City & Government, Creswell

Creswell parks updates for 2019

This new year, Creswell will have new park developments. At the last Park and Trees advisory committee on Dec. 11, the members set up their resolutions for 2019.
The most notable update is the South 2nd Street property purchase that former Creswell City Economic Developer Michael DeHart was working on partitioning for the New Hope Baptist Church; while the church is the partition applicant, the City will work on the land.
DeHart said in the meeting that street lights and sidewalk construction will be required, and the church will be required to sign a non-remonstrate agreement for future improvements along Front Street. DeHart also mentioned that utility easements would need to be discussed and possibly reallocated; however, the team is waiting for Public Works Director Cliff Bellew to offer advice, because he was absent during the Dec. 11 meeting.
Due to DeHart’s date of leave being Friday, Dec. 21, however, the partition wasn’t concluded before his leave.
In the new year, City Manager Michelle Amberg will be focused on finding a landscape architect and park designer to take photos and create conceptual plans of the new park space on 2nd Street.
The City had also been working on its Tree City USA application, which was due Dec. 31. DeHart had been working with Bellew for the application, which was formed by the Arbor Day Foundation to ”green up” cities and towns across America since 1976, and help communities manage and expand their public trees. The Tree City USA status is achieved by meeting the four core standards of urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day, according to arborday.org.
If the City receives certification, this will be Creswell’s 10th year reaching Tree City USA Status, and its 11th Arbor Day. If accepted, the committee said it will also assist with planning Arbor Day activities.
For the Parks Master Plan presentation that was shown to city council, Secretary Councilor Martha McReynolds Jr. announced that the council voted to adopt the plan with the amendment that ”the front page photo be switched out.”
DeHart also added that they needed to follow up with a new System Development Charge methodology for the parks, and the Capital Plan will inform that development.
The next meeting will be Jan. 22, and the board will discuss changes in the new year, as well as more Arbor Day planning.

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