By Mary Owen
The latest draft of the Riverfront Park Management Plan passed the muster, and now waits approval from Marion County and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, city officials reported.
“The Riverfront Park Management Plan is a long-term plan to protect, manage and restore a 55-plus-acre property along the north bank of the North Santiam River,” said Dave Kinney, Stayton’s Public Works director. “Management of the site includes providing public access to the property from the adjacent city park sites and to Stayton’s downtown, while still trying to preserve and protect wildlife and native plant habitats.”
The plan’s purpose is to identify watershed resources and to set parameters that will serve as the framework for restoring and preserving resources on the site, according to a PowerPoint presentation by Liz Redon, Coordinator for the North Santiam Watershed Council. Recent updates include technical revisions, new maps and policy language, which have been reviewed by Marion County and the OWEB.
Next comes hiring a team to provide designs, construction specifications, and cost estimates for development, Redon said.
The Stayton City Council will discuss and take action on the changes at its March 7 meeting, with final action to follow at the next session on March 21.
Four funding sources will propel the plan, taking steps to control weeds and inventory, introducing passive restoration in areas near the forested wetlands, and active restoration along the North Santiam River, and confirming the final development plan that will include recommendations for phased improvements. The money will come from Marion County Title 3, $465,000; Oregon Parks and Recreation, $250,000; OWEB, $250,000; and City of Stayton, $50,000.
“The Trust for Public Lands served as an intermediary in the acquisition process to put all the funding pieces together,” Kinney said. “As part of the acquisition process, a Conservation Easement, setting forth a series of allowed and not-allowed uses, was placed on the property to guarantee it would not be developed in the future.”
Kinney said at this time no work is pending other than to replant native vegetation along the riverbank where a bank stabilization project was completed in 2007.
“Many of the plants that were planted in 2008-2010 have not survived the hot dry weather and sandy soil conditions,” he said. “The city has an obligation to establish native plants to stabilize soils and provide shade along the river.”
“Former Mayor (Gerry) Aboud and other city officials have consistently voiced opinions that the property is an asset to the city, to have an attractive green space and trail system near downtown and new residential areas,” Kinney said. “With the new pedestrian bridge near Florence Street, residents will be able to circulate throughout the Riverfront Park area.”
In addition to the Riverfront Park project, the Parks Board has focused efforts on enhancing other city parks.
“The city is upgrading Santiam Park,” Kinney said. “A year-round rubberized play surface will be installed under the existing play structures. We will build a new group picnic shelter, a new restroom plus adding benches, tables and lighting.”
Grants from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept., Oregon Community Foundation, A.J. Frank Family Foundation and city park system development fees are funding the improvements, Kinney said. The play resurfacing will be completed by April 15, and the picnic shelter/restrooms project should be done by mid-summer, he said.
“Recently we held a work day and had 30-35 Stayton High School students assisting with the clean-up underneath the play equipment and spreading the hog-fuel chips,” Kinney said.
Also in the works are upgrades to restrooms, paving the turnaround, and adding handicap-accessible paths at Pioneer Park. The Parks Board is working on a design plan and cost estimate in order to apply for federal and state parks grants.
