Park Projects

Overview

In January 2022, City of Milwaukie received more than $2.25 million to complete the development of three neighborhood parks: Balfour Park, Bowman-Brae Park and Scott Park. The funding will add park amenities and equipment, while creating gathering spaces.

Before any construction begins at each of the parks, the city will conduct a comprehensive community engagement process to create dialogue between community members and city staff about how they feel these improvements should be carried out and look like once completed. Emphasis in the engagement process will focus on hearing from stakeholders who were not previously involved and Milwaukie's Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

Public Involvement Plan

In March 2022, city staff and its consultants worked with members of the Equity Steering Committee (ESC) and Parks and Recreation Board (PARB) to develop a Public Involvement Plan. This plan details the strategies and goals of the the public engagement and planning process for this project. ESC and PARB members worked with the project team to identify when and how residents should be involved and how to create opportunities for public collaboration on future park designs. Specific intention was placed on find ways to bring new voices into the conversation in both English and Spanish.

Playground Design Presentation

As part of the city’s goal to gain meaningful and equitable feedback from the community during park projects, the Milwaukie Parks and Recreation Board and project consultants from GreenWorks and GR Morgan provided a public presentation on Zoom Thursday, September 22 at 5:30 PM.

The presentation will include information on playground design safety and play concepts such as nature-based play, inclusive play, and sensory-based play. The goal of this presentation will be to provide the community, city staff, and the Parks and Recreation Board with an overview of playground design so that they can provide the city with informed feedback during the park planning process.

A video of the presentation can be found on the City's YouTube channel.

ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The public had have multiple ways and opportunities to engage city staff and its consultants for each of the three parks. Public engagement events here be held for each park according to the project's Public Involvement Plan. Focus groups designed to reach Milwaukie's BIPOC and historically marginalized communities were held in the summer of 2022. Playground designs were based on focus groups with local school children from the Boys and Girls Club, families raising childern with disabilities from FACT Oregon, and local stakeholders from Milwaukie's Park and Recreation Board, Equity Steering Committee, amoung others. Online surveys, polls, and comments will also be provided on Engage Milwaukie. Summaries of engagement work are provided on this website or each individual park page.

TIMELINE

The project officially kicked-offed in February 2022. Initial community engagement and planning activities will take place between the spring of 2022 and winter 2022. Final design and permits are expected by the summer of 2023. After the final approval processes and contracts are awarded, construction is expected to begin in early 2024. Construction is expected to be complete in the fall of 2024.

UPDATES

Monthly project updates will be provided at regularly scheduled Parks And Recreation Board (PARB) meetings beginning at 5:30pm. Meetings are typically held the at 4:30pm on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Please see the city website for more information. These informal updates will provide a recap of project activities for the past month and future opportunities for engagement. Please see the PARB OnBoard website to learn more about PARB. Project updates will be recorded and posted on the city's YouTube account.

Project updates will also be provided to City Council in through out the project. Those updates will be posted on the city's website and YouTube account.