News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The City of Sisters will likely accept a gift of 10.88 acres of the Barclay Ranch offered by developer Ted Eady for use as a park. It may be quite awhile, however, before Sisters residents are picnicking on the grass.
The Sisters City Council concurred in a Tuesday, December 2, workshop that they would like to accept the park dedication. The council is expected to vote on December 11 to authorize City Planner Neil Thompson to work with Eady to partition the land and lay out roads.
But Thompson told The Nugget that it would be some time before a park is actually developed on the site.
"I think it's a long time out," Thompson said. "I would say 18 months to two years."
The city doesn't currently have the funds to develop the park, nor do they have a parks plan.
Eady has offered an L-shaped parcel at the southeast corner of his Barclay Ranch property. The actual park would cover 5.12 acres. Eady proposes another .96 acres for a community center site. The rest of the 10.88 acres is taken up by roads and drain field easements.
Eady believes the park will be a boon to the city.
"I'm a member of the community, and I like to see positive things in the community," Eady told The Nugget.
A park will help preserve the view of the Three Sisters from his Eady's planned 25-unit motel located northeast of the proposed park along Camp Polk Road.
"I would like to have a nice motel with a nice mountain view, and the less stuff I have in my view the better," he said.
Eady said he also expects a significant tax benefit from the gift.
Eady has agreed to grant easements for roads including an extension of Larch and Fir streets onto the Barclay Ranch, and an extension of Barclay Drive from Camp Polk Road west into the Sisters Industrial Park.
Once the land is developed, Eady or any other developer will be responsible for building the roads that access their developments.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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