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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 15, 2004 Gisselle Gutterrez, 4, and Trenton Thompson, 6, are two of Kay Maya�s day care clients at her Medford home. Maya�s not sure she�s willing to sell her Austin Street property to help build Liberty Park. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell The Pursuit of Liberty A change in venue for a Medford park gains favor, though neighbors express some reservations Stories by JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Medford’s long-proposed Liberty Park could shift sites, eventually winding up next door to a bowling alley-turned-youth center, city officials said last week. The move, part of a complicated land swap involving Cascade Christian High School, could create what some say are new, much-needed resources for children in one of the city’s most blighted neighborhoods. Plans could include a park with an outdoor basketball court and a public playground located near the new site of Kids Unlimited, a nonprofit youth agency that recently announced it will move into the Medford Bowling Lanes building at 821 N. Riverside Ave. "It is an incredible investment in the families in that neighborhood," said Louise Dix, Medford’s neighborhood outreach coordinator. "To have Kids Unlimited there and to have a park, what more could they want?" Advertisement City officials originally wanted to build the long-planned park on about 1.14 acres of land now owned by the Salvation Army of Medford. Negotiations for that property stalled, however, over Salvation Army requests that the city pay for part of the estimated $2.5 million to construct a new chapel and offices on another site. "I don’t think the Salvation Army is a player in this anymore," Dix said. "I don’t think they have been a player for a long time." Instead, city officials have turned their attention to about 1.5 acres of land adjacent to the former Medford Bowling Lanes site. Dix identified a half-dozen lots on nearby Edwards and Austin streets that could be bought and revamped as a park. That was news, however, to property owners such as Kay Maya, 51, who runs a day care center from her home at 511 Austin St. No one from the city had contacted her about selling her land, valued at about $80,000, according to Jackson County assessment records. "We just now finished putting on a roof," said Maya. "If they ever came up to me to say, ‘Would you like to sell your property?’ I’d have to think real hard about it." That concern was echoed by Maya’s nephew, Bernabe Maya, 27, of Central Point. "I never considered it," said Bernabe Maya, who owns land valued at nearly $31,000 at 509 Austin St. "It’s too new to say what I’d do." Another neighbor, Michael Moore, wasn’t included in the proposed sale, but he said he didn’t like the idea of the new location for the park. "For me, personally, it’s probably too close to my house," said Moore, who lives at 512 Austin St. "I think it would attract all kinds of stuff that we don’t need. Maybe people sleeping in the park. Maybe kids smoking." Kay Maya also worried that the presence of older youth could keep young kids out of the park. Negotiations remain tentative, Dix emphasized. But she and Deputy City Manager Jef Faw acknowledged that the land near the former bowling alley was identified this spring as another possible site by the Liberty Park solutions team, a group charged with resolving the issue. After a recent tour, other city officials agreed it was the most practical site, Faw said. Dix added that if the park is definitely sited there, the city could force owners to sell. "We would relocate the folks," she said. "But hopefully everyone will volunteer to give up these parcels for the good of the order." If the project goes through, local neighbors would have a city park located next to a youth center that provides after-school care, summer camps, homework help, dance classes, sports programs and more to about 1,000 kids a week. Kids Unlimited also runs the VIBES teen dance club that attracts about 200 teenagers on weekends. Director Tom Cole said the idea of having a park outside his new $1.7 million center was intriguing, but added that he needed more information about potential financing. The plan calls for purchase of a piece of the center parking lot to create the park. "It is interesting and it is a nice variable, but we’ll have to see if it’s the most advantageous," he said. Meanwhile, the Salvation Army will alter its local goals to meet the needs of the changing community, said advisory board member Bill Maentz. Staff members are working on plans for a scaled-down community center now. "We’ll take that plan, look at a plan for the park, look at Tom’s plan and then enhance and create whatever’s needed," Maentz said. "The neat part of this is it holds to the Salvation Army’s commitment made years ago to stay in this neighborhood." The collaboration appeals to Jane Bridcot and Joy Pelikan, residents who have worked for years to get Liberty Park built in their neighborhood. "I think Kids Unlimited is a good program and I’m hoping some of the kids in the neighborhood could go there," said Bridcot, who said she’d like to volunteer for the agency. Pelikan said she was a little leery at first of having the park site moved too close to her home at 508 Austin St. But then she decided the benefits for the neighborhood outweigh any individual liabilities. "I personally dig kids," she said. "I dig babies and I dig 5-year-olds. I think junior high is a kick and I just love teenagers." Cascade Christian land deal altered Changing the proposed location of Liberty Park could simplify a tentative deal that would trade public park land to Cascade Christian High School. Shifting the site away from land owned by the Salvation Army eliminates that nonprofit agency from a proposed three-way swap, leaving the school to negotiate directly with the city in its attempts to acquire park property off Table Rock Road. "It should be good news for everyone; the neighbors are going to get a park and someone’s bringing some money to the table," said Melissa Stiles, a Cascade Christian representative. Cascade Christian officials long have been interested in acquiring nearly 7 acres of park land near the Navigator’s Landing commercial district. The church-owned school wants the land for ball fields to serve a proposed new high school. The city turned down a proposed lease for the land more than a year ago, citing church-state conflicts. Now school officials are proposing to buy property identified for Liberty Park with the intent to trade it for the Table Rock land, which the city acquired from Jackson County in 1984. The Table Rock property was purchased by the county with federal Land and Water Conservation funds in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and is still governed by restrictions of that agency. That means that the city cannot simply sell the protected public land to the school. However, federal law does permit a "conversion" that would allow city officials to swap one piece of park land for another. Deputy City Manager Jef Faw said the city has crafted a draft request of the conversion but has not yet submitted it to state and federal parks officials. It is not clear whether an administrative error that still lists Jackson County as owner and project sponsor has been corrected. Cascade Christian officials tentatively plan to pay about $300,000 — the estimated value of the Table Rock land — to buy identified park property, Stiles said. That figure could change, however, depending on the results of required assessments, she said. The city and the school have entered confidential real estate negotiations to determine the final deal, Faw 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 ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities