FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 11
Local & Entertainment
Bebe’s word search
Horses on new
bandstand a concern
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
The Parks & Rec Board discusses new flooring for the gazebo in the park.
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Tuesday evening the
Parks and Recreation
Board met. Chairman Rick
Taylor called the meeting
to order with all members
in attendance. City Man-
ager Mike Kee was also
present as well as Lions
club representative Steven
Fiddler.
Taylor first asked if
there were any additions
or modifications to the
agenda.
Gail Duman said she
would like to address the
disc golf project that had
been presented to council
recently while Jeff Nelson
said he had been contacted
by a concerned citizen
regarding horses on the
new band stand in Geiser-
Pollman park.
The gazebo in the park
was also added as a topic
for discussion. After noting
those additions, the Board
focused on approving min-
utes from the last meeting.
A couple of corrections
were noted then Duman
moved for approval with a
second by Nelson.
All voted in favor.
Next on the agenda was
an update on the BMX
bike track.
Joyce Bornstedt, City
staff representative stated
that there really were no
new updates. She had
received an MOA (memo-
randum of agreement)
from Jared Johnson who
is spearheading the project
but felt it needed a few
revisions before being
brought before Council
and as far as she knew not
all of the neighbors had yet
been contacted as sug-
gested by Council.
Bornstedt also said that
the matter would have
to go before Planning to
receive a conditional use
permit.
She said she was unclear
if just the Planning Direc-
tor or the entire Planning
Commission would need
to give approval. She did
note that at that time there
would be further opportu-
nity for neighbors to voice
concerns if they had any.
She did not feel that
there would be any opposi-
tion, from what she knew
all feedback had been very
positive and the project
should move forward,
hopefully rather quickly.
They moved next to the
Adopt -A-Pathway, Adopt-
A-Park project.
Taylor had put together
sample brochures for the
project that he handed out
to everyone.
The group discussed
several things including
noxious weeds, graffiti
and building maintenance.
It was agreed that it was
important not to confuse
volunteers as to what
their responsibilities in
the project would be and
that it should be kept very
simplistic in nature.
The call for volunteers
to help with repainting of
buildings, over graffiti and
that sort of thing could be
utilized if needed but not
necessarily in the Adopt-
A-Pathway or Adopt-A-
Park agreement.
The board agreed that
they would each take the
brochures home jot down
their own ideas and bring
them back to the table at
the next meeting before
finalizing the project and
they agreed to focus on the
Adopt-A-Pathway project
for now. Once it is suc-
cessfully functioning then
the same structure can be
utilized for the Adopt-A-
Park project.
The group then turned to
a discussion of conceptual
plans in neighborhood
parks, specifically Cedar
Acres and River Park.
Linda Collins passed
around some photographs
she’d found with prices of
playground equipment
“Wow, this stuff is ex-
pensive,” she concluded. “I
had no idea.”
Bornstedt advised the
Board that there was
$11,000 in an account
for a matching grant and
she was applying for a
Sunderland grant to help
with placing equipment.
After a lengthy discussion
the group settled on Cedar
Acres park as the priority
park.
The board also discussed
a 50/50 Leo Adler Grant
and utilizing the Lions
Club for funding and vol-
unteers as well. The Board
agreed to move forward
with the Sunderland grant
application for Cedar
Acres park equipment
while pursuing a Leo Grant
through the Lions for
future projects, including
a basketball court at Cedar
Acres Park.
Bornstedt also advised
the board she had recently
been informed that Baker
City had received “A
$15,000 Cycle Oregon
grant to assist in improve-
ments along the pathway”
according to Bornstedt
Cycle Oregon typically
awards less but awarded
more in anticipation of the
City securing more fund-
ing and furthering plans
and maintenance on the
pathway.
A brief presentation was
given by Steven Fid-
dler from the Lions Club
regarding the gazebo in
Geiser-Pollman park. Ren-
ovations are needed to the
gazebo and it is a project
the Lions club is wanting
to take on, providing labor
while the City will provide
the materials.
They gave options that
included trex decking or
wood boards (similar to
what is already there) to
replace the floor boards in
the gazebo as well as repair
of the stairs and handrails.
The Board was over-
whelmingly in support of
the Lions taking on this
project which will include
some restorative work
to the picnic shelter and
possibly an upgrade to the
electrical box at the Lions
picnic shelter.
As the Board moved on
Duman brought up her
concern that she had heard
about the Ford Family
Cohort pitching a presenta-
tion to the City Council on
their Disc Golf project and
that it had been suggested
that the donation to this
cause come from the Parks
and Recreation Budget.
Mayor Mosier, who sits
on the Parks and Recre-
ation board as the Council
liaison assured Duman that
Council had chosen not to
approve this.
“If we start donating
then it will become an ev-
ery year or two year thing
and then we have to start
budgeting for it and it’s
the tax payers money, I’m
just not so sure that’s what
we want to be doing with
it,” she said. “Well, that’s
good I was worried,” said
Duman.
“So, what about these
horses that were on the
band stand?” asked Nel-
son.
“That is an enforcement
issue, the police need to
be informed,” Bornstedt
explained. As the Board
wrapped up the meeting
and planned for the next
they found with everyone’s
schedules March would
need to be skipped, and the
next time they could meet
would be in April.
Bornstedt also advised
that the board needed to
be thinking of how they
wished to address the
budget board by prioritiz-
ing projects they wanted to
accomplish in the upcom-
ing year as that time was
fast approaching.
The Littles’ crossword puzzle
Across
72- Dict. entries;
1- Slang expert Par-
tridge;
5- Comic DeGeneres;
10- Still;
14- Soup with sushi;
15- Alley Oop’s girl-
friend;
16- Nutmeg coat;
17- First king of Israel;
18- Fills to the gills;
19- Burt’s ex;
20- List of particulars;
23- Unit of loudness;
24- One circuit;
25- Milan’s La ___;
28- Nipper’s co.;
31- Unit of heat;
35- Having a handle;
37- Prefix with center;
39- Cry ___ River;
40- In spite of;
44- Loss leader?;
45- Battery size;
46- Tidy up;
47- Eagle’s nest;
50- Twisted;
52- Lost;
53- Actress Ruby;
55- Town near Padua;
57- Lead poisoning;
63- Burkina ___;
64- Smell, usually a
pleasant one;
65- K-12, in the ed biz;
67- The wolf ___ the
door;
68- Golden Horde
member;
69- Stated;
70- Cookbook amts.;
71- Rock;
Down
1- Dash lengths;
2- Narrow inlets;
3- The jig ___!;
4- Cabbage salad;
5- Red fluorescent
dye;
6- Lazy person;
7- Monetary unit of
Lesotho;
8- Util. bill;
9- Like Fran Dre-
scher’s voice;
10- Ruler of the Is-
lamic world;
11- Suffix with buck;
12- Waterfall;
13- Year in Edward
the Confessor’s reign;
21- Raccoon relative;
22- Make lace;
25- Capital of Yemen;
26- Benjamin;
27- ___ Is Born;
29- Actor Romero;
30- Suitable;
32- Gives off;
33- Actress Taylor;
34- ___ Carta;
36- JFK listing;
38- 007 creator Flem-
ing;
41- Hem’s partner;
42- Swell!;
43- Undated;
48- Foolish persons;
49- Dusk, to Donne;
51- Toady;
54- Les ___-Unis;
56- Frighten;
57- Get an A, say;
58- Pronto;
59- Part of QED;
60- ___-Rooter;
61- Now ___ me
down...;
62- Lower jaw;
63- In shape;
66- Fingers;