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Parks group will consider next effort Ideas sought from Medford residents By JIM DAVIS Jim Buckley talks as though Medford's next parks campaign is about to begin. Sure, the parks commission chairman wants to take a little time to regroup after the city's $17.5 million, 20-year bond request failed last week. And he wants to meet with other commissioners next week and then talk with Mayor-elect Lindsay Berryman. But Buckley said that the city needs to set in motion a program for parks. "We did this because we believed in it and we did it because it's needed and we did it for the kids," Buckley said. The measure that failed would have purchased land for parks, renovated several parks and trails and built an indoor pool. Buckley said the parks commission will weigh its options, possibly dropping the pool from a new request. During the recent campaign, Jim Kusnerik, the general manager of Superior Athletic Club, characterized the proposed recreation center as a government-subsidized health club. He organized a committee that bought advertisements against the measure, mailed 7,000 fliers urging voters to sink it and put messages on reader boards outside his gyms calling the bond "pork." Kusnerik said he would support the park bond in future elections if it was trimmed to just asking for money to buy new land and renovate parks. "Oh, you bet," Kusnerik said. "Our sign would say, `Vote for the parks."' But Buckley said that the outdoor pool at Hawthorne Park has big problems. The pool is leaking water from its pipes and, during the summer, can lose thousands of gallons of water a day. But fixing the pool, Buckley said, may have to be eight or 10 years down the road. One more immediate problem for the city is the Santo Center. The parks measure set aside money to restore the west Medford community center and pay for air conditioning for the building. With failure of the measure, Parks Director Greg Jones has come up with alternative plan. The city has components for an air conditioning unit that could be installed at the Santo Center. The city would have to dip into its budget to pay for getting the rest of the unit and installing it into Santo, Jones said. Another issue that won't go away is land: The parks commission is seeing the cost of land go up, up and up. Buckley said the city pays for new land for parks by limping along with money it receives from fees on new construction. That brings in about $225,000 a year. But park land can be expensive. Earlier this year, the city bought land for a new 8-acre park for about $450,000. Before the next campaign begins, Buckley said that he wants feedback from the community -- even from people who voted against the parks measure. "Really the thing that is going to help us is input from the public," Buckley said. "Drop us a postcard, give us a phone call.'' Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA