New Kent Parks and Recreation shift strategy as population, programs continue to grow

Small touches such as an expression board outside of the playground at Pine Fork Park has been one of the many things that New Kent Parks and Recreation Director Kim Turner has done to accommodate all visitors.

Andre' Jones photo

When COVID-19 arrived, New Kent Park and Recreation Director Kim Turner said they were knee-deep in programming. And while grants were used to aid staff in childcare services and provide outdoor recreational equipment, she knew she had a big obligation to fill when everything would return to a sense of normalcy.

“We didn’t know when people were going to go back inside,” Turner said in a Wednesday morning interview, sitting under the shade at the two-year old Pine Fork Park. “We just had to be ready and were heavy on working with essential personnel and funding to support programming and staff to work on them.”

For Turner, she had to stay many steps ahead when it came to her department. With New Kent being the fastest growing locality in the state of Virginia for two consecutive years, it has forced a shift in the direction she has planned.

“The growth of the county has prompted capital projects and providing support for them,” Turner admitted. “From outdoor programming, sports programming, and even the construction of Pine Fork Park, the numbers have made this department evaluate.”

Even with Pine Fork Park opening only two years ago, the director that they could still use more space for recreational activities.

“In particular, our youth programming has grown exponentially,” Turner said, using the soccer program for example that was once at 150 participants to well over 400. “The programming has changed and the type has changed.”

One of Turner’s primary focuses coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic was providing more programs that focused on mental health. She commented that the toll it took on both adults and kids prompted the shift.

“We were having kids come back into our programming that had missed kindergarten and first grade, so we needed to do more by adding social skills in our programs,” she said. “With both the kids and adults, we wanted to provide them outlets on how to deal with anxiety and get them back into society.”

As things began to slowly get back to normal, indoor and outdoor programming gradually returned. But there were a lot of things that have been teased around, with some even coming into fruition.

“The demand for pickleball has been one of the biggest changes,” Turner said, pointing to the four new courts at Pine Fork Park. “Besides that, having a dog park that allows them to roam freely and off the leash has prompted us to add a program just for them.

“The [New Kent] Board [of Supervisors] have teased around and looked into the possibility in getting a pool, but nothing is in the plans at this time,” she continued. “We have looked in it just like we did with pickleball, and with the latter, we were able to turn that around quick because it was inexpensive.

And while Pine Fork Park has seen increases thanks to the combination of regular patrons and the use of facilities by youth organizations, other recreation areas has seen a boost as well.

“Wahrani Trail went from having two cars parked to being overcrowded during the pandemic,” she said. “Now, we are partnering with an organization to allow mountain bikes on it.

“Quinton Park is still popular with daycares and more attractive to cornhole players,” Turner added. “We are looking to make upgrades there, as well as other places.”

The New Kent director said that she hopes that people see that the smallest of amenities make a difference as she expects more and more people will continue to frequent the parks.

“Our concession stand still hasn’t been fully operated, but we expect that to happen this upcoming Spring,” Turner said as she wrapped up the interview. “Even to have bathrooms instead of porta-potties make a difference.

“Overall, we’re making some improvements and we are hoping to attract some more attention. We have conceptual plans for a few things and in the end, we want our citizens to enjoy the facilities, programming, and offerings we have for them.”