This article was in Friday’s (November 24th, 2017) Herald and News

Written By: Sean Bassinger, H&N Staff Reporter 

Park-to-park trail connections, increased hours and expanded facilities were just three suggestions outlined at a Klamath Falls city council work session on city parks Monday evening.

At least 20 people, including city staff and councilors, talked about moving forward with the city’s parks master plan. City council voted on Nov. 6 to offer a contract for about $50,000 to MIG, Inc., a landscape planning company that has also worked on master plans for other cities and counties in Oregon.

The plan would cover more than 600 acres across 50 parks and about 12 miles of trails. The goal of the plan is to observe what community members want done to existing parks and where they may want future parks to be located. City officials have hopes that the plan would reflect on the next 15 to 20 years.

Cindy Mendoza, project director, and Molly Cooney-Mesker, project manager, attended the meeting to represent MIG and answer questions.

“We want to hear from as many community members as possible,” Mendoza said.

The next phases of the plan, which involves a series of meetings, online surveys and facilities reviews, would continue through next summer or fall. City officials will then receive a comprehensive overview of which steps to take next.

Years in the making

Klamath Falls city officials started major parks updates as far back as 2000, first implementing a plan to figure out which direction they wanted to go. City documents describe this as a “focal point” of what’s now their current vision for the master parks plan.

In August, city staff submitted a request for an updated plan. Two proposals were given from MIG and another agency, with city council moving to go with MIG after further evaluation.

Mendoza described the company’s own research process in trying to learn what communities want from their parks systems. Mendoza said she wanted to help raise community awareness about the parks and identify what most wanted to see happen.

“It’s incredible how much the community has already come together around your parks, around your trails,” Mendoza said.

One suggestion was on ways to possibly connect trails from Moore Park to Veterans Memorial Park, along with how to enhance restroom and facilities access.

Kristen Hiatt said more parks throughout more neighborhoods was one focus she would like see. Hiatt placed emphasis on the need for more parks in rural outlying areas of Klamath Falls as well, including the Stewart Lenox area.

“I just think that’s something that we should focus on looking at,” Hiatt said.

Councilor Kendall Bell said that she especially wanted to see Veterans Memorial Park used more, adding that some waterfront improvements to the area could be essential to helping with this goal.

City staff, council concerns

City officials also brought up the issue of homelessness and crime in the parks. Klamath Falls Police Department Chief David Henslee said he wanted to prioritize safety first and foremost, mentioning the use of gates or other additions that could help in this. Mendoza also brought up the premise of “crime prevention though environmental design.

“We’ve been working on the forefront of really trying to understand that,” Mendoza said.

Some mentioned the need to keep an eye on funding, saying that getting money for new developments was always easier than keeping up with maintenance costs.

“Funding’s going to be a real issue,” Tofell said. “The more parks you create, the more expensive they become.”

Mendoza suggested the city consider a variety of funding sources and partnerships to not only invest in parks, but to help increase their quality.

Councilor Bill Adams said he was supportive of park improvements, but did not want to see staff such as Parks Manager John Bellon take on more than they could.

“I know he tries to do a really good job,” Adams said. “I don’t want to overload him if we can’t afford to take care of it.”

Talks and meetings are set to continue as the plan moves forward. Klamath Falls and MIG will also work to put out an online survey around January.

To read this article and others on the Herald and News website, please refer to the following link:

Klamath Falls Parks Improvement Talks Spring into Action (H&N)