City of Ashland

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

STUDY SESSION
MINUTES

December 4, 2007

ATTENDANCE

Present:    Commissioners Eggers, Gardiner, Lewis, Noraas, Rosenthal; Director Robertson; Superintendents Gies and Teige

Absent:     City Council Liaison Navickas

CALL TO ORDER

Eggers called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at The Grove, 1195 E. Main Street.

ASHLAND CREEK PARK CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS DISCUSSION

Eggers reported requesting the meeting and thanked commissioners and guests for attending.

She expressed excitement about the proposed construction documents and asked commissioners to consider allowing for an 80-foot buffer between the creek and the basketball court, a topic that was discussed during the public meetings and included in the master plan. She said the creek and riparian areas were the elements requiring the most protection and the additional twenty feet would not negatively affect the park’s design. She suggested several ways the space could be accommodated, including reducing the basketball court area, reducing the planting buffer from eleven feet to six feet, and moving back the community garden.

Laurie Sager of KenCairn Sager Landscape Architects said it might be possible to retain the community garden’s size while shifting it a few feet.

Discussion Among Commissioners

Gardiner stated that the park was meant to be utilized by a variety of people and the elements contained within the master plan were based on public input.

Noraas reported reviewing early meeting notes from the park planning process and learning that members of the public requested simplicity, minimal features, and few traditional park elements, yet the construction documents included some formal features.

Lewis talked about the importance of balancing elements of a neighborhood park with more formal features and suggested reducing the size of some formal elements and moving forward with the process.

Gardiner stated that, as the master planning process proceeded, more input was received on park features such as community garden plots, basketball court, and parking spaces and that an overly reduced basketball area would result in a less useable court. He said the park is a small piece of property on a long creek that’s pressured for much of its span and the commission endeavored to protect the riparian area by moving the elements the community requested to the front of the property.

Rosenthal questioned whether the walkways might serve as potential encroachments on the creek and Eggers stated that park patrons enjoy walking to the creek and it’s best to direct them through that area.

Commissioners asked Sager to prepare a drawing in which the basketball court was shifted an additional fifteen feet from the creek. Sager agreed to provide the revised drawing at the December 17 regular meeting.

ADJOURNMENT – By consensus, with no further business, Eggers adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Susan Dyssegard, Ashland Parks and Recreation