We are a group of concerned neighbors, Asheville parents, and NALL baseball families who are looking for solutions to the disastrous renovation of Weaver Park. Asheville Parks and Rec and City of Asheville leadership need to explain why the renovation of Weaver Park playground and upgrades to the baseball diamond were done with minimal community engagement and very little communication. The playground was fenced off for six months before construction even began, preventing families from using a beloved and much-utilized neighborhood gathering and recreation place. Now that construction is complete, the end result is a playground that doesn't meet the needs of the community and a baseball diamond that doesn't meet the needs of the volunteer-run league it anchors.

We are asking Asheville Parks and Rec to be transparent about the community engagement process that resulted in a design that does not meet the needs of the neighborhood. There were very limited opportunities for community engagement during the design process. The Norwood Park Neighborhood Association was not contacted by APR or asked to give design input or feedback. APR should have had a participatory design process for the playground redesign, so that families living in the neighborhood surrounding the park who use this playground on a daily or weekly basis and are aware of the community's needs could have had an active voice in the new playground design.

North Asheville Little League, which has used Weaver Park for its volunteer-run baseball program for the past 50 years and was aware of the needs of the field and the league, was told by APR leadership that its participation in the planning/design process was not welcome. The outfield of the renovated baseball diamond is unsafe due to uneven ground, and the dugouts are located in the outfield where young players can't hear their coaches. The scoreboard is no longer functional, there is concrete in the infield and holes along the fencing, the bull pen is not usable, and the drainage issues have not been repaired. According to subcontractors on the project, the scope of work kept changing, causing chaos and confusion and pushing the timeline for completion well into the baseball season, leaving NALL without one of three fields during the season of its highest enrollment in the league's history.

These "improvements" to Weaver Park have left the community deeply disappointed and frustrated. The community is ready to work with the City and Asheville Parks and Rec:

1. We would like a town hall style meeting with at Weaver Park with APR leadership and the project manager to better understand the design and construction process.

2. Furthermore, the community is respectfully requesting that APR remove the inadequate play structure and replace it with one that meets the needs of the community, and to add park benches back to the playground area so that parents and grandparents have comfortable places to sit while their kids play.

3. NALL is asking APR to work with them, not separately from them, to improve the baseball diamond so that it is once again usable and safe for kids. The first step would be relocating the dugouts back to their traditional location near the first/third base areas.

Asheville Parks and Recreation and City leadership, the community is calling on you to work with us so that Weaver Park can once again serve as a beloved and much-used community gathering place for neighborhood families, NALL families, and all Asheville families.