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L..? ,,c, igk. <br /> January 21, 2000 <br /> 4 41 , 0 ,,,, Mayor Jim Torrey <br /> l . .. .- City of Eugene <br /> '� # ' : 777 Pearl St. <br /> Eugene, OR 97401 <br /> Friends of <br /> Rasor Park Dear Mayor Torrey, . <br /> 202 Hawthorne We are writing to you because we understand that Bob White of Graffitti Alley has <br /> Eugene, OR 97404 recently met with you to discuss the "Cruise -In" car show that he has conducted at <br /> Rasor Park in past years. We also understand that, as a result of that meeting, you <br /> have requested a meeting with City parks maintenance and planning staff to discuss <br /> issues related to development and use of Rasor Park. Following your request, City <br /> staff have asked our group to put on hold plans that they had previously approved for <br /> us to plant some new native shrubs and wildflowers in certain areas near the perim- <br /> eter of the park. As a result, we have just cancelled the planting event that we had <br /> planned at the park this weekend. We hope that we might be able to meet with you at <br /> your earliest convenience to discuss your concerns about these plantings. We would <br /> also like to share information with you about Friends of Rasor Park's work over the <br /> past three plus years to develop and carry out a restoration plan for the site. <br /> As you may know, we have undertaken major efforts to promote neighborhood and <br /> community involvement in this restoration plan and process. Initially, we hand - <br /> STEERING COMMITTEE delivered a survey to hundreds of households near Rasor Park and in surrounding <br /> neighborhoods. We sponsored numerous community meetings to discuss ideas for <br /> Kathleen Allison the ark. Later, we hosted a design workshop (not unlike the one that the City re- <br /> Joan Connolly P g p y <br /> Judy Granatstein cently co- sponsored for the park at Walnut Grove/Diana's Pond). Notices about the <br /> Rob Handy <br /> Julie Hulme workshop ran in the calendar sections of three local newspapers, and an advance <br /> Dennis Lueck story about it was carried by a TV station that came to our park "walk- through" event <br /> Steven Mueller <br /> Beck y Riley the weekend before the workshop. We also mailed notices to hundreds of area <br /> Becky <br /> Jim Wolter residents, and to other organizations in the wider community. Over two hundred <br /> people responded to our survey, and nearly fifty participated in the design workshop. <br /> Scores of people attended our various other public meetings. The results of each <br /> activity showed that a strong majority of participants favored keeping Rasor Park <br /> relatively natural, open, and undeveloped, with an emphasis on restoring and enhanc- <br /> ing the site as wildlife habitat and for `passive' recreation such as walking and bird <br /> watching. <br /> Based on this community input, our group developed some preliminary design <br /> concepts for the park in late 1997. We talked to City staff about these plans, and in <br /> early 1998, were granted permission to plant over sixty native trees on certain areas <br /> on the perimeter of the site. We organized a large work party and planted the trees in <br /> February of that year. We also carried through with our commitment to organize <br /> crews of volunteers to water all of the new trees once a week the first summer, and <br /> every other week during the past summer. Most of the trees are healthy and well on <br /> their way to contributing to an ecologically healthier landscape in the park. <br />