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Philomath park advisory board elects leadership, approves Music in the Park band bookings and reviews park projects
Summary
The Philomath Park Advisory Board elected a chair and vice chair, authorized staff to contact top-ranked bands for the summer Music in the Park series and heard staff updates on delayed exercise equipment, a log replacement at Flossie Overman Discovery Park and a proposed park facility master plan.
The Philomath Park Advisory Board on an evening meeting elected Larry Sleeman as chair and Owen as vice chair, agreed to authorize staff to book the top-ranked bands for its summer Music in the Park concert series, and received staff updates on several park capital projects.
Nicole Hasley, executive director of the (former) Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber would like to sponsor the final Music in the Park event and described last year’s effort "to draw in our membership and make that event a little bit bigger" with food and family activities. She told the board the Chamber budgeted money for the effort and asked the board for direction on whether to proceed and which date would work best.
The board discussed scheduling and vendor overlap with existing providers, including the Lions Club and Mud Oven Pizza. Chelsea Starner, the city’s assistant (city staff role listed in the packet), recommended placing the Chamber’s request on the April agenda so the organization can finalize plans and the board can give formal direction. Chair Larry Sleeman said the item will be added to the April meeting agenda.
Owen summarized the selection process for bands: staff and board members used a 1–5 ranking system across 18 applicants, averaged scores and examined standard deviation and "universal appeal" flags to identify consensus choices. The board has five primary concert slots (plus a school performance slot); after discussion a motion to have staff contact and book the top-ranked bands in order was made and seconded and passed by voice vote with members saying "aye." Staff said they will follow up on confirmations and logistics at the next meeting.
During staff updates Starner reported three facilities items: an outdoor exercise area of seven pieces is on order but its installation is delayed because Marys River Watershed’s culvert work in City Park must be completed first; a replacement for a rotted log play feature at Flossie Overman Discovery Park is budgeted and staff is finalizing vendor quotes; and the board recommended the council consider funding a separate park facility master plan to coordinate long-term improvements across Marys River Park, City Park and Skirvin Park. Starner said staff will pursue grant funding and involve the board in setting priorities such as whether to pursue a dog park.
Other items included reminders about volunteer responsibilities for summer concerts (two board members typically on duty per event), short reports on community programs at the Grange and Bluegrass nights, and a reminder that the Vision 2050 workshop and public survey are upcoming opportunities for input. The board approved the Dec. 2 minutes (motion made by Yasha, seconded by Candy) and adjourned; its next meeting is scheduled for April 7 at 5:30 p.m.
The board recorded unanimous voice votes for the minutes, the leadership elections and the motion to proceed with booking bands; specific roll-call vote counts were not recorded in the transcript.
