Ivan Anderholm, Director of Parks & Recreation for Lake Oswego, met with Old Town neighbors for a conversation to "answer our questions.”
Notes below are from Derrith Lambka, OTNA (Old Town Neighborhood Board) Member
(To ensure this information is accurate, I sent a draft of this to both Ivan and Betsy Wosko for their review and their changes are included.)
On Monday August 7th Ivan Anderholm, Director of Parks & Recreation for Lake Oswego, met with Old Town neighbors from 5:30pm to 7:15pm for a conversation to "answer our questions.” It was an excellent informative discussion so I've written up the notes to share with neighbors who could not attend.
More neighbors attended than in the photo above - some had to leave before I took the photo. In the photo: Chris and Jill Hall, Jon Gustafson, Calleen Glabau, Betsy Wosko (Neighborhood Chair), Craig Stephens (OTNA Board), Derrith Lambka (OTNA Board) took the photo. Bruce Glabau (OTNA Board) attended by phone.
Key topics covered
GRP Park Shelter construction
Shelter will be completed the first weekend in September.
And parking spaces taken up for construction will also become available for GRP parking then too.
Kyra is the 5th project manager assigned to this construction project.
Project was slated for completed Spring/Summer 2023. Ran into construction/engineering delays because of huge boulders under the pilings that did not pass inspection. Also, requirement to photograph whatever was found during digging because of the archeology site.
Ivan thanked Betsy and Jon for their input on the project. Two trees were saved.
More information here: https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/parksrec/george-rogers-park-lower-picnic-shelter-replacement
No fireworks planned for GRP
The City has shifted to music and a laser light show at 4th of July at Foothills Park. This change has be appreciated by pet owners and veterans.
The Lake Corporation will continue to offer fireworks.
The City investigated a drone show, and it was 3-4x the cost of fireworks and had issues scaling.
PDX has approached LO about hosting events with as many as 20,000 people
This has not been approved.
LO will continue to host the Arts Festival and Car/Boat Show.
Other events that have been held in Portland where organizers want to move to LO, have not been approved.
Tennis at GRP
The courts are beautiful and have been resurfaced for 2 tennis courts with new nets and fencing.
The signs say "tennis play only". If people come to play pickleball, neighbors should call non-emergency police and park rangers.
The key pad "locks" are disabled/enabled by the Park Rangers who will lock the courts at 10pm every day.
Ivan suggested OTNA contact the head Pro at the Tennis Center for their ideas/support of an Old Town Tennis Tournament
Walking/bike path extension from Portland into/through George Rogers Park to pathway leading to Old River Road and West Linn
The City now has 100% of easements from homeowners on Furnace Street and planning is underway.
The vision is for a 11-12 foot wide ADA compliant path wide enough for people walking/riding bikes both ways.
The main grass area at GRP and the parking lot will not be changed.
It is to begin at the bathrooms in front of the iron furnace at GRP and weave its way up to the bridge and pathway from GRP parking lot onto Old River Drive. Parks & Rec is collaborating with METRO, the LO Police, and City traffic and planning on this pathway.
Plan is that Parks & Rec will first meet with neighbors on Furnace Street along the river where the pathway will go below about the plants and fencing. Then Parks & Rec will meet with the Old Town Neighbors (coordinating with OTNA Board).
Pathway must meet metro standards. LO City Traffic Engineer Will Farley will review the plans.
Concerns raised by GRP neighbors about bikers and especially ebikes racing through the less wide pathway from GRP bridge to Old River Road that is used by walkers (many elderly), people walking dogs, families with strollers and small children.
Information I found on the Parks/Rec website about this project: George Rogers Park ADA River Access Trail: Construct an accessible 10-foot-wide multi-use path with switchbacks and handrails connecting the restrooms at George Rogers Park to the Willamette River at the bottom of the hill. ADA access to this area of the riverfront is currently limited by dense invasive brush and a steep bank. This path segment will eventually connect to the pathway extension at Roehr Park to the north, and will serve as an important link in the Willamette River Greenway Regional Trail, which follows the east and west banks of the Willamette River from Champoeg State Park to the river’s confluence with the Columbia in North Portland.
See a one-page overview at https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/sites/default/files/GRP.pdf
Source: https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/parksrec/local-share-metro-parks-and-nature-bond
eBikes
eBikes are not allowed on park sidewalks - only class 1 which is peddle assist with max of 20 mph
Both Park Rangers Ben and Taylor have class 1 eBikes
The LO Police are working on educating parents about age restrictions (16 years to ride an eBike; helmets required) and that ebikes are not permitted on sidewalks.
LO Police are also enforcing eBike laws
Old Town neighbors expressed concerns about kids (and adults) on eBikes racing down Furnace Street into the GRP parking lot and going fast along the pathway from the GRP bridge and connecting to the path along the river to Old River Road.
Pesticide Management
The City Parks/Rec team first tries to manage through hand pulls and last is use of pesticides which must be documented for the State.
The City uses a mixture that is less than available for household use.
The City wants to reduce pesticides to protect the park maintenance employees and families from exposure.
Poison Oak is native. The City clears 25 feet off pathways using pull and spray. However, dogs often venture off the path and encounter poison oak and then "share it" with their owners. Dog owners need to be aware of this.
Clover is treated differently on sports fields than in other areas where there is higher tolerance.
(Note: Betsy notes she should have asked about subcontractors the city uses such as Ash Creek, and whether they adhere to the same practices regarding “last resort” uses of toxins such as glyphosate or whether they use Crossbow or other awful poisons liberally or as a threshold matter.)
Safety for people walking/riding bikes on Furnace and Ladd Streets
After walking the neighborhood with Old Town neighbors in June, LO Police Chief Burke has called a meeting with the Fire Chief and traffic engineer Will Farley to talk about getting emergency vehicles down Furnace and through Ladd Streets.
Since this is only an issue during the summer, it may be possible that parking restrictions on Furnace and Ladd might be for summer months only. Traffic Engineers decision.
Gas powered blowers
Most of the City's blowers are electric. When the few remaining gas blowers need to be replaced, they will purchase electric blowers.
The electric blowers will be charged on the City trucks as the fleet is transformed to electric.
The City follows guidelines for "leave the leaves" except on cement/pavement, fields and other areas of heavy traffic.
Parks Plan 2040
City is updating the Parks Plan for 2040: https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/parks-plan-2040
Want to focus on both new parks as well as established parks like GRP
DRC Approval of the GRP Master Plan "expired" in 2012. The process for updating the Parks Plan is to revisit the older plan to review/revise it.
Safety for people accessing GRP on Ladd
People visiting GRP with wheelchairs and/or walking difficulties are using the sloped dirt "hill" between the tennis courts and the field. This is not ideal and the entrance to GRP is being considered to be ADA compliant.
Advertising GRP
This is not being done.
Plastic coyote in the GRP grass field to ward off geese
Was effective but had to be moved frequently.
One goose is often "on watch" while the other geese eat the grubs in the grass. The geese have torn up the grass at Foothills Park doing this. The City is looking at ways to control the grub the geese are after.
One neighbor suggested a "Coyote cam of the people looking at the coyote" because people's reactions are so funny.
Security surveillance video at the Parks
There are security cameras throughout the park that alert both the Park Rangers and Non-emergency police on their phones when motion occurs. This has proven to be very effective. The Ranger and a Police Officer showed up to catch several young kids who had painted a public park bathroom in a Tik Tok challenge. Their parents were called, and the boy's parents split the $3,500 bill for the bathroom to be repainted.
The Osprey Nest on a pole at GRP above the grass field
One parks employee took the old "ring" apart and put on a new one. Birds are fine.
City has asked IT about the possibility of a video cam of the nest.
Lights at GRP and near picnic tables between tennis courts and grass field
Some are pointed up - neighbors wondered why? Ivan said he'd check into it and learned "I had a chance to check with Tony Garcia, Crew Leader for Athletic Fields, and the lights are pointed up so ball players can see the ball when it is in the air."
Playground at GRP
No one at the meeting was able to ask questions related to the playground so this group was not represented.
They will be included in the Parks & Rec planning process and research surveys.
A new ADA accessible swing has been added to the park with positive feedback about that.
Question from Craig after the meeting that Ivan responded to: AEDs in working order with new pads?
(Note, an AED according to the Red Cross is "an automated external defibrillator used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. It's a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, medical device that can analyze the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.")
There is an AED hanging on the GRP restroom wall and went on to suggest, "It would be great to have training on this particular unit by those who want to sign up (like team coaches). Each AED is different from different suppliers. The one the Red Cross trains on gives verbal prompts and anyone can use it, but I think the one in GRP is a budget model so not as user friendly. This could save a life. All the responders have AEDs but there may be a case where a responders is not immediately on scene."
Ivan responded via email, "The AED at George Rogers is inspected monthly. It is a model that has both visual and voice prompts, all our AED’s in Parks and facilities meet the standard for public access AED’s established by the Red Cross."
The neighbors thanked Ivan for this informative, non-rushed, and collaborative conversation
We also wanted to thank and appreciate:
The great collaboration occurring between Parks/Rec with the police team, fire department, Will Farley in traffic and city planning.
Park maintenance (they do an incredible job at GRP - yea Kurt and team!)
The park rangers Ben and Taylor
Megan Bigjohn and her team
Kyra Haggart managing the PB to tennis court project and being 5th project leader to take on the GRP picnic area renovation
Tony Garcia who personally managed the “renovation” of the Osprey nest
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