Wa-Ke Hatchee Recreation Center the place to be

With barely four months passed since the grand opening, the Wa-Ke Hatchee Recreation Center is settling nicely into its niche as the "fun place to be" in southwest Fort Myers, according to Greg Mooneyham.

A retired college baseball coach, Mooneyham recently signed on as senior recreation specialist at Wa-Ke Hatchee, developing general use programs as well as programs for home school kids and senior citizens. And for Mooneyham, the development of those programs is a team effort.

"We are really trying to get the community involved in what Wa-Ke Hatchee becomes," he said, sweeping a hand out to encompass the undeveloped land surrounding the recreation center. "It is a pretty unique opportunity for the people to help make the decisions about what happens here."

In an effort to bring more people into the decision-making process and get community input into the direction for continued development, the Lee County Parks Department will be holding a public meeting at the recreation center this evening. Public input into future development for both the recreation center and the yet-to-be-developed park will be the determining factor in what direction the park takes over the upcoming years.

"This is going to be a unique facility," Mooneyham said, "but we just need the residents and visitors to know we are here and we need them to come and help us make the decisions."

The 50-acre park adjoining the 58,500-square-foot recreation center will be the new home of the South Fort Myers Little League. A lake and walking trails will also be incorporated into the design. Beyond that, said Mooneyham, the park will be whatever the public wants.

"The Rutenburg softball and baseball fields will be moving here," he said, "but we are tying to leave the majority of it up to what the community would like to see at their park."

He said he hopes to see any future plans incorporate wetlands to tie into Cow Slough, a protected natural habitat adjacent to the park.

Proposed amenities at the park include a disc golf course, dog park, tennis courts and a skate ramp. With the area not originally intended as a community park, Mooneyham said it would take the public a period of time to become accustomed to the idea and incorporate the facility into their family activities.

"This is going to be for them," he said. "We've said it from the beginning, "this is your park.' Now you just need to let us know what you want."

As well as working with area residents, Mooneyham is hoping to form a partnership with area businesses and facilities such as HealthPark and Lakes Regional Library to provide unified programs to best serve the residents.

"They have stuck to everything they said they are going to do so far," said Lexington resident Al Stewart. He said the area residents have been invited to be a part of the development process at Wa-Ke Hatchee since before construction began.

Steward, an almost daily visitor to the weight room at the recreation center, rides his bike to the center and is pleased with the adjustments to the traffic flow along Bass Road that were made to accommodate the busses turning in to the Lexington school property. Lexington school and the Wa-Ke Hatchee center and park are a joint venture, one of the few combined public schools and community centers in Lee County.

Currently in the midst of its first summer camp season, Wa-Ke Hatchee is a daily home to more than 120 traditional campers under the age of 13, plus an additional 40 to 60 teenagers.

In an effort to extend the availability of programs for children to even more residents, Mooneyham has developed a comprehensive wellness and fitness program for children ages 11 to 13. The three-day, nine-hour program is based on the health triangle, bringing in the combined emotional, physical and social aspects that contribute to a complete and healthy lifestyle, said Mooneyham. Decision-making skills and dealing with peer pressure are included in the program Mooneyham said is designed to give children choices and a part in making decisions.

"I don't like it when people tell me what to do, and the kids don't either," he said. "We want to empower our young people and give them some tools they can use — and have fun doing it."

Mooneyham, a former school teacher as well as athletics coach, utilized similar programs in his classes and experienced the success of giving youth a part in decision making processes. He said he would like to see Wa-Ke Hatchee adopt that attitude in its decision making process.

"We would like to see the youth a part of the decision making process of what goes on here in the future," he said. "This Wellness and Fitness Program may be a stepping stone to that."

Both the public meeting and the Wellness and Fitness Program will be held at the Wa-Ke Hatchee Recreation Center located at 16760 Bass Road in Fort Myers.

The public meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, and the three-day Wellness and Fitness program will be from 2 to 5 p.m. June 11, 18 and 25. There is a $10 fee for the program and attendance is limited to the first 20 registrants. To register, call 432-2154.