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As the Metro Council gears up to vote on funding for seven parks projects seeking greenspace bond dollars, the regional planning agency’s parks department has released an early ranking.
The parks department says of the submitted projects that proposals for dam restoration at Kelly Creek and greenway construction in Tigard most closely met 14 evaluation criteria and are recommended for grant dollars in 2026.
Councilors, who heard the rationale behind the ranking at a Tuesday meeting, agreed only in part with the department’s suggestions. Particularly, councilors advocated for some lower-ranking projects, including an organic farm ranked in fifth place, to be moved up and receive partial funding.
The council has ultimate say in how a $10 million grant will be distributed to projects, and whether all of the grant will be used. On July 21, the council will make final decisions around project timelines and specific award amounts to the projects.
When voters passed a $475 million parks and nature bond in 2019, they agreed that some of those funds would be awarded through a grant program. The stated aim of the Large-Scale Community Visions grant program is to tie investments in nature to other regional priorities, supporting projects that “leverage nature” to improve affordable housing, transportation or job opportunities. The parks department assessed projects based on factors such as feasibility, community engagement and climate resiliency.
The Kelly Creek Restoration Project is at the top of the parks department’s funding recommendation. Mt. Hood Community College applied for $2.5 million in funding to replace the campus’ dam with a bridge and restore the creek below. Councilors indicated they’d like to see MHCC receive most, if not all of its requested funding, but did not decide on specific numbers.
Funding Tigard’s Ash Creek Link project, which would build an accessible, nonmotorized greenway and restore the wetlands in an undeveloped tract north of Beaverton-Tigard Highway, also appeared to appeal to councilors for partial funding. The city is requesting about $3.9 million for the work.
A $5 million proposal by the Bird Alliance of Oregon for a nature center on Northeast 82nd Avenue across from McDaniel High School finished third among the proposals, receiving generally high scores from parks officials.
But one project gained significant traction among councilors, even though the department didn’t rank it as highly. Working Theory Farm, a nonprofit organic farm in Washington County, proposes in partnership with the city of Hillsboro and the nonprofit Centro Cultural to build a 24-acre “farm park” in South Hillsboro. The project looks to build a community space for people of color and contribute to the area’s ecological restoration. Councilors appeared eager to at least partially fund the project’s requested $6.5 million.
The council’s support came despite the parks department’s lower ranking of the project in its evaluation. It scored medium in categories such as community engagement, budget, schedule and risk management.
“I would move Working Theory Farm up this chart significantly,” said Councilor Mary Nolan, who represents District 5. “I think there is nothing else that’s similar to what they’re proposing to do. It just ticks virtually all the boxes for me.”
Proposals by Multnomah County and the city of Beaverton received little discussion. The parks department assigned both projects’ proposals “low” in multiple categories.
