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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 24, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 10, 2004 Park ruckus prompts meeting of the minds By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE � Traffic, trash and naked and screaming children were bones of contention Wednesday night as neighbors of Doc Griffin Park and families who use the popular play space appeared before parks committee members in search of common ground. Neighbors of the park, at which city officials installed a $60,000 water spray feature last fall, tried to explain to committee members how the noisy combination of water and children — among other issues — had sabotaged the neighborhood’s formerly quiet atmosphere. Users of the park felt neighbors were being harsh and needed to remember they chose to live near a city park. Property owners said the city did not provide advance notice before adding the water-spray jets. "Instead of looking at the big picture, we broke it all down and took a look at the individual issues one at a time," said parks committee member Larry Smith. Addressing safety and parking concerns, Smith said committee members suggested lowering the speed limit in the neighborhood from 25 to 20 mph and said neighbors could request residential parking permits to minimize parking headaches. Advertisement Trash overflow, said Smith, resulted from not only heavy use but also from some nearby residents using the park cans to get out of paying for trash pick-up service. Smith said the committee recommended running the water feature from June 15 through Sept. 15 and changing park hours (currently 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. "When we wouldn’t agree to close on Sunday," Smith said, "let’s just say there was more electricity in the air." Smith said committee members voted 2-1 against closing the park on Sundays. The committee said traffic and trash should be more closely monitored by police and that children’s screaming could be minimized with the shorter water park hours. Members said naked babies was not a committee issue. Property owner Lyn Dealey, who aired her concerns at the parks meeting, declined on Thursday to elaborate. City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen said City Council members would take the committee’s recommendations under consideration at a future meeting. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers