News Release
| Release Number: | 97-028 |
| Dated: | 3/11/1997 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. -- Three government agencies are requesting public input on their proposal to exchange management responsibilities for several parks and recreation facilities in Lane County.
Lane County Parks, Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, and the Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will provide information about the proposal through a series of workshops. Those workshops will be held in March and April in Eugene (March 19), Lowell (March 31), Cottage Grove (April 2), Leaburg (April 7) and Veneta (April 9).
For more information about the proposal, you may write to or call the agencies at: Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, 90064 Coburg Road, Eugene, Ore., 97408, or call (541) 686-7592; Lane County Parks Division, 3040 N. Delta Highway, Eugene, Ore., 97408, or call (541) 682-6940; or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Willamette Valley Projects, P.O. Box 429, Lowell, Ore., 97452, or call (541) 937-2131. Written comments on the plan will be accepted through April 18, 1997.
Representatives from Lane County Parks (LCP), Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OSPRD), and the Corps will be available from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations to discuss maintaining and/or improving existing park and recreation services:
EUGENE: March 19, 1997 LOWELL: March 31, 1997 Public Works Complex City Hall Council Chambers Large Zone 1 Conference Room 107 East 3rd Street 3040 Delta Highway North COTTAGE GROVE: April 2, 1997 LEABURG: April 7, 1997 City Hall Council Chambers Leaburg Community Center 400 East Main Street VENETA: April 9, 1997 Veneta Community Center 25192 East Broadway
The three agencies have overlapping jurisdictional boundaries and management authorities for many of the facilities adjacent to the lakes and rivers in Lane County, according to Wade Stampe, project manager of the Willamette Valley Projects. This overlap leads to operational inefficiencies, public confusion over which agency is responsible for park facilities, uncoordinated short and long term planning, inconsistent rules and operating procedures within like facilities, insufficient park rule enforcement and a lack of overall vision for parks and recreation facilities in Lane County.
The strategy, proposed by the LCP, OSPRD, and the Corps, is to rearrange management responsibilities among the agencies according to region, and with consideration for the differences in expertise and authorities of each agency.
The parks and other facilities under consideration are located on Fern Ridge, Dorena, Fall Creek, Dexter and Lookout Point lakes; and adjacent to the McKenzie and Willamette rivers. By centralizing park operations, there will be less travel time between parks, quicker responses to public needs, improved communications and better supervision of operations and facilities. This, as well as the realignment of other management responsibilities, could compute to an overall savings of more than $100,000 a year.
While this proposal focuses only on Lane County and those parks and recreation areas operated by the three agencies, the concepts and strategies may be used elsewhere.