Please consider the attached urgent letter from OLNC Chair, John Sistarenik:
May 13, 2004
Dear Rhonda,
I am writing this letter to make a very important and urgent request for a donation from the West St. Catherine Association on behalf of Friends of Central Park.
The Old Louisville Information Center Board recently created a committee called Friends of Central Park to raise funds for the restoration and improvement of Central Park. Modeled after the Central Park Conservancy in New York, Friends solicits tax-deductible donations tc meet matching fund requirements from the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy; Friends and the Conservancy then supplement the limited funds of Metro Parks Department to do the things that need to be done in Central Park.
The needs of Central Park, both horticultural and structural, are many; Herb Fink would be happy to elaborate in depth on this at some future meeting of your organization.
These needs must first be identified, priced, and placed in priority by updating the Central Park Master Plan. This prescribed process is coordinated by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Metro Parks. It involves hiring consultants in landscape architecture, historical park planning, and structural architecture to create a blueprint for future park restoration. The estimated cost for the master plan is between $20,000 and $30,000.
The Olmsted Parks Conservancy is offering $15,000 for the plan if we can match it. At the first meeting of the Friends of Central Park Advisory Board, the Honorary Co-Chairs, Carla Sue Broecker, columnist for the St Matthews Voice-Tribune and fundraiser for the Louisville Deaf Oral School, and Bill Samuels, h, owner of Maker's Mark Distillery, each pledged $2,500 toward our goal. Councilman Unseld donated $2,500. Gayle and Herb Warren have pledged $500.
In other words, $23,000 has already been raised to finance the Central Park Master Plan. That leaves $7,000 for the neighborhood to raise.
Bill Samuels, also a member of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, stresses that this neighborhood commitment is vital and must be secured by Monday, May 24, 2004, in order for Metro Parks and the Conservancy to begin the four-month planning process in June.
As you can see, time and money are of the essence. We have an extraordinary opportunity to help Central Park and the neighborhood. Influential and generous people are asking for an immediate show of community support, and we simply can't afford to pass this up.
That is why I come to your group to implore its support. We are requesting a donation of $2,000 each from Belgravia Court, Third Street, 1300 South Third Street, Fourth Street, and St. James Court. We would appreciate your most generous donation.
I am trusting that the members of the West St. Catherine Association will come through for the neighborhood and Central Park in this centennial year.
I await your response and am ready and willing to answer any questions in person or by phone (634-8613).
Sincerely yours,
John Sistarenik, Chair
Old Louisville Neighborhood Council
May 13, 2004
Dear Rhonda,
I am writing this letter to make a very important and urgent request for a donation from the West St. Catherine Association on behalf of Friends of Central Park.
The Old Louisville Information Center Board recently created a committee called Friends of Central Park to raise funds for the restoration and improvement of Central Park. Modeled after the Central Park Conservancy in New York, Friends solicits tax-deductible donations tc meet matching fund requirements from the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy; Friends and the Conservancy then supplement the limited funds of Metro Parks Department to do the things that need to be done in Central Park.
The needs of Central Park, both horticultural and structural, are many; Herb Fink would be happy to elaborate in depth on this at some future meeting of your organization.
These needs must first be identified, priced, and placed in priority by updating the Central Park Master Plan. This prescribed process is coordinated by the Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Metro Parks. It involves hiring consultants in landscape architecture, historical park planning, and structural architecture to create a blueprint for future park restoration. The estimated cost for the master plan is between $20,000 and $30,000.
The Olmsted Parks Conservancy is offering $15,000 for the plan if we can match it. At the first meeting of the Friends of Central Park Advisory Board, the Honorary Co-Chairs, Carla Sue Broecker, columnist for the St Matthews Voice-Tribune and fundraiser for the Louisville Deaf Oral School, and Bill Samuels, h, owner of Maker's Mark Distillery, each pledged $2,500 toward our goal. Councilman Unseld donated $2,500. Gayle and Herb Warren have pledged $500.
In other words, $23,000 has already been raised to finance the Central Park Master Plan. That leaves $7,000 for the neighborhood to raise.
Bill Samuels, also a member of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, stresses that this neighborhood commitment is vital and must be secured by Monday, May 24, 2004, in order for Metro Parks and the Conservancy to begin the four-month planning process in June.
As you can see, time and money are of the essence. We have an extraordinary opportunity to help Central Park and the neighborhood. Influential and generous people are asking for an immediate show of community support, and we simply can't afford to pass this up.
That is why I come to your group to implore its support. We are requesting a donation of $2,000 each from Belgravia Court, Third Street, 1300 South Third Street, Fourth Street, and St. James Court. We would appreciate your most generous donation.
I am trusting that the members of the West St. Catherine Association will come through for the neighborhood and Central Park in this centennial year.
I await your response and am ready and willing to answer any questions in person or by phone (634-8613).
Sincerely yours,
John Sistarenik, Chair
Old Louisville Neighborhood Council
