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City exploring possible park uses

So what exactly can parks be used for?

It really depends.

Terry Williams, the City of Warren director of codes, permits and recreation services, brought a couple parks to the Parks & Recreation Commission for clarity and feedback on their intended use – the pavilion at Breeze Point Landing and the Soldiers & Sailors Park.

With Soldiers & Sailors, Williams said she had to do some research and engaged in some discussion “about the use of that particular park.”

She said the park is “not in the fee schedule” and the city “can’t rent it out.”

But the challenge about use there is deeper than that.

Williams said the park was owned by the county and transferred to the city in 2006 when Warren City Council at the time discussed the intended use.

She said that the park was updated with the amphitheater as part of the Impact Warren project and added that the deed stipulates that the property must be used at all times as a park for public recreation.

“We’ve had a lot of conflicting additional information as to who can utilize that space,” Williams told the commission, saying she’s been told that only Music in the Park can be there because it is a city-sponsored event.

Staff then found the meeting minutes from when council accepted the park from the county which only states that the park should be used for public recreation.

Williams said the city consulted county Veterans Affairs in an attempt to ensure that the veteran element of the park was respected.

“(It is the) opinion of the city manager and our office,” Williams said, that other uses such as those that would drive economic development would be appropriate subject to review through the city’s special events procedure.

Commission member Judi Wilson spoke in favor of the change and the importance of utilizing the parks in the city.

Williams noted that as riverfront development continues and people are encouraged to move downtown that the city “should be prepared to have entertainment opportunities for them downtown.”

Switching to the Breeze Point Landing pavilion, Williams said that location is in the fee structure but hasn’t been rented.

Looking back to the 2002 Streetscape project that created the park, council “did a lot of talking back and forth” about intended use, Williams explained, and said that the resolution council adopted said that the park would be “utilized to encourage economic development and community development activities.”

Previously, inquiries regarding weddings have been rejected and the possibility exists for reunions and birthday parties to be held there if senior housing is constructed on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and Liberty St.

“We want to all be on the same page with you and council that is consistent with what was discussed in 2002,” Williams said. “We, as a department, felt that perhaps council needed to clarify what their intentions are for the use of Breeze Point… I would like to be able to make that more official about what we can use it for.”

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