Sean C. Morgan
Local groups interested in cleaning up and taking care of Sweet Home’s city parks are now able to adopt a park.
The Sweet Home City Council created the new adopt-a-park program during its regular meeting on Feb. 24.
Last September, the Parks Board recommended that the council approve a formal adopt-a-park program, said Planning Services Manager Laura LaRoque. City staff waited to put it on the council agenda until after the election and new councilors took office.
“For folks taking the time out to help out, we are asking them to commit to a certain amount of time,” LaRoque said. The groups will organize work parties six times a year in their chosen park. In return, they’ll be recognized with a personalized sign in the adopted park that will recognize their volunteer efforts, a certificate of appreciation presented by the mayor and coverage in local media when possible, she said.
“It’s just kind of a way to formalize what’s happening already,” LaRoque said. Members of the Sweet Home community have shown up for work parties about six times in 2014, and they’re averaging once per month this year. Attendance has ranged from five to 22 people.
The city has applied to the Sweet Home Community Foundation for a grant to pay for work tools that can be checked out for work parties, LaRoque said.
The volunteers would not provide routine maintenance, such as lawn mowing, LaRoque said. Rather, they would provide a “valuable” service by helping collect litter, planting flowers and keeping an eye on the parks and open space amenities, such as benches, play equipment, structures and landscape elements.
The program is intended to help reduce pressure on limited staffing resources to maintain parks to a higher standard, LaRoque said. The program would have ancillary benefits, including better community engagement, a sense of pride and ownership in the parks systems by users and cleaner and safer parks.
The program is open to any individual, neighborhood or organization, LaRoque said.
Parks and trails that may be adopted include Sankey Park, Northside Park, Strawberry Park, Ashbrook Park, Clover Park, Hobart Open Space and South Hills Trail.
For more information, call (541) 367-8113.
In other business, the council:
n Reappointed Jon Meier to the Parks Board with a term expiring on Feb. 23, 2019.
n Reappointed Ted Sellers to the Traffic Safety Committee with a term expiring on Feb. 23, 2017.
n Held the first reading of numerous proposed ordinance revisions. Among the revisions, the proposed ordinance will specify that the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order is the one that the council will use; require a year of residency in the city for appointed councilors to match the requirement for elected councilors; and replace instances of the word “infraction” with “violation” for minor offenses in keeping with modern language in state law and city ordinance.
The ordinance includes a total of 32 revisions.
The council will read the ordinance again at its next regular meeting on March 10 and March 24. It may act on the revisions on March 24.