Parks director seeks change order to overlay Whitehorse Park road; board authorizes signature

Parks Director Martin told the Josephine County Board of Commissioners that the Whitehorse Park project is “moving and grooving toward the finish line,” and that contractors and staff discovered the asphalt connections required an overlay of the entire road to join existing pavement and parking areas.

“This change order is for us to go back in and do the road at the same time as the actual parking spots, which ultimately is gonna give it an incredibly clean look and it’s gonna last a lot longer,” Martin said. He added the county completed much of the work in-house and is “still keeping us well under budget for our project as a whole.”

Martin said the change order will be funded from two sources: the Parks capital fund—money set aside for the project—and a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant the county used for the park. He also described capacity changes: the project adds 10 RV sites on the upper area and five new campsites, plus about 12 sites in the existing lower section.

Commissioner (speaker 2) moved to approve the change order and later clarified the motion to give the parks director authority to sign the document. The board seconded the motion and, after a brief clarification that signing authority was included, the clerk called the roll and the motion carried 2–0.

The board’s authorization allows staff to finalize the change order and schedule the paving work to coincide with completion of parking and site improvements. The county expects the overlay and site additions to extend the pavement life and improve the park’s appearance, which Martin said will aid future marketing of the site.

The board did not record further conditions on funding or a revised project completion date during the discussion. Additional scheduling and contract details will be handled by the Parks Department under the delegated signing authority.