The Friends of Encanto Park Committee spent 2008 advocating for funding for all city parks and specifically for improvements at Encanto Park. We helped pass the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative (PPPI) and, with vast support from Encanto-Palmcroft residents and the surrounding areas, we secured a commitment from the City of Phoenix to spend $5 million to make improvements to Encanto Park over the next 5 years. Due to the state of the economy and the city’s budget crisis, the money will now be spent over a 6 year period and master planning will begin in 2010.

We thought Friends of Encanto Park would be focusing the majority of its 2009 efforts on private fundraising, but the times have changed. While we remain committed to the long view for improving Encanto Park, we currently believe we can best support the community by filling gaps created by reduced budgets.

Community Garden and Volunteer Programs
We have learned about plans (and funding) for a community garden and are lobbying to have it located between the Rose Garden and the Valley Garden Center. We will also be doing a lot more to identify and communicate needs and volunteer programs across the park.

Easter Sunday Volunteers
Easter is Halloween’s best rival for epic events in the neighborhood. Many residents have guests visiting their homes and gardens. The park hosts thousands of people for the free Easter Egg hunt on Enchanted Island, and countless smaller celebrations throughout the day. For the last few years, the park managers have had an all-hands-on-deck schedule to direct traffic, manage parking throughout the area, pick up trash and generally monitor the day’s festivities.

Since budgets are stained, our park manager Jan Sherwood has asked us to help recruit volunteers to help. If you have a few hours you can donate Sunday, April 12, you will help ensure a safe and wonderful Encanto Park experience for visitors.

Youth Soccer and T-Ball
The youth sports programs have been eliminated so the only way to have sports at Encanto Park is privately. We plan to work with the Parks Department to create a youth soccer and T-ball program as an experiment. We hope to create a Friday evening soccer program and a Saturday morning T-ball league for 8-12 weeks beginning this Spring. We have equipment and a template for the program. We imagine hiring 1 trained part-time contractor to manage the sports to run the on-field games and education.

If you would like to volunteer to help as a volunteer coach, promoter/marketer, program registration day organizer, or in any other capacity, please contact Kelly Larabee Morlan 602-258-1416 – kelly@envoy2.com. We will distribute more details via email and at the Home Tour.

We hope this experiment is successful and can become a model for other neighborhoods across the city, and a fundraising source for Friends of Encanto Park.

Encanto Park Long-term Vision
We have a private fundraising goal of $300,000 to build a new portal on the empty land at the corner of Encanto Blvd and 8th Avenue and to enhance new wrought iron fencing around the golf course with decorative finials. Please see www.friendsofencantopark.com for more details about the park and renovation plans.

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Donor Information and Design Plans

To support our efforts, please use the following donor form: FoEP Donation Card 2010.xls

Encanto Entrada - plans and concept renderings.pdf
Designs by Vollmer & Associates, thank you!

Little Red Bridge design modifications.pdf
Designs by Structural Grace, Inc., thank you!

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