The featured guest speaker at BWNA’s December general meeting was Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Mike Grosso, maintenance supervisor for all 38 Northeast Portland parks. Mike is the first level of approval for any Wilshire Park project and has been actively involved in the implementation of its NatureSpace and toddler play equipment upgrades.
A wide-ranging Q&A session was spearheaded by BWNA Friends of Wilshire Park Committee Chairperson Gary Hancock, beginning with a question about the impact of last November’s passage of the PP&R levy. Mike responded that this was not a capital improvement bond, but primarily directed at mitigating the PP&R budget deficit, which had resulted in personnel cuts, cutbacks on recreation programs, and pool usage fees.
In response to questions about park improvement and enhancement, Mike said that “disadvantaged areas” (i.e., no park within a ½-mile radius of a neighborhood) rate a priority. But in response to BWNA President Tim Gillespie’s comments about how economically privileged school foundations share fundraised monies with disadvantaged schools, Mike suggested that such an initiative by Beaumont-Wilshire and Alameda neighborhood associations might improve Wilshire Park’s chances for approval of projects. Asked about the inoperative wading pool in Wilshire Park, he noted that since conversion of the wading pool to a splash pad was already in an existing long queue of possible park upgrades, a plan to provide non-PP&R funding for such a project would in all likelihood move it forward in the queue. Also, the fact that the Wilshire Park children’s play area is uniquely designed for very young children could bode well for future project consideration. And in a response to a suggestion by BWNA Vice President Andrew Rinke, Mike expressed support for collaborating with BWNA to get an information kiosk installed in the vicinity of the park pavilion. As for dog run projects, however, the message was not hopeful—at least in the short-run. Mike pointed out that because dog park issues in other parks have been controversial (e.g., for and against fences), PP&R has for the time being put a moratorium on dog park improvements.
The Friends of Wilshire Park (FoWP) Committee will continue to work closely with Mike Grosso and others in the community to organize, fundraise, and implement park repair and enhancement projects. FoWP Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, and residents are encouraged to participate. For Zoom links to these meeting, contact Gary Hancock via e-mail (outside503@aol.com) or phone (503-367-0862).