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CHAPTER 111 <br />In addition, the FY 02 maintenance cost figures were already lower <br />than typical for comparable agehcies in Oregon. <br />Park improvement projects have put increased demands on park <br />maintenance. With the Parks and Open Space bond measure, the <br />City has developed new parks since 2003 and has been pursuing land <br />acquisition to provide additional parks. The Comprehensive Plan will <br />increase the park acreage and number of facilities, further increasing <br />maintenance demands. Eugene is also increasing its inventory of <br />natural areas, which creates a need for further emphasis on natural <br />area management and restoration. <br />Maintaining community assets was identified as a priority for most <br />residents. The Comprehensive Plan emphasizes the need for <br />establishing a baseline level of support for park maintenance and for <br />providing a tiered system of maintenance appropriate to each type <br />of park. For example, maintenance standards and cost thresholds <br />should be different for natural area parks as compared to <br />neighborhood and community parks. <br />If the maintenance budget per acre is reduced, the overall quality of <br />.maintenance will diminish. This leads to the eventual degradation of a <br />park system that is now valued by citizens as a community benefit. <br />This Plan recommends that maintenance funding be increased to <br />protect our valued assets as our park, natural area, and recreation <br />facility inventory expands.. <br />Key Evaluation Findings <br />j~ .. <br />f" ~ataL ~ x ~yv i?. <br />~ }}ppy~y,. t,r d .}ytY~~' pryJ <br />- ~, <br />Maintenance funding <br />must be increased as <br />our system expands <br />^ The Park Amenity Evaluation indicated that of the 50 <br />neighborhood parks in Eugene, 19 had no plantings/shrubs. Of the <br />remaining 31, the plantings/shrubs were in poor condition in 15 <br />parks and were in fair condition in another 9 parks. Of the 34 <br />neighborhood parks containing turf, results indicated that the <br />majority (18) had turf in fair condition. <br />^ The Park Amenity Evaluation found that plantings/shrubs in 3 of the <br />7 metropolitan parks were in poor condition. <br />^ Poor condition turf, plantings and shrubs often result from <br />inadequate maintenance. When maintenance budgets are <br />limited, horticultural maintenance is often deferred so that day-to- <br />day maintenance tasks such as mowing and trash removal can <br />continue to occur. <br />^ In Eugene's parks, 64 instances of rare plant communities, 22 <br />instances of rare plant species, and 39 instances of rare animal <br />species were identified through the Natural Area Evaluation. <br />These valued resources have maintenance needs that are very <br />different from a typical developed park landscape. <br />City of Eugene PROS Comprehensive Plan 23 <br />Draft <br />