News

Summary for Nov. 16 Board of Directors meeting

November 17, 2021

At the Nov. 17 meeting, the BPRD board of directors approved an amendment to the Drake Park Bank and Trail Improvement project, received an update on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assessment project nearing completion, and discussed parking considerations for projects. A recording of the meeting is available here.

Drake Park Bank and Trail Improvement project

In 2018, BPRD hired Emery and Sons Construction as the Construction Management – General Contractor for the Drake Park project working on constructability and cost estimates. Construction of this project has been delayed by challenges obtaining easements from adjacent property owners, and by the National Park Service’s approval of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant awarded for the project. The district is continuing efforts to obtain the remaining easements for the project, and expects the notice to proceed on the LWCF grant shortly.

In the meantime, staff proposed and the board approved proceeding with construction of phase 1 of the project that does not require easements. The district has submitted a modification to the permit that would allow the district to proceed with phase 1 work that does not require easements from adjacent property owners. Pending approval of the WOZ permit modification, and a final notice to proceed on the LWCF grant, the phase 1 work could begin in December of this year.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The district hired Talitha Consults to lead a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative and the project leaders provided an update on a public engagement survey that was conducted in summer 2021. Talitha has analyzed the results from the community survey. They have synthesized all survey results and other findings into an assessment report Talitha’s final deliverable will be a DEI assessment report that summarizes key findings and makes actionable recommendations. BPRD staff will use the assessment report to develop a DEI action plan. The plan will include engagement tactics, implementation prioritization and methods for tracking progress. This plan will be shared with staff, the board and the community.

The meeting agenda also included:

Foundation introductions

The board was introduced to the Bend Park and Recreation Foundation board members, including Nancy Devine, Heather Simmons, Jane Dunham, Paul Taylor and Dr. Keith Krueger. The Bend Park and Recreation Foundation is a 501-c-3 tax exempt corporation that exists for the purpose of supporting the work of BPRD. The foundation incorporated in 1974 and has served the district in a wide variety of ways ranging from accepting donation of property, to serving as a fiscal sponsor of community fundraising efforts, and being the steward for financial contributions to support recreation scholarships.

Sawyer Park

Sawyer Park’s existing paving is rutted and pot-holed beyond normal maintenance repair and needs to be replaced. Additionally, the existing parking configuration does not function well and the location within the park creates safety concerns. To better understand the current and future parking needs at Sawyer Park, staff hired Lancaster Mobley, a local traffic engineering firm, to perform an initial parking/traffic study) and shared the results of the study to inform the next step that will be to issue a formal request for proposal to hire a design consultant this winter to begin the planning and design of the overall project. Once the design consultant is hired, public outreach will begin, along with conceptual design. Input from the community will help form conceptual design for the project. The board plans to have a broader discussion about overall parking considerations in a future meeting.

Budget committee appointment process

The district’s budget committee consists of five members that are appointed by the board of directors. There is currently one vacant seat on the district’s budget committee; Daryl Parrish completed his term at the end of the budget process for the fiscal year 2021-22. Staff recommended and the board agreed to appoint Daryl Parrish for another term as a budget committee member and revisit the budget committee selection and process prior to the next vacancy.

The board will meet on Dec. 7 for a work session board retreat; the Dec. 27 board meeting is canceled.