Starkey shares Tallahassee Cascade Park stormwater recreation model

1:43:46I have some photos uh that are to be put up, so we'll see which one comes up first. I think it's gonna be Cascade Park.

1:43:58Hopefully the before and not the after.

1:44:03Uh

1:44:05Well,

1:44:08Okay. Is that the only one you have?

1:44:12So um if you've been to Tallahassee and you go over the bridge as you approach the um capital on Appalachi Parkway You you go over a bridge 'cause you're going over a big um stormwater system, ditch, gully, whatever, um that Uh that um actually uh got filled in. We've got a cool history. Um the other day. Uh they got filled in and they made this baseball field and

1:44:43But the county and the city had a lot of um industrial stuff there. And um they have a program called Blueprint 2000, which I learned about when I was on the Greenways and Child's Council. It's their penny for Leon County actually. And they they made a plan for trails and parks and that's what they spend theirs on. Um I'm not sure if that's all they spend it on, but They spend a a lot of it on there and they They started working on this project called Cascade Park. And bec and it's

1:45:13Cascade Park because there was a cascade actually a waterfalls going through um this this uh water body back in the day before they took it out. Um but the stormwater And parks Um I mean utilities and parks and others came together And worked together. pooling their resources to build this amazing park that I I think you guys have seen called Cascades Park now in Tallahassee. So

1:45:44um the he was this uh gentleman um was gonna come down and present to the board Um because I saw this at at your uh Something um Regional Planning Council and I knew I wanted this presentation for us, but we it just didn't work with all the COVID. So we we got together with Mike Karbala. Um Keith Wiley. And uh Brantford, um, there were others others on there and had a great almost

1:46:14three hours discussion the other day, last week. about how you can bring stormw take stormwater projects and turn them into really amazing projects for the community. Utili if everyone pools their resources together. And uh they showed us projects. The engineering firm was Genesis. They said they worked with you in Texas, by the way, in El Paso. Uh ha half. This uh this engineering firm called H

1:46:44A L F F Engineering purchased Genesis. If you guys remember Genesis, they've been around here for a long time. They were in Tampa. Um They've done these kind of projects all around the country and they showed us one in in Houston where they took a stormwater project and turned it into ball fields and

1:47:03improve the flooding, okay. Um and the area still floods. They've got a skateboard park because it's all concrete, right? Concrete can go underwater and not get wrecked up. Um so when when that river or tributary, whatever it was, floods The fields go under the Benches go under, the skate park goes under. But When the flooding's gone they clean it up and there's their park again. So they they've stopped the the flooding from going out into the streets. Is that the Houston

1:47:33one? That's Capital Cascade. So they also stopped flooding here. The the the roads used to go underwater. Um I don't remember the name of that road that was. Yeah, yeah. With

1:47:43with Baker.

1:47:44I'm just so amazed at at at what they took uh as an eyesore. And the property values are through the roof around here and that that property where you see all the green trees Um, they've got a private developer coming in with shops and condos and lofts and all kinds of stuff that that faces onto the park. So Uh you know, you've heard me say it, um I I think every time we look at a stormwater pond and we're and

1:48:14our utilities department is gonna be spending some money Let's take a lemon and turn it into lemonade and find a way that our residents can can have recreation, even if it's just a simple tree lined trail with With benches and a a little Shaded structure um to something like that. I mean, that was amazing. So um I hope I I know Keith and Mike are are gonna get together and Do do a

1:48:44little more planning. It takes it takes plant you've got to plan it long term. I mean you You it's not something you can do tomorrow. Keith doesn't have a whole lot of cash, but if if when they go to design their project and I'm thinking specifically Maggie Valley right now. if if the parks is allowed to have input into the planning of it Even if we can't build it now, when we have the money We can build something there. So I just really want to have this mindset and how great would that be for that community. So so