McMinnville,
Linfield to pursue siting new rec center on university land
By Dora Totoian, McMinnville
N-R/News-Register. Friday Dec 11, 2020 online, updated 7 pm Dec 11, 2020
The
city of McMinnville and Linfield University have agreed to pursue siting the
city’s future recreation facility on Linfield-owned land next to its
campus.
Linfield
President Miles Davis and city manager Jeff Towery announced the potential
partnership at Thursday's MacPac meeting, saying they have gotten only as far
as being open to explore all opportunities.
“Being
in education is a unique position and it is a trust for a town,” Davis said.
“Every once in a while, you get an opportunity to blue sky something.”
The
university released a statement Friday saying it and the city have agreed to
sign a memorandum of understanding to have preliminary discussions.
The
new facility would be located on the 80-acre parcel of land
bounded by Highway 99, Booth Bend Road, Keck Drive and the Linfield campus. The
land, currently leased for farming, was donated to the college by
Hewlett-Packard after Linfield purchased the company's adjacent plant buildings
and the 17 acres they were on for $4.2 million.
While
the initial agreement doesn’t commit the city to a final decision on a
partnership with Linfield, Towery said he’ll do everything possible to make it
happen. Davis concurred.
MacPac
is a 19-person city advisory committee formed last year to develop future
plans for renovating current facilities or building new ones, including
community center, aquatic center and library. It is tasked with identifying a
location, programming and design for a single facility or facilities,
and making a recommendation to the city council.
The
details of how MacPac’s work will change with Linfield in the equation and how
facility operations and finances would be shared are still vague. Councilor
Zack Geary, a member of MacPac, emphasized the group still has an important
role in seeking to understand what the community wants out of its new
recreation facility.
Davis
and Towery highlighted the opportunity for the property to eventually house
more than just a combined community and aquatic center, including
the potential for a performing arts venue and other community spaces.
However,
Geary made it a point to tell MacPac members the mission remains to first meet
the critical needs of the city.
Davis
and Towery also said the city is trying to apply a diversity, equity and
inclusion framework as it pursues this partnership. They appreciate the
location because it’s on Highway 99, has a bus stop nearby, and can easily be
wheelchair-accessible, among other reasons.
Mayor
Scott Hill noted the Linfield site is a prime location, and it will help in
drumming up support for a possible bond that may be required to fund the
project.
“When
we talk about a legacy project, it’s in a legacy location,” Hill said. “When
you’re looking at a bond and the efforts that go on from that perspective...it
takes a heavy lifting and it needs passion from people who go out and tell the
story."
See
Tuesday's News-Register for more.
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