P & R Minutes – 5/14/09

NWDA Parks and Rec. Meeting May 14^th 10am World Cup

Attended: Tanya March (chair march@pdx.edu), Bryan Aptekar, Scott Lee Sharp, Nancy Davis, Mark Warrington, Frank Silva, Carol Sterkel, Frank Scotto, Britta (), Juliet Hyams, Catherine ()

Couch Park

A spike in crime at Couch Park and how to work together as a community with Parks and Rec., the police and ONI was the main topic. There was a lengthy discussion of park laws under “Portland City Code” Chapter 20.12

Because enforcement resources are limited, Portland Parks and Recreation also relies on park users to report problems.  There are issues of etiquette and issues of civil rights that concerned members and were touch upon.

Wallace Park

A noise complaint, at the dog park at Wallace, was brought up.  Additional, planting are going in at Wallace to reduce noise and beautify the fence.  The art will be moved out of the dog park-this has been discussed for a year now.  It is now fenced to protect it from balls, which were hurting the sculpture.

The Swift Watch is an issue the impacts the community.  Could parks keep the public restrooms open during these activities?  PPS staff from Chapman needs to be linked into solutions regarding crowds.  As this is not on the park perhaps working with the NWDA public safety committee was suggested.

Safety at both Parks

Talk regarding when to call 911 and when to call non-emergency 823-3333.  Frank from ONI and Mark from PP&R expressed the concept of zero tolerance particularly towards alcohol and drug consumption.  Efforts to locate source of beer etc. discourage sales was discussed.

Portland Park Rangers can be contacted at 503-823-1637.

Issues can be reported through ParkScan online.

If you have a problem with dogs in any park, please call Multnomah County Animal Services at 503-988-7387.  Fear of crime is a factor that crime stats are not able to report.  Additionally, crime rates ebb and flow in the parks but traditionally increase with warmer temperatures.  The mission at 4^th and Washington has pushed crime to Couch.  Should we close our parks at 10pm?   Summer Concerts and National Night Out cold use our support and be positive environments to promote park safety.

ParkScan a Great Tool for Parks Comments

Minutes April 9th 2009

 

Minutes NWDA Parks April 9^th, 2009

9:30am-10:30am

AM: Alan C., Tanya M., Bryan A., Pete C.

 

Minutes from March were not approved yet, Bryan is contacting Sue.

 

Summer Concerts need more helpers:  Pete thought that it would be worth approaching Freddy’s and McDonalds on Burnside to be sponcers.

 

The new playground at Couch: constructions questions and timeline questions were addressed parks responded to community concerns in their report via e-mail.

Phase I of the playground modifications should be completed by the end of the day on Wed. April 15, 2009.  This will not be the final phase of construction the playground will close for phase two when the new equipment that has been ordered arrives.

 

A few minor issues caused delay in phase I, but work has progressed nicely.  The new fence, a new retaining wall, ADA access ramps and replacement of rotten timbers have all been completed in Phase I.. 

 

Celebration planning for the “New” Playground:

Couch Park has really improved over the past number of years.  An event to celebrate the park and an article on the history of the park could help really get the word out to the community that the park is safe and fun for all users.  The tulips planted last fall are about to burst into bloom too.  Come check them out!

 

Report from Parks:

 

Wallace:  Parks is working with R.A.C.C. to find a suitable location for the sculpture currently in the dog park at Wallace.   There will be a  temporary fence placed around the art to protect it prior to the move.  The artist is not able to join the process due to his age, however a partner of his is helping RACC with the re-siting process.

 

The water feature at Wallace is on the list for to be converted to a spray feature.  It is hoped that this will be included in the anticipated Parks Bond.

 

Couch – an explanation of contruction phasing:   There have been several questions from the community about how the construction has been moving along.  Just as one might expect with a home remodel, the improvements at Couch involve a number of different skilled work crews in Parks, including staff from the equipment section, electricians, playground specialists and the irrigation shop. They work well together and have been incredibly efficient to get this project done in the short three-week timeframe, while coordinating with one another, as well as the folks from OPUS and our playground equipment sales representative. 

Construction is a very sequential process, in that A  often has to happen before B can start. For example, sometimes things need time to set/dry/cure (like the new concrete retaining walls) before other work can be done.  From one of the early construction timing schedules here’s a laundry list of some of the tasks that needed to be coordinated and synchronized:  locates, construction fencing, footing removal, relocation of sign and plaque, equipment demo, retaining wall demo, play barrier demo, excavation, remove/cap irrigation, electrical, drainage, concrete formwork/pouring, and fencing installation.  This set of tasks was just for the first few days, with additional tasks and teams coming in later.

Aside from this, both Parks & Recreation crews and the OPUS crews do work all over town on various other projects.  So there is orchestration of who comes to do their bit of work at Couch in tandem with other projects they are working on in other parks (or OPUS on their other jobs).  It really is quite the dance with a lot of moving parts. 

If people have questions they are welcome to contact me – Bryan Aptekar, (503) 823-6973 or by e-mail at bryan.aptekar@ci.portland.or.us

 

May agenda:

Kidzone in the area.

Pool update.

Ribbon cutting at Couch.

 

June agenda:

How can work together with the dog owners.  Is there an interest in a pooch prominade on I-405 land.

New Equipment for Couch Park

 

January 2009 Minutes

 

Minutes for NWDA Parks and Recreation Committee

Thursday January 8^th, 2009

World Cup Cupping Room

Material Provided were the agenda which covered the committee’s activity for the last 8 months and copies of the article “Couch Park fence to keep dogs out of playground” by Allan Classen

AM 10-11am Tanya March (Chair), Pete Colt (Chair of Public Safety), Bryan Aptekar (Portland P&R), Don Sterkel (resident), Nancy Davis (Portland Central Families), Juliet Hyams (Pres. NWDA)

PM 6:30 pm Tanya March, Bran Aptekar, Britta Drettrich

I. Introductions.

How do we include non-members into our committee and how to we increase participation?

II.  Reviewed current NWDA website information,

Juliet offered to make changes to update the section on Parks and Recreation.  Effort to post the Couch Park Master Plan of 2003 was proposed. 

III.  Discussed the List of Issues

Britta asked if we had a purpose or mission.  We need to clarify that in order to manage the list of items.  There is no current mission statement to work with.  Nancy thought that a survey of residents might help to access goals.  Monkey survey a web style survey was proposed (? Access to seniors).  Pete was concerned about survey validity.   E-mails from those unable to attend were reviewed.  General sense that many issues would fit under the goal to examine and revisit Couch Park Master Plan.  A letter is being sent to Nick Fish stating that Couch Park and the new fence are on the NWDA radar and that we need to be kept in the loop.  Pete and others expressed that they would like to see a 360 degree fence around the playground that the playground should be fully enclosed.  Nancy asked about pesticides and wood treatment at Couch Park, Bryan returned to the pm meeting with answers.  The dog park and its history at Couch and Wallace was discussed also the need to include dog park users into this committee, posting agenda at the parks was suggested.  There are 270 participants in the Hillside Soccer League which uses Wallace Park and PPS land as well as other parks and schools not in NWDA.  There are 252 children in the river district east of I-405 that until the fields comes online are limited to Couch park Wallace it too far to walk.  Pete suggested concern over heavy use at park during the Swifts, contacting Audubon Society.  Many children of MLC, Cathedral School, Kindercare {been re-named} and Chapman do not live in the NWDA boundaries how best to include them in a survey of park needs (left unanswered)?  Summer concerts at Couch went much better than in the past OPUS NW support helped to create a better concert experience and increased crowds.  What grants are out there for our parks?   How can we promote volunteerism in our parks?  The need for a lead free community garden space in our community was expressed by Nancy.   The need to have NWDA talk to ODOT regarding the creation of new dog parks in our community.   Look into a movie night at Couch to be linked into Music nights.  KCLC expressed the need to fix MLC pool.  The pool has been drained, PPS has proposed infilling the pool with gravel.

Goals: (these need to be inclusive top level and prioritized by urgency)

1) Couch Park revisit master plan

2) Our community needs a community pool

 

A number of items will be moved to issues for the public safety committee Pete will report back to Tanya regarding issues of overlap and partnership.

IV.  Draft Letter of Support for MLC Pool

Looking over the letter it was advised that the letter should be directed more broadly to be in support of a public pool in Northwest Portland.  Letter is being revised to be more generalized.  A mid-term approach for this time without a pool was proposed where there is a partnership between PSU PP& R and NWDA to enable the community to have swim lessons at the new PSU pool.

 

V.  Update from Portland Parks and Rec.

OPUS Grant: Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) partnered with the Portland Parks Foundation to seek funding from the OPUS Foundation to support ADA accessibility improvements as well as safety improvements for the playground at Couch Park.  Our grant application was successful, as we were awarded $50,000 for this project, which combined with PP&R matching funds will be able to make some nice improvements for the playground.  Planning for this will begin shortly, at which point we will reach out to NWDA as well as the broader community, park users and the adjacent MLC School community to provide input on the project.

Couch Park Playground Fence: A separate but related project is happening at the playground at Couch Park.  Based on Commissioner Saltzman’s promise to the MLC School and neighboring community, PP&R is working on installing a fence around the play area that will serve several functions.  It is designed primarily to delineate the play area from the rest of the park to help separate the children’s play area from dogs and their owners who currently use the stage next to the play area when using the off-leash area.  Another goal for the fence was to alleviate concerns about children running down the hill onto Hoyt Street, or the potential for people from Hoyt Street to grab children from the playground.

In the early stages of this project PP&R invited community representatives from both the MLC Parent Teachers and Student Association (PTSA) as well as the NWDA to meet on site to discuss their goals, and map out the what and where of a fence. The PTSA followed up with a drawing of where they would prefer to have the fence, and what they would like to see it look like. PP&R then tweaked the fence outline slightly due to engineering constraints, tree root issues, fall zone concerns, and to retain access to the playground.

Coordinated Efforts: The fence plan and the safety/ADA improvements for Couch Park’s play area are being coordinated together so that both projects recognize and respond to the needs of the other.  They may not be actually implemented at the same time, but staff working on them are working together on these two projects.

Public Participation: We anticipate having a public meeting sometime in the next month or two to get public input on the Couch Park playground features and improvements.

Arsenic Wood: Additionally, at the meeting a question was raised about whether the wood used in the Couch Park playground might have been arsenic-treated wood.  I said I would find out and get back to folks on this.  Now that I have, the answer is no – the wood used at Couch Park, and all of our other wooden play structures, is not arsenic-treated wood. Parents and others have no need to worry about this.  This question was raised several years ago, at which point the issue was studied throughout our park system. The wood used in our playgrounds is not of the type or from the time-frame arsenic treated wood was common.  There is none in any of our playgrounds.

 

Agenda for upcoming meetings:

 

Five “Working” Goals:

1) improve access to public swimming pools for our community

2) revisit the unfunded Couch Park Master Plan of 2003

3) survey our community to establish future goals regarding our parks and recreation

assets for the NWDA

4) to establish a clear mission and purpose for our committee

5) to foster citizen participation and sustainable parks

 

 

 

 

Agenda: February

AM meeting only Thursday February 12^th 10am World Cup 18^th Ave.

Approve minutes:

New Business:

1) ADA access and playgrounds

Chloe  from Everybody Swings! Increasing Accessibility at Portland Parks is planning to talk with us

2) Ideas for our Mission Statement

3) PP&R updates

Old Business:

1) Goals

Motion to pass our five “working” goals.

Pool where to go from here.

 

Agenda: March (looking for a Wed PM space closer to Wallace Second Thursday 10am World Cup)

What has changed that might make some of the Couch Park Master Plan “out of date”

1) dog park use at Couch

2) designs for playgrounds and dog parks for small and large dogs at “The Fields”

3) the update to our current playground at Couch

    a) fence

    b) OPUS and Parks Foundation grants

 

Agenda: April

1) pesticides in our parks

2) volunteer opportunities in our parks

3) O-dot land for new dogparks

4) community gardens

Parks Meeting – April 9

The World Cup folks need their space on the 9th. So I had to shift
our standing meeting at World Cup on NW 18th at Glisan. This month
there will only be a morning meeting 9:30-10:30AM Thursday, April 9.

Agenda:

1. Summer Concerts at Couch and Wallace need more funds and helpers.
2. Talk about the new playground equipment at Couch.

E-mail me at march@pdx.edu if you would like to add items to agenda.

I am working on a historic time line of Couch Park and MLC school. I
will bring some historic images to share of our parks if there is
time. I would appreciated any historic images you might have of
Wallace or Couch Park. This might help towards the restoration of
the stripped historic marker in Wallace Park.

- Tanya March, NWDA Parks Chair

Couch Park In Oregonian

So Couch Park was in the paper The Oregonian today (March 26; click on “read more” link below to view article). Most of the items to be removed have been removed-in my opinion from what was presented at the public meeting. So if you walk by the park what you see is basically what is being salvaged and brought up to code. (The yellow slide is still there is being replaced one for one.)

I was at a meeting (not a NWDA meeting) last night that focused on free summer concerts in our neighborhood parks. Washington Park free concerts are not funded this year. Which means that the concerts in our community parks might be the main free music event this year on the west side. The concerts volunteers at Couch and Wallace are actively seeking out individual tax deductible donations to maintain the six concerts 4 @ Wallace and 2 @ Couch Park-donations are down this year. In other words money is very tight this year please help out. They even just need helping hands during the concerts.

Contact: Judith Yeckel Summer Concerts Production Mgr. at Portland Parks & Rec.

* Tanya (NWDA Parks Chair) *
Read more

Couch Park Play Area To Close For Maintenance

Beginning Monday, March 23, Portland Parks & Recreation will temporarily close the play area at Couch Park in order to make several improvements, including the installation of a fence around the play area, as well as several safety and ADA accessibility changes. “We’re very excited to be making these enhancements to the play area,” said Terri Davis, the West Service Zone Manager for Portland Parks & Recreation. “These changes will make the play area safer, more accessible, and fulfill a promise made to the community to provide a fence surrounding the play area.”

The closure of the play area is scheduled to last three weeks, during which time the fence will be installed and some existing features will be removed. Later this spring, when several new play features arrive, a second closure will be necessary to install them. Public notice will be provided before that closure.

These improvements are made possible by a grant from the Opus Foundation, in partnership with the Portland Parks Foundation, as well as funding provided through the 2002 Parks Levy.

For more information, contact Bryan Aptekar, PP&R West Service Zone Coordinator, at 503.823.6973 or visit portlandparks.org.