Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 6, 2005 Council meeting to address watershed issue By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — Representatives on both sides of the city’s hotly contested issue over whether to sell its watershed to a motorcycle group or keep it as a park say it’s time for a resolution. "The city needs to make a decision," said Tony Hess, chairman of the subcommittee in favor of retaining city ownership of the 1,800-acre watershed. Mayor Jim Lewis said the council will discuss the issue at its meeting at 7 p.m. today in Old City Hall, but he did not promise a final decision would be made. A petition drive aimed at blocking the proposed sale garnered signatures from more than half of the town’s registered voters in recent weeks. The petition was circulated by a group called the Jacksonville Citizens League. Petitioners include Carolyn Kingsnorth, Larry Smith, Constance Jesser and Stanley Lyon. Kingsnorth forwarded nearly 900 signatures and an accompanying letter to Lewis, the Bureau of Land Management and Jackson County. Advertisement Lewis acknowledged the petition at an Aug. 30 meeting on the issue. Estimating Jacksonville’s registered voting population at 1,900, Lewis said, "I think we got the message." In 2003, at Lewis’ request, a citizen advisory committee began studying the watershed question. After two options — to "do nothing" or to "sell it all" — were tossed, the remaining opposing options split the group into two smaller subcommittees. One explored selling the upper two-thirds of the watershed to the Motorcycle Riders Association. The other reviewed retaining and developing the area into a public park. On Aug. 30, Hess presented the park option at Old City Hall before the council and a packed house of interested citizens. Hess urged the council to "retain, maintain and manage the watershed" as the "Jacksonville City Forest and Recreation Park." Hess said the area should be kept for future generations and could be enhanced with a multi-use trails system funded by grants from the Nature Conservancy, Carpenter Foundation, the American Hiking Society and the Oregon Wildlife Heritage, he said. Volunteers from equestrian, mountain bike and hiking clubs are ready to help create trails, Hess added. "Twenty-two miles of trails already exist," Hess said. "We have equestrian groups who are willing to put boots on the ground and get this done." Howard Johnson presented the proposal to sell two-thirds of the land to the Motorcycle Riders Association. Selling the watershed would be "in the best interest of the city," Johnson said. The city lacks the resources to develop and maintain the entire watershed as a park, said Johnson. Selling the majority of the acreage to the MRA — which currently owns parcels totaling 300 acres on three sides of the watershed — would protect the city from "unforeseen financial obligations," said Johnson. Current OHV usage is unacceptable and unmanaged, Johnson said. "The MRA takes the heat for everything that happens in the watershed," said Johnson. "But they have no enforcement authority or responsibility." Prior to the property’s sale, the city could negotiate restrictions with the MRA through a "memorandum of understanding." Post-sale, Johnson said, the MRA would bear the liability and the responsibility for the area’s OHV usage. The estimated sale price of $750,000 to $1 million would bring in much needed revenue for capital improvements, he said. Lewis thanked the committee members for their two years of service."I didn’t want fast, I wanted good," said Lewis. "And I think we got that." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztechmedia Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Advertisement s