May 09, 2003
Pioneer Courthouse Square Ice Rink Proposal Stalled, But Not Dead
First, let me say that once again the City of Portland has struck out when it comes to proper public involvement. Recently, I emailed Sarabeth Rees of Pioneer Courthouse Square, Inc. via their website to ask about the current status of the proposed ice rink. In response, I was simply told to contact Greg Goodman, Co-Chair of the project's Steering Committee.
What Ms. Rees didn't bother to tell me in her response this past Monday was that there was a set of presentations scheduled before the Portland Parks Board on Wednesday of this week, as reported today in the Portland Tribune. Thanks very much, Ms. Rees. And thanks as well to Portland Parks & Recreation, whose own meetings calendar also neglects to mention this session.
It's no wonder the city needed to create a Citywide Public Involvement Standards Task Force (which, incidentally, still appears to not have a presence on any city website).
Anyway, moving on to the substance of the meeting, as reported in the Tribune today:
Supporters of a $10 million seasonal ice rink in Pioneer Courthouse Square have slowed their campaign because of the war against Iraq and Portland school budget issues. But the idea hasn't gone away and neither have the rink's opponents.
Click through to the story to see the comments of supporters and opponents alike.
So what's next in this process?
[Greg Goodman] predicted it could be one to four months before the square board votes whether to proceed with the rink proposal.
...
Goodman said the group intends to do more outreach to gauge the current public view of the rink proposal. He also promised it won't proceed until sufficient money is raised to cover the project.
...
Nancy Stites, administrative assistant in the parks bureau, said the rink probably will be on the agenda at the parks board's June 4 meeting. But the board won't forward a recommendation unless the square board votes to proceed with the rink.
Mark your calendars now, since they probably won't bother to call any attention to that session, or let anyone who has expressed interest in the ice rink proposal know about it. Or perhaps I'm just being bitter because the public involvement process in this town stinks to high heaven, and I've been following the rink story since the beginning and just got screwed out of being present at an important step in its process.
For what it's worth, there is no mention in the Tribune article about what rink proponents have to say about the recent closure of the Clackamas Town Center ice rink and how that plays into their belief that a rink in Pioneer Courthouse Square would be a financial success.
Comments (1)
chris mathew on 09 Jan 2005
we talked to the City years ago about this project...all we heard was how much money the City needed to spend because the downtown area is so pritine! Well for under $200,000 your town could have had a portable ice rink (own)! BUt all your city wants to do is talk...talk..talk!