Local officials from the City of Forest Grove recently joined nearly 700 attendees from across Oregon at the League of Oregon Cities’ 83rd Annual Conference & Business Meeting October 2-4 in Salem.  Part of the conference highlights achievements and best practices in the cities throughout the state.  The League’s Award for Excellence recognizes cities that have undertaken progressive and innovative approaches to city operations and providing services to their citizens.  The City of Forest Grove submitted the Lincoln Park Renovation & Thatcher Park Phase I Development Project for the 2008 Award for Excellence nomination. 

Entries were judged by a selection committee comprised of past LOC presidents, state legislators, media representatives and others.  In evaluating the entry, the judges considered whether it:

1)         improves the community’s quality of life;

2)         enhances municipal services;

3)         includes collaboration with other governments, private interests, etc.;

4)         is replicable by other cities, and

5)         creates efficiencies.

The City’s project was chosen from several entries as the Award for Excellence recipient and Mayor Kidd accepted the recognition and plaque at the Annual Banquet on Saturday evening.

The entry summary follows:

For over thirty years, the City of Forest Grove has allowed Pacific University to use Lincoln Park, the City’s main community park, for softball and baseball games and practices.  In 2006, Pacific approached the City with a proposal to redevelop Lincoln Park into both a high-quality athletic venue and a newly renovated community park.  As a condition of the proposal, there would be no net loss of facility space in the current park.  When Pacific was unable to acquire property adjacent to Lincoln Park property necessary to meet this condition, the University agreed to fund improvements at an undeveloped park property known as Thatcher Park to include one lighted soccer field and two lighted baseball or softball fields plus infrastructure.  With the addition of available SDC funds, the City was able to turn undeveloped land into usable community park land.

The partnership between Pacific University and the City created a win-win situation.  Pacific University gained high-quality facilities located adjacent to the campus for use by the intercollegiate programs and a greater recruiting tool for its athletic programs.  The City gained additional recreational facilities at Thatcher Park as well as greatly enhanced facilities at Lincoln Park utilized by the entire community.

This project created an athletic park complex which will generate economic development and be a crown jewel of recreational facilities in Western Washington County as well as adding developed park land for the community's use and enjoyment.