New Albany - Plain Local Joint Parks District

The parks district was formed in 1999 by the New Albany-Plain Local School District, the village of New Albany and Plain Township to develop and manage park land within the school district’s boundaries.

History

THE BEGINNING :

In 1994, New Albany Parks Commission was directed to chair the Focus Group made up of 2 representatives each from the School, Township, and the Village in order to determine the feasibility of creating a Joint Parks District. With this community effort, we successfully formed the New Albany Plain Local Joint Parks District in 1999. With our team effort, the JPD successfully obtained a permanent operating levy from the voters in 2000.

2001:

In 2001, the JPD hired a full time Parks and Recreation Director. With an office at the Plain Local Schools, he was running the parks and the office as the community continued to grow. 

2002:

The local sports leagues started to grow at a fast rate, and the JPD needed more space and more staff. The New Albany Company donated 55 acres to the NAPL Joint Parks District to increase inventory that we needed. 

2003:

The JPD moved our office from the schools to an office in the center of town, in a business suite on Market Street. We also went to the voters in February of 2003 to ask voters to approve a .60 mil bond issue to raise capital funds($5 Million) to develop the land that was donated and desperately needed for more field space. The District was now growing past a one man office, so the JPD hired a new staff member to be the Sports Coordinator to all of our local sports leagues. The JPD started construction of the new Thompson Park to add 7 more athletic fields, 5 tennis courts, 2 playgrounds, 1 open air pavilion, 1 permanent restroom/concession stand, and walking trails and paths through out the park.

2004:

The JPD added a new member to the staff 3 days a week to help in the office with people registering for sports and bookkeeping. We also started the development of Thompson Park, which is an active park that has 40 acres of developed land for soccer, football, lacrosse, tennis, playgrounds, picnic shelter, and permanent restroom and concession stand. In November of 2004, the JPD went back to the community voters for more funds to purchase and develop more active park space. The community passed the bond issue of .72mils overwhelmingly, for the JPD to buy and develop another 55 acres directly next to existing leased 72 acres of Bevelhymer Park. The JPD also formed an agreement with a local investor to create an indoor tennis facility at no additional tax dollars at Thompson Park, by constructing bubbles over the existing tennis facility. Thompson Park was completed and opened for the community to use.

2005:

Continuing to increase the parks inventory was the plan for this year. The JPD purchased 16 acres and received a donation of 39 acres directly next to Bevelhymer Park. The design of the new expansion was completed and construction began on the new piece of the park. The new expansion was going to turn Bevelhymer Park into a 135 sports complex. The new expansion was adding 9 athletic fields, 4 baseball/softball fields, 3 parking lots, paths and trails through out the park, 1 permanent restroom/concession stand, and a pond. The JPD added a new staff member to the team, the parks supervisor.

2006:

Working to complete the new Bevelhymer Park Expansion was the priority for 2006. The project was 90 percent completed in the fall of 2006, now we just needed the fields to get established and with strong roots. We were ready to start rotating fields so we could repair some older fields. We also started the planning for a new JPD Office out at Bevelhymer Park. 

2007

The new Bevelhymer Park Expansion is completed and parts of the new park will open in the fall. Construction of the new JPD office has started and will be completed in August. At which time the JPD headquarters will move to the center of Bevelhymer Park. 

Parks Director

• Parks Director: Dave Wharton
• Dave Wharton joined the Joint Parks District in November 2001. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dave has lived in Columbus since 1993. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in Business Communication and Marketing and his Masters degree from the Ohio State University in Sports Management.
  
  A competitive swimmer since youth, Dave was a member of both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams. He won a silver medal in the 400 individual medley at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Dave broke the first of two world records in 1987 in Brisbane, Australia for the same event.
  
  In 1993 Dave relocated to Columbus, Ohio and became an assistant coach at the Ohio State University. While working with Division 1 men and women, Dave was able to help athletes achieve their highest goals.
  
  In 1997 an opportunity to work at the New Albany High School and with the New Albany Community became available. Since then he has been coaching the New Albany High School Varsity Swim and Dive team. He had also been providing programs and outlets to the community through the aquatic facility at the New Albany High School.
  
  Dave is looking forward to working with the entire community by developing programs and outlets to help everyone enjoy the Parks and Recreation opportunities in the New Albany area.

Sports Coordinator

• Sports Coordinator: Noah Harner
• In June 2006 Noah Harner joined the NAPL Joint Parks District as the Sports Coordinator. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Mount Union College and his Master’s in Recreation and Park Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.
  
  For the past seven years, Noah has been employed in the recreation industry at the collegiate level. From 1999-2003, he was the Sports Complex Coordinator at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and has also worked at Assumption College as the Assistant Recreational Sports Director from 2003-2005.  Noah’s hometown is Athens, Ohio.

Parks Supervisor

• Parks Supervisor: Jason Sparhawk

Office Manager / Book Keeper

• Office Manager / Book Keeper: Deana White

Trustees

The New Albany Plain Local Joint Parks District is led by three dedicated volunteers. Each trustee represents one of the entities that formed the Parks District.

• Trustee: Todd Brubaker, New Albany Village Representative
• Trustee Todd Brubaker started his term with the NAPL Joint Parks District in March of 2004 and was just reappointed in April of 2007 for a 2nd term. Todd has been involved for many years in various rolls with the local sports leagues, including coach, coordinator, and chair for basketball, soccer and lacrosse leagues. Todd is also the president of a company called nSystems. He has lived in New Albany for 14 years, and is married with two sons, one in college and the other at New Albany High School. Todd was involved with the Village Parks Advisory Board for 6 years before being appointed to the JPD.
• Trustee: Jon Yarger, Plain Local School Representative
• Trustee Jon Yarger represents the Plain Local School District. Jon is a chartered financial consultant affiliated with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, and serves clients in the areas of overall financial planning and investments. Jon has been helping the New Albany community by assisting the financial committee with the New Albany Board of Education
• Trustee: Mark Wilson, Plain Township Representative
• Trustee Mark Wilson represents Plain Township. Mark Wilson moved from Boston to New Albany in 2004. His family includes three sons in NA elementary and middle schools. He has been active in youth sports since arriving in New Albany, coaching and providing leadership for baseball and football. Mark is Director of Sports Camps at The Ohio State University Department of Athletics.

Trustee Meetings

The Trustees meet on the First Monday of every month at 6:00 PM at the JPD Office located at 7860 Bevelhymer Road.

JPD Web Site Designer

• Jeffrey S. Krugh

• As a father of children that benefit from the JPD’s efforts in recreational sports, Jeff Krugh volunteers his company’s, INTER-connected Web Designs, Ltd., computer services for the JPD web site. Jeff has been a resident of the New Albany area since 1998.

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New Albany - Plain Local Joint Parks District : 7860 Bevelhymer Road New Albany OH 43054
Phone: 614-939-PARK (7275) Fax: 614-939-7280
dwharton@naparks.org © 2002 - 2008 Site Last Modified: 06/19/08 03:08 PM
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