Sean C. Morgan
To meet a grant matching requirement, city officials are conducting a month-long fund-raising campaign to pay for $405,000 in improvements in Lower Sankey Park.
The Park and Tree Committee has identified a need to ensure that Sankey Park remains a place where families can go, feel safe and have a unique experience, said Associate Planner Angela Clegg. “To do this, Sankey Park is currently undergoing a transition to revitalize our park to a high standard of experience. Evidence of this has already been completed with the removal of unsafe trees and brush, a new parking and new restrooms.”
Among the proposed grant projects are the construction of handicap-accessible paths throughout the park, path lighting, playground improvements, the Weddle Bridge plaza, bike racks, signage and way-finding, picnic tables and park benches.
“We don’t have the city funds to do it,” Clegg said. The city has parks throughout the city, and money for parks “has to go to all of our parks,” including ongoing maintenance and improvements, she said.
The city is contributing $30,000 in cash toward the Sankey Park project and applying for a $243,000 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, which will require $132,000 in matching funds, both cash and in-kind, to complete the list of proposed projects.
To complete grant requirements, the city needs to collect funds or pledges, letters of intent, by March 27 and submit the grant application by April 1.
Oregon Park and Recreation will announce awards in September, Clegg said, and the city will likely begin grant projects in 2020.
“We have a very engaged Park and Tree Committee,” Clegg said, and its members are going out to solicit donations.
In-kind donations must run through Public Works for approval, Clegg said, but they also are acceptable.
The city is offering named sponsorships, Clegg said, but staff is still deciding precisely how that will work. City officials recently saw a park in Joseph, which has plaques with sponsor names in its playground.
Clegg said some people have been interesting in funding memorial benches.
“This is a flagship park,” she said. “It’s right in the center of town. When I moved here, I was told never let my kid go to that park.”
That inspired her to join the old Parks Committee, she said. Since then, it’s been a personal goal of hers and others to improve safety and the use of Sankey Park.
“This is important,” Clegg said. “We knew we had a time crunch, but go big – this is the only time we’ll have the $30,000 to do the match.”
All donations are tax-deductible, she said, and they may be targeted to specific projects in the park.
For more information or to donate, call (541) 367-8113 or stop by the planning office in City Hall, 1140 12th Ave.