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EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER May 19, 2005 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.ci.eugene.or, us HUNDREDS DESCEND ON AWBREY PARK FOR GRAND OPENING FIRST CITY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY ENHANCES MANAGEMENT NETWORK AUDRA MCDONALD COMING TO THE HULT CENTER BREWER PARK NEIGHBORS INVITED TO HELP DESIGN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK Hundreds Descend on Awbrey Park for Grand Opening Last Thursday, Mayor Kitty Piercy and Park Planner John Weber tied their legs together, and, along with several teams of children participated in a 3-legged race to break the ribbon at the end of the course and officially dedicate a new ^wbrey Park in Santa Clara (see photo at right). They weren't the ones to break the ribbon but they did eventually hobble across the finish line, and, along with the over 300 neighbors who came out to celebrate, enjoy pizza, refreshments, lively music by the Junction City Polka Band, and many more old- fashioned field day games in the large meadow in the park. Families gathered at the popular neighborhood park in record numbers on this first warm, sunny day in a very long time. Children swarmed the two new play areas, one designed for children ages 2 through 5 and the other designed for children ages 5 through 12. At the top of one prominent climbing structure located near the band, a little girl hummed and bounced along with the polka tunes, while dozens of other children descended on the field to play burlap sack, spoon, and push-the-balI-with-your-nose relay races, and other favorite field games. Parents congregated on the new picnic tables and benches surrounding the playgrounds, walked along the new paths or pushed their children on the new swing set. Originally a county park, Awbrey Park has been cherished by neighbors for several decades, said Jerry Finigan, chair of the Santa Clara Community Organization, in his remarks to the crowd. "If this park feels different, but the same, it is because park designers understood that the people of Santa Clara wanted to keep this heritage," Finigan said. "They took residents' suggestions and the park you see today is the result of that input, and, for years to come, this re-created Awbrey Park will serve up wonderful memories for many families and for generations of children yet to be born. What a wonderful legacy to leave our children." The improvements to the park, which also includes a new accessible parking lot, were made possible by the parks and open space bond measure approved in 1998. The northern portion of the park consists of a wooded natural area with Spring Creek winding through it. ^ pedestrian footbridge across the creek and a path from the park to the residential neighborhood north of the park are planned for a future phase EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 May 19, 2005