Summary of April 5 Board of Directors meeting
April 6, 2022
The BPRD Board of Directors meeting reconvened in person after a hiatus due to the pandemic. The meetings are concurrently live streamed. A video recording is available.
The board of directors received recommendations and approved a park name for the “Project 155 – Bend Golf Club Site” neighborhood park property. The Naming Committee considered 8 potential park names and unanimously recommended “Little Fawn Park.” A number of local residents have noticed that a native deer herd lives in the area and in the spring, fawns are visible. This name will serve as a reminder and connection to the wildlife that has, and continues to exist at and close to the park. The 3.4-acre park is scheduled to be developed in 2024.
In the work session, BPRD staff and David Abbas from the City of Bend shared about an important trail connection project.
The Deschutes River Trail downtown is the most heavily used trail in Bend, with more than 1,200 trail users per day, it is an important transportation and recreation facility. Between Galveston Road and Miller’s Landing Park, the trail runs along Riverfront Street; an aging street that is in poor condition. The Gilchrist Alley is also in need of improvement to meet accessibility standards.
The park district has long sought to improve the condition of the street and began developing designs to improve conditions for trail users beginning in 2015. The district and the city have been working together to restart the project. Under the new proposal, final design and construction would be led by the city with financial and technical support from the park district. In 2022, the city was successful in securing a grant from the Bend MPO for $340k towards the project. In the coming months, staff from both agencies will begin work on an agreement to formalize cost sharing, roles and responsibilities, and project delivery procedures.
BPRD also provided an update to a March 1 presentation by the City of Bend regarding a tax exemption program they are considering. As follow-up to the presentation last month, staff provided written responses to questions, starting on page 25 in the agenda packet. BPRD has approved 388 system development charges waivers to date in an approved program for a related goal of increasing affordable housing in the community. The board of directors agreed to share areas of consensus for future consideration by the city.
The next board meeting is April 17.