MARION COUNTY PARKS COMMISSION Minutes of the MeetingSeptember 8, 20032:00-4:00 p.m.
North Santiam RoomMarion County Public Works5155 Silverton Road NE, Salem Oregon
Attending: Matt Thorburn, Jeff Bickford Orville Rice, Duane Stevenson, ShayneHollandsworth, Robert Garrett, Jyll Smith, Wynn Cudmore, Nick McDonough, John BrandtRecorder: Diana Craig, Marion County Public Works
Introductions• Matt Thorburn introduced himself as the primary contact from Public Works for parks information. If you have questions, please feel free to give him a call.• Jeff Bickford is the department’s PW/ES Sr. Environmental Engineer and oversees Environmental Services, which includes Solid Waste Management and MC parks program.• Orville Rice is Parks Coordinator for Marion County, and this position started in 1997.• John Brandt is on the Parks Board for City of Stayton and the Marion County Parks Commission. He is serving his 2nd term on our parks board.• Duane Stevenson is currently serving his 2nd term on the parks board. He is a citizen who enjoys the great outdoors and serves on several other community committees.• Nick McDonough is now retired from the Forest Service after serving 38 years. He was also a national advisor for the parks system in Uganda when he served with the Peace Corp. He noted that this position was quite an experience.• Wynn Cudmore is a Life Sciences instructor for Chemeketa Community College and primarily teaches environmental science. This department has a large national science foundation grant that he has been in charge of for the last 9 years. His studies are taking a look at natural resources education at the college and university level while infusing eco-system concepts into natural resource technology programs for forest service, fisheries and wildlife. He has been on the Department of Forest and Fisheries Commission for the last 4-5 years.• Jyll Smith is the Development Director for Girl Scouts Santiam Counsel and has been in charge of their outgrowth programming and general recreation for the girls.• Robert Garrett has been involved in parks at the city, county, and state levels for many years. He has recently gained hands-on experience as the Assistant Director of a Friends Organization. It has been a great opportunity in getting citizens involved with community projects working on parks and is new to our parks commission.• Shayne Hollandsworth works for Oregon State Parks at Champoeg Park and is an assistant to the manager who has been the resource manager there for the past 10 years.Role of Parks CommissionMatt started the conversation by letting the parks board know that he is the main contact for concerns and the “go to” person for questions. He gave a brief overview of the guidelines from the commission charter and bylaws. The document was on hand for review. He asked the group for any opinions from the material presented. The Marion County Board of Commissioners (BOC) approved the creation of the Parks Commission. This committee consists of members who have been officially appointed by the BOC. The committee’s two main goals are to provide a wide cross section of citizen input and to provide plans for strategic development. Additionally, the group will acts in an advisory capacity to the BOC. This meeting is designed to make significant goals and set a direction for the parks department in the futurewhile looking for any input following guidelines. It is beneficial to have federal agencies represented while including citizens from special interests groups, such as a representative from the Girl Scouts and the OPRD.The committee’s goals will be to develop and then monitor a strategic work plan for parks. What will we need to make these decisions (including staff time needed) and start working on the plan at the next meeting? The possibility of changing the current meeting times for the group was discussed.A suggestion included considering amending the charter by changing to a new time frame by meeting on a quarterly basis for meetings, or to just continuing to meet bi-annually. Tasks may drive the need for additional meeting time. The group could meet more often if needed. How effective has the group been in the past? A lot of the groundwork has been set up in recent years. The advisory function is critical to the commission, as it has been an influence to the BOC in the past. Robert suggested that the group meet quarterly to maintain cohesion and the drive to stay on track with completing projects. Duane agreed, if the function of the group is changing their dynamics to have more involvement as tasks require. Nick noted that the meetings in the past he attended were for strategic planning. This time was the most valuable time to get acquainted with new members and to learn what the group is focused on. Jyll votedfor meeting on a bi-annual schedule.The consensus of the group is to have a parks tour soon. Emphasis on attending that tour was directed especially to new members who would need to attend, possibly in January. Another strategic planning session is planned for the future and a decision could be made at that time. It would be necessary to draft language of the possible change, and send it out to everybody and ask for concurrency. The group is governed by Roberts Rules and a quorum of (4) four is needed to take a matter to a vote and entertain a motion. Duane motioned, Nick seconded, and it was voted unanimously to have bi-annual meetings unless specific tasks require additional meetings. Bylaws stipulate (7) seven voting members with 4-yr terms. The BOC will appoint and fill any vacancies as they come open. There were no questions from the group on the bylaws.The group felt strongly that in the future these meetings would be posted by public notice in advance of meetings to provide a public forum. In the future we may need to consider what times would provide the public a chance to come. What is a good time for the group? What time is good for the public? Currently the public has the option of submitting their views in writing, if needed. Duane noted that his involvement with City of Salem meetings have had just as much interest during day meetings as in the evenings. Shayne suggested that the public’s need should determine the meeting time. The group agreed that these meetings would be posted in the future to give the public an opportunity for input. The Stayton parks board iscurrently providing the public with an evening meeting time. Should we wait until we have a request from the public? Jyll asked, is it fair to say this time works for us without considering if it is convenient for the public? Wynn suggested that in the past we have held meetings at the location where interest in the particular park topic is affected, and is in favor of leaving it at afternoon meetings. Shall we entertain a motion of the time of meetings? Robert agreed the daytime was good with such diverse work schedules. Meetings could be held at the specific consists of members who have been officially appointed by the BOC. The committee’s two main goals are to provide a wide cross section of citizen input and to provide plans for strategic development. Additionally, the group will acts in an advisory capacity to the BOC. This meeting is designed to make significant goals and set a direction for the parks department in the futurewhile looking for any input following guidelines. It is beneficial to have federal agencies represented while including citizens from special interests groups, such as a representative from the Girl Scouts and the OPRD.