LA GRANDE — Local authorities have high hopes for the future of La Grande’s parks. After nearly a year of gathering public input, the La Grande Parks and Recreation Department is planning out improvements and new project proposals in its Parks Master Plan.

The layout of future projects serves as a guide for the next five fiscal years, giving the city an outline in place to acquire funds.

“The purpose is mainly to keep us organized and on track as a staff and as a parks and recreation advisory commission, so we have solid goals and objectives to keep things moving,” said Stu Spence, La Grande’s Parks and Recreation director.

The 2022-27 parks master plan is the first of its kind in La Grande, laying out goals and objectives for the parks and recreation department and its advisory commission. With a set of goals and plans that are vetted by local public input and city approval, grant writing and funding will be much smoother for the department in years to come.

Among the variety of projects planned throughout the next five years, the main focus points include connectivity between parks, accessibility for disabled individuals, youth and teen programs, more trails in town and the need for an indoor recreation space.

“I think they put together a really solid plan that was well-thought-out,” said La Grande City Manager Robert Strope.

An immediate project in the plan is improving the playgrounds at Riverside Park, which is slated for the 2023-24 fiscal year — the projected capital cost estimate is $125,000. Other proposed projects in La Grande’s parks include addding restrooms at various parks, increasing walkability between parks, improving youth programs and planting more trees and plants.

Public input plays key role

A key part of the formation of the parks master plan was gathering public input, which took place primarily from the summer of 2021 through early spring of 2022.

The Parks and Recreation Department conducted online and paper surveys, gauging needs and wants of the community. The department collected 491 survey responses, 411 of which were marked as residents of La Grande, and throughout the fall of 2021 a number of focus groups.

“We did a series of surveys and focus groups and were able to engage quite a few community members and determine the priorities of the community,” Spence said.

“I was thrilled with the number of responses we got,” Strope said. “There’s a lot of interest in our parks and recreation system, which is gratifying.”

According to Spence, the public input lays the foundation for the department’s future plans and allows funders to see that proposed projects are a need in the community.

“Funders often ask things like ‘what does the community need?’ and ‘where is this identified in your plan?’ when a project is going through,” Spence said. “With a plan and all that community outreach, we’re able to show that it’s been proven through our series and engagement with the public that we need x, y and z. In this one it was connectivity, accessibility, more trails, more open space, youth and teen programs and the recreation center.”

In addition to public recommendations, the parks staff recommended projects include improvements at Max Square, Reynolds Park, Candy Cane Park, Sunnyhill Park, Birnie Park, Benton Park, Morgan Lake, Riverside Park, Pioneer Park, Gangloff Park and Community Forest.

Planning ahead

After gaining public input and creating a master plan, the La Grande City Council and Planning Commission are now set to host public hearings, gain approval and move the plan forward.

“Essentially, there’s a series of public hearings that will happen to get the plan adopted into the city’s comprehensive plan,” Spence said.

According to Strope, some projects are eligible for funding through the city’s general dollars, while others may be more likely afforded through accessible grants on a project-to-project basis. Strope noted the Pioneer Park turf project as a good example of the city partnering with Eastern Oregon University, La Grande School District and community business donations to accomplish a parks project. Additionally, more specific grant opportunities that come along in the coming years could shuffle the timeline of the projects.

One of the most noted needs in the plan is an indoor recreational facility, which would provide a multipurpose community space open for sports such as basketball and volleyball, programs for children and teens, classrooms and more.

Spence said an indoor recreation center has been a goal of the city for some time now, with plans nearly coming together prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s such a lack of gym space and indoor activity space in La Grande. We really struggle with that,” Spence said. “We had a conceptual project pre-COVID. The pandemic kind of killed those conversations, but now with this plan it’s clearly coming to the forefront that people want and need that dedicated indoor recreation space.”

The current timeline of the parks master plan allots the hiring of an architect/engineer to provide site analysis for a recreation center during the 2022-23 fiscal year — the analysis is projected to cost $25,000.

The Riverside Park playground improvement project highlights the plan’s 2023-24 fiscal year actions, in addition to utilizing the walkability analysis to plan out connections to parks, exploring partnerships to improve youth programs and seeking out opportunities to purchase land near Gangloff Park.

“That is the next big thing that we will be looking toward funding and working with the community, because a lot of people have volunteered time into the original project,” Spence said of the Riverside Park playground. “When we go to replace that, it’s going to be important to do community engagement and outreach and make sure all the community partners feel good about the plans.”

The five-year plan expands through the 2026-27 fiscal year, adding restrooms to Candy Cane Park and planting trees along Island Avenue past the entrance to Interstate 84. The full timeline of the parks master plan is available on the city’s website.

Following a joint work session with the La Grande City Council and Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission on Monday, March 28, public hearings are set to take place at the La Grande Planning Commission on May 10 and at the City Council on June 1 and June 6.

“It’s evolving and fluid,” Spence said. “The purpose of the plan is to have a direction for staff every year with goals and objectives.”