The resolution referred to in this press release represents a major accomplishment. 

The PP&R staff and citizens involved in the mediation process are to be commended for having the courage and tenacity to get involved with the process -- and to stick with it, despite serious doubts on the part of many.  As I said at City Council yesterday, the process was sometimes painful, often frustrating, but in the end very productive.

One thing not mentioned in the press release is that Commissioner Saltzman announced at the time that more than $100,000 from this year's budget is being allocated to the master plan process so it can start in January 2008, rather than having to wait for the next budget cycle.

-- Linda

From: "Sorensen, Beth" <Beth.Sorensen@...>
To:
Subject: Portland City Council unanimously passes resolution on Mt. Tabor
        Park Central Maintenance Yard and Nursery
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:31:11 -0700

September 27, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Beth Sorensen, PP&R Media Relations Officer
503.823.5300; cell 503.823.6634

Portland City Council unanimously passes resolution on
Mt. Tabor Park Central Maintenance Yard and Nursery

(Portland, OR) - Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution yesterday calling for an update of the Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan. The vote followed the presentation of a joint report by The Mt. Tabor Joint Committee on the resolution of differences between Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) and concerned community members on the future of the Mt. Tabor Park Central Yard and Horticultural Service Center.

With the Council's approval, the public process to update the Master Plan for Mt. Tabor Park to include the 20-acre Central Maintenance Yard and Horticultural Service Center will move forward in January 2008. The updated Master Plan will provide a blueprint for the site that will incorporate sustainable practice, honor historically significant issues, and provide a safe and efficient work environment for employees and volunteers. The update is expected to be completed, with design, costs, and timeline, by January 2009.

"The process expressed in this resolution starts with the assumption that the Parks Central Maintenance Yard is staying at its current location," said Parks Commissioner Dan Saltzman. "I fully support this assumption and hope Council can support this and pass the resolution before us. It is a vital step on the path to real improvements in our employees' working conditions."

The Mt. Tabor Joint Committee, a group composed of 16 community stakeholders working with PP&R staff, collectively spent hundreds of hours, over more than four months, developing a Public Involvement process, aligned with the Bureau Innovation Project #9, that extends beyond the recreational possibilities for the land to include the critical nature of the maintenance and horticulture needs of the whole park system and provide safe and efficient space to deliver exceptional service.

"This process has been a model for how the public should be involved in projects that have broad community interest and investment," noted Zari Santner, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation. "This effort trail blazed a new way of doing business for Parks & Recreation and can set the tone for how the City and community work together."

 
"All of us who are involved in this public process want to thank City Council for supporting and encouraging this type of authentic community engagement. We look forward to working in partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation to solve the ongoing problems at the Mt. Tabor Central Yard to provide a safe and functional work environment for the professional and dedicated city employees who take such good care of our parks citywide," added John Laursen, spokesman for the Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association and chair of the community mediation team.

The "Mt. Tabor Park Central Yard," on the south side of the park, is home to PP&R's central maintenance facilities; these facilities and the associated nursery have provided critical support functions for Portland's park system for nearly a century and are a part of the National Register historic district that encompasses all of Mt. Tabor Park.

Community concerns regarding the potential sale of 8.5 acres of this land to Warner Pacific College for private development resulted in a series of mediated discussions with PP&R staff in April and May 2007. The mediation resulted in the design of an open and transparent public process for updating the Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan, including the Central Yard and Nursery.

The original Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan was completed in 1999, but its scope did not include that part of the park that houses the maintenance yard and nursery. The new public process will consider, from both the community and PP&R points of view, the pros and cons for maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the Mt. Tabor Park Central Yard and Horticultural Service Center, and the associated financial implications.

# # #

Beth Sorensen
Media Relations Officer
Portland Parks & Recreation
503.823.5300 (office); 503.823.6634 (cell)
beth.sorensen@...
"Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland"
www.portlandparks.org