Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home will seek money from the state to establish a new park on the east side of the city following a City Council decision last week authorizing staff to apply for a grant from the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation.
The council agreed to the grant application by consensus on Feb. 10.
Sweet Home has three mini-parks, under one-tenth of an acre, four neighborhood parks and one large community park, along with specialty parks, the South Hills Trail, the Skate Park and Hobart Nature Preserve.
Most of the park land is on the west side of Sweet Home, said Laura LaRoque, city planning services manager. In 2013, Sweet Home updated its Parks Master Plan, and it identified property that could potentially be used for parks.
“Today we are here to seek your support in getting a grant for park land on the east side of Sweet Home,” LaRoque said. “We have a wide variety of parks and open spaces in Sweet Home.”
Jon Meier, recreation planner with the Sweet Home Ranger District and chair of the city Parks Board, told the council traditionally the city has a couple of methods of creating park space. City code may require park space, or someone may donate land, like Hobart.
The city could also purchase land, he said, and that’s the avenue he and LaRoque are looking at. Numerous lots are available.
Those lots average around $35,000, Meier said. Initially, the grant would be a way to preserve the open space, with development later.
One lot has a lot of camas on it, and that provides a lot of opportunities for partnering with other groups, said Meier, who lives in the eastern portion of the city.
The grant would require a 40 percent match, he said. Other organizations, such as local Native American tribes, might be interested in joining the project like a camas field.
The grant is due April 1, Meier said, and he would like the council to vote on supporting the grant by its regular meeting on Feb. 24.
Councilor Jeff Goodwin asked how much Meier and LaRoque were seeking.
Anything is better than what east Sweet Home has now, Meier said. “We’re really trying to be innovative in our fund-raising and funding of the parks system.”
The parks program raised money through its Sweetheart Run and is accepting personal donations, for example, he said, but potential parks could be relatively small.
The final amount would be specified in the grant application, said City Manager Craig Martin. Before the parks staff submits the application, it needs to know if the city is committed.
“We may or may not be successful in getting the grant,” Martin said. The city also may not be successful in negotiating a reasonable price for a piece of property.
Down the road, the city may need to budget funds to match the grant, Martin said.
Mayor Jim Gourley explained that the City Council would decide whether to spend the money after grant approval and negotiation for a piece of property.
If the grant were awarded, it would set an approved grant amount, Martin said, and the required matching funds would be set at that point. Any unused grant funds would remain unused and go back to the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Goodwin said council approval would allow city staff to start the process and give the city time to find partners and figure out more exact numbers.
Councilor Dave Trask was concerned that the city would spend money on new park space, but the city doesn’t seem to have enough money to maintain the parks it has.
That needs to be addressed, he said. “We need to look at funding the thing, especially Sankey. If we aren’t going to maintain them, there is no reason to buy another piece of property we can’t maintain. That budget needs to be increased in my opinion.”
It will be a multi-year project that could take four to eight years, Meier said.
“It’s always a challenge,” Martin said. “What level of maintenance does the community want? We know the community wants a higher level of maintenance than we’re currently able to provide. What level of maintenance can we currently, or in the future, provide? And I agree with Councilor Trask that we have been somewhat bargain basement on our parks maintenance for the years that I’ve been here, but that, unfortunately, was by the nature of not having funding and or having public support and demand for increased level of service in the parks. I contrast that with you also need to look for the future.
“We don’t want to be short-sighted and say we can’t even consider acquisition of land to bank, if nothing else, to develop at a later date because that land may not be available five years from now or 10 years from now when we’re able. It’s a balance that you have to strike.”
“If we can get this grant, it’s a small price to pay,” Trask said.
The council reached a consensus to move forward with a grant application.
Present at the council’s regular meeting were Marybeth Angulo, Jeff Goodwin, Bruce Hobbs, Greg Mahler, Ryan Underwood, Dave Trask and Mayor Jim Gourley.