Friends was founded in 2005 to advocate for our parks.  We have more than 100 members and have mobilized up to 300 supporters on issues affecting the parks. Tonight we are speaking in support of the proposal by Destination Rapid City to create the Memorial Park Promenade. This is a creative and generous idea, the most recent of many aimed at connecting the heart of our park system with the heart of downtown.

We applaud Destination Rapid City for their initiative and wish them every success in this appropriate addition to Memorial Park. We do however ask the council and other supporters of this proposal to recognize this as a first step, not a “mission accomplished.”  The major obstacle keeping downtown strollers from walking to the Civic Center, and Civic Center visitors from meandering downtown after an event is not Memorial Park. It is not the winding path. It is Omaha Street.

Just four years ago Destination Rapid City, with support from Friends, proposed a pedestrian bridge over Omaha to facilitate walkers and bicyclers in crossing. The State DOT did not agree at the time, and the proposal was put on hold, with urging by the Rapid City Journal editorial board that “Regardless, the city/community discussion should move forward.”

Most recently, we learned from an international parks expert that walkers and riders don’t use elevated crossings, but they do use underpasses.

A year ago, experts who developed a master plan for pedestrian and bicycle paths in Rapid City heard repeatedly that Omaha Street is difficult to cross.  They made several recommendations, some of which have been implemented, others not yet.

Friends urges the council and Destination Rapid City to use the proposed Promenade as an opportunity to do some evaluation of options. Let’s take a look at the recommendations in the master plan. Let’s get a baseline on pedestrian and bike crossing now, and again after the Promenade is completed. And let us keep the conversation going.

Thank you

• Acquire at least one of the parcels designated by the Floodplain Development Committee as “park.”
• Press for adoption of an ordinance that adds parkland to the municipal system.
• Urge the removal of the tennis court at Eighth Street, restoring green space along that section of Rapid Creek.
• Support the Vision 2012 Project, which calls for completion of the storm water, trail and beautification project at West Boulevard and Omaha Street.
• Champion increases to the park and recreation budget to support their increasing responsibilities.
• Encourage engagement and increase visibility for park-related educational programs.

It’s easy. Make your tax deductible commemorative gift at GiveBlackHills.org

I was riding my bike on the path that runs through the city last week, my mind reflecting on the wonderful revitalization of our downtown area and the preservation of our green spaces we have worked so hard to prioritize. I think you will agree with me that there is no place like Rapid City, and our outstanding parks are part of the reason.

Forty years ago, however, that very space was covered with water… and was the site of more than 200 deaths in 1972 as the tiny creek bed that runs through our great city became an unexpected, rushing, rapid river. From that point forward, Rapid City and its leaders and citizens have worked diligently to ensure that building development along Rapid Creek would never, ever happen again.

“People must be vigilant,” former Rapid City Mayor Don Barnett said in the Rapid City Journal a few years ago. “Whenever it has been tried, it has failed. The only thing that will preserve it is if people remain attentive. [We] have to beat it back every time.”

This is our mission—and the need for vigilance has never been greater. Today, we once again turn to you for your support. As the 40th anniversary of the tragic 1972 flood approaches in June, please add your voice to the hundreds of citizens within our community committed to our green spaces by making a commemorative gift of $19.72—an amount that calls us to remember those who perished in the flood. A generous matching gift of up to $5,000 to Friends of Rapid City Parks means $19.72 becomes $37.44, and $100 becomes $200, and so on. This will help us to reach our $10,000 goal by June.

Your tax deductible gift and membership will help Friends of Rapid City Parks surpass our goals this year:

• Acquire at least one of the parcels designated by the Floodplain Development Committee as “park”
• Press for adoption of an ordinance that adds parkland to the municipal system
• Urge the removal of the tennis court at Eighth Street, restoring green space along that section of Rapid Creek
• Support the Vision 2012 Project, which calls for completion of the storm water, trail and beautification project at West Boulevard and Omaha Street
• Champion increases to the park and recreation budget to support their increasing responsibilities
• Encourage engagement and increase visibility for park-related educational programs

As I look back on 2011, I am so proud of what we have accomplished together. We averted development in Braeburn Park and engaged hundreds of citizens in civic conversation about the greenway that runs through our city. We signed petitions, wrote alderman and spoke out at city council meetings.

But we’ve done more than just “opposed” development. We’ve thrown our support, time and talent to the creation of new parks, fielded volunteers for park clean-up days and helped to plan the Urban Orchard Project and Fat Tire Festival. We’ve shown—through action—what being “in and of a community” really means.

Our green “ribbon” in Rapid City distinguishes us from all other cities in the country. Let’s keep it that way! With your active membership and financial support, we will—together—we will honor those who lost their lives 40 years ago, continue our good work and preserve this legacy for future generations.

Steve McCarthy

We are bringing an international expert on the economic value of green space to speak at a public event in Rapid City, to host a civic response and discussion of the lecture, and to conduct a workshop for parks, recreation and planning professionals and interested citizens.

For all of 2012, not just in events leading to the June anniversary, Friends of Rapid City Parks will take action to enhance its advocacy of park protection and expansion, increase membership, and conduct activities to increase citizen awareness of the park legacy created by the 1972 flood. The need to preserve the greenway’s flood prevention attributes as well as its memorial, recreational and ecosystem and habitat functions has never been more critical.

Recent reports from hydrologic scientists confirm that the 1972 flood was not an anomaly and could happen again.Economic strains on state and municipal budgets undercut support for open space and environmental protection. The natural asset value of green space is not well understood, particularly when compared to arguments that city owned land could provide economic development opportunities or “free” land for public structures such as schools and recreation facilities.

Though our citizens enjoy the parks, not everyone knows why we have them or what it takes to preserve this hallowed ground. In the 40 years since the flood more than 60 buildings have been erected in the park, and hundreds of acres have been covered with asphalt for parking. As our city grows we are not adding parkland, nor are we investing enough resources to maintain the quality of existing parks.

While commemoration activities are looking back and remembering, our event is positioned to help people look forward. Rapid City parks are a legacy of the flood. The decisions made in the 1970s not to rebuild in the greenway stemmed not only from a desire to remember those who lost their lives, homes and businesses, but also to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. This historic context, when understood by citizens and policy makers, can inform future decisions about the use, development and preservation of parkland.

The region will mark the fortieth anniversary of the flood this June and remember those who were lost. Events are set for June 8, 9 and 10 at the Civic Center, The Journey Museum, Rapid City Public Library, Dahl Arts Center, and along the greenway.

Friends of Rapid City Parks are participating in the committee planning the commemoration in June. Former Rapid City Mayor Don Barnett chairs the group, which includes Verne Sheppard, Kay Rippentrop, LaVonne Masters, Jerry Schoener, Jim Kuehn, Larry Lytle, Gary Brown, Suzanne Martley, Donovan Sprague, Greta Chapman, Ray Summers, Larry Dahlstrom, and Wes Storm. Meetings of the planning committee, set for April 4 and May 1, are open to the public.

For more information about the flood and recorded remembrances from those who experienced it, visit the Rapid City Public Library’s site. You can read about plans for the 40^th Anniversary Commemoration: Remembrance and Renewal, in the Rapid City Journal Online or in the Black Hills Knowledge Network.

Friends of Rapid City Parks, with co-sponsorship by the Rapid City Department of Parks and Recreation, has invited Dr. John Crompton, University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M to speak on the value of Rapid City’s parkland to real estate, economic development, tourism and community well-being. He will describe legal instruments, land use planning and other tools that cities have used to protect and preserve open space.

Crompton has written extensively on the impact of greenways on property values, the public value of parks and open space, and the financing of public leisure and tourism services. The most published scholar in parks and recreation discipline, he is author or co-author of 16 books and a substantial number of articles published in the recreation, tourism, sport and marketing fields. He has received numerous awards, including the National Recreation and Park Association Distinguished Professional Award.

Economic historian Eric Abrahamson of Rapid City will serve as master of ceremonies and discussion facilitator. Abrahamson has helped communities, companies and foundations draw lessons from anniversaries and historic observances such as the flood commemoration, and will lead an open discussion on the potential in Rapid City for approaches and techniques that Crompton presents in his talk. A panel of local experts will join Crompton for the discussion: Van Lindquist, chairman of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board; Kitty Kinsman, whose recreation advocacy has included leadership in the fund drives for development of the Outdoor Education Center and the Mickelson Trail, and Aaron Costello, former Ward 5 alderman for and outspoken supporter of bike and pedestrian trail development.

While in Rapid City, Crompton will also lead a workshop for parks and recreation professionals. Details on the workshop are available from the South Dakota Parks & Recreation Association.

Friends of Rapid City Parks were unsuccessful in efforts to urge use of permeable materials and less paving over greenway area as modifications to the project. Friends did support aspects of the project that include a pedestrian bridge over Rapid Creek and new bike lanes allowing more people to commute to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology by bike.

The $1.4 million project is funded by federal grants, the 2012 Vision Fund and city money.

Construction begins in Founders Park

Since the founding of Friends of Rapid City Parks in 2005, this little organization with a big vision has proven the truth of the saying: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

Organized originally to stop erection of the Civic Center’s electronic sign in Memorial Park on Omaha Street, Friends has stopped development of state offices and an apartment complex in Braeburn Park (known as “the dog park,”), received concessions and changes in plans to expand Central High School into the park, joined the successful fight to change the way Rapid City governs the use of billboards, and engaged hundreds of citizens in the civic conversation about the green ribbon that runs through our city. We have not always been successful, especially in the fight to stop paving areas of the greenway for parking, but we are not discouraged from fighting another day.

Friends hasn’t just been about “stopping” or “opposing” actions related to parks. The organization has thrown its support and resources behind creation of new parks, the urban orchard project, the Fat Tire Festival, and has fielded volunteers for park clean up days. We have co-sponsored six annual city candidate forums, as well as public events on the history of conservation and to increase awareness of the history of the 1972 flood and its role in reshaping Rapid City’s future.

In the coming year, leading up to the observance of the 40th anniversary of the flood, we hope you will join us in our work to ensure that Rapid City area parks are managed in a way that preserves this legacy for future generations.

Won’t you join us by filling in the membership information on the right side of this page?