Campaign for parks measure kicks off.Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard PARKS BOND CAMPAIGN KICKOFF Eugene parks supporters are asking voters on Nov. 7 to pass a $27.5 million bond issue for parks and open space work. Here's a breakdown: Acquire land for parks, $10.5 million: Buy 13 park sites throughout city, one 40-acre community park in Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , and two small parcels to enhance Skinner Butte Skinner Butte (also called Skinner's Butte) is a prominent hill on the north edge of downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States, near the Willamette River. Skinner Butte is a local landmark and the location of Skinner Butte Park, a municipal park. Park and Amazon Park. Open space, $7.75 million: Buy 60 to 100 acres for expanding the Ridgeline ridge·line n. See ridge. Noun 1. ridgeline - a long narrow range of hills ridge arete - a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains Trail, 30 to 45 acres along the Willamette River Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland. north of Belt Line Road, and 1.7 acres to improve access to Gillespie Butte Butte, city, United States Butte (by  t), city (1990 pop. 33,336), seat of Silver Bow co., SW Mont.; inc. 1879. It is a trade, ranching, and industrial center. . Synthetic turf fields, $5 million: Join school districts to
install artificial turf Artificial turf, or synthetic turf, is a grass-like man-made surface manufactured from synthetic materials. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass, however, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial athletic fields at Madison, Cal Young,
Roosevelt, Spencer Butte Spencer Butte is a prominent landmark in Lane County, Oregon, United States, south of Eugene. The peak has an elevation of 2055 feet[1] (626 m). Spencer Butte is accessible from Spencer Butte Park and has several hiking trails to the summit. , Jefferson and Meadow View middle schools, plus
Willamette High School Willamette High School is a school in Eugene, Oregon.Willamette, or "Wil-Hi," is located in the Bethel-Danebo area of west Eugene, and is the only high school in the Bethel School District. . Replace four artificial fields at Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It serves the city of Eugene Elementary schools
The park is bisected by the BNSF Railway railway tracks (usually referred to locally as the "Burlington Northern" tracks) that , $2 million: Acquire up to 100 acres and begin developing northwest park Northwest Park is a municipally owned park in the town of Windsor, Connecticut, which includes walking trails, soccer fields and a nature center. Located in the Poquonock section of Windsor along the Farmington River, the park covers 473 acres of forests, fields and recreational . West Eugene Wetlands Education Center, $1.75 million: Help build the complex on South Danebo Avenue. Estimated bond issuance costs: $490,000 For more information: Visit www.eugeneparksnow.org. Send contributions to 1200 High St., Eugene, OR 97401. To volunteer, call Jana Barker, 484-7052. Mary Monette and Jerry Elliott had different reasons for gathering in the same spot on Tuesday, but they shared a common purpose: Urging Eugene voters to approve a $27.5 million parks bond measure on Nov. 7. Monette and Elliott joined other parks supporters at a news conference near Jefferson Middle School Jefferson Middle School is a middle school located in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The middle school is home to the football team the Elks, which has won more conference champs than any other middle school in Tennessee. in south-central Eugene to kick off the campaign for Ballot Measure 20-110. The bond measure would pay to acquire parks and open space, add artificial turf at athletic fields, expand hiking trails and improve parks. "It gives us the opportunity to continue the legacy of stewardship that has created the parks, open spaces and athletic fields that we enjoy today," said Liz Cawood, chair of Eugene Parks Now. Elliott, a Kidsports board member, said the bond measure would pay for artificial turf athletic fields at Eugene schools, including the site of the news conference, a parched parch v. parched, parch·ing, parch·es v.tr. 1. To make extremely dry, especially by exposure to heat: The midsummer sun parched the earth. and bumpy field at Jefferson Middle School and Magnet Arts Elementary. Artificial turf fields are better than grass fields because they can be played on all year, don't need water, and their surfaces are smoother and safer for children to play on, Elliott said. "If you want your kids to play on safe fields, vote for this measure," he said. Monette, a Bethel area resident, wants the bond measure to expand and improve Golden Gardens Park, composed mostly of three, water-filled former gravel pits, west of Highway 99 and south of Clear Lake Road. During the past two decades, four young people have drowned in the ponds. An improved park would attract adults who would keep an eye on children playing in and around the ponds, Monette said. "Golden Gardens is a park with a past, but we feel also that it's a park with a future," she said. "The goal of Friends of Golden Gardens Park has always been safety, to hopefully prevent the drowning of one more child in these ponds. Now we are not naive enough to think we can prevent this totally, but safety is the primary objective." No organized opposition has formed in response to the bond measure. The levy to pay off the bonds would cost the owner of a $200,000 home an average of $30 annually over 20 years. The bond measure, similar to the renewal of the library option levy, may have an easy time with voters, given the relatively small cost and success of past parks bond measures. In 1998, for example, 67 percent of voters approved a $25.3 million bond issue. If approved by voters, the cost of the new measure to property owners would be higher in the first year - $66 for the owner of a $200,000 home - but then gradually lower as the bonds are paid off, to the $30 average, said Sue Cutsogeorge, the city's financial analysis manager. City property taxpayers are expected to pay for the 1998 bond issue until 2022, Cutsogeorge said. Together, the combined average annual cost to the owner of a $200,000 home for the 1998 bond issue and the new measure would be $54 a year. The newest measure also has the backing of environmentalists because it would finance the acquisition of land to expand the Ridgeline Trail system and the Willamette River greenway north of Belt Line Road. Eugene's population will grow in the years ahead, but the bond measure will allow the city to have the kinds of "recreation and natural areas that we want," said Art Farley, of Friends of Eugene-Springfield Habitats, part of Lane County Audubon Society. Cawood, chairwoman of the campaign committee, said the group hopes to raise $15,000 to $20,000 for promoting the bond measure. So far, the group has collected about $2,500, Cawood said, $1,300 of which came from a garage sale last weekend by Friends of Golden Gardens Park. |
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