Sisters City Council discusses new park and pavilion project
Spencer Sacks
(UPDATE: adding quotes from City Councilors Michael Preedin and Gary Ross)
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ)— The Sisters City Council is reconsidering plans for a proposed new park near Highway 20 and Sisters Park drive after councilors expressed concerns over the cost and scale of a planned pavilion. The original design, which included a pavilion and winter ice rink, was estimated to cost nearly $10 million.
The proposed park would be located across from the Best Western. Initial plans called for a standing pavilion that would house an ice rink during the winter months and hard courts for sports like basketball during the rest of the year. However, council members are now looking at scaling back the project to better fit the site and the community’s needs.
City officials are evaluating three potential routes for the park’s development. The first is a two-phase approach where the initial phase includes a playground, bouldering area, parking and restrooms, while the second phase adds the pavilion. A second option is a hybrid model featuring a sports court and a temporary ice rink, while the third option focuses solely on the phase one amenities with no courts or pavilion. Any chosen plan would be funded through a combination of grants and bonds.
Michael Preedin, a city councilor and former mayor, spoke during the meeting about the importance of balancing the park’s features with the city budget. “Well, we want to have the best park we can have in Sisters,” Preedin said. “We wanted to fit the community and we don’t need to overspend on it either.”
Council members also raised concerns about how a large structure would fit on the designated lot. City Councilor Gary Ross noted that interest in a full-size ice sheet, similar to facilities in Bend, created complications for the site plan regarding space and neighborhood parking.
“Clearly, if we would have done that, there would have been room in that site for anything else,” Ross said. “And we were looking at potential parking problems in the neighborhood. So we started scaling it back and then scaling it back. And all of a sudden became, is this really the right thing to do? And that’s where we are today.”
Community reaction to the proposed pavilion and ice rink remains mixed. While some residents expressed excitement for the new amenities, others told KTVZ they were opposed to placing a pavilion and ice rink at that specific location.
The council has requested that the project team revise the plans to focus on the phase one design with a sports court. This updated version is expected to include a sports court but will no longer feature the pavilion structure.