Hill part of plans

Area youngsters may have a sledding hill to play on when the snow falls this winter.

Members of the Portland Park Board reviewed plans for phase III of Hudson Family Park, which currently is being constructed. On Tuesday, they learned that this phase - which now includes a sledding hill, a pond, an amphitheater, a trail and additional parking - is expected to be completed by the end of the year, depending on the weather.

Nola Albrecht, landscape architect for The Schneider Corporation, presented the most recent plans for the park project to the park board on Tuesday. The plans show where the different features of the park will be located.

Also on the drawing, near the sledding hill, is an area that will be dug out for the possible future location of the new street and park department building. After the meeting, Albrecht said the addition of the building to the park is on hold, and may built in a future phase of the park, depending on funding.

According to the newest plans, the sledding hill will be located at the south side of the park, near the railroad tracks. At its highest point, the hill will be 18 feet tall.

A path to walk up and down the hill will be dug out and marked with construction fence so it is easier to find in the snow, Albrecht said. The sledding hill is being created by dirt removed in the excavation of the pond.

Park board member Kent McClung said he recently visited the park and liked where the sledding hill will be located. Not only will it block the sound of passing trains, but also the noise from the amphitheater for existing homes in the area, he said.

Plans call for the amphitheater to be located to the southeast of the pond, which is roughly in the center of the new park.

Albrecht told the board that she recently discussed plans for the amphitheater with Eric Rogers, executive director of Arts Place. She said the stage of the amphitheater will be about the size of the stage at Hall-Moser Theater at Arts Place, and may have mosaic tiles on the front of it to mimic the tile mural in the Arts Place lobby.

The pond will be 8 feet deep at its deepest point, and will be 4 to 5 acres, Albrecht said. She estimated that the pond is half completed.

She said construction crews encountered some sand pockets when digging the pond. The pockets were filled in with clay.

Street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker, who attended Tuesday's meeting, said about 78,000 cubic yards of dirt is being removed in the pond excavation.

"If we'd known we had all this dirt we could have made the amphitheater bigger," McClung said. He said after the meeting that he was glad the dirt was being used for the sledding hill, instead of being hauled away.

In a related matter, mayor Bruce Hosier said he was not ready to announce how phase III of the park project will be funded. He said the city is still negotiating with a private investor.

He said the city currently has the cash on-hand to fund the $521,565.72 project. He has previously said the money could come from a combination of Economic Development Income Tax Funds and cumulative capital funds.

"The tax rate is not up one penny to pay for the project," Hosier said.

The mayor said he is excited that the project is making some progress.

"I look forward to the day that we can all stand out there and cut the ribbon," he said, which drew cheers from the park board.

In other business Tuesday, Doug Blankenbaker, assistant street and park department superintendent, announced that the water will be turned off and the restrooms will be closed at all city parks for the winter by Friday.[[In-content Ad]]