City Council

The City of Columbia City In Columbia County on the Columbia River PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES October 10, 2023 - 6:00 P.M. City Hall Council Chambers – 1840 Second Street Present: Katrina Claridge, Committee Chair Mark Gordon, Committee Member Nell Harrison, Committee Member Jack Hruska, Committee Member Micah Rogers, P.W. Superintendent Not Present: Jeff Reinan, City Council Member Kathleen Devlin, Committee Member Attendees: Rosemary Jefferies, Resident Committee Chair, City Councilor Katrina Claridge, called the meeting to order at 6:28 pm. 1. Gold Star Marker: After quick discussion, Jack made a motion and Nell seconded the purchase(once funds are raised) and installation of the Gold Star Marker in Veteran’s Park. The motion passed unanimously. The Committee asked that Staff bring it before the City Council at the next meeting to seek assistance in securing the remaining amount of needed funds. 2. Pixie Park: The Committee discussed the desire of the Daughters of The American Revolution(DAR) to transfer ownership of Pixie Park to the City of Columbia City. Katrina and Micah explained to the other members of the Committee some conditions of the transfer in an email from Kelly Ann Wiggens of the DAR. The two conditions from the email were that the City would not place anything in Pixie Park that would obstruct the view towards the river from the Caples House property, and that the name “Pixie Park” be retained as the name of the park. Micah explained that the City did not plan to make any major changes 1  to the park. The plan would be to restore and improve what is already there. Rosemary Jefferies expressed her concern for the installation of a life jacket station at the park so that life jackets would be available for people using the river access. Mark expressed his support for the life jacket station and also his concern of the overall safety for use of the river at the park itself. Mark recommended that if the City takes ownership of the park that Staff have a safety assessment done to see if there is more that can be done to ensure the safety of those who choose to use the river access. Following the discussion, Jack made a motion, and Mark seconded the recommendation of the Committee to support the transfer of ownership of Pixie Park from the DAR to the City of Columbia City. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Other Business: Mark brought up a few items for discussion in order to bring them to the Committee’s attention. a. Mark expressed his concern for the condition of the playground equipment at Harvard Park. He had seen pictures of rust and other issues online. Micah agreed that the entire structure is in need of replacement. Micah also said that Public Works is keeping an eye on the equipment for safety issues. Repairs are made as they are discovered, or as the City is notified from park users. Micah stated the playground equipment is expensive and that funding options needed to be explored. b. Mark asked about the Rivers Walk trail and if it was open for use. Jack and Micah said that the trail was open to be used. Mark said he had not seen any type of announcement of dedication or opening regarding the trail. Micah said that there had not been an official opening of the trail at this time. It was suggested that something be put in the newsletter to announce that the trail was available for use. c. Mark brought up the City’s Parks Master Plan from 2001, and wondered about updates. Jack wondered if the plan had even been adopted after its creation. It was agreed that a new plan was needed. Micah said he would look into whether the 2001 plan was adopted and what making a new plan would entail. d. Mark stated that the City should look again at making the connection of the new Rivers Walk trail at the end of 6th St. He said it would open up the trail to a new area and make it much more appealing to residents. He said that the City engineer estimate of $75k-$125k was very high, and said that Mike(McGlothlin) had told him that he thought $25k was a better estimate. Micah said that recent construction at the neighboring property might have changed the layout of the land. Micah said that the City would have to take a fresh look at connecting the trail, but that paying for it would be the difficult part. The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 6:00pm. The meeting was adjourned at 7:11pm 2