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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 08H_08/12/2004 � MEMURANDUM TO: Mayor and Council FROM: Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Manag� ,.---�-----_...�,,,,,` �•- -� / DATE: August 6, 2004 SUB7ECT: Kiwanis Club Request to Re-Designate Name of Tequesta Park As requested by the Village Cauncil, this item is being placed on the agenda. f � THE KIWANIS CLUB � �� JUPITER - TEQUESTA , � June 18, 2004 To: Village of Tequesta Honorable Mayor Pat Watkins Honorable Vice Mayor Geraldine Genco Honorable Jim Humpage Honorable Russell VonFrank Honorable Edward Resnick From: Kiwanis Club Jupiter-Tequesta Reference: Re-designate the name of Tequesta Park Dear Friends: We have included with this letter a brief summary of the history of our Kiwanis Club and the development of Kiwanis Park now known as Tequesta Park. There is a small plaque located near the main building, which acknowledges the development of the park by our Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis Club of Jupiter-Tequesta has been active in the community for the last 50 years and has supported the citizens of all ages through the projects it has sponsored. Our membership is made up of local residents. We foster participation of all ages in the projects we sponsor and encourage them to be volunteers now and in the future. The 3upiter-Tequesta Athletic Association and the Motor Aid Prograin at Jupiter Medical Center are two examples of our projects. Kiwanis builds! Kiwanis gives! We do not take! Therefore we need the support of the community to get our message out in the order that we may attract future members and support those projects that help build better communities. • Pos1• OFFic� Sox 4144 • TEQUESTA FLO�unA 33469 • T HE KIWANIS CLUB � � �� JUPITER - TEQUESTA . The Village of Tequesta and the Kiwanis Club of Jupiter-Tequesta have had a close working relationship from the time that Kiwanis turned the 41-acre Kiwanis Park over to them. We are proud of our good relations and we want to take advantage of our work and let the public know what we have done so that they may be inclined to assistin future projects. We therefore request the Village of Tequesta to earnestly consider the re- designation of the name of the park to— KIWAl�IS PARK, VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Your favorable consideration of this request is appreciated. ___-.---_ , �l�ta U�,�tl` • � `�.`� Gen usaro, President Ma in Grivjack, President- lect �� �%�---- William Elliott, Vice President Roy . R , Committee Chairman, Past President � Y`A'`' Ron Jacobso Secretary • PosT OFFtc� Box 4144 • TEQUESTA, FLOxi�a 33469 • � � THE KIWANIS CLUB � � JUPITER - TEQUESTA , � A History of Jupiter-Hobe Sound Kiwanis Club, Jupiter-Tequesta Kiwanis Club and Kiwanis Park After World War II in the early 1950's, a group of inen from Hobe Sound and Jupiter who were mutual friends both personal and in their business's and professions saw the need of joining together to help meet the needs of the growing community. They formed the Kiwanis Club of Jupiter — Hobe Sound and first held their meetings at the old community center in Hobe Sound, which was a converted Army Barracks from Camp Murphy. A lady from Jupiter, Theresa Albrecht catered the meals and with the help of Kiwanians setting up and breaking down tables and helping with the serving. It all went real well. It was a self-help operation all the way. The Six Principles or objectives that Kiwanis is founded on are as follows: 1. To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life. 2. To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships. 3. To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards. 4. To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship. 5. To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities. • PosT OFFicE Box 4144 ° TEQUESg'A FLOxina 33469 • � � THE KIWANIS CLUB � � JUPITER - TEQUESTA , � . 6. To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism, which makes possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and goodwill. The Motto of Kiwanis is "We Build." Kiwanis makes a survey of the communities needs and then sets a list of priorities, then goes to work to initiate projects to help raise money to meet those needs. On our first survey and our number one project was the community's need for recreational amenities. Number one need was a place or piece of land that these facilities could be built upon that would serve both our communities. Warren Haymond, our 5` president approached a friend who worked for the state park board and shared with him our vision of ineeting these needs in our community. The park ranger contacted his boss in Tallahassee and he came down and met with our Kiwanis Club and within several months a contract lease was worked out between the State Park Board of Florida and the Kiwanis Club of Jupiter — Hobe Sound for a tract of land. We now had forty-one acres total, for a period of 23 years with a renewable clause, to be used for recreational purposes. Our first project was to under brush and raise the limbs on the tress to approximately six feet, getting rid of all dead limbs and trees. Jim Diamond gave a truck to Kiwanis to hall debris to another area to burn. We used a brush hog mower to mow down the oak scrub but not destroy it. We had 41 members at the time and we jokingly said that each member had one acre to keep clean. • PasT OF� tcE Box 4144 • T�c�u�sTA, FLOxtnn 334G9 • � r � THE KIWANIS CLUB � �� JUPITER - TEQUESTA Our next project was to have a"rendering" made which included the entrance, the parking lot, and the driveways and recreational building, a baseball field, tennis courts and a swimming pool. Our first priority was the baseball field, a well and irrigation for the ball field, a parking lot and entrance with flagpole. The Kiwanis Club members cleared the areas necessary for the baseball diamond, the parking and the entrance. Martin County furnished the marl or clay for the baseball area. Palm Beach County furnished the shell rock for parking, driveways and entrance. Dick Hill of Florida Power & Light Co. very graciously made the 90 foot light poles available and let his crews use the equipment to set the poles on the weekends on their own time. Dr. Robert Grogan of Tequesta went out and campaigned to raise the money for the lights. Kiwanians and friends installed the lights and a local surveyor, Jim O'Brien, a member of our club, surveyed the field for positioning the lights. Harry and Mabel Phipps, from Jupiter donated a four-inch (deep well) and a pump for irrigation purposes. Fred and Alma Belanger, from Hobe Sound, donated the flagpole and concrete circle at the entrance. We played our first ball game in the fall of 1959 the year that Village of Tequesta was formed. Kiwanis always sponsored a team managed the park, maintained the baseball field, mowed, watered, painted and limed the lines. We built our first restrooms and then built a concession stand with a cover for picnic tables and also had a press box to call the games and later served as Gary Preston's office as the park supervisor from Village of Tequesta. We also had a man living in a trailer on the park property much as it is today. • PosT OFFicE Box 4144 • Z'EQUESTA FLOxinn 33469 • T HE KIWANIS CLUB � JUPITER - TEQUESTA � �� Bud Tuning was in charge of the concession stand and we all worked together to maintain the park. Our area, Jupiter — Tequesta was growing and we had moved our Kiwanis meeting place to Jupiter and after Tequesta was formed we called our Kiwanis Club, Kiwanis Club of Jupiter — Tequesta to more represent our club and the area. Kiwanis policy is to start a project in a community and when it is well established to turn it over to the community so that the club is more than a one-project club. The time had arrived, as the whole club was involved in forming the teams, scheduling, getting umpires and, maintaining the whole complex. We had two options, turning the park over to Martin County who had always been cooperative or Tequesta who at the time were looking for a water well field and also we knew personally that many of the families used the park for its convenience and facilities for recreation. We approached the Village of Tequesta in the early 1970's. They were awarded a 50-year lease from the state in May of 1973 and were willing to take over the responsibility of operating the park. We knew that we were doing the right thing for our communities so we agreed to sign the park over. This was completed in the early 1970's. It was our thinking that if the people of Tequesta & Jupiter knew that Kiwanis founded the park that a number of inen and women would be encouraged to join our • PosT OFFtcE Box 4144 • T�Qu�s7a, FLOxtn� 33469 • T HE KIWANIS CLUB � R T � �� .TUPITE - EQUESTA � Kiwanis Club helping to build our communities. Kiwanis continued to help with the athletic program by forming the J.T.A.A., Jupiter Tequesta Athletic Association. We persuaded John Brewbaker who had children in the program to be its first president. It was an autonomous organization separate from Kiwanis and made up of families from both of our communities and has served our communities well with over 7000 in the program today, which includes other sports as soccer, football, basketball and lacrosse. Jupiter-Tequesta Kiwanis then launched another community program, the motor aid program. This was spearheaded by one of our members Carlton Stoddard one of our former mayors of Tequesta. This program has been a huge success and has met a real need in our communities by carrying the elderly, who cannot drive to their appointments to the hospital and many doctor appointments. It started with one van Furnished and manned by 27 volunteers that were secured by Kiwanis members. They now have four vans, furnished by the hospital auxiliary. Kiwanis and Kiwanis Park was the leader in getting our communities started in one of the finest athletic and recreational programs in the country, namely the J.T.A.A. Projects that Kiwanis initiated and turned over to the community: I. Kiwanis — Tequesta Park 41 acres of leased land from Florida State Park Board. • PosT Or FicE Bax 4144 • T'EQUESTA Ft,oxi�A 33469 • T HE KIWANIS CLUB � ` JUPITER - TE UESTA � �� � Q � II. J.T.A.A. — Jupiter-Tequesta Athletic Association III. Jupiter Medical Center Motor Aid Program IV. The Pioneer Coffee V. Graduation Night — Program to keep our graduates off the road on graduation night. VI. Scholarship Trust Fund to help our deserving graduates. VII. Kiwanis formed two key clubs in our community. One key club built a school in Mitla, Mexico in the early 1970's. VIII. April 1978 began construction of fitness and jogging trail at Tequesta Park. IX. Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council — Helps member's wives to start the first Girl Scout Troop in Jupiter-Tequesta. It gave girls an area and helped build a Girl Scout house in the park for training purposes. X. Boy Scouts of Gulf Stream Council — Set aside an area and helped build a compound to be used as a training area for Merit Badge Training. XI. Boys State Program — High school students in the 11 th grade were sent to Tallahassee for one week each year to study government by doing. XII. Girls State is a similar program. Our Kiwanis club has supported these programs with awards and leadership for 50 years. XIII. The community fire works held at Kiwanis on the 4 of July. Helped with the sports programs. • PosT OFFicE Box 4144 ' Z'EQUESTA FLOtunA 33469 • THE KIWANIS CLUB � JUPITER - TE UESTA � �� Q President: ene Fusaro X - ,r�s.-� President E ect: Marty rivjack X ��� ft • � � Vice President: Bill Elliott X �..__ __ , �,`., Historian: Roy Rood X • PosT OFFicE Box 4144 • TEQUESTA, FLOiunA 33469 •