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38 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 15, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend March 31, 2004 Joy Pelikan, left, and Jane Bridcott take a walk in their neighborhood south of the Rogue Valley Mall. The two women have spent two years helping develop a community center for adults and children in what�s called the Liberty Park District. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Remember Liberty Park? Fiscal reality and competing needs have changed plans for a community center in Medford’s blighted Liberty Park District By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune From her Austin Street front yard, Joy Pelikan can see the proposed site of Liberty Park, a joint venture aimed at revitalizing one of Medford’s most challenged neighborhoods. The 57-year-old retired nurse, like many of the residents of the area south of the Rogue Valley Mall, filled out a survey, called on her neighbors and spent nearly two years attending meetings to help develop a community center for adults and kids. But when Pelikan and her friend, Jane Bridcott, go walking these days, the women say they’re beginning to wonder whether the long-promised project will ever become a reality. "I’m sure every resident in the Liberty Park District is supportive of the park," says Bridcott, a 57-year-old hospital secretary who heads the local neighborhood association. "But the plans are kind of like up in the air right now." Organizers of the project once envisioned as a collaboration of the Salvation Army, the city of Medford and the Medford Urban Renewal Agency agree. Advertisement While interest in revitalizing the neighborhood plagued by poverty and blight remains strong, leaders say fiscal reality and competing needs have altered the original Liberty Park District vision. "I would say it’s being refined as we go," says Curt Bennett, president of the Salvation Army’s advisory board of directors. "To me it’s constantly in motion. Nothing’s over until it’s over." A significant refinement has been the scaling back of plans for a $5 million Salvation Army community center. The Medford branch of the nonprofit agency recently completed a feasibility study to determine what level of social and financial support it could expect from a fund-raising campaign this year. "We found support for $3.5 million or $4 million, but not $5 million," says Bill Maentz, a board member and owner of a Medford advertising agency. "They basically said that’s a little too much for your first capital campaign." At the same time, the study discovered more support for expansion of a local shelter for homeless families than for a community center. "We are having a hard time filling the family need," Maentz says. "We are having to turn people away." As a result, the agency’s board agreed to devote about $2.5 million in fund raising to expand the transitional shelter, with about $1.5 million left for the community center. "There is support for both areas," says Maj. Marv Samuelson, the Salvation Army’s local leader. "We’re trying to accomplish both goals." In fact, he says, the agency is planning to create a temporary park this spring to provide a place to play for the dozens of children and teens who live in the neighborhood. "I thought, let’s create a little grassy area to show that we’re going to move forward with this," says Samuelson, whohopes for $5,000 to $6,000 in in-kind donations to create the transitional park. That plan worries longtime backers of the larger Liberty Park project, who say they have labored for two years to create civic innovation that would offer more than a place to play. The plan, proposed by Samuelson’s predecessor, Capt. John Van Cleef, called for the Salvation Army and the city of Medford to arrange a property swap that would have deeded park space to the city and commercial space to the agency, said Louise Dix, Medford’s neighborhood outreach coordinator. "It would put a beautiful entry way on Central Avenue to have a community center right there and a beautiful park in that neighborhood," she said. "John had a great idea." Finalizing the land swap would require the city to buy six lots along Central Avenue and Beatty Street valued at about $1 million, according to county assessment records. Those would be traded for Salvation Army property between Alice and Edwards streets valued at more than $500,000. Bennett said he thought each parcel of property may be worth up to twice the assessed value. Funds for the city’s purchase could be provided by MURA, which has designated the Liberty Park area as one of 19 local urban renewal projects. At least $350,000 is available for improvements there, though more could be available from MURA’s $10 million annual capital and operating budget, said Eric Iversen, a MURA senior planner. Enthusiasm for the land swap appears to have waned since Van Cleef left Medford for a new Salvation Army job last year. "It’s a more remote possibility," Samuelson said, noting that no formal contract was ever created. Medford City Council member John Michaels, a longtime backer of the Liberty Park plan, said he doesn’t want the idea dismissed too soon. At his request, a study session for interested neighbors, agency members and city officials is planned for April 8. "I just want everything out in the open so that these issues can come before the Salvation Army board and the city and urban renewal," he said. Residents like Bridcott and Pelikan have a right to know what’s in store for the future. "There’s plenty of resources and this neighborhood deserves that chance," Michaels said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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