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- BACKGRND.SCO Page 1 DRAFT I Background Scobert Park is a 1.1 -acre neighborhood park at 1180 West Fourth Avenue, just west of Blair Boulevard on the south side of Fourth Avenue. The park includes paved walkways, streetlights, grass lawn, and extensive landscaping, including a wide variety of trees and shrubs. The park also provides access to a small community garden area separated from the park by a fence. The park was acquired by the City of Eugene in 1980, and the park was developed using Community Development Block Grant funding after extensive community input into the design in 1983. Considerable volunteer energy has gone into the planting and maintenance of the park plantings. The park also has had a history of misuse. In an effort to attract more neighborhood people to use the park, a sculptural playground was installed in 1990 using City General Funds. Adult use of the swing that was a part of one sculpture caused repeated failures in the structure. On July 24, the Whiteaker Community Council's Executive Board received and reviewed a petition from numerous neighbors around the Scobert Park area. The five members of the Whiteaker Community Council present at the July 24 meeting voted unanimously to support the revitalization of Scobert Park. The Public Works Department also received copies of the petition, signed by approximately 60 people and citing problems with damaged vegetation, prostitution, vandalism and other ongoing criminal activities, including the sale and use of drugs in the park. The petition asked the City to temporarily close the park so vegetation could be revived and to work with a volunteer neighborhood task force to come up with permanent solutions to park problems. Two neighborhood meetings were held in August in Scobert Park. City staff attended the meetings and expressed a willingness to work with the community and the informal task force to find appropriate and acceptable solutions; however, no clear consensus was reached on the issue of a temporarily closing the park. On September 9, in response to continuing requests from park neighbors, the City posted signs closing the park until December 1. Area residents were notified of the closure by letter, and informational signage was provided to explain why the closure was being implemented. A number of people protested the September 9 closure. The City received a petition of protest signed by approximately 100 people. Several closure signs were destroyed, and five protesters were arrested for violating park rules. The informal Scobert Park task force held several meetings following the closure. City staff attended the meetings, and the City provided facilitators to promote constructive dialog. Again, no clear consensus emerged on appropriate solutions to park pr ble s. 0 017 P S «„ ©- t o \ C The administrative order establishing the temporary closure was rescinded on September 11 and replaced on September 16 with a new order temporarily closing portions of the park until December 2 to allow maintenance and restoration work in areas of the park that have sustained heavy damage and abuse. The maintenance /restoration needs include removal of portions of the playground equipment that are unsafe, removal of stumps, restoration of the turf grass, selective tree limb removal, transplanting of certain plantings, and general cleanup of the park. Wire farm fencing put up September 17 to delineate the closed portions of the park was removed by unknown persons shortly after it was erected. On October 1, City parks maintenance staff installed green, plastic mesh fencing along the back side of the pedestrian path, leaving two existing benches outside the closure area.