Linn County will seek parks grant

ALBANY — Linn County Parks will apply for a matching grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to replace a restroom, sidewalks and improve ADA access to the beach at Lewis Creek Day Use on Foster Reservoir, the Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday morning.

Parks Director Brian Carroll said the project is estimated to cost $295,300. The grant would reimburse the county $247,650 and the Parks Department will match that with labors and funds from the Transient Lodging Tax and RV and Forest Funds.

Carroll said this is basically the first phase of implementation of the long-term Lewis Creek Park Master Plan the county has worked on for several years. Lewis Creek Park is more than 50 years old and this is its first major overhaul.

Numerous public meetings were held to gather inputs from users about what they would like to see in a renovated park, which is a day use area that includes beach access for swimming and boat docks.

Commissioner Sherrie Sprenger asked if there will be camping spurs and Carroll said no, because the site sits on just 20 acres. Camping spurs would take up a lot of space, he explained.

There are several annual events such as a water polo tournament and an Iron Man Triathlon that host overnight camping, but they are in tents only, Carroll said.

Carroll told the commissioners the Parks Department will also begin working on securing funding to replace the old infrastructure at Sunnyside Park. Like Lewis Creek, it is more than 50 years old and current water lines are requiring considerable annual repairs.

He said replacement of pipes will be a major project both in time and expense, but there is state funding available to assist with this type of work.

Commissioner Roger Nyquist asked Carroll about annual visitations.

Carroll said parks use remains brisk with more than 500,000 visitors per year. That’s down from as many as 700,000 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when camping was one of the few public events that remained open.

Commissioner Sprenger said Linn County Parks “are arguably the best” in the state and the Parks Department operates without General Fund monies.

“It’s probably been 20 years since we used General Fund money for a capital project,” Carroll said.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved the purchase of a new $137,237 Freightliner cab and chassis for the Road Department as requested by Roadmaster Wayne Mink.
• Approved the transfer of $20,000 to Veterans Services to support the continuation of a program that provides transportation to Linn County veterans to medical appointments as requested by director Dee Baley-Hyder.
• Heard a report by Nathan Conroy of the RAIN economic development program. Conroy said RAIN would like to sponsor an entrepreneurship training seminar in Linn County like one held recently in Lane County.
• Commissioner Nyquist said the Oregon Department of Transportation is planning a grand opening program for the new Mid-Valley Intermodal Center in Millersburg for 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 15.

Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.