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05/10/06 WED 10:03 FAX 541 687 0805 ROBT LOWRY ATTY Cj004 <br /> dere &wry <br /> ArroWNEY AT LAW <br /> Mr . Rocky L. Houston <br /> May 9 , 2006 <br /> Page 3 <br /> know it and I doubt that he ever even considered it . In fact, Doug <br /> led and participated in for probably the next 20 years the most <br /> arduous of hikes and ski touring trips around Oregon as well as <br /> into the Tetons . The facilities that Mel Jackson with the City of <br /> Eugene Parks & Recreation Department conceived and inspired <br /> provided for at Spencer Butte Park access and a true "out-of-doors" <br /> experience at all levels of ability, interest and personal <br /> inclination. <br /> Bringing this back to what Mel Jackson and the Eugene Parks & <br /> Recreation Department have accomplished with Spencer Butte Park in <br /> particular, now some 30 years later it remains an active and <br /> vibrant public-oriented facility for outdoor activity. I know this <br /> from my personal use of it on an ongoing basis . <br /> Today, the two primary trails to the summit of Spencer Butte <br /> from the main parking lot that Mel Jackson developed in the 1970s <br /> with the City Parks Department' s support remain the two that are <br /> primarily used. They are well maintained by a cooperative effort <br /> between the Eugene City Parks & Recreation Department and <br /> individuals as well as significant groups such as The Obsidians <br /> that are continually refreshing and improving and restoring <br /> portions of the trails as are needed, This actually has created a <br /> tremendously beneficial, virtually symbiotic relationship where the <br /> City Park & Recreation Department inspires such care and <br /> maintenance by making materials and resources and equipment and <br /> tools readily available . Additionally, I know from personal <br /> experience of my continual climbs up Spencer Butte how immediately <br /> responsive the City is to calls advising them of significant <br /> problems . These range from dangerous trees to damaged footbridges <br /> or critical portions of the trail to graffiti to the myriad of <br /> security issues that unfortunately attend the popular but still <br /> fairly remote public area. <br /> In addition, the City has expanded the public' s general <br /> awareness of Spencer Butte by connecting it to a continuation of an <br /> extended ridge line trail that basically extends around the outer <br /> edge of the lower third of the City of Eugene . <br /> The City has also further expanded the public' s out-of-doors <br /> experience and exposure on Spencer Butte by building a very <br /> sophisticated "ropes" course for (controlled) public use . <br /> All of this embodies and is a legacy to the vision and <br /> inspiration and personal effort of Mel Jackson, individually, and <br /> of Mel in partnership with the City of Eugene Parks & Recreation <br /> Department . The City Parks Department has aggressively and <br /> affirmatively carried on the earlier great accomplishments with its <br /> own direct support of what Mel Jackson started, as well as through <br /> the partnerships it has inspired with individuals and <br />