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Water Board May Make Land Available for Parks in, Near Tigard, Ore.

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 00:00 CST

By Luciana Lopez, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Jan. 12--The intergovernmental water board is considering making surplus land available for new parks in and near Tigard.

One parcel is at the southwest corner of Southwest Canterbury Lane and Southwest 103rd Avenue, and a second is off Southwest 154th Avenue near the Menlor Reservoir in unincorporated Washington County.

The water board will probably decide next month, said Dennis Koellermeier, Tigard's director of public works.

"It's just a reflection of, 'Well, we've got the property,' and people are clamoring for parks," said Richard Winn, a King City councilor and member of the water board.

The water board represents King City, Durham, Tigard and the Tigard Water District.

Neighbors probably would help decide the parks' features, Koellermeier said, in a process that could start in spring. Money would be available as soon as July.

"While this property is owned and funded by the IWB, the actual park improvements would be constructed by the city of Tigard," he said.

The city's parks and recreation board identified the two sites as potential parks. Tigard has been looking to expand parks because of complaints by residents.

The city has about 180 acres of parks and about 172 acres of undeveloped land, such as greenways and wetlands, according to the city. With about 45,500 residents, according to the most recent estimate by the Population Research Center at Portland State University, that works out to just under eight acres per 1,000 residents.

The city's park system master plan recommends 11 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.

The intergovernmental water board is also figuring out criteria for choosing a long-term water source, a decision expected this spring.

"We need to be making this decision in as objective a way as possible," said Tom Woodruff, a Tigard city councilor and water board member. Tigard gets water from several sources, including Portland and the Joint Water Commission, a consortium of water providers in Washington County.

The city's contract with Portland is up for renewal this year. Tigard is considering renewing it but also is weighing sources such as the Clackamas and Willamette rivers.

The board's guidelines for choosing a source or sources could include water quality, cost, opportunities for owning the infrastructure, environmental effects and reliability.

For the intergovernmental water board to act, three of the four government agency representatives must agree.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

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Source: The Oregonian

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