Glitch causes Forest Grove to re-think Lincoln Park proposal

Recreation -- Pacific University to propose putting three sports fields on city parcel at Thatcher and David Hill

By Zack Palmer

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jan 17, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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A potential stumbling block in Pacific University’s quest to renovate Lincoln Park may have inadvertently made the school’s proposal even more attractive to Forest Grove city officials.

Pacific learned last week that its final offer was rejected for a three-acre piece of property at the north end of the city-owned park, which was slated to house parts of a picnic area and fields for recreational soccer, baseball and softball.

Forced to scramble, Pacific and Forest Grove officials have come up with a proposal that would have the university pick up the tab for the construction of two baseball/softball diamonds and a soccer field on land already owned by the city at the southwest corner of David Hill and Thatcher Roads.

“I think this is actually a much better plan,” said Ken Schumann, director of athletics at Pacific. “We were looking for a way to accommodate everybody, particularly youth soccer and rec softball. The new proposal is better on all ends.”

City officials have long wanted to develop a park on the 26-acre site, a mix of woods and cropland and have earmarked money from the recent Metro bond measure to purchase an additional three acres adjacent to the parcel.

Forest Grove parks director Tom Gamble said the city currently has no funds budgeted for development of the park and was figuring it would not be able to map out new sports fields until the parcel was incorporated into a master park plan later this year.

The new proposal, scheduled to be in front of the city’s recreation committee next Wednesday morning, would speed up that timetable.

Reaction to the new proposal from youth sports officials in Forest Grove was overwhelmingly positive this week.

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