North Douglas herald., May 01, 2024, Page 6, Image 6

Page 6
May 2024
Community Pages
Anna Drain Park Project
Continued from Front Page
approximately 1000-sqft. About 4000-sqft
of sidewalks will be added to make the
whole park ADA accessible. The overall
size of the Park is 1.58 acres, which
measures to approx 250 ft x 280 ft.
Kaity Hardwick, Community
Development Coordinator for the city of
Drain, was responsible for the Park design,
budget and grant application. This was all
overseen by the city administrator, Jeni
Stevens, who has previously managed
capital development projects. Jeni also
spent a lot of time working on this project
and facilitated it from start to finish. The
city’s public works foreman, Harold Burris,
also had a huge role in consulting for this
project. He is the city utilities expert and
helped guide the behind-the-scenes part of
the park development (e.g., mapping out
where powerlines and waterlines will go).
Kaity is in the AmeriCorps
RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural
Environments) program and is working
with the City of Drain to complete a few
miscellaneous projects, mostly pertaining
to grant writing. The AmeriCorps RARE
program is hosted by the University of
Oregon, but all members are graduate
level. AmeriCorps is a Federal agency
for national service. The RARE program
facilitates the interview process for service
members and matches individuals to host
cities. Here’s some more info about RARE:
https://rare.uoregon.edu/
Ms Hardwick commented, “The Anna
Drain Park Upgrade project is one of my
primary projects while I’m working with
the city. One of the reasons I was matched
with the City of Drain is my educational
background .”
She went on to say, “I attended the
University of Oregon from 2017-2022 and
have a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science
and Environmental Science, with minors
in Geography and Anthropology. I did
undergraduate research and field work on
fuel loads and wildfire mitigation, I’m also
working on the DEQ TMDL (Department
of Environmental Quality- Total Maximum
Daily Load) program, which requires
cities to establish stormwater monitoring
programs to help reduce pollutants in water
bodies. The TMDL program is required by
the state (due to the federal Clean Water Act)
and all cities in Oregon are participating.”
This new upgraded Park will be a
significant renovation and addition to the
facility. The overall improvement will not
only be of wide use to the Drain community,
it is also a major attraction for family events
and gatherings, regionally. A feather in the
cap for Drain residents and certainly will
be a source of pride. Historically, it is just
the kind of community based institution
that Drain citizens have called and rallied
for. Drain is a small community that
enjoys a public pool, 1st class library and
Civic Center and is striving to elevate the
attraction and amenities of the town for the
use and benefit of all. This new addition
will be a bright jewel on the landscape and
for the people to enjoy.
North Douglas Herald