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Parks news

• Park improvement and acquisition
  
• Parks Functional Plan update and survey
  
• THPRD supports homeless families through partnership with Beaverton Family Promise

Park improvement and acquisition

Jeannine Rustad, Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District Superintendent of Planning will visit CPO 1 on Tuesday, July 10, 7-9 pm, at Leedy Grange Hall, to discuss district policies on acquiring new parks and developing already-acquired open land. She answered a few questions to give us all a better understanding of how this works.

Q: In the past, we’ve been advised that the Northeast Park and the Lehman property won’t be developed in the near future because they’re surrounded by “out of district” residents. Is that still district policy?

A: This is not policy. One consideration in developing parks is the number of in-district residents a park will serve. We are currently revising our parks functional plan and seeking input on priority factors, among other items. Current prioritization considerations for development of parks is attached. *Download the matrix*

Q: We’ve heard rumors of a new effort to bring residents in the ultimate service district into the district without individual voluntary annexation. Can you share anything about that?

A: We’ve had several members of the community approach us with ideas on how we could get better response to voluntary annexation and we are setting up meetings to hear their thoughts. We plan on running our voluntary annexation this fall.

Ed. Note: THPRD worked with Washington County in the early 2000s to require all new development within THPRD’s ultimate service boundary to annex into the district. Many of our residential areas and a good chunk of the commercial areas were developed prior to that so they are not in the district.

Q: Are there still undesignated funds in the current bond for purchasing new park land? Can you discuss the factors that are used to evaluate potential property acquisition?

A: Acquisition funds for parks under the bond have been spent. Our general considerations for acquisitions is attached (Download the flowchart). As with prioritization criteria, this is under review through our Parks Functional Plan update. We will also be adding a new section on acquiring land in underserved areas.

Q: Has any progress been made in acquiring park land in Bonny Slope West? Or is the focus going to be on developing the Northeast Park and trails that lead to that?

A: We cannot talk about on-going acquisition efforts.

Q: How does the Park Functional Plan survey fit into the park acquisition picture?

A: Questions are more towards prioritizing development of parks, what we’re doing well, and what we can improve.

Parks Functional Plan update and survey

THPRD invites us to weigh in on our priorities for the next five years of park development and planning.

The survey can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/ParksFPUpdate and surveymonkey.com/r/ParksFPUpdate_Espanol.

THPRD supports homeless families through partnership with Beaverton Family Promise

Homeless families in the Beaverton area served by the nonprofit Beaverton Family Promise will be able to stay overnight at certain Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District facilities during designated maintenance closures.

The park district will host families for at least three to four weeks per year. During a given week, the families will stay overnight in one designated room of a THPRD recreation center. Beaverton Family Promise will select the families and chaperone them with staff and volunteers at the THPRD site. During the day, the park district will transport the families to and from Family Promise’s day center at Sunset Presbyterian Church.

“We are keenly aware of homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing as a major challenge to quality of life in the Beaverton area,” said Ali Kavianian, president of the THPRD Board of Directors. “This is another way as a community partner we can help address the issue. By opening our facilities to these families during a time when we are ordinarily closed, we are helping them and our whole community.”

Four THPRD centers have been identified as hosts: Cedar Hills Recreation Center, Conestoga Recreation & Aquatic Center, Elsie Stuhr Center, and Garden Home Recreation Center. During overnight stays at THPRD recreation centers, guests will be able to take advantage of available amenities. For example, in addition to taking showers, children would be able to play in the gymnasium and adults could use the fitness room.

Beaverton Family Promise is part of a nationwide nonprofit with more than 200 sites. The local affiliate has 10 host organizations: THPRD, the City of Beaverton, and eight churches. THPRD is believed to be the first park district in the U.S. to partner with Family Promise.

The organization’s primary focus is to help guest families get back into permanent, sustainable housing and employment as quickly as possible. While in the program, guests receive food, shelter, and comprehensive support services. Guest families also have the opportunity to develop enduring life skills through individualized case management by Beaverton Family Promise staff and personal mentoring by volunteers. Learn more on the organization’s website.

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