[0:28] My name is Danielle Polverari and I have
the pleasure of working for the Phoenix
[0:32] Parks and Recreation Department as the
Deputy Director for the Northeast
[0:35] Division. I love my job. I love parks.
It brings me joy to see all of you here
[0:42] today because it has such meaning about
what it means to be engaged with our
[0:48] communities and that it's not one small
thing, it's not one person, it's all of
[0:52] us together collaborating, partnering,
keeping eyes on the parks, telling us
[0:57] what's going on, where we're missing
something, and where we need something.
[1:01] And that is how we ended up here today
with these amazing sports court
[1:06] additions, improvements to Pierce Park.
So, it's a wonderful day to be here.
[1:12] Um, you know, coming together today has
been a long road from doing community
[1:19] engagement surveys, engaging with
Griffith Elementary, the 44th Alliance.
[1:25] Yes, I know you promoted the survey.
Thank you.
[1:29] Thank you. For those of you who took the
survey, we had over 700 responses just
[1:34] directly that are in the Pierce Park zip
code and that's meaningful to us because
[1:38] we want to make sure that the
improvements that happen in our parks
[1:41] represent our local community.
Today we have six pickleball courts, two
[1:46] new tennis courts, a resurfaced
basketball,
[1:50] and volleyball, but the most important
thing that I know was really critical
[1:53] for the community was the newly paved
parking lot. So,
[1:57] the big reds are gone.
So, thank you for your support. Um today
[2:03] we have uh with us our esteemed Mayor
Kate Gallego, and I'd like to welcome
[2:09] her. Please give her a warm round of
applause.
[2:17] » Thank you so much, Danielle, and to the
entire Parks team. Working with the
[2:21] community, we have delivered some
incredible upgrades for Pierce Park.
[2:27] I want to see who's louder, the tennis
folks or the pickleball folks.
[2:32] All right, WHO'S EXCITED ABOUT
PICKLEBALL?
[2:37] WHO'S EXCITED ABOUT TENNIS?
[2:41] ALL RIGHT, so in Phoenix we love both,
and across the country there there's a
[2:45] real debate, but we are investing in
both park uh both uh pickleball and
[2:50] tennis here cuz we just want people
outside enjoying our wonderful parks.
[2:56] Uh I send greetings from our Vice Mayor
of the City of Phoenix, Kate Gallego
[2:59] Washington, who worked so hard on these
upgrades and so wanted to be here, but
[3:04] unfortunately has a family medical
emergency. So, those of you who know her
[3:09] well, if if you could send her some
love, but we
[3:12] uh are well represented on the City
Council and have Councilman Kevin
[3:16] Robinson, who is here.
[3:21] And and and it's not just the city, this
is multiple branches of government. So,
[3:25] we have our state representative
Jennifer Connolly is here
[3:30] with the great hat. She wins
the elected official hat game. And then
[3:34] we have uh Superintendent Barnes from
the Balsu School District, Jacob George,
[3:38] Gail Knight, so many of our great
partners, the school district. We work
[3:43] so well between the city parks and
making sure that we have safe places for
[3:47] our kids at
every hour of the day. We're also joined
[3:52] by uh the leaders of our Parks and
Recreation Department and
[3:57] so many leaders from neighborhood
organizations including the
[4:01] 44th Street Community Alliance. So,
the great folks in green and white. We
[4:07] were here together for a gain event last
November and talking about today. So,
[4:12] it's exciting that it is finally come
with so many new amenities, six new
[4:18] pickleball courts with lighting, two new
tennis courts, basketball court
[4:22] resurfacing, new drinking fountains, new
benches, new picnic tables, and then the
[4:26] beloved parking lot
upgrades that
[4:31] we heard a lot about. And and this is
possible because of all of you.
[4:35] Those Those at the bottom of the ballot,
there's often city funding items and a
[4:39] really important one is the Parks and
Preserve Initiative. Our residents in
[4:43] Phoenix overwhelmingly voted to support
our park system and because of that
[4:48] Parks and Preserve Initiative, we're
able to fund really important upgrades
[4:52] like the one you see here today. So,
thank you to those of you who make it to
[4:55] the bottom of the ballot and help us
fund these great investments. I've often
[5:00] said that parks are one of the clearest
reflections of a city's values. When we
[5:05] invest in parks, we invest in people and
we in the city of Phoenix have made
[5:09] parks a priority. We have one of the
largest park systems anywhere in the
[5:13] country and and one of those
one of the most successful. And now I
[5:17] get to introduce the the man who's
leading that
[5:21] department, uh Parks and Recreation
Director Marty Whitfield to the podium.
[5:32] » Thank you, Mayor Gallego, and good
morning to everyone. Um I know it's
[5:36] going to be a scorching day today, but
it's not bad so far, right? So,
[5:41] uh today marks a wonderful milestone for
this community and and Pierce Park. Uh
[5:46] like the mayor and Danielle mentioned, a
lot of new amenities here.
[5:49] This cannot happen without our community
partners and residents that work
[5:53] hand-in-hand.
I would like to thank Chase Builders.
[5:57] They do a lot of great work for the
Parks Department across our system and
[6:03] you will see the great amenities that
they did today. The design firm of
[6:06] Hewitt and Zollars also participated in
this wonderful project and then my team
[6:13] Danielle who's the deputy director over
the Northeast division. Jake Johnson
[6:17] who's our park supervisor. He's there in
the back hiding. But this this cannot be
[6:22] done without them. Our Parks Development
team Lance Gray. I know he is here
[6:26] somewhere. There he is right in front of
me. He leads our capital improvement
[6:30] program.
So I just want to thank them and then of
[6:33] course our city engineer staff.
I would also like to recognize Jenny Ann
[6:38] Summers. She's right in front of me. She
doesn't
[6:42] Yes, please give her a round of
applause. So so when I started in the
[6:45] Parks Department in November of 2021, I
kept hearing this name Jenny Ann
[6:49] Summers. Jenny Ann Summers. I was like
who is this Jenny Ann Summers? I finally
[6:53] got a chance to meet her. She's very
engaged in what goes on in her
[6:58] community. Not only this park but old
cross
[7:01] country canal.
So I just want to thank you for your
[7:04] partnership and just give me a call
whenever you want to, right? Okay, thank
[7:09] you.
I know she will, right?
[7:12] I earlier I met uh Dr. George Barnes
from the Balls Elementary School
[7:17] District. So I like to thank him. And
then the mayor did mention
[7:22] Gail Knight. She's over there right to
the left there. Thank you for for your
[7:26] partnership and
Gail and I go way back. She's like a
[7:30] mentor to me and it's always great to to
see you. So thank you.
[7:34] Um
I'd also like to highlight the efforts
[7:37] and leadership of Mayor Gallego. I know
Vice Mayor Keisha Hodge Washington
[7:42] cannot be here today, but without them
and of course Councilman Robinson, their
[7:46] support for the Parks Department, none
of this would be possible. Um
[7:51] I also do want to mention, I do not see
her, but my former boss and assistant
[7:56] city manager, oh there she is right
there,
[7:59] uh Inger Erickson, and I'm sure she'll
be ripping up the pickleball courts here
[8:02] in a minute.
My my current boss is right next to her,
[8:07] Deputy City Manager Dave Matthews, so
thanks for to your support.
[8:12] One of my assistant directors is over
there standing next to my wife, Brandy
[8:17] Barrett. I cannot do this without her.
We laugh on a daily basis, we also cry
[8:22] on a daily basis running this running
this department, but without you I
[8:25] cannot do that.
Um and then finally, she might get me
[8:29] for this, but I'd like to thank my wife
who joined me today, my wife Julie
[8:33] Wickfield of over 30 years. This morning
she said, "Honey, I'll go with you if
[8:37] you go to the grocery store with me
after." So, I I've been falling for this
[8:41] trick for over 30 years. She said, "We
won't even get a cart." I said, "Yeah,
[8:44] right." So, thank you for that.
The refreshed amenities you will see
[8:48] today build on the legacy of this park
and as a welcoming destination where
[8:52] families can relax, connect, and enjoy
time. So, thank you again for all being
[8:57] here part of this celebration and
without further ado, let's cut the
[9:00] ribbon and officially open the new
sports courts. Thank you.
[9:06] » Five.
>> Four.
[9:08] Three.
Two.
[9:10] One.
Yay!