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February 27, 1967
Mrs. Eliza Paschall
Executive Director .
Community Relations Commission
City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Eliza:
We are all very pleased that you have been appointed as
Executive Director of the Community Relations Commission
and we look forward to working with you and accomplish-
ing many things in the very near future. Please rest
assured that both the Parks and Recreation Divisions are
at your disposal and we will do any and everything
humanly possible within the capacity of our personnel
and Budget to alleviate the many deficiencies fn
recreation and park facilities throughout the disadvantag-
ea areas of our community.
I would like to make some general comments concerning our
capacity to produce. The City has been as fair as they
ean be financially, to the Department of Parks and
Recreation. But many other departments have higher priorities;
for example, the Police and Fire Departments. We have
stretched every dollar eat our disposal as far as it will go
and how we will be eble to take on much additional ackivity
is simply beyond my comprehension. To compound the problem,
the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington cut off
every penny of our recreation funds which we were receiving
through EOA. This left us with a decision es to whether or
not to attempt to operate three separate and distinct and
urgently needed recreation activities; namely, the neighborhood
playlot program, the summer recreation and job opportunities
for youth (Operation Champ) and last but certainly not least
the arts and crafts recreation proggam for the elderly in the
gonior high rise apartments. ee my recommendetion and in
full egreement with Miss Carmichsel's thinking the Mayor has
declared that the neighborhood erere program has the highest
priority of any of these three activities. We have therefore
curtailed normal activities in the advantaged or affluent of
our City so as to accumulate approximately $48,000 in salaries
Mrs. Eliza Paschall
Page Two
which we will utilize in the operation of neighborhood play
lots. EOA started off by financing the creation of 7 of
these lots and we have now grown to approximately 21. We
plan to operate 21. We plan to operate them from June lst
through Labor Day and offer the children a variety of
acitivites plus excursions with our new bus which will hold
30 youngsters or 20 adults.
Our problems are many but most of them could be certainly
solved by money.
As a member of the Atlanta Youth Council I am pleased to
say and to see that the City administration is leaning
towards this agency as the coordinator of Park and Recreation
activities among the private and public agencies. There is
duplication in some instances and certainly we should all
coordinate our activity.
I suppose the real purpose of this letter is to advise that
in many instances we will be unable to meet your requests or
the requests of the communities that call upon youys however,
this is not to say that you shouldn't contact us in each
instance so that we can be certain that everything is being
Gone that is humanly possible.
I wish you every possible success in your new undertaking and
looking forward to working with you, I am
Cordially,
Jack C. Delius
General Manager of
Parks and Recreation
JCD:bjw '
a
ce: Hon. Ivan Allen, Jr., Mayor
Hon. Charlie Leftwich, Chairman
Municipal Parks Committee
ee ee
Mrs. Eliza Paschall
Executive Director .
Community Relations Commission
City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Eliza:
We are all very pleased that you have been appointed as
Executive Director of the Community Relations Commission
and we look forward to working with you and accomplish-
ing many things in the very near future. Please rest
assured that both the Parks and Recreation Divisions are
at your disposal and we will do any and everything
humanly possible within the capacity of our personnel
and Budget to alleviate the many deficiencies fn
recreation and park facilities throughout the disadvantag-
ea areas of our community.
I would like to make some general comments concerning our
capacity to produce. The City has been as fair as they
ean be financially, to the Department of Parks and
Recreation. But many other departments have higher priorities;
for example, the Police and Fire Departments. We have
stretched every dollar eat our disposal as far as it will go
and how we will be eble to take on much additional ackivity
is simply beyond my comprehension. To compound the problem,
the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington cut off
every penny of our recreation funds which we were receiving
through EOA. This left us with a decision es to whether or
not to attempt to operate three separate and distinct and
urgently needed recreation activities; namely, the neighborhood
playlot program, the summer recreation and job opportunities
for youth (Operation Champ) and last but certainly not least
the arts and crafts recreation proggam for the elderly in the
gonior high rise apartments. ee my recommendetion and in
full egreement with Miss Carmichsel's thinking the Mayor has
declared that the neighborhood erere program has the highest
priority of any of these three activities. We have therefore
curtailed normal activities in the advantaged or affluent of
our City so as to accumulate approximately $48,000 in salaries
Mrs. Eliza Paschall
Page Two
which we will utilize in the operation of neighborhood play
lots. EOA started off by financing the creation of 7 of
these lots and we have now grown to approximately 21. We
plan to operate 21. We plan to operate them from June lst
through Labor Day and offer the children a variety of
acitivites plus excursions with our new bus which will hold
30 youngsters or 20 adults.
Our problems are many but most of them could be certainly
solved by money.
As a member of the Atlanta Youth Council I am pleased to
say and to see that the City administration is leaning
towards this agency as the coordinator of Park and Recreation
activities among the private and public agencies. There is
duplication in some instances and certainly we should all
coordinate our activity.
I suppose the real purpose of this letter is to advise that
in many instances we will be unable to meet your requests or
the requests of the communities that call upon youys however,
this is not to say that you shouldn't contact us in each
instance so that we can be certain that everything is being
Gone that is humanly possible.
I wish you every possible success in your new undertaking and
looking forward to working with you, I am
Cordially,
Jack C. Delius
General Manager of
Parks and Recreation
JCD:bjw '
a
ce: Hon. Ivan Allen, Jr., Mayor
Hon. Charlie Leftwich, Chairman
Municipal Parks Committee
ee ee