The City of Sweet Home received a financial boost from the Hill family for Phase III at Sankey Park during the City Council’s meeting on Aug. 26.
Milton Moran Jr., president of Cascade Timber Consulting, manages 145,000 acres of timberland owned by Hill Timber Limited Partnership. Recently, long-term employee William Marshall, who worked for CTC for 42 years, died.
“Bill was a big part of Tree City USA and a big part of Sankey Park,” Moran told the council.
As such, Marshall’s family said they’d prefer donations be made toward Phase III of Sankey Park in lieu of flowers.
Phase III of the Lower Sankey Park project includes a new bandstand and community event center, trails and ADA-accessible trails, sidewalks, irrigation, benches, lighting and security cameras. The cost is projected to be $334,952, plus the cost to build a bandstand, which is not yet known.
So far, the city has raised $183,933 toward the project from grants and savings.
Through Moran, the Hill family made a $66,200 donation toward the Sankey Park project in memory of Marshall.
“They’ve embraced this project and want to see it move forward,” Moran said.
With that gift, funds still needed are about $84,819, plus the cost of the bandstand.
After the council received the check, they moved forward to honor Bob Dalton for his service to the community, namely for his efforts as a member of the Park & Tree Committee. Mayor Susan Coleman mentioned Dalton has “worked tirelessly” to raise funds for Sankey Park, so to have him present when Moran offered the check was a pleasant turn of events.
Dalton recently resigned his seat after serving on the Park & Tree committee for more than eight years. He continues to serve on the Community Health Committee, and has served in other ways, such as helping to establish Sunshine Industries.
“Bob Dalton has been a bridge in this community between city leaders and community members,” Coleman said. “His heart for the quality of life and honoring the history of Sweet Home is something we would like to see in every community member.”
In other business:
- The council heard from Sean Tate, from Small Municipalities Advocacy Coalition, who presented information about his work on behalf of small cities during the recent legislative session.
- City Manager Jason Ogden reported the city may have a buyer for a generator that has sat unused for a long time, and Community Services Consortium installed their “resiliency box” at City Hall, which contains a number of supplies in case of emergency, such as food and water.