Hillcrest Park Project (Phase 1)
In May 2003 our Kiwanis Club partnered with the Mount Vernon
Kiwanis, South Mount Vernon Kiwanis, Mount Vernon Parks
Foundation and the City of Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation
Department to build a $17,000.00 playground for toddlers.
The existing playground was in serious need of replacement and
this community partnership came together to fulfill the need.
Over 40 Kiwanians came together the last weekend in May
and completed the project in one day. No sooner than the
bark was spread and tools picked up were children playing on the
new playground equipment.This playground project would
have been very difficult to complete if any of the partners
acted alone.
We learned that sharing resources to include funding, staffing
and planning helped tremendously in making this playground
project a reality.
This collaboration worked so well we are in the planning
stages for phase two of this playground with all of the existing
partners for the spring of 2005.
Check back with us later for more pictures coming from Hillcrest
Park and the completion of this project.
Hillcrest Park Project (Phase Two
Completed)
The second and final phase of this playground occurred on
June, 4, 2005. The original partners listed above came
back together with the addition of Wal*Mart to make this
$14,000.00 addition a reality.
Over 30 volunteers which included Kiwanians, community members,
and Wal*Mart associates rolled up their sleeves on a fantastic
spring day to build phase two.
Another example of community collaboration at its finest...
Related Article
Non-Profit Agency Assist...2005
The Kiwanis Club of Skagit-Mount Vernon wishes to acknowledge
the generosity of the Mount Vernon Wal-Mart.
In April 2005, our club made an application for a Wal-Mart
grant to be used on community projects, including the completion
of a Kiwanis Playground at Hillcrest Park.. Wal-Mart awarded a
$3,000 grant to us. Half of that will be used for the park
project, and the remainder will be utilized to fund several
community service projects our members do.
One of those projects was just completed by our club which
involved 45 person hours doing a non-profit agency yard clean-up
& renovation project and the building and installation of an
outdoor gazebo for that agency.
Wal-Mart also generously donated a combo TV/VCR for our
meeting room in Denny's, which is also available for other
groups to use who meet there.
Pictured from top down are:
Maryl Skjei, Ken McCulloch, Dennis Tonkin, Dave Towne and
Erv Lindall.
Non-Profit Agency Assist...2006
The Kiwanis Club of Skagit-Mount Vernon
would like to thank everyone who was involved in the recent
purchase of equipment, building of a playground, yard
beautification and the construction of two wheel chair
accessible ramps at a non profit agency on Saturday May 20th.
The following service clubs, businesses and other organizations
contributed towards this all day project; Kiwanis Clubs of
Skagit-Mount Vernon, South Mount Vernon and Mount Vernon “Noon”
Kiwanis; Mount Vernon “Noon” and Skagit Mount Vernon “Morning”
Rotary Clubs, Anacortes Soroptomist; Mount Vernon Community
Wellness Council; Lowes Home Improvement Center; Home Depot;
Mike Urban and Consumer Rental; Skagit Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault Services, Skagit County Domestic Violence Impact
Panel; Madison School “Flower Power Group”, Christ the King
Church, Wal*Mart and SEAMAR.
Thanks to the many contributors
who provided funding and volunteers that actually completed all
phases of work, a $13,800.00 project was competed. This project
will benefit children and mothers who are victims of Domestic
Violence.
Another Future Kiwanis Park is in the midst
Related Article
Related Article
In the spring of 2004 the Kiwanis Club's of Skagit-Mount
Vernon, Mount Vernon Kiwanis, South Mount Vernon Kiwanis, City
of Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department and the Mount
Vernon Parks Foundation partnered in developing a new park that
will be enacted at South 18th Street and Broadway. All
three Mount Vernon Kiwanis Clubs dedicated over $5,000.00 each
year for the next five years to make this park a reality.
Check back with us to see the progress of this important
community project..
Standby for updates and pictures as this vision becomes a
reality...
Bicycle Rodeo Program
Our club has supported bicycle rodeos in our
community for several years dating back to the 1980's. Our
goal in this program is to reach as many youth as possible and
provide a fun day of activities and positive interaction between
our members and the youth of this community..
Kiwanis members interact with youth by setting up a safety
course, inspecting and repairing bicycles, and providing
registration information.
We focus on safety and encourage all children and adults to wear
a safety helmet.
Kiwanis Trail Adoption Program
In 2005, our club partnered with Kiwanis Clubs in
Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, adopting a four mile stretch of the Cascade Trail.
This trail is the old Seattle and Northern rail road line which travels east through
Skagit County from Sedro Woolley to Concrete. This
railroad line dates back to 1890 and is a very popular venue for walking, running
or biking. The Skagit County Parks is in control of this
linear park. Our role in this project is coordinating four
scheduled community clean ups involving Kiwanis volunteers.
Pictured from left are:
Dave Towne, Scott Thompson, Maryl Skjei, Erv Lindall, Diane
Crawford (Sedro Woolley President), Ross Renouard (front), Jack
Weide (Sedro Woolley Club, back row), Dean Shellan, Rick Renouard, Mike
McManus and Debbie Pratt.
On Sunday
September 18th, 2005, members of the Skagit-Mount Vernon Kiwanis
Club participated in the Habitat for Humanity Bike and Hike.
Money raised for this fundraiser was $17,000.00. For more
information contact
Skagit
Habitat for Humanity
Pictured here from left are; Ken
McCulloch, Dennis Tonkin, Eddie and George Edmundson, Maryl
Skjei and Bill Beane.
Revetment Water Line/Planter Box Project – 1996
to 2001
The city of
Mount Vernon’s Skagit
River
revetment parking area now has a shrubbery filled, automatically
watered planter box lined wooden walkway. But it wasn’t
always so
This walkway’s
inspiration was with Larry Ashby, former Executive
Director of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce in the early
1990’s. Local architect Tom Theisen provided the design,
and civil engineer
Bob
Boudinot
designed the water line installed under the walkway with an
available attachment for water into each of the 43 planter
boxes. The boardwalk and planters were constructed
initially by volunteer labor, and later finished by a hired
contractor in the early-90’s
Downtown Mount
Vernon merchants filled and planted the first 7 boxes, and
installed what they thought was a working drip irrigation system
in those boxes. This was Phase 1 in our time line.
The remaining 36 boxes were vacant and became places for trash
accumulation. Unfortunately the shrubs and trees in the
first 7 boxes did not survive due to lack of watering and other
issues
Our club member
Dave Towne took note of the situation in early 1996, and
decided to assist the completion of this walkway and planter
boxes per Larry Ashby’s initial vision by enlisting help and
funding from the three Mount Vernon Kiwanis Clubs. By the
fall of 1996, all the planning and coordination was finished to
enable the completion of the planter box interiors. A 31
person work party was held on October 26
On that day,
members of the Kiwanis clubs, students from the Mount Vernon
High School horticulture class and Chamber of Commerce members
installed the water piping and valve, insulation and weed
barrier fabric into each box. Domino’s Pizza contributed
lunch. Donated dirt from Washington
Bulb Company, hauled by Herman Hobbick Trucking, was installed on November
16 by city employees and ‘volunteers’ assigned to the supervised
city work program. This completed Phase 2 of the project.
The Downtown Merchants Association provided hundreds of tulip
and daffodil bulbs which were then planted in the boxes
Phase 3 was the
installation of the fresh water line from the pump station under
the bridge to the revetment line, the connection of an automatic
timer valve inside the pump station, and installation of the
drip irrigation tubing and emitters into each box. This
allows unattended watering in all boxes. This phase was
finally completed on June 7, 2000. While finishing this
aspect took quite a while, it was a cooperative undertaking by
the City of Mount Vernon Wastewater Department, the Street
Department,
Bob Boudinot, Don Bottles (retired from the Skagit County PUD), members of our
Kiwanis Club, and members of the Parks and Recreation
Department. Other assisting local businesses included
Bowles
Northwest Plumbing Supply, Charley’s Greenhouse Supply, Mount
Vernon Building Center and Skagit Gardens, Inc
The final Phase
was the planting of the boxes with shrubs. Our club
provided $1,500 for shrub purchases in February 2001.
Ricki Knue, horticulture instructor at Mount Vernon High School,
enlisted the help of her students to do the initial planting.
Since that time, as per the original plans, the Mount Vernon
Parks and Recreation Department, with assistance from Jose Reyna
and supervised city work crews, maintains the plantings in all
43 planter boxes along the river. This is now a most
attractive place to view the
Skagit River in
downtown Mount Vernon.
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