Mark Your Calendars for It’s My Park Day at Balcones District Park – Sat. Nov. 4, 2023

We are excited about our upcoming It’s My Park Day at Balcones District Park on Sat. Nov. 4, 2023.

We are looking for someone who can step in and help us lead this project. If you are interested please email us at milwoodna1 (a) gmail.com
IMPD-2023-11

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Balcones Park and Pool’s Bathroom Improvements

Let’s make a difference in our neighborhood! Join us today in improving our wonderful Balcones Park & Pool’s Bathrooms!

We hope to try to partner with Austin Parks Foundation and City of Austin to make improvements to the bathrooms on both the park side and the pool side. We are excited that this benefit will enable us to better serve pool guests during the summer as well as park users year-round. Pictures of Bathrooms here.PXL_20230224_182328287

Ideally we would raise enough to replace the toilets, sinks, and lighting fixtures but if not we will do the most with what we receive – starting with the park bathrooms since they are used year round! If we surpass our goal, any additional funds would be used to make additional improvements to flooring, doors, lifeguard hut, and showers.

We currently have $7,650 of $25,000 goal!

Please help us by making a donation or sharing to a neighbor!

Our park is well loved and the new playground and relatively new pool shade has been great in bringing people to our park. These additional Bathroom Improvements would go a very long way in increasing the enjoyment of park users as well so we are hopeful that we can make it happen! Thank you!!

Ways to Donate:

Donating is simple, just choose from the options below. Every penny will go toward the Balcones Park Project and once we raise $25,000 we will work with that to try and get grants from APF to make even more improvements! (Please consider making larger donations via check to save the cost of fees.)

Note: Many employers (Dell, Apple, etc) offer a donor matching program, so you can double your donation by giving through your company to Austin Parks Foundation – Balcones Park. (Please try to note that it is for Balcones Park). PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ALSO EMAIL US at balconespark@gmail.com with the details so we can make sure the funds actually get to Balcones Park.

  • Mail a check to MNA (if possible please also include the Park Donor Form)
    Milwood Neighborhood Association (Co-Adopters of Balcones Park)
    P.O. Box 81224
    Austin TX, 78708-1224
  • A face to face drop off. Just email or call 51two-636-9176If you have any questions or technical problems, please feel free to contact us.

    If you have ideas on how to help us raise the funds contact us at balconespark@gmail.com or call 512-636-9176!!

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    July 4th Parade & Picnic, Tuesday, July 4th at 9:30am

    Tuesday, July 4th is our 19th Annual Fourth of July Parade & Picnic!

    We can’t have this event without volunteers & shade tents please take a moment to sign up to help!

    Click Here or call/txt  *512*636-9176

    Come watch, walk or ride in the parade, eat burgers/hot dogs, listen to Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, meet neighbors, win prizes, support our neighborhood & park and celebrate our Independence as a nation!!

    And as a Special Treat – Amy’s Ice Cream is going to have a booth at the Park to give a FREE scoop to attendees!

    The Patriotic Parade Contest will be held for the best decorated walkers, riders and/or float so grab your friends and neighbors and get decorating!! Everyone in the parade is eligible and anyone can join in the parade – just gather at Milwood Baptist Church around 9:30am and fall in line. Parade kicks off at 10am.

    Patriotic Music will begin soon after the parade arrives at the park. We are so very excited to have Austin Civic Wind Ensemble back this year!

    Check in at the membership tables to get your Raffle Tickets and a Grand Prize Ticket either at the church or at the picnic at the park. So don’t forget your $15 for dues to support MNA and any extra for tipping the band. Additional Raffle Tickets can be purchased at $1 per ticket for the chance to win lots of other great prizes totaling over $1,000 in value! All the proceeds for MNA raffle tickets sold will go towards improvements at the park.

    If you can’t make the picnic and want to pay your $15 dues click here. It is easy & secure.

    Parade & Picnic Schedule – Tuesday, July 4th
    9:30am: Gathering for Parade at Milwood Baptist Church (12217 Cassady Dr) All are welcome to walk in the parade & win the Spirit Contest – just show-up & fall in line.
    10:00am: Parade Begins (Parade Map)
    10:30am: Parade Ends at Balcones Park & Spirit Contest for Costumes, Bikes and Floats
    10:30am: Austin Civic Wind Ensemble is BACK to play for us!
    11:00am: Lunch Begins (Burgers/Hot Dogs/Vegetarian Option & Cold Drinks)
    11:00am: Raffle Drawing Begins

    Balcones Pool will open at 12noon!

     

    Thank you to our Event Sponsors:
    The UPS Store – Parmer/Mopac near HEB
    H&H Design & Build
    All City Real Estate Realtor, Melissa Wile
    Realty Austin, Shannon Reeve
    Law Office of Brandon Bledsoe
    Waterloo Window Treatments, Celeste Bronson
    Textruss, Inc
    Milwood Baptist Church
    Schwab

    Sponsors-2023

    THANKS to our Entertainment and Food/Drink Donors!

    – Patriotic Concert by Austin Civic Wind Ensemble
    – Ice Cream donations by Amy’s Ice Cream
    – Food donations by Costco
    – Food donations by HEB on Parmer/McNeil
    – Drink donations by Covenant United Methodist Church
    – Parade sponsor by Milwood Baptist Church

    THANKS to our Prize Donors! Coming soon!

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    Balcones’ Potluck Pool Party – Sat. June 3 from 2-4pm – All Welcome!

    Let’s celebrate summer, our pool & great neighbors at Balcones’ Potluck Pool Party
    Saturday, June 3 from 2 to 4pm at Balcones Pool, 12017 Amherst Dr, Austin, TX 78759.

    We welcome everyone to bring a main dish, side or dessert to help us make this a complete community gathering!  Please bring your own water bottles or drinks of choice (no glass).

    Please RSVP HERE so we can plan accordingly.

    Admission to Balcones Pool is ALWAYS FREE to all!

    Please note that we will reschedule in the event of rain so check back or expect an email to the address you RSVPed with.

    So come on out, bring a dish, meet your fellow neighbors, make friends with your soon to be swim team and swim lesson mates!

    Swim Lesson Registration for Balcones Pool is ALSO Open! The Swim Lessons are in 2 week groups on every Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri for 30 minutes and only $57! Then you can stay and practice what you learn before and after! A great way to get your kids swimming!

    And Balcones Barracudas Swim Team is a GREAT way to help become a proficient swimmer, all you have to do to join is be able to get across the pool, it doesn’t have to look good. Only $80 for the summer.

    https://www.austintexas.gov/swimming

    https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Aquatics/Aquatics_Guide_2019_web.pdf

    To Register go to & choose the Aquatics box in the first row of pics: https://web2.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/txaustinwt.wsc/splash.html?InterfaceParameter=WebTrac

    June 2 – June 4, 2023

    Hours of Operation
    Weekdays
    12:00 pm – 7:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim*
    Weekends
    12:00 pm – 7:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim*

    *Two (2) lap lane available

     

    June 5 – July 15, 2023

    Hours of Operation
    Weekdays – Closed Mondays
    8:00 am – 10:00 am Swim Team*

    10:00 am – 12:00 pm Swim Lessons/Lap Swim**

    12:00 pm – 8:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim***

    5:50 pm – 8:00 pm Swim Lessons

    Weekends
    11:00 am – 8:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim***
    Juneteenth – Monday, June 19, 2023
    11:00 am – 8:00 pm Recreational Swim
    Sunday, August 13, 2023
    11:00 am – 4:00 pm Recreational Swim

    *Pool closed to public

    **Six (6) lap lanes available

    ***Two (2) lap lanes available

     

    July 16 – August 13, 2023

    Hours of Operation
    Weekdays – Closed Mondays
    8:00 am – 12:00 am Lap Swim**

    10:00 am – 12:00 pm Swim Lessons/Lap Swim**

    12:00 pm – 8:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim***

    5:50 pm – 8:00 pm Swim Lessons

    Weekends
    11:00 am – 8:00 pm Recreational Swim/Lap Swim***

    **Six (6) lap lanes available

    ***Two (2) lap lanes available

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    Thank you to our donors for your Amplify Austin donation to Balcones Park!

    Our team wanted to say a huge thank you to you for helping make our Amplify Austin Fundraiser so successful! In just two days, we had over 51 supporters like yourself help us raise over $7,500 to help us work towards getting much needed bathroom improvements at our beloved Balcones Park. We are truly inspired by the number of you who showed up for us this year by donating and sharing our message with your networks.

    Friends of Balcones Park and Milwood Neighborhood Assoc wouldn’t be the same without the amazing folks like you that support our work. We are so grateful for your commitment to keeping our little neighborhood improving and we are off to a great start to getting our bathroom improvements underway. We look forward to continuing to work towards this goal until it is realized.

    We will continue to fund raise for this project. If you should be able to help donating is simple, just choose from the options below. Every penny will go toward the Balcones Park Project and once we raise $24,000 we will try to leverage that amount with grants and get our newest goal of improving the park’s and pool’s bathrooms! (Please consider making larger donations via check to save the cost of fees.)

    Note: Many employers offer a donor matching program, so you can double your donation by giving through your company to Austin Parks Foundation – Balcones Park but please email us so we can make sure the funds get to Balcones Park.

    • Click the button below to securely donate to the Balcones Park Improvement Project. (If you are donating $50+ please add your address in the comments field, so we can deliver a yard sign to you.)
    • OR Mail a check to MNA (if possible please also include the Park Donor Form)
      Milwood Neighborhood Association (Co-Adopters of Balcones Park)
      P.O. Box 81224
      Austin TX, 78708-1224
    • OR We are happy to arrange a face to face drop off. Just email or call 512-636-9176If you have any questions or technical problems, please feel free to contact us.
      Other Options to Donate include:

    With gratitude,
    Friends of Balcones Park & Milwood Neighborhood Association
    amplify-thanksbest

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    An It’s My Park Day Thank you!

    Another Successful It’s My Park Day!

    Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out and helped beautify our park!

    And A BIG Thanks to Erik Harris who manages this event year after year for our park!

    impdThanks!

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    Donate to Balcones Park through Amplify Austin March 1st thru 2nd to help improve bathrooms!

    Donate Now to help us Improve our Park and Pool bathrooms at Balcones Park through Amplify Austin! And as a bonus Austin Parks Foundation will match the first $3,500!

    Click Here to Donate or Learn More: bit.ly/balconespark

    Please share to family and friends and fellow park users!

    This year we hope to try and make improvements to the bathrooms on both the park side and the pool side. We are excited that this benefit will enable us to better serve pool guests during the summer as well as park users year-round.

    Ideally we would raise enough to replace the toilets, sinks, and lighting fixtures but if not we will do the most with what we receive – starting with the park bathrooms since they are used year round! If we surpass our goal, any additional funds would be used to make additional improvements to lifeguard hut, showers, and doors.

    Please help us by making a donation!

    Our park is well loved and the new playground and relatively new pool shade has been great in bringing people to our park. These additional Bathroom Improvements would go a very long way in increasing the enjoyment of park users as well so we are hopeful that we can make it happen! Thank you!!

    A special Thanks to Austin Parks Foundation and PARD for their continued support of our park!

    See pictures of project here.

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    March 4, 2023 – Mark your calendars for It’s My Park Day!

    Please save the date of Sat. March 4th from 9am-12noon to help clean up and care for Balcones Park. There will be projects for all ages including:

    1- Cleanup litter in Balcones Park, along trails and in creek greenbelt.

    2- Trail maintenance/erosion repairs – Creekside Trail & NCWT near bridge

    3 – Tree weeding around parking lot

    4 – Native wildflower and grass Seeding (along paved trails and butterfly meadow

    5 – Invasive Species Removal

    Sign up here – Balcones Spring Clean

    If you would like to help lead a work group, please let us know!

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    Swim Lessons and Swim Team Registration is Open for Balcones Pool

    Swim Team and Swim Lesson Registration for Balcones Pool is OPEN!

    Swim Team dates and times haven’t been finalized yet, so the registration is a little unclear.

    The Swim Lessons are in 2 week groups and range but last year were every Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri for 30 minutes and at a great price! Then you can stay and practice what you learn before and after! A great way to get your kids swimming! (Save yourself the headache and do it online)

    https://www.austintexas.gov/swimming

    https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Aquatics/Aquatics_Guide_2019_web.pdf

    To Register go to & choose the Aquatics box in the first row of pics: https://web2.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/txaustinwt.wsc/splash.html?InterfaceParameter=WebTrac

    lifeguardhourly

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    Become a Lifeguard at Balcones Pool or another Austin City Pool!

    The City is desperately low on lifeguards this year and pools opening times and days will be affected as a result if we can’t resolve it. So please share and encourage! Thanks!
    Be an Austin Lifeguard for $16/hr!
    Up to $1250 in bonuses for staff who meet the criteria
    How to become an Austin Lifeguard?
    1. Apply Now!
    The Aquatic Division’s hiring process is simple. All applicants need to complete an online application through the City of Austin Jobs website. Applicants must be 15 years of age or older. Follow us on Facebook for the latest information.
    Instructions for Applying Online(PDF): https://www.austintexas.gov/…/FY21_Instructions%20for…
    2. Get Hired!
    Training classes are available throughout the year! Complete your paperwork and see our training schedule below to find out when you can get certified.
    The Aquatic Division conducts trains and hires staff year-round. After submitting an online application, you should receive an email from the Aquatic Division within 48-72 business hours. This email will contain all additional paperwork and information necessary to get trained and get hired. You must submit all paperwork and employment verification documents in order to register for a Lifeguard class. Should you have questions, you can call 512-974-9330 Monday through Friday, 8AM-5PM or email us at AquaticsOffice@austintexas.gov.
    3. Get Trained!
    The Aquatic Division takes lifeguard training and certification seriously. Classes are offered for first-time lifeguards, returning lifeguards that need re-certification, and lifeguards that are interested in becoming an instructor. StarGuard Elite classes are available for applicants of the City of Austin only and this certification is valid only at City of Austin pools.
    Scholarships are available for training classes for those who qualify. For more information, download our Aquatic Scholarship form here: English(PDF) | Spanish(PDF) or check out the Austin Parks and Recreation Youth Program Scholarships.
    2021-2022 Training Calendar is posted now. Please see the links below for a schedule of trainings. You must complete the application and hiring paperwork before registering for a class. If you haven’t already, apply now!
    Lifeguard Certification Schedule(PDF): https://www.austintexas.gov/…/FY22-Full%20Class…
    Lifeguard Instructor Course Schedules – LGI classes are available to current employees with Lifeguarding experience. Please talk with your supervisor for more information.
    StarGuard Water Safety Educator – We also teach swim lessons and water safety! Water Safety Educator classes are also available to all City of Austin Aquatics employees.
    4. Get Working!
    Once you have completed steps 1-3, you’re almost ready to start saving lives. You will be contacted to sign up for scheduling and to attend your first inservice training, so find out what pool is closest to you!
    Bonus Details:
    Lifeguard and Aquatic Temp Jobs
    Signing Bonus of $500 to be paid mid-season to lifeguards and temporary aquatic staff who:
    Are trained and ready to work by June 6
    Completion Bonus of $500 to be paid at the end of the season for lifeguards and temporary aquatic staff who meet both of the following criteria:
    Work 15 hours the last week of summer (August 7- August 13, 2022)
    Are available to work on Sunday, August 14 (AISD classes begin on Monday, August 15)
    Advanced Certification Bonus of $250 for any lifeguard who obtains one of the following:
    Advanced certification of Open Water Lifeguarding
    Swim Instructor Certifications
    Lifeguard Instructor
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