City Council

The City of Columbia City In Columbia County on the Columbia River PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES April 18, 2023 - 6:00 P.M. City Hall Council Chambers – 1840 Second Street Present: Katrina Claridge, Committee Chair Jeff Reinan, City Council Member Mark Gordon, Committee Member Nell Harrison, Committee Member Jack Hruska, Committee Member Mike McGlothlin, City Administrator Attendees: Sally Ann Marson, Citizen Wendy Wells, Citizen & Friends of the Columbia City Community Library Representative Paulette Lichatowich, Friends of the Columbia City Community Library Representative Committee Chair, City Councilor Katrina Claridge, called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. 1. Review of the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for City Parks Projects affecting the CIP; along with a closeout report for the Rivers Walk Trail Project: The Committee completed the review of the “Parks Projects” portion of the CIP and retained the Bike Path Refurbishment and Improvements Project for the 2023-24 fiscal year, and also added the following projects to the City’s CIP: The Veterans Park/Rivers Walk Trail System Parking Project was identified and placed into the 2024-25 fiscal year and the Harvard Park Playground Equipment Improvements Project was identified and placed into the 2026-27 fiscal year. 2. Discussion regarding planning, logistics, and event program for the City’s Memorial Day Ceremony; to be held on May 29, 2023: The City Administrator and the Parks Committee reviewed the program from the 2022 Memorial Day Ceremony and the following suggestions were made for 2023 ceremony implementation: Retain, as much as possible, the participation of speakers at select locations within the program with veteran experience, the City Administrator was recommended to serve as the event’s master of ceremonies, previous Oregon State Representative and Oregon State Senator 1  Betsy Johnson was recommended as a potential candidate to serve as the “Welcome” speaker, Mayor Ziglinski; with Council President Gordon Thistle as a potential back-up, was recommended to lead the event attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, Frank Hupp and Dave Beldon were recognized for their conducting of the Missing Man Table and Honors Ceremony wihin the program and the City Administror was asked to include them in the program for 2023, Police Operations Sergeant Jerry Bartolomucci was recommended to serve as a speaker due to his status as a US Air Force veteran, and the City Administrator shared that he had a recommened youth speaker for the portion of the program dedicated to the newest Patriot Pen District Speech Contest Winner. 3. Status review of City Parks, led by Public Works Superintendent Micah Rogers: Due to time constraints with an attendee group presentation, this iem on the agenda was covered through group discussion with no major issues noted. Superintendent Rogers will facilitate a full discussion of this subject at the next Parks Committee meeting. 4. Discussion regarding a “community garden” concept at small parks within the City’s park system: This conversation was a continuance of earlier discussions regarding the demands of parks maintenance upon city staff responsible for their upkeep and ways to better manage and maintain the city parks.The City Administrator led the discussion regarding this topic and solicited the thoughts of the committee members present at to what they thought of the idea. The concept was explained as identifying small city parks within the City that are located within neighborhood areas, soliciting and identifying interested residents for the formulation of vegetable/fruit gardens at the locations selected, and the City providing the area within the identified small parks so that this opportunity can be taken advantage of. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Parks Committee said that they supported the overall concept and advised the City Administrator to speak with the City Council about the premise, and if supported, to consider conducting a survey through the city’s newsletter for gauging the interest levels of the community. 5. Other Business: The Friends of the Columbia City Community Library (FOL) addressed the Parks Committee by representative Wendy Wells reading a letter, dated February 21, 2023 and specific to the FOL’s 5-Year Strategic Plan along with their “pausing” of consideration to be granted land to build a library/community hub at the northern end of Bundy Park. A copy of this letter is attached to these minutes, along with a copy of the FOL’s “5-Year Strategic Plan 2023-2028” document. During the discussion, committee member Jack Hruska asked if fire service personnel had researched the availability of property within the current Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) footprint in Columbia City as other possible sites for construction of a fire station. The City Administrator replied that he was unsure if they had done so, but that he would research the question and provide follow up to all involved in the discussions. The City Administrator then reviewed the other possible siting locations that he had knowledge of being explored. No further substantive discussion took place regarding this topic and the City Administrator reiterated that he would provide feedback to those involved in these discussions. 6. Discussion regarding date for next meeting: The next meeting of the Parks Committee was scheduled to take place on April 18, 2023 at 6:00 am in the City Hall 2  Council Chambers. 7. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:08 pm. 3