What a great festival!  Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed our beautiful park, vendors, and movie. Attendance was estimated at 600.  Big thanks to everyone who bid in the silent auction - you raised over $1000 for the park! All funds raised will go toward improving the play equipment in the park.

Want to be a vendor, sponsor, or member of next year's organizing committee?  We would love your support.  Email us and let us know: friendsofghpark@gmail.com

Did you miss the Festival?  It's not too late to go to the Green Hill's Fleet Feet store and buy this cool t-shirt that benefits the Park.

Or you can make a donation by clicking here.​

Check out the new things in the park!  New park entrance sign, new batting cage for the Girls' Softball league.  And coming soon - grassy berms for kids to run and play on!

The second Green Hills Park Festival is taking place from 4-9pm on September 16!  Admission is free and we will have food trucks, wine and beer, and fun booths including:

• Parnassus Bookmobile
• Green Hills Library
• Ex Voto Vintage
• Ten Thousand Villages
• Lularoe Clothing
• Fleet Feet (they will be selling t-shirts that benefit Green Hills Park)
• Freebirds World Burrito
• Little Gourmand, and
• Music City Brisket.  

We expect to show a movie again, which will start once it gets dark.  New this year will be a family obstacle course and Nashville Soccer mini-arena!  

Please email friendsofghpark@gmail.com you can help by:

• sponsoring a booth (or if you have ideas for sponsors);
• matching donations made at the festival;
• joining a committee to help us gather items for a silent auction; or
• joining a committee to help with set up, clean up, or help time the obstacle course participants.

In other neighborhood news:

• Authority to acquire easements for the Lone Oak sidewalk passed third reading of Metro Council on June 14.  This is one of the steps that will have to be taken before they can start on the Belmont Park Terrace sidewalk. 
• Metro Council passed RS 2017-772, accepting the donation from Green Hills Girls' Softball League for the batting cage and bullpen that will be placed near the entrance to the Park (by the field house).
• Metro Council passed BL 2016-493, which will require developers of single family homes in the USD (this includes Green Hills) to construct sidewalks or contribute to a fund for building sidewalks.  
• Metro Council passed BL3017-740, a "3 foot rule" for pedestrians (if no sidewalk is available, cars must leave a distance of at least three feet between them and a pedestrian walking on the street).
• The Board of Monroe Harding has voted to sell its property on Glendale Lane.  This beautiful green space will be missed. But could development on those 22 acres lead to a sidewalk linking Scenic Drive to the Park?  That would be great news for the park and for the families who want to walk safely to JT Moore Middle School along Glendale.
• Did you see us in Green Hills Now magazine?  Big thank you to Lipscomb University for the great story and pics:

Friends, your voices have been heard. The Parks Department tells me that Green Hills Park is at the top of the list for court resurfacing! But there is a big catch - they have to receive the funding.  Last year, Parks received $10M for deferred maintenance in the budget. This year, it is not clear whether they will get that funding. Or if they do, it may not come until after October (which would likely push the resurfacing to spring, due to the cool weather).  

Part of the problem is that the courts have deteriorated so badly that instead of repainting (at a cost of $4-5K/court), they need resurfacing ($40K/court).  So the cost of resurfacing Green Hills Park courts is likely $120,000.  We'll keep you posted as Metro goes through its budget process in the next two months.

Bike to Work Day was a hit again this year - tons of fun for our group to ride from the park to downtown.  These geese were in the park that morning, but declined to come along for the ride.

Do you know the history of the park?  It was part of John Trotwood Moore's estate, known as Arden Place.  The estate was torn down in the late 1960's to build the school and park.  We've found a few articles on this history, which are shared here. Have more info on the history of the park? Email us at friendsofghpark@gmail.com

Tennis Courts - Friends, we have mysteriously fallen off the Parks Dept's tennis court priority list. Our neighborhood had been told we were next to be resurfaced, and now that has been pushed back to "someday."  

We need your help to get back to the top of the priority list - can you take a moment to email the Board Chair George Anderson (Gja2220@gmail.com) and/or Assistant Director over maintenance rick.taylor@nashville.gov to ask that Green Hills Park courts be resurfaced as soon as possible?

Bike to Work Day is coming! We will meet at Green Hills Park at 7am on Friday, May 26, depart at 7:10AM and follow the Light Blue route on this map down Belmont Blvd and over Music Row to Downtown. Can you join us? Let us know if you're in!

Hooray for the Park Cleanup and Little Library Installation!
Thanks to all our volunteers and to Donut Den and Starbucks for the sweet treats and coffee.  Thanks to Parnassus Books for the donation of the Little Free Library. It is up and running, and they have donated a bunch of books to get us started.  Take a book (and keep it), donate one of your own books later, and have fun reading!

Green Hills Park is participating in the Mayor's Spring Clean at 9-10 a.m. on Saturday, April 22. Join us at 9:00 am that morning, to spruce up Green Hills Park.  There is not an overwhelming amount of trash, but alot of stuff makes its way to the bushes and borders. 

Big thank you to the folks at Fox Donut Den and the Starbucks near Pier One, who have graciously agreed to provide some sweet treats and coffee.
https://www.facebook.com/events/715643185264384/

More news about the park: 

• The Little Library, sponsored by Parnassus Books, will be installed within the next week. A Little Library is a free book exchange box to be used by park users and J.T. Moore Middle School students. Get ready to take a book or leave a book!

• Also, the Lone Oak sidewalk  connection, from Overhill to Shackleford, that was announced a year ago​ is progressing.  Metro is now obtaining the right of way and easements needed for construction.

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Belmont Park Terrace sidewalk announced - Councilmember Russ Pulley has just announced a new sidewalk project on Belmont Park Terrace.  It will run along the park between Arden Place and Lone Oak Rd.   He does not have further details yet about the design or timeline.  This is obviously great news for the Park. Hopefully we can work on incorporating a crosswalk from Castleman Drive, as part of the project.  

In other good news, Councilmember Angie Henderson has introduced a sidewalk ordinance that will require sidewalks (or an in lieu fee) for the teardown/infill houses that are so prevalent in our neighborhood. These projects have not required sidewalks in the past, because they are single or duplex projects that do not subdivide the lot.  More details, and a flowchart showing when sidewalks would be required, can be found at this link:  http://www.walkbikenashville.org/sidewalkbill493

Russ Pulley is a co-sponsor.  You can let any of the other councilmembers know that you want this bill to pass by clicking here:  https://www.nashville.gov/metro-council/contact-council-members.aspx  Councilmember Henderson will be speaking on her legislation at the next Alliance for Green Hills community meeting - on January 11, 2017 at 8:00am, at the Hampton Inn in Green Hills.

Status of Lone Oak Sidewalk between Overhill and Shackleford- you may have noticed that the right of way has been staked. The design phase is complete. The project is in the engineering phase now.  Construction is likely in early 2017.  

Other happenings in the Park - Metro Parks has agreed to work with us on placing a sign to mark the distance for the walking path.  And, the Cumberland River Compact has applied for a grant that would benefit the no-mow zone in the Park (The Park is in the Brown Creek watershed).  Good things are happening in our neighborhood!  Here's hoping that the park (and you!) have a great 2017.