Mission Statement
Huckleberry Park, located in Braeswood Place on the corner of Braes Blvd and Aberdeen Way at Mark Twain Elementary, will be transformed into a neighborhood SPARK park and green space that will be available to our entire community outside of school hours, holidays, and summer break. The goal for improving the park is to once again provide a neighborhood park that offers the benefits of the outdoors, the ability for all age groups to engage in health and fitness, and foster a stronger sense of community within a secure environment.


Background
Mark Twain Elementary plans to convert the main playground into a SPARK Park named Huckleberry Park – which means the gates will be open most daylight, non-school hours to be a neighborhood park. SPARK helps public schools develop their playgrounds into community parks. In the past 30 years, SPARK has built over 200+ community parks throughout the Houston/Harris County area. Each park is unique, with its design based on ideas and needs of the school and surrounding neighborhoods. While all of the parks are different, a typical park consists of modular playground equipment, a walking trail, benches, picnic tables, trees, an outdoor classroom, and a public art component.

The original Mark Twain SPARK Park, Huckleberry Park, was one of the first in the city, and included a jogging track, exercise equipment, and a playground area. This SPARK park was closed when the school was rebuilt. The school has chosen to Re-SPARK Huckleberry Park. This means that not only will the front playground gates be unlocked and open to the community weekdays 5:45pm to dusk and weekends dawn to dusk, it also means that the playground and fields will be rebuilt to best serve the needs of the community.


Goal
The goal of the new park is to re-introduce a community space to exercise, engage in creative play and spend time outdoors with children all in a secure environment. This will enhance the Mark Twain Elementary students experience, and allow the community to use the park during most daylight, non-school hours. Thus, the park will benefit and enhance the entire community and become a neighborhood hub to connect and play with other families.

Timeline
September 2015: Assemble volunteers and set roles; set up operational and financial structure; survey community; meet with consultants; and identify needs and wish list for park
October 2015: Draft of park design; finalize and implement all marketing materials; and begin fundraising
November - December 2015: Fundraising
January 2016: Assess funding and determine phases and timeline of park construction; finalize costs and budget

All of 2016: Grant and Foundation submissions as well as Corporate Fundraising to meet the project goal.
January 2017: Demo current playground at end of the school year
June - August 2016: Construction of phase 1 of design
September 2016: Opening of phase 1 completion

May 2017: Demo for phase 2 construction

June - August 2017: Construction of phase 2 of design

September 2017:  Grand Re-Opening of Huckleberry Park


Key Contacts
Projec Chair: Elaina McNulty, 713-857-5000
Project email: HuckleberryPark@yahoo.com
Project website: www.huckleberrypark.org


Special Advisors
Melissa Patin, Mark Twain Elementary Principal
Michele Rawson, Mark Twain Elementary Assistant Principal
Halcyon Reese-Learned, playground consultant
Christy Williams, HISD School SPARK Project Manager

Kathleen Ownby - SPARK


Budget
Estimated total cost is $675,000 at project initiation. Final budget will be determined upon acceptance of plan. The plan may be rolled out in a phased approach based upon fundraising figures. Currently, we are planning a phased approach to implement the park.  Phase 1 will consist of grading the playground, drainage, track, mosaic wal, water fountain, and turf for the field in the beginning of 2017.  Phase 1 cost estimates are currently $450,000.  Phase 2 will be the remaining items on the design to include new playground equipment, trees, hill topography, and zip lines. 


Desired Park Plan
Plans for the park include remedying the drainage issue on the field, adding turf to the field, new play structure, zip lines, relay lanes on the track, mosaic wall, donor walk, literary gate, a gaga pit, benches, picnic tables, shade trees and hills for added topography.  Please see the concept design for a complete vision for the playground.



Non-Profit Status
Mark Twain PTO is designated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service. The federal tax ID number is 76-0327049.