Some mountain bike trails expected to be closed soon while helicopter logging goes on in watershed

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

Ashland residents young and old lobbied commissioners to seek grant funds for recreation facilities at two parks in Ashland at the Parks & Recreation Commission business meeting Wednesday. 

A number of residents — predominately seniors — urged the commissioners to vote to seek $1 million in grant funding from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to repair ailing facilities at the Hunter Park tennis courts. 

Dave Ferguson said he and his wife retired to Ashland in part because of its parks and recreation offerings. The couple was immediately welcomed into a tennis group that has been playing in Hunter Park for 50 years. When the court fell into disrepair, some of the group previously tried to take matters into their own hands. 

“Half a dozen tennis players, out there in summer heat, we plastered the cracks ourselves, some of them in their 80s,” he said. 

The plaster didn’t last and subsequent repaving efforts from APRC weren’t enough either. Ferguson urged a repair to the courts with longevity in mind. 

Ashland resident Jan Sturgis told commissioners that, as tennis courts diminish, close, and convert to pickleball throughout the Rogue Valley, tennis players are coming into Ashland from as far as Jacksonville seeking courts and finding Hunter Park in “embarrassing” condition. 

Martin Stadtmueller, girls tennis coach at Ashland High School, also advocated for the courts. 

“We used to have 24 courts in town. Now we’re down to just seven or eight. … The courts are not just not fun to play on, but they are getting dangerous,” he said. 

The courts are covered with ever-hazardous cracks, he said. The Grizzlies hold matches and practice at Hunter Park because it is one of the few remaining tennis courts in Ashland. With the courts in this condition, he said, some people may not pursue the sport as they otherwise could have because “facilities drive participation.” 

Ahead of the vote, Eldridge advised commissioners the $1 million grant was not “free money,” but required a 40% match. Eldridge said staff have reached out to the tennis community for funding support and received an enthusiastic response. 

“The community’s really committed to this and they are invested in a fundraising effort that will defray those costs,” she said. 

Commissioners voted unanimously to seek the funding, prompting applause in the audience. 

APRC has been working with the city of Ashland’s new on-retainer grant contractor Evan Brooks Associates to seek out opportunities for capital improvements projects, Eldridge said. The contractor has recently found two opportunities for APRC — not only the grant for the Hunter Park courts, but another $1 million grant to support a new pump and skills mountain biking track at the in-progress East Main Park. A number of children and families turned out to advocate for the track.

The grant would also come from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and require a 40% funding match, according to meeting materials. 

Joe Keto said he and his family moved to Ashland when his son was 1 year old. He pointed to his son, now a teenager who waved good naturedly from where he sat in the back of the room with a Ashland DEVO shirt on (Ashland DEVO promotes mountain biking opportunities for kids). His son has embraced mountain biking above all other sports, he said. 

His 6-year-old daughter wants to join in the family fun but, due to the steepness of the Ashland watershed, its trails are too advanced for novices. When the family goes to Redmond for races, his daughter enjoys a pump track there made by the same contractor APRC would work with to complete this track. 

“I think that’s one of the most important things about this track, it’s accessible for novices and more advanced riders, Keto said. 

Loren Brown urged commissioners to think of kids like himself who don’t play traditional sports and could use the track to ride when trails are closed or inaccessible due to weather or other hurdles. 

“Having more options for getting outside is better than not having options right? Boredom and lack of options could lead us kids down a dark path of doing graffiti, smoking cigarettes, or toilet papering houses. Is that what we want for us kids? That’s not exactly something I would want for my future, and that’s why I think we should build this pump track,” he said.  

Commissioner Jim Bachman told Brown his public comment was “well done.” During public comment, members of the mountain bike community informed commissioners grant funding would galvanize the community to raise funds to support the track. Commissioners voted unanimously to seek the grant and the motion was met with additional applause. 

East Main Park is still awaiting a lot-line change process with Jackson County, then an annexation process with the Ashland Community Development Department, Eldridge said. The park is intended to include not only the pump track but an additional dog park, a community garden and facilities such as restrooms, she said. 

In other commission business Wednesday, Ashland Fire & Rescue Wildfire Division Chief Chris Chambers updated commissioners about the upcoming helicopter logging project in the watershed and Siskiyou Mountain Park to contend with the mass die off of Douglas fir trees. The trees would pose a hazard if left alone as they would eventually fall on trails and present a fire risk, he said.

Due to when the helicopter logging company is available to perform the work and the need to recover project costs through selling the felled trees, the project has to be completed now, Chambers said. He stated that, while he is not relishing helicopter logging, the science points to the project as a necessity for safety and long-term sustainability. 

The project could begin as early as March 26, and be done — “best case scenario” — in as quickly as three weeks time, pending approval of a contract at the upcoming Ashland City Council business meeting Tuesday, March 19. After the project is complete, every trail will be “walked,” he said to assess for safety of use. Contractors will be instructed to try to fell trees away from trails, he said. 

Chambers said he will work as much as possible to avoid prolonging trail closures to keep the busiest trails — such as Jabberwocky, Bandersnatch and  BTI  — closed for the shortest possible period. 

 It will be imperative for people to avoid the many hazards of falling trees and helicopters carrying logs in the area during the project period, he said. 

APRC staff have also come to a mutual agreement with contractor Golf Automation to end contract negotiations for the Oak Knoll Golf Course. After multiple attempts at negotiations it was clear the parties were “too far apart” to reach an agreement beneficial to both parties, Eldridge said. APRC is working with Public Works to install a new irrigation system and an accurate flow meter to better control water use to irrigate the course during summer heat. 

Eldridge also presented the second-quarter financial update. While vandalism continues to tax resources and costs such as fertilizer have “skyrocketed,” the commission’s spending is still in line for the biennium, she said. Revenue has decreased or failed to come up to previous levels in some areas, she said, pointing to the recently closed ice skating rink which has seen declining revenues for two seasons. This year the rink was frequently bedeviled by unseasonably warm weather that sometimes forced closures. 

ARPC staff are currently working on examining the ice rink to determine how to improve it for next year. Eldridge highlighted a bright spot that offerings at the Senior Center are profitable and popular.  

Personnel costs are weighing on APRC across the board, she said. Working with temporary employees has long been the practice for seasonal offerings such as the ice rink, but the agencies that hire temps are expensive. APRC will be working more closely with the city in future to attempt to diminish that cost. Previous vacancy savings for the commission will fade as 29 out of 34 vacant positions have now been filled, she said. 

In her director’s report, Eldridge announced the conversation clusters will be leaving Lithia Park. APRC has also requested that the Daniel Meyers Pool facility and its bathhouse be included in the upcoming Public Works-led, city-wide facilities assessment. Eldridge said the inclusion of the pool bathhouse in the assessment should finally end the debate about whether it would be more prudent to repair or replace the structure. APRC is also working with a contractor to determine what kind of cover or housing could be procured to make the pool more accessible year-round.  

The APRC Play Guide will be coming out at the end of the month with information on upcoming events in response to public input. 

“We heard that the public wants to see parks buzzing and dancing and doing all those things and we’re going to try to provide that,” she said. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.

March 15: Corrected spelling of Loren Brown’s name.

March 18: Corrected to say staff was asking for permission to seek (not to accept) grant funding.