Rotary Club of Inverness REFURBISHING SCOUT CAMPING AREA WHISPERING PINES PARK January - March, 2017 The Rotary Club of Inverness was instrumental in helping the City of Inverness establish Whispering Pines Park. We have maintained that partnership over the years by tackling a variety of park improvement projects. On the park s front columns are brass Rotary wheel emblems, signifying the club s commitment. Whispering Pines is a 290 acre public oasis within the Inverness city limits that serves more than 500,000 county and city residents and visitors each year. With previous years grant projects, the Rotary Club of Inverness accomplished these projects: refurbishing the activities building; reworking the park entrance/gatehouse area with major new signage and landscaping, irrigation and lighting; upgrading and re landscaping the swimming pool complex area; making major improvements to the very popular Family Recreation Area; and last year we installed wayfinding signage for the park s five trails, plus added strategically placed benches. This year in Whispering Pines the Rotary Club of Inverness undertook a major facility upgrade of the park s campground used by Boy Scouts and other youth groups. Working with Park Manager Ron Hodges, we helped plan the project and procure materials, and we held a workday to paint buildings and install solar lighting. We had professionals replace the restroom building s badly deteriorated roof and upgrade fixtures inside to meet ADA standards. Page 1 of 10
Whispering Pines Park Inverness, Florida CURRENT PROJECT AREA Rotary Club of Inverness project site areas PREVIOUS PROJECT AREAS Page 2 of 10
The way it looked before... The Boy Scout Camping Area and facilities in Whispering Pines Park needed some very specific upgrading. The 1980s restrooms needed to be brought up to code and to ADA standards. Neither the picnic pavilion nor the restroom building had been painted in years. There is no electricity at the camp. The restroom building s skylight covers were dirty and cracked. The roof was in very bad shape, with missing shingles, leaky areas and rotten beams. Thousands of scouts and other youth groups regularly used the area through the years, but it just wasn t welcoming. Page 3 of 10
The plan included...... roofing, painting, upgraded bathroom fixtures, solar lighting, new fencing at the parking area, a new fire pit assembly and lantern pole The plumbing contractor was called in to replace the plumbing fixtures first. Then the roofer was brought in to repair rotten timbers and re roof the restroom building with long life metal roofing and brand new skylights to allow daylight into the enclosed restrooms. At that point the Rotarian work began. We assembled 15 Rotarians, 7 Scouts from Troop 457, which we sponsor, 7 Interact students from Citrus High School, 2 Rotary Youth Exchange students, plus parents, troop leaders, counselors, family and friends. We were supervised by Ron Hodges, Whispering Pines Park manager, who had done a great job of assembling tools and materials for the workday. At left: Top first shift, before anyone got dirty; Troop 457 members below. At right, Rotarian project coordinator Lace Blue McLean There was plenty of painting work to go around, which pleased our young helpers. Left: We had to assemble, then install the solar collectors on the restroom building, and connect them to the flood and ondemand solar lights inside the building. The packaging made it look easy. Page 4 of 10
Workday progressed... FENCING Dig the fence poles... Place the uprights... Insert the cross beams... Oh, no! They aren t straight! Page 5 of 10
Workday progressed... PAINTING Page 6 of 10
Workday progressed... SOLAR LIGHTING Page 7 of 10
Finishing touches... The new fire ring and movable, integrated grill will make cooking so much easier and safer, while the lantern pole will allow users to throw light on the evening cooking operation. Inside the restroom building, both male and female sides are freshly painted. The new skylights let in daytime light. For evening and night hours, stored solar energy powers room lighting from solar floodlights as well as solar on demand wall lights. Page 8 of 10
Completed project... Tired troops and a job well done Page 9 of 10
Whispering Pines Park Refurbishing Scout Camping Area Rotary Club of Inverness Materials list Metal roof with skylights Replacement bathroom fixtures [ADA standards] both male and female Solar light fixtures and collector assemblies for restrooms Paint for restrooms inside and out, plus for big pavilion Fire pit rings with cooking grate Lantern poles Painting supplies Total budgeted for materials: $10, 250 Time investment City of Inverness staff = 50 hours Rotary Club of Inverness, Citrus High Interact, RYE students, Boy Scouts of Troop 457, and Rotarian friends & family = 175 hours THANKS To Project Leader Lace Blue-McLean and her steering committee To the Citrus High School Interact members, RYE students and Boy Scouts who gave up Saturday hours for the project To city project manager Ron Hodges, a great partner at the City of Inverness, and the reliable vendors he uses To all the Rotarians and friends who helped on this project Page 10 of 10