Scott Swanson
The planning process has begun on a master plan for Lewis Creek Park on Foster Lake, and county officials are looking to get input from local residents who use the facility.
The park was built half a century ago, after construction of Foster Dam created the lake in the late 1960s, and in that span there’s been a lot of wear and tear, County Parks Director Brian Carroll said last week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground for Lewis Creek and nearby Sunnyside parks on July 9, 1971. The contract for construction of the two projects totaled $877,690, according to The New Era’s report of the event. The plan for the eight-acre Lewis Creek site included “250 parking spaces, picnic areas, a boat landing dock, foot bridge, comfort stations, shore development, water and electrical systems, and landscaping.” The park opened at the end of May 1973.
Mona Waibel, a past columnist for The New Era, who was director of the Chamber of Commerce when the park was built, recalled that specially formulated concrete was used in the swimming area to create warmer water temperatures.
A lot of water has flowed under that footbridge, which was replaced in 2008, in the past 50 years.
“We’ve made some improvements to things, but most of them have been wear items – docks, that sort of thing,” Carroll said. “The structures are all the same. The park’s use patterns have changed. What the park was designed for and what it is now used for are different.”
For instance, he said, swimming is now a big part of the activity at the park, which may not have been the case when it was built.
Carroll said the county has received $50,000 in Local Government Grant Program money from the Oregon State Parks Department to come up with a new master plan for the park.
The county has engaged Eugene-based Cameron McCarthy, a landscape architecture and planning firm, to create a plan, and has begun meeting with local interest groups to seek input.
Kelsey Zlevor of Cameron McCarthy said the planning documents will enable the county to apply “competitively” for funding for upgrades.
“A big part of this is just that the demographics have changed a lot since the 1960s,” she said, noting that Lewis Creek has become more of a regional park than just one that serves the local community.
Carroll said planners are trying to reach out to non-local people who are frequent users of the park, such as the Hispanic and Russian communities, which comprise a significant percentage of summer weekend users.
He said planners want to know what activities and facilities the public wants to see at Lewis Creek – “concessions? Rentals? Access to water? Do we need to put in sport courts? Volleyball courts? Other activities?”
Zlevor said the park often fills up by 11 a.m. on summer weekends. She said that families are a big component of the users and planners are interested in determining how best to provide for the needs of groups that use Lewis Creek.
“With increased numbers of people using the park, it needs upgrades,” she said.
Those include possible new bathrooms, water and electricity capabilities, and other infrastructure to support annual activities the park hosts, such as the Best in the West Triathlon and a water polo camp. The park also was used as a camp for firefighters during the wildfires last summer.
Zlevor said another need is ADA access “to the actual reservoir,” noting that the pea gravel on the beach at the swim area is difficult for wheelchair users.
“It’s very challenging,” she said. “We need to create access ramps or other ways to access the reservoir.”
Another big concern is swim area safety, following the tragic death of a 6-year-old boy and serious injuries to another 6-year-old who were struck by a runaway watercraft last summer.
“That has come up a number of times,” she said.
Carroll said he met with Chamber of Commerce Office Manager Melody Jordan Reese last week and is looking to talk with local youth and other regular parks users.
Plus, Cameron McCarthy has created a survey to let parks users weigh in on what they think the facility needs. It can be found at linn parks.com/closures/lewis-creek-county-park-master-plan-survey through Feb. 26.
“Anyone can provide information,” Carroll said. “We do want to hear it.”
Zlevor said that once initial feedback has been gathered, Cameron McCarthy will prepare a master plan and specific recommendations, then hold a community open house event to collect more feedback – which likely will be in a virtual format, due to the pandemic which, she acknowledged, “poses unique challenges” for outreach efforts.
She emphasized that public input will be ongoing.
“We don’t anticipate it being give feedback once and then we’re done.”