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Help build one-wall handball in St. Paul - UPDATE

09/21/2018, 9:00am CDT
By Rich Ryan

Make a charitable contribution now and see handball grow...

HELP BUILD OUTDOOR HANDBALL IN SAINT PAUL

September 2018 Update:

This week we participated in a community Open House on the Outdoor Handball at Clayland Park project.  During the next two weeks, visual sketches of the planned courts will be posted at Clayland Park to ensure we have community acceptance.  

Also during the next few weeks, St. Paul City Park and Rec will be finalizing a draft of a Funding Agreement, which will be signed by our Committee (Mitch Lallier, Rich Ryan, Curt Schlenner, and Greg Taylor) and St. Paul city officials, including the Mayor.  (A Construction Agreement will be signed at a later date.)  

Once the Funding Agreement is signed by all parties, we will be consolidating all contributions from the 501c3 account and pledged donations, as well as seeking contributions for the approximately $11,000 we need to reach the $50,000 goal for full project funding.  If you wish to contribute at this time to the 501c3 account, checks should be addressed to:

            Hamline Midway Coalition
            
1558 West Minnehaha Ave.
 
           St. Paul, MN 55104
            Attn: Kate Mudge
                    Executive Director

                (Note on the check that it is for “Clayland Park Handball”)

We should then be ready to break ground in the Spring, 2019.  In the meantime, please send e-mails supporting the project, with comments as to what Handball has meant to you, to the following individuals:

Kate Mudge, Executive Director, Hamline Midway Coalition: kate@hamlinemidway.org

Alice Messer, St. Paul Park and Rec Construction Manager: Alice.Messer@ci.stpaul.mn.us

Bryan Murphy, St. Paul Park and Rec Landscape Architect: bryan.murphy@ci.stpaul.mn.us

 

OUTDOOR ONE WALL HANDBALL AT CLAYLAND PARK:  May, 2018 UPDATE

We are now closer than ever to realizing Outdoor Handball in Saint Paul! 

Due to Engineering/Construction costs not initially identified by the City of St. Paul Park and Rec, construction of the Outdoor One Wall Handball courts at Clayland Park will not be done by the City, but by Frerichs Construction of St. Paul.  Cost estimates for soil inspection, structural engineering, and working drawings are now being pulled together; an initial estimate for the project is $50,000, which will be finalized once the soil analysis is done.  The project is subject to design review and quality and safety inspection by the City.

   

To date, we have raised $37,000 in donations and pledges.  A sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed!  Greg Taylor has prepared an application to the Neighborhood STAR grant program, which awards grants for capital improvement projects in St. Paul neighborhoods and is funded with the City’s ½ cent sales tax proceeds.  We are competing for the award against a number of other organizations; a decision is expected in early June.

WE CONTINUE TO NEED DONATIONS TO FUND THIS PROJECT!  Checks can be addressed to the 501C3 fiscal agent, “Hamline Midway Coalition” and sent to:

Hamline Midway Coalition
1558 W. Minnehaha Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55104

Attn: Michael Jon Olson
        Executive Director

Checks may also be sent to the Minnesota State Handball Association.  In either case, note on the check that it is for “Clayland Park Handball.”

Background:
The City of Saint Paul Park and Rec department has approved a site at Clayland Park in the Midway area on Fairview Avenue, two blocks south of Pierce Butler Route.  The Hamline Midway Coalition of area businesses and neighborhood groups and local City Councilmember Russ Stark of Ward 4, have also endorsed the project.

Two back to back regulation size One Wall courts would be built adjacent to the existing tennis courts.  The courts would be fenced in, have a blacktop surface, with each court 34 feet long and 20 feet wide.  A 16 foot high concrete wall would separate the courts.  Total area required would be approximately 90 feet by 26 feet and would take up only a relatively small area of existing green space.

Unfortunately, the Saint Paul Park and Rec department budget for their next fiscal cycle is committed to deferred maintenance and does not provide funding for new construction.  The original estimated amount needed for the project,  $40,000, must then come from private sources.  We had hope to raise this amount by March 31 so that construction can take place later this year.

We are asking for your contribution to this project to “give back” to Handball and grow the sport we all love.  Checks can be made out to: “Hamline Midway Coalition” with a note on the check that it is for “Clayland Park Handball.” 

The Coalition sponsors a 501c3 account for this project, so that all contributions are tax deductible.

Thank you for your help!

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