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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 24, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend June 25, 2003 Medford holds firm on park decision The city reiterates that it will not allow Cascade Christian to develop athletic fields on city land By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune The city of Medford will not make a deal to allow a church-owned school to develop athletic fields on unused park land. Cascade Christian High School was notified Tuesday that the city was dropping all negotiations regarding plans to allow the school to use city park space or to swap land to acquire the property. The notice follows a Thursday vote in which the City Council declined to enter into a partnership with the private religious school. The school had proposed a joint venture which would involve the high school developing and maintaining a 7.5-acre parcel of undeveloped land as a public park and athletic fields for school sports. The land is next to a proposed new site for the school on Chevy Way off Biddle Road. The land would have remained city property. Advertisement Ray Johnson, principal and superintendent of the high school, said that until Tuesday he was pursuing alternatives with the city, such as a land swap. But city staff told him Tuesday that’s off, too. "There will be no more communication with (city) staff," said Johnson. He said school representatives were told they may speak only with elected officials on the matter. School officials were caught off-guard by Thursday’s vote, because the item was not on the agenda. City Attorney Ron Doyle said that the council was within the law to vote on something that wasn’t on the agenda. He said notification is required for public hearings, but this issue hadn’t reached that point. The vote was "to direct staff to discontinue negotiations," he said. Doyle had questioned the proposal Thursday, saying it would be a constitutional violation for a local government to provide funding or support to a religious institution. City parks Director Scott Archer said he saw the council’s decision as providing direction to city staff on where it directs its energies. "It certainly is something that was consuming a pretty good chunk of time," he said. Archer said he’s remained neutral on the subject, but the council decision does remove one item from his project list, which includes developing a 132-acre sports park complex adjacent to Bear Creek in south Medford. In a written statement released Tuesday, Johnson said the decision seemed contrary to city goals. "This idea of using private money to improve recreation opportunities for residents is spelled out in the vision statement created by the Medford City Council in 1999," the statement said. Johnson also noted that the school was prepared to invest about $325,000 in the project. The proposal for developing the now-unused property came after John Duke, a Medford businessman, donated a 40,000-square-foot building at 886 Chevy Way, formerly part of Superior Athletic Club, to the school. For the last two years, Duke has rented the space to the school for use by school basketball and volleyball teams. The school planned to expand the building and move its high school from Jacksonville to Medford. The adjacent park property would have been developed to create athletic fields for sports such as football, soccer, baseball and softball. Johnson said the school had no alternative plans at this point. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 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 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times