Item A: River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project

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City of Springfield and parts of Lane County) could step in by contract or a voter approved boundary expansion. The scenario of River Road “morphing” into a regional service provider is obviously very remote, and even a Willamalane expansion would entail considerable effort and negotiation. Advantages: Provides for a “recreation-centric” regional service provider; resolves all issues of resident and non-resident access to facilities and programs; potentially frees up City taxing authority for other services; taxing for recreation on a regional basis may be more attractive to the voters and may be more cost efficient Challenges: Represents an almost unimaginable change for the River Road Parks and Recreation District, and a considerable change for Willamalane; does nothing for the issues of local neighborhood governance or heritage, and essentially acts counter to these concerns; local officials and/or voters may not be sympathetic to creating or expanding a regional recreation services authority ? Miscellaneous Option No. 2: Create New Community Center(s) - As demonstrated by the functioning of River Road’s Emerald Park complex, some form of community center may be important to the survival of a sense of distinct “place” for the Santa Clara neighborhood, especially in light of the challenges in creating a Santa Clara/Beltline Road neighborhood commercial node (see further discussion under the section of this White Paper entitled “Planning”). There has been talk in the past of converting a de-commissioned school on River Road to a Santa Clara community center. Purchase and rehabilitation cost, building code issues, and operational costs and management have all complicated this discussion. Advantages: The very fact and function of new neighborhood community center(s) is the “advantage”. Challenges: Cost of purchasing, building or rehabilitating a center; cost of operating a center; finding a center operator ? Miscellaneous Option No. 3: Alternatives to New “Dedicated” Community Center - Alternatives that could at least “backfill” some of the functions of a neighborhood community center could be community space in local City offices or Fire District fire halls, or lease (by the City or some other entity) of commercial space in neighborhood commercial nodes. The fiscal and operational viability of leasing commercial space or converting single purpose public facilities could be increased by aggregating several disparate activities – recreation, volunteer library, public safety storefront – in a single location. Advantages: The very fact and function of new neighborhood community center(s) is the “advantage”; leasing of commercial facilities (or multi-use of public facilities) may be a less cost intensive and a faster way to establish community centers than via a standalone, City owned facility. Challenges: Cost of leasing or rehabilitating a center; cost of operating a center; finding a center operator; feasibility of using current single purpose public facilities for multi-purposes ? Miscellaneous Option No. 4: Designation of Parks Capital Funding – As an approved new City policy, as part of an all-encompassing agreement with the River Road Parks and Recreation District, or as part of the implementation of another heritage or transition option described herein, the City could set aside the development-generated System Development Charges (SDC) funds collected in River Road and/or Santa Clara, and dedicate said funds exclusively to neighborhood recreation capital projects and land acquisitions. Advantages: Assures local parks fees are spent locally; potentially expands the capacity of both the City and Parks District to serve the neighborhood(s) directly 33 River Road/Santa Clara Transition/Heritage White Paper DRAFT 11-24-05 Service provider Review