Miscellaneous
In this episode, Zach and Jenna explore the link between expanding parks and recreation opportunities and economic development, with a focus on all the parks and recreation developments Whitehall has seen in the last decade. In fact, since 2017, the City of Whitehall has... Seen a 230% spike in program participants Received Nine Ohio Parks & Recreation Association (OPRA) Awards Attracted 25k attendees to the Whitehall Food Truck and Fun Festival Reinvested $9.3 million into the City's five parks and parks facilities, including the Whitehall YMCA Branch, the new Splash Pad at John Bishop Park and new playground equipment Also in 2021, the City is excited to see our first new park open since the 1970s, located inside the new Norton Crossing development at the corner of East Broad Street and Hamilton Road Coming soon, the City is also looking forward to the redevelopment of the Woodcliff Condominiums and golf dome site at the northeast intersection of East Broad Street and Hamilton Road, and its ties into the 80-acre Whitehall Community Park. To learn more, Zach and Jenna welcome Shannon Sorrell, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Whitehall. https://opraonline.org/2021/04/28/whitehall-community-park-ymca-wins-2020-opra-governors-award/?mc_cid=8181c1f262&mc_eid=748ebff6a4 (Congratulations go out to her and her team for winning the 11th Annual Governor’s Award for Parks and Recreation presented by Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.) In order to truly serve the community, the Whitehall YMCA needed to emphasize programs like ESL classes, job readiness, and programming for Middle and early High School students in addition to fitness and wellness. On November 22, 2019 the new, 25,600 square foot Whitehall Community Park YMCA opened its doors. Features include: Teen Hub: Outfitted with study spaces, musical instruments, podcast studio, robotics lab, and gaming computers. 4,000 square foot indoor artificial-turf field Teaching kitchen Community Hub: Combines adult-centric furnishings adjacent to kids’ activities. Plus, https://www.morpc.org/ (More With MORPC) and https://www.morpc.org/about-morpc/leadership/ (Niel Jurist). Neil goes into more detail about what MORPC is doing to encourage green space and parks in the Central Ohio region. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region. That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com