FRIENDS OF FONTICELLO PARK
WHO WE ARE
The current Friends of Fonticello Park, formerly Carter Jones/Fonticello Park, was founded on January 28, 2020 after seven neighbors met and decided that a group was needed to advocate for the park after years of deferred maintenance and the death of 9 year old Markiya Dickson in May 2019.
GROUP HISTORY
The current Friends of Fonticello Park recognizes that a previous Friends Group used to exist. We are working hard to find additional information about their efforts, so we can document that history here. If you were a part of that group or are able to tell us about their work, please reach out to us at fonticelloparkfriends@gmail.com
In 2020, the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation department was working with the Timmons Group to develop and gather feedback on a conceptual Master Plan for the park. In March 2020, the pandemic shut down the world and all forward movement on updating the park came to a halt. On May 7, 2020, the Urban Design Committee did recommend approval with conditions to the conceptual location, character, and extent review of the Fonticello-Carter Jones Park Master Plan. On May 28, 2020, the Planning Commission approved the plan. (Richmond Virginia Legislation) No further movement on updating the park occurred. The Fonticello Food Forest and weekly free farmstead continued.
The playground was closed and some structures removed in November 2020 due to safety concerns from previous vandalism. On January 23, 2021, Chris Schwartz from the City of Richmond’s Parks, Recreations, and Community Facilities (PRCF) Department held a virtual meeting with community members to discuss and review possible replacement designs of the playground equipment in Carter Jones/Fonticello Park. Another meeting happened in March 2021 onsite in the park.
In July 2021, Jameson Price reached out on the Facebook page to garner support for more community input about the master plan and to propose possible revisions. In February 2022, the rest of the playground was locked. In March 2022, parents held a meeting with Deputy Director Shamar Young to once again discuss the timeline for the playground. The Parks Department maintains that the procurement process continues to delay the process.
It wasn’t until Summer 2022 that momentum began to grow. In June 2022, Amy Robins and Laney Sullivan did a walk through of the park to document the crumbling infrastructure and multiple safety issues. On June 29, 2022, Councilmember Stephanie Lynch hosted a community meeting with Parks & Recreation Park Director Chris Frelke and Deputy Director Shamar Young regarding the state of Carter Jones Park. As a result of this meeting (details in post from Amy Robins on Facebook Friends Group), another survey was distributed to the community in July 2022 to gather feedback on the proposed plan, possible changes, prioritization and the needs of the park. In August 2022, the benches at the pavilion and then the remaining playground fencing and seating were removed.
Unfortunately, on September 4, 2022, another shooting occurred in the park after a fight broke out at a baby shower. Three teens were shot, luckily with non-life threatening injuries. This prompted further community outrage at the continued lack of momentum on the park’s future. Ten days later, another community meeting was held in the park hosted by Councilmember Stephanie Lynch with Parks and Recreation Park Deputy Directors Shamar Young and Nissa Dean. Community members express outrage at the continued deferred maintenance and neglect.
From this meeting, at the urging of neighbors, Parks and Recreation dispatched electricians and technicians to fix the lighting in the park. The community was starting to see movement on their needs. On September 21, the first official Friends of Fonticello Park meeting took place in the park, led by Laney Sullivan. Both Shamar Young and Josh Feola, the City of Richmond Maintenance and Operations Superintendent were also in attendance. Meeting notes are here.
In December 2022 and January 2023, the Friends of Fonticello Park submitted paperwork to become a recognized nonprofit. This status will allow us to raise funds for park projects and be more effective in our advocacy.
The Friends group is dedicated to continued improvement and growth in the park. Currently, there are sub committees working to develop a dog park on the eastern baseball field, a native meadow where the old playground used to stand, and a program committee to establish family friend and community events in the park.
In November 2022, led by Ja’Nai Frederick, a team of neighbors and park supporters won the grand prize in the Better Housing Coalition’s Gingerbread House Challenge. This effort won the Friends of Fonticello Park $1000 towards future park improvements.
The Friends of Fonticello Park present their team’s gingerbread house entry. Hosted by the young professionals board of the Better Housing Coalition, teams constructed gingerbread houses centered around the 2022 theme, “RVA Neighborhoods.”
FRIENDS OF FONTICELLO PARK
hello@fonticelloparkrva.com
PARK ADDRESS
2715 Bainbridge Street
Richmond, VA 23225
CONNECT
© 2023 Friends of Fonticello Park, Richmond, Virginia. The Friends of Fonticello Park is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
FRIENDS OF FONTICELLO PARK 