by Julia Fox, Community Planning Consultant, City of Halsey
When I began putting out the advertisements asking for applications for the City Parks Committee, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought I may get most of my applications from retired folks, and that as much as I’d like their participation, parents, especially those with young children, wouldn’t apply. I didn’t think many young people my age would apply, either. My worst fear was that we wouldn’t get any applications. What I did not expect was a Park Ranger, a Park Specialist and a Nursery Manager from the USDA to apply. Two of them were only a few years older than me, and they both were parents to very young children.
Given their level of skills and expertise they brought to the table, I was both excited and a little intimidated for the first committee meeting. The mayor, a city councilor, and the city recorder also offered to join the first committee meeting.
I got to work getting everything ready for the meeting. I wanted the first meeting to be casual and relaxed, but I also didn’t want to show up empty handed. A survey I created and was busy promoting had 15 responses so far, which I added to our agenda to go over. The mayor had shared a letter he’d received from a local boy who wanted new hoops for the basketball court. I also got an email earlier in the week from a resident who was adamant about the city putting in a pickle ball court. I added their comments to the agenda as well. The evening of the first meeting soon came, and I sat in the City Hall conference room and waited for everyone to trickle in.
The energy in the room was very friendly and inviting. The counselor who came had just finished baking cookies and brought those in for everyone. We started off with introductions and discussed what everyone wanted to get out of these meetings, and what these meetings needed to accomplish so that work on the parks could begin. As I listened, I was heartened by how much everyone sitting at the table was there because they loved parks, they cared about people, and they cared about the environment.
As expected, this group of experts had questions for me that I didn’t have any answers for. How much of a budget do we already have to work with? What size grant are you going to ask for? Who will oversee all these projects? Questions I would only know the answer to further down the line when I would research cost estimates and project feasibility. I was glad I had a few city staff in my corner to help explain the planning process.
We finished going over all the items on the agenda, and I adjourned the meeting with a homework assignment for each committee member to send me a wishlist of everything they wanted for the city’s parks. And with that, everyone began trickling out of the conference room, and I could pat myself on the back for just facilitating my first committee meeting. I admired the dedication it took for these committee members who made time out of their busy lives to participate in something like this. I was also glad that my work allowed for something like this to take place. There are passionate people who care a lot in every community. A city only needs to have the capacity to tap into them.
About the author, Julia Fox: Julia moved to Oregon from Texas in 2015 and has since fell in love with the state. She earned her bachelor’s degree in U.S. History from Oregon State University and obtained her master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Oregon. Her past work experience has included museum, education, and parks and recreation work. As a Community Planning Consultant, Julia will spend her service year doing community, economic, and emergency planning for the City of Halsey. Her major projects will include working with the community to design a Parks Master Plan and an Emergency Response Plan. In her free time, Julia can be found paddleboarding a scenic lake or cleaning up historic gravesites.
Interested in gaining community and economic development experience of your own? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. Applications for Year 30 (2023-24) due April 30, 2023 by 11:59pm PDT.