the streets, but there really isn't enough equipment on the street course to keep everyone off the streets.

To that end, Schroers said there is room at the park to add some equipment, and the street department can make up some ``commercial grade'' obstacles, like grindrails, for the kids to use.

If the interest warrants it, the park can also expand its fenced-in borders, he said.

Yowan said that probably won't happen this year, but the city will monitor activity at the park and, as with any recreational area, decide if the facility should be expanded.

Schroers said the fees have offset the cost of keeping a monitor at the park and said he's already improved the park to keep up with requests from skaters. He added a portable toilet, and on Tuesday he said he was going to have a soda machine installed.

Schroers also issues free passes to parents when their children buy a season ticket.

``I want to keep the parents involved so they can help monitor the park,'' Schroers said.

Right now, he has staffed the skate park with a full-time attendant, but he said during the summer, the facility will be staffed part-time and the attendant will split his time between the city playground and the skate park.

There have been a few injuries, Schroers said, but nothing much different than can be found at any other city recreational facility.

The park is insured by the city's insurance company, LEGIT.


Westminster Dept Recreation and Parks, Westminster Recreation and Parks Skateboard Park, People Natl Internatl Griffis – Kevin Griffis, Media journalists Griffis – see People Natl Internatl Griffis – Kevin Griffis