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3 <br />Community Support/Impact: <br />Roseville demonstrated its support for Unity Park throughout the 3-year process. Community members stayed <br />engaged and were very persistent as involved advocates. <br /> <br />Residents testified at public hearings encouraging the City Council to invest in this area and in this property. The <br />City Council had identified this geographic area of Roseville as a priority to work on in 2016 in a variety of ways <br />and specifically highlighted a focus on the New Immigrants, specifically the Karen Community <br /> <br />The vision from the Parks and Recreation System Master Plan (below in italics) encouraged the community to go <br />beyond what has just been identified but instead listen to the community and be willing to step outside a bit to <br />provide park and recreation opportunities in a creative, new way. <br />“A variety of parks & facilities exist to accommodate the recreation needs & program opportunities in <br />Roseville’s parks & recreation system. Still, we might see changes as the system strives to accommodate <br />new uses & users. Ultimately, a variety of facilities & wide range of programs will be needed to serve the <br />community.” <br /> <br />During the community involvement/engagement process and exploration it became obvious this was an <br />opportunity to fill a community gap in the parks & recreation system, provide a safe place for nearby youngsters <br />and preserve green space. With this property acquisition and development as a public park, the biggest impact is <br />that area youngsters no longer need to play in the streets. <br /> <br />Beyond the extensive involvement throughout the planning process, our community supported the project with: <br /> financial contributions, <br /> professional expertise to acquire and develop, <br /> a variety of assistance to maximize resources. <br /> a community built park <br /> <br />Project Uniqueness: <br />An acquisition and development like Unity Park is unique when the property is identified by community members <br />to purchase in a fully developed park system by seeing the value and because of the feeling of a need and a <br />potential grant opportunity. <br /> <br />Acquiring and developing land for a park without it being identified as a parcel to acquire and without having <br />funds available to build or maintain it is very unusual and unique in Roseville and I am sure in other communities. <br />Having something like this brought to the attention of city leaders by community members as a suggestion to <br />acquire and build was unusual. It developed momentum and actually to have it happen is nothing short of <br />amazing. <br /> <br />While the Parks and Recreation System Master Plan had not identified this parcel specifically, the City Council <br />had identified the SE Roseville area (where the property is located) as a priority to work on generally in 2016 <br />aligning this into that plan. There was a deadline approaching to submit a grant application therefore creating a <br />need to expedite discussion and decisions. <br /> <br />Other unique factors include the following: <br /> A successful planning & development process was initiated, led & championed by community <br />members <br /> A focused initiative developed by the community in a time when resources are very scrutinized <br /> The process & project challenged staff to think outside the box, be flexible, listen intently, and figure <br />out a way to involve New Immigrants/Americans in something they would not normally do. <br />16 <br /> <br />