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JACKSONVILLE Forest Park plan may prove expensive for Jacksonville Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 29, 2015 at 11:00 AM Updated Apr 29, 2015 at 4:50 PM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 29, 2015 at 11:00 AM Updated Apr 29, 2015 at 4:50 PM » Social News JACKSONVILLE — A draft master plan for the city’s Forest Park has one city councilor questioning how the municipality will be able to maintain and develop the 1,080-acre area located a mile outside city limits. “To fund this type of thing is a very large undertaking ... which brings us to tough decisions,” said Councilman David Jesser following a presentation at last week’s council meeting. A city Parks, Recreation and Visitor Services Committee subgroup spent eight months developing the plan. Guidance for maintaining and developing the park are in the plan, which calls balancing recreation demands with protection of resources, restoration and repair. It also looks at park work support, calling for volunteer efforts and seeking grants. Jesser noted that the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, which has developed and maintains trails that circle the city, didn’t want to take on Forest Park. “There have been people before me who would have loved to have sold the forest and all the woodlands up there so that the responsibility of maintaining it wouldn’t fall onto a small community of 2,800 with a tax rate of $1.84,” said Jesser. Forest Park is in the former city watershed area. Volunteers began constructing trails and doing restoration in 2006. In 2013 the city sold 380 acres in the upper watershed to the Motorcycle Riders Association and received a 40-acre parcel with improved parking next to the lower portion of Forest Park as part of the transaction. In addition to the park, the city has an adjacent 380 acres of forest land. Development includes 25.5 miles of trails with another 3.5 miles planned. Mountain bikers and runners have used the park for organized competitions. “If we ignore or neglect (the park), it’s not going to just maintain itself. It’s going to need management,” said Councilor Criss Garcia, who gave the presentation and worked with the master plan group. “To date there hasn’t been a unifying plan or vision put forward to manage our parks, the Forest Park, the urban parks.” Grants have helped develop or restore the area, but those are now less available and more competitive, City Forester Paul Kangas told the council. Enforcement of regulations in the park is another issue to be addressed, according to the plan. Garcia noted the city does not have a community service office and said that should be considered in upcoming budget discussions. Potential revenues could come from logging in the park and adjacent area. The last sale of timber from the watershed in 1994-95 yielded $100,000 for the city, Kangas said. A sale a couple years earlier returned $40,000. About 200,000 board feet of timber could be harvested as early as next spring if the city chooses to do so, said Kangas. “I feel like most of the stands up there, whether they are merchantable or not, need to have some kind of plan,” said Kangas. Fire prevention in the park should be the main concern, he said. Jacksonville Woodlands Association members should be brought into the conversation to lend their experience, Jesser urged. The group formed 25 years ago and has worked with agencies and property owners to construct and fund the trails system. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected]. By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 29, 2015 at 11:00 AM Updated Apr 29, 2015 at 4:50 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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