BPRD board OKs new park, talks Mirror Pond, swears in new member

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) A new park is set to go in on the north side of Bend.

Tuesday night, the Bend Park and Rec Board moved forward with the creation of the Northpointe Park.

The park is located in the Northpointe neighborhood off of Cooley Road, on the corner of Rockhurst Way and Wellington Street.

Project Manager Bronwen Mastro said the park will be about 2.7 acres and is located in a neighborhood to allow for it to be accessed by those living near it.

"What we would expect to see would be typical of a neighborhood park, so some walking paths, probably some paved some unpaved, open lawn space, some picnic maybe shelter area, play area, possibly some sport courts and some natural area," Mastro said.

The board approved the master plan of the park and it is planned to be completed by the end of 2021.

Also at the meeting, the Park and Rec Board's newest member was sworn in.

Deb Schoen was appointed to the board at the last board meeting, and fills the seat that Lauren Sprang vacated last fall.

Schoen brings with her 40 years of parks and recreation experience. She was chosen from six finalists and will serve the remainder of the term until 2021.

Also at Tuesday night's meeting, the future of Mirror Pond and the PacifiCorp dam was yet again discussed.

The board met with PacifiCorp officials to hear their thoughts on the dam and its impacts.

At the forefront of the discussion was the dredging of Mirror Pond, and the environmental impacts the dam has.

Scott Bolton, a senior vice president with PacifiCorp, reiterated that the company plans to keep the dam in place for the foreseeable future.

But he said they do recognize the impacts the dam has, even though the dam creates carbon-neutral power.

He said he wants PacifiCorp to be to be a partner in creating solutions for the future of the Deschutes River, the dam and Mirror Pond.

"Power companies around the world are looking at how they can reduce their carbon footprint and creating more renewable energy. This is a part of that solution," Bolton said.

"And we need to be able to do that in a way that keeps the viability of the facility, while mitigating impacts on water and fish. And frankly, that's the process that the city of Bend and the parks and recreation department are putting together, and we are happy to be a part of that."

Many people at Tuesday night's meeting expressed their concerns over the long-term viability of the dam and the impacts it has on fish, the river habitat and recreation along the river.

They said they want to see the river be a sustainable resources for years to come.