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Cities, county work toward more consistent maintenance of Bear Creek Greenway A cyclist rides past an area on the Bear Creek Greenway Thursday between Ashland and Talent near debris and pavement-uplift from tree roots. Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta Thursday Sep 1, 2016 at 4:02 PM Sep 1, 2016 at 4:02 PM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Consistent maintenance of the 20-mile Bear Creek Greenway is one goal of a proposed plan being explored by Jackson County, Ashland, Central Point, Medford, Talent and Phoenix. Governments that share the Greenway are considering maintenance and repair plans as they rework a joint intergovernmental agreement that dates from 2008. Cities agreed then to maintain sections of the path within their urban growth boundaries, while the county maintains the rest. The agreement created a Bear Creek Greenway Joint Powers Committee with representatives from each jurisdiction. A county report states there is a lack of maintenance consistency between and within jurisdictions, delays in response to issues and a lack of efficiency. Policies would specify what would be covered under the proposal, said Jenna Marmon, Greenway coordinator. Routine work would include vegetation removal, sweeping and blowing of the surface, timely removal of puncture vine and undergrowth and other tasks. “We are getting to the point where the agreement plainly is pretty outdated,” said Marmon. “It’s been working well so far, but it’s also time to at least review the management.” Utilization of Community Justice crews for routine work is proposed, although jurisdiction personnel would still provide patrols, empty trash and perform other tasks. Alternative proposals are to maintain the current arrangement or hire a full-time Greenway ranger who would get assistance from other workers. Jurisdictions would save money under the proposal, according to the county report. Annual projected costs for the work crews would be Ashland, $5,760; Central Point, $6,480; Medford, $20,160; Phoenix, $4,320; Talent, $5,760; and Jackson County, $15,120. Costs are based on miles of Greenway in the jurisdictions. Crews would work an average of 12 days per month. The five cities have estimated they spend from $4,000 to $6,000 annually per mile on maintenance. County staff suggests a one-year pilot project with Community Justice. Presentations have been made to parks commissions, city councils and the county Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. “I don’t think people were really concerned with the dollars as much as having a way to keep the Greenway in good shape from beginning to end,” said Phoenix Mayor Jeff Bellah. Marmon gave a presentation to the Phoenix City Council Aug. 17. “We had some questions. How do we make sure that we don’t have different maintenance? How do we make sure we don’t have bad areas?” said Bellah. “We were pretty supportive of it.” Agreement on a management plan would come before a new intergovernmental agreement is adopted, said Marmon. The goal is to have a new agreement in place by February or March 2017. Timelines call for discussion and revision of the management plan through September. In October, a final draft would be adopted by the Joint Powers Committee. Jackson County commissioners and city councils would review and adopt the plan and agreement over the next three months. The 2008 agreement called for a review every three years, said Marmon. In 2011 and 2014, the parties agreed to continue with the policies in place. In addition to maintenance plans, the management draft proposes a half-time volunteer coordinator to help with Greenway programs. The plan also details facility-wide improvements and major repair projects. Costs over five years for a coordinator and the work are estimated at $595,500. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].