APV would continue maintenance

By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor
Osceola County is considering entering into a partnership with the Association of Poinciana Villages for ownership of the Charlie Wheeler and Vance Harmon parks.

The 26.4-acre Charlie Wheeler Park, which includes land in its natural state, is near Deerwood Elementary School and features a playground and playing fields for softball and Little League and Senior League baseball.
Jeanette Coughenour, association manager, said a plan to deed the two parks to the county has been on the table for “going on three years.” The agreement, she said, also would keep management and maintenance of the two parks in the hands of the association, with capital improvements or replacement of equipment beyond simple repairs the job of the county.
“While these two parks are Poinciana facilities, they are being used by people in the surrounding area – such as sports teams that come in and play Poinciana teams,” Coughenour said. “We encourage anyone to come in and use our parks; we don’t throw people out because they live outside Poinciana.”
Coughenour said the two parks are very well maintained and that they are both heavily used. She added that both parks are named after residents who are now deceased who were both active in the early days of Poinciana in support of youth and community activities.
The 35-acre Deerwood Park, which is at 4051 Laurel Ave. in Poinciana and operated by the Association of Poinciana Villages, is a facility that is owned by the county through an arrangement that is “along the same lines” as the one proposed for the Wheeler and Harmon parks, Coughenour said, adding that the arrangement has been a success.
Arrington agreed that the Deerwood Park arrangement has been a success.
“The APV approached me just after I was elected, and it was something that made sense to me,” Arrington said of the latest proposal, adding that Michael Freilinger, the former county manager, had started looking at drafting an agreement. “The major reason for APV wanting to do this is for insurance purposes; a private entity has a lot more liability exposure than the county would have.”
Arrington said that at the county’s request the association made a number of repairs and equipment upgrades at the two parks following an inspection by county Parks and Recreation staff.
“They had to be up to the level of quality of an Osceola County park,” Arrington said. “We required certain upgrades before we would take them over.”
Arrington said having parks in Poinciana that are up to the level of county standards is a benefit in the community in terms of having a place for organized sports activities, especially for the youth.
“It’s tough in that area now,” he said, referring to the lack of nearby recreational outlets for youth especially and the impact of the recession on the community.