Board on tour

Portland Park Board members got a look at the planned location of a new storage building for the Portland Rockets.

The board, during a special meeting for its annual park walk-through Tuesday, spent time at the Rockets’ Runkle-Miller Field as well as Hines-Inman Memorial Stadium at Portland Memorial Park and visited Haynes Park.

Representatives from the Rockets, an unlimited age amateur baseball team, visited the park board in March to seek permission to place a new storage building at the park. The team has raised funds for the building and materials and requested that the city provide the labor.

The board then confirmed at its April meeting that there is sufficient space for the building on the property, but it tabled a decision until their planned park tour.

During Tuesday’s meeting, board members Brian Ison, Shauna Runkle, Michael Brewster and Jennifer Weitzel got a look at the planned location for the building at the southwest corner of the park property, facing home plate. The structure is planned at 20 feet (with an additional 4-foot overhang) by 48 feet.

Board members and Rockets representatives discussed some of the details of the project, including responsibility for building permits and whether a stone or concrete base would be used. (There were questions about installing concrete if there is a desire to add plumbing or other features in the future.)

The board agreed to move forward, with street and parks staff to fit the stone work into their schedule when time allows. (Staff will coordinate with the Rockets to get the job complete before the team’s July 4 tournament or wait to begin until after the tournament. Previous discussion set Aug. 1 as a target completion date in order to have the building ready to store equipment following the Rockets’ 2025 season.)