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The city agreed to close the trou- bled park from Sept. 9 to Dec: 1 to O Z5600 4/) - _ allow the park's vegetation recov- er from abuse and overuse and to - 3DAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1996 j ; give the neighbors a break from its • .criminal activities. The city then • ; • announced a one -week reprieve to allow divergent groups in the area to come up with a plan for the park. Neighborhood activists protested , the impending closure, leading to the arrest of four adults and one teen -ager. The upheaval led to the formation of the Scobert Park Task Group, with members representing varied interests, backgrounds and points of E u ene view. With the help of two city-hired - facilitators, they are hammering out a shared vision for the park. Their ' ark gets first concrete task: choosing the P placement for a fence that would ; keep as much , of the park open as possible while. closing areas in • attention • which grass and plants need to re- cover and which offers hiding spots • for illegal activity. ■ A group will meet tonight to But when city workers erected the fencing Tuesday, they closed off a : seek solutions to problems of far,greater section of the park than crime and trampled vegetation the group had wanted. that afflict the green space "I think there was some confu- . sion," acting deputy city manager • B JANET FLIPS Les Lyle said Tuesday afternoon. Y "We understood the group was correspondent, The Oregonian going to provide a recommendation , EUGENE — When members of the • to the city as to where they thought the fencing should go with respect • .;, Scobert Park Task Group planned . to restoration of the plant area The its next meeting — from 7 to 9 to- staff here, which manages parks on ; night in the cafeteria of Whiteaker ; an ongoing basis, came back with a ; Elementary, 21 N. Grand St. — they different recommendation. There - intended it to be a work session was a difference of understanding as with a period for public comment. to whether they had the decision But the nature of the meeting is , making authority. We'll be talking bound to be changed by the events , - about that particular set of circum- of the week. stances on Thursday?' The task group formed last Tonight's agenda :includes intro- Wednesday after the Whiteaker duction of Dick Morgan, the city's Community Council petitioned the park services manager, and Lt. Tom ' city to temporarily close Scobert , ; Brett, west sector commander; up- Park, 1180 W. Fourth Ave. The acre - dates on restoring vegetation and - sized park has two personalities: It . placing public toilets in the area; ' is a shady oasis for many residents health and safety issues; public com- ' of Whiteaker, an eclectic, historic ' ment; and a discussion of the next neighborhood in West Eugene. It is step. "My passion and commitment ' also a magnet for prostitution, drug ; is to the process," facilitator Nell dealing, drug use, noise and human Van Steenbergen said Wednesday ' d efecation. afternoon at the park while survey- ing the wire farm fence, which pro- • Ill- suited as parks testers had clipped along the length. - Both Scobert and West University. parks "I still think good things will hap ' pen." look like residential lots donated by good- hearted citizens. Both are ill - suited as parks, If some residents and business being accessible basically from only one people feel left out of the decision making, Van Steenbergen urges side. them to come to meetings so they Fill in those vacant lots, and in turn find can be part of a consensus building • new parks areas for these neighborhoods. effort. JOHN ROBERTS „ z (1�1(7r.� Eugene 1`