UPDATE: 2/19/2024:
Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) Director D. Tyrell McGirt and other City of Asheville staff look forward to meeting with community members during this drop-in format community meeting. This format allows as many Asheville residents as possible to attend.
Off-street parking is located off Harnett Street. APR staff will greet guests at the school’s entrance and direct them to the cafeteria. Spanish interpretation from Cenzontle Language Justice Cooperative is available throughout the community meeting.
Buncombe County Special Collections will also be at the meeting with information about the West Asheville History Project and how community members can contribute to local history collections at Buncombe County Public Libraries. Those interested in sharing memories or donating or scanning photos, ephemera, and/or writings are welcome to bring those items or find out how to do so after the event.
Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) will host a community meeting to discuss the process that led to the difficult decision to not open the outdoor pool in Malvern Hills Park this year. Asheville residents are invited to attend.
- Wednesday, February 21, 2024
- 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
- Lucy S. Herring Elementary School, 98 Sulphur Springs Road
City of Asheville officials previously announced the 90 year-old pool can no longer be repaired to safely serve the community. APR Director D. Tyrell McGirt gave a presentation and answered questions from City Council members during an agenda briefing on February 8. Slides from the presentation are available online and the meeting can be viewed on the City of Asheville’s YouTube channel (presentation begins at 1:25:30).
As part of the larger APR system, the forthcoming community-created parks and recreation comprehensive plan, Recreate Asheville: Shaping Our City’s Parks, will inform future investments in Malvern Hills Park and other recreation facilities in the city. Development of the plan is currently entering its second phase of engagement with additional public feedback opportunities in March including community workshops on March 28. The completed plan is scheduled for presentation to City Council in June 2024.
Asheville Parks & Recreation
With its oldest parks dating to the 1890s, Asheville Parks & Recreation manages a unique collection of more than 65 public parks, playgrounds, and open spaces throughout the city in a system that also includes full-complex recreation centers, swimming pools, Riverside Cemetery, sports fields and courts, and community centers that offer a variety of wellness-, education-, and culture-related programs for Ashevillians of all ages. With 10 miles of paved greenways and numerous natural surface trails, its complete portfolio acts as the foundation of a vibrant hub for the people of Asheville to connect with their neighbors and explore the natural beauty of a livable and walkable city.
Driven by the promise that Asheville is a better and safer place when everyone from infants to retirees has the opportunity to be supported, healthy, and successful, Asheville Parks & Recreation was the first nationally-accredited municipal recreation department in the United States. For the latest updates, sign up for Asheville Parks & Recreation’s monthly newsletter, follow the department on Facebook (@aprca) and Instagram (@ashevilleparksandrecreation), or visit www.ashevillenc.gov/parks.