Support an "Austin Cancer Survivor's Park"

Proposed RA Bloch Cancer

Survivor Plaza

FAQ as of 7/28/09

Overview: This is a proposed plaza to be funded by a grant from the R. A. Bloch Cancer

Foundation. As of 5/26/09, the design has been approved by the Bloch Foundation and

was presented to the City Parks Board as a briefing.

What is the Latest News on the Proposal?

Public input continues to be sought as we go through the approval process with the City

of Austin. As of 7/28/09, we have briefed the Parks and Recreation board in late May

and late June and have briefed the Art in Public Places panel in mid-July. We have not

formally submitted the project to the city but hope to do so soon. We are currently

working to incorporate some of the input that we have received during briefings into the

proposal.

Our thanks to the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Resource Center,

the Lance Armstrong Foundation, TGB Partners and the City of Austin for working with

us. More information about Bloch Cancer Survivor Parks on their website at

www.blochcancer.org.

We have received some input about our proposal during the briefing as well as via email

from citizens, writing us about the proposed Plaza and raising some concerns. We

strongly believe that there has been a fair amount of misinformation and given that much

of it is the same, we believe that is coming from a coordinated source. We wanted to

provide some corrections and a few additional points on why we have proposed this

project.

1) Why the site in front of the Palmer Events Center for the Proposed Plaza?

We have worked with the parks department staff and the convention center staff on the

proposed site and given that a number of elements were stripped out of existing original

pond project, part of the master plan designed in 1998 when Palmer and Butler Park were

built (waterfalls, walkways around the structures, additional native landscaping are

among the items stripped out of the final designs and weren%u2019t built.) Our primary goal is

to use the funds to finish this area of the park that is both incomplete and as a result, is

seldom used now. So, the gift of $1 M from the RA Bloch Cancer Foundation builds on

the over $1 M of improvements already in place. This is the first key difference from a

1996 proposal that some citizens have written about or voiced concerns about.

2) We hear that there are required elements. What are they?

We do provide the required artwork (statues of a family passing through a series of

doorways, often called the Maze sculpture) which appears in all of the Bloch Cancer

Survivor Plazas along with 4 inspirational and 10 practical quotes for anyone facing a

cancer or other life threatening illnesses. These are displayed in various areas of the

design. Apart from calling it the RA Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza, it is open and

accessible and available for other enhancements and artwork. For more information

about the genesis and major elements of every park or plaza, read question #9 below.

We have also identified 11 spaces for artwork that we would like to add to the site and

will raise funds to commission local area artists to design and install those works. This is

a big change from a 1996 proposal.

3) Who designed the project?

This project is designed locally by TBG Partners who have done all of the work pro-bono

to date. We seek to match the materials and native plants already used in the existing site,

which already has over $ 1 M of native stonework and rock work, native landscaping

including a number of mature trees, a pond and benches. This is another big difference

compared to a 1996 proposal, we are using local talent to design and build the plaza and

we are not starting from scratch. Instead, we are working to complete a portion of a park

already in place.

4) What About Ongoing Maintenance and Operation of the plaza once it is completed?

The Austin Parks Foundation with its fiduciary partners will raise the endowment for

ongoing maintenance and operation, adding to the $100,000 starter endowment fund.

This is the another major difference compared to a 1996 proposal, In 1996, there was no

entity looking to start and raise funds for operation and maintenance, we seek to

demonstrate that there are ways to develop public/private partnerships to improve our

parks.

5) Aren%u2019t there specific guidelines governing the selection and placement of Artwork in

Butler Park?

The Art in Public Places program and specific guidelines for Town Lake Park (now

Butler Park) are policy guidelines for Art In Public Places and not part of the ordinance

passed by City Council in 2002. The guidelines specifically state that:

%u2022 All artwork for Town Lake Park must be commissioned. %u2022 Acceptance of gifts of preexisting

artworks and the purchase of pre-existing artwork for Town Lake Park is

strongly discouraged. Standard manufactured park amenities such as benches, picnic

tables, plaques and lighting are under the jurisdiction of the Parks & Recreation

Department and do not qualify as works of art.

We strongly believe that these guidelines for public artwork at Butler Park have resulted

no works of art being added to Butler Park, apart from the decorative fencing in some

areas, the star on top of Doug Sahm Hill and several Texas authors quotes in the pond

area where we've proposed the park.

That said, we have received different, often conflicting information from both the AIPP

panel, but also city staff on how these guidelines apply, to what extent and who decides

what is allowed and is not. We will continue to work with City staff to determine the

appropriate action. Further, we continue to refine our proposals based on the input

received from the city boards and city staff.

6) Aren%u2019t There Greater Needs for Park Improvements at Butler Park?

We acknowledge that the Butler Park and Auditorium Shores areas have many additional

needs for improvements. There are forthcoming improvements for Phases 3 and 4 will

address many that a number of concerned citizens have mentioned including irrigation,

turf, children's playground, possible trail (bridge) enhancements. These issues face many

of our parks through out Austin.

Are there needs for more improvements? Absolutely. But, all donations come with

requirements and no matter the donor, there were be some elements that we need to

provide in any given project. We do understand the desire to keep our park improvements

free. But we also understand that finding donors gets harder and harder every day.

The Austin Parks Foundation has funded over 35 park improvement projects worth over

$500,000 in the past two years and is in track to fund another $600,000 in improvements

in 2009 alone, directly and through 45 partners (specific community groups) who raise

funds under our charitable umbrella. We, like the Trail Foundation and Friends of Deep

Eddy, two other local non-profit foundations, constantly look for fundraising

opportunities and given the challenges that we are facing as we end one lean fiscal year

and approach an even leaner forthcoming fiscal year. We also know that success in large

donations results in success for additional large donations.

7) We%u2019ve heard that some of the survivor parks and plazas in other cities have been

maintained adequately. How do you prevent that from happening in Austin?

In the 1990s, Richard Bloch personally led efforts to develop cancer parks in a number of

cities and the approach, including design, development and construction was handled

differently. Mr. Bloch passed away in 2004 and the foundation has revised its approach,

with local organizations and activists proposing parks to the Bloch Foundation staff,

which then are reviewed and either approved or rejected by the Board of Directors.

A big piece of the discussion is how the park will be developed and maintained and that

has been one of the biggest items in discussions with city staff from both the parks

department and the convention center departments. Specifically, the foundation working

with its volunteer fiduciary partners, agree to raise and hold funds for the heavy

maintenance %u2013 beyond the weeding, mowing or mulching. So, we agree to take the

$100,000 starter fund and add to it to ensure that the park%u2019s irrigation, water, electrical

and other systems are checked and repaired on a regular basis.

8) Why does the Bloch Cancer Foundation fund these parks and plazas? Aren%u2019t there

more important items to fund?

The Bloch Cancer Foundation funds a number of programs, including the Bloch Cancer

Hotline, Multidisciplinary second opinion centers using the Bloch funded Physician Data

Query (PDQ) tool. The Foundation also originated the Cancer Survivors Rally on

National Cancer Survivors Day, held the first Sunday in June of each year, three books

for patients and survivors and lastly, the Cancer Survivor Parks program.

9) What are the required elements of each Cancer Survivor Park or Plaza?

This information comes directly from the Bloch Cancer Foundation website, written by

Mr. Bloch: http://blochcancer.org/2009/02/cancer-survivors-park/

We believe that the second greatest correctable cause of cancer mortality (smoking being

#1) is relating death and cancer. Many have been brought up to believe that a diagnosis of

cancer means automatic death. Some believe that treatments are worse than death. When

they are diagnosed, they give up and do not try to fight.

This brought us to the idea of a Cancer Survivors Park. It would not only encourage

current patients to have the will to fight, but would subconsciously give healthy people,

who know they will never get cancer, the will to fight when they are subsequently

diagnosed. Normally parks memorialize the dead. We wanted to do something as a

tribute to the living. A Park would be there daily %u2013 continuously %u2013 to give the same

message, %u201CDon%u2019t equate death and cancer%u201D. Each person who passes would be

subconsciously reminded. Further, a patient could stroll through the park and gain

strength from it%u2019s various components.

Three fundamental elements were perceived. First is a sculpture as a focal point. Created

by the renowned Mexican sculptor, Victor Salmones, it is eight life-size figures passing

through a maze depicting cancer treatments and success. It is placed in the most visible

point in the park for passers-by because it needs no explanation. People can walk among

the figures, touch them, walk through the maze and generally visualize themselves being

helped. It is moving.

The second element in the park is a %u201CPositive Mental Attitude Walk%u201D. This is an area that

a person can stroll through, meditate and read some 14 plaques; 4 are inspirational and 10

are specific suggestions on fighting cancer.

The third element is The Road to Recovery. This consists of 7 bronze plaques with

common sense advice to use during treatment.

Other than these three components, each park is totally unique, being designed to

complement the local environment. It wants to make a magnificent showing to the passerby.

97% of the American population does not have cancer, knows they will never get it,

has no interest in the park because cancer only happens to the other guy. However, 33%

of the people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. By passing daily and seeing

the beautiful structures and the sign, %u201CCancer Survivors Park%u201D, individuals will realize

when diagnosed that there is a possibility of surviving and hopefully will try to fight

rather than give up.

In Kansas City, the main focal point is a massive arch of triumph. In Omaha, it is 14

stainless columns representing a tower of light. In Houston it is beautifully carved stone

work covered in wrought iron, the dome of which has 2,000 lights. New Orleans is

planned as 14 architecturally different columns with a French style arch and a fountain.

Columbus is a massive 5000 granite ball floating in low pressure water in a base

constantly revolving. The motion can be stopped with one finger and made to go any

other direction. It symbolizes cancer that is constantly moving but with personal

intervention, the course might be changed. Cleveland is a tall obelisk of carved brick.

Landscaping, flowers, water, etc. are all extremely important. We must have an area that

looks beautiful 365 days a year. We love color in the seasons where color is possible, but

we would not want color to be the focal point if it was not possible 12 months a year.

Annette and I want to build a park in every city over one million metropolitan population

in the United States and Canada. We pay the entire cost of constructing the park and fund

perpetual maintenance. If you would like to help get a park built in your city, contact

your Park Department and have them contact us. It might give someone the will to fight

and make the difference.