Philomath City Park has a new place to break a sweat after city officials cut the ribbon Monday evening on a new outdoor exercise area, drawing a crowd of more than 60 for an event that mixed civic ceremony with a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Mayor Christopher McMorran marked the occasion in head-to-toe 1980s-style workout gear — complete with a neon green headband and matching wristbands — despite being born more than a decade after the era he was channeling.
“I really wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, and I thought, what’s better than getting ready for a workout, get my sweat on,” McMorran said. “I’m glad it all went well. The main thing that I was happy about is that the pants were long enough.”
McMorran said the idea grew out of comments among city staff.
“One of us made a joke about we should wear tracksuits, and then the joke stopped being a joke and became a real thing,” he said.
The project’s roots trace back to a more practical problem — aging equipment elsewhere in the park had to be removed after it outlived its usefulness and the city saw an opportunity to build something new. The $50,000 project was funded through park system development charges — one-time fees collected from new development.
In his remarks to the crowd, McMorran emphasized that no local tax dollars went toward the project.
“This project came in on time and on budget and was entirely funded through system development charges that we collect from developers,” McMorran said. “None of the money for this project was from property taxes and rates that we charge to residents.”
After the ribbon cutting, McMorran was joined by several children in trying out the park’s eight new exercise stations, which include chin-ups, a cardio walker, balance beam, balance board, body curl, sit-ups, lat pull-down, knee lift and trapeze rack. Gatorade was on hand for anyone who worked up a thirst.
Built from public input
The equipment selection traces back to community feedback gathered last summer when McMorran and Park Advisory Board Chair Larry Sleeman set up at the Philomath Farmers’ Market and asked more than 100 residents which exercise stations they most wanted to see.
“I really love how it’s an example of us getting something done quickly and on budget and making a real noticeable improvement,” McMorran said. “I also just really appreciate the public involvement and sort of thinking outside the box. I think it would have been easy to take exactly what we had and put in a new version, but I really value the fact that the Park Advisory Board and staff took the opportunity to think a little bigger.”
McMorran said the equipment selection balanced popularity with practicality.
“I know that was something the Park Advisory Board took into account, where there were a few other items the public really liked, but when we looked into them more, they would have had a lot more maintenance requirements,” he said. “So they intentionally chose ones that were sort of a happy mixture between what people wanted and what was interesting, but also were easy to maintain and keep in good condition.”
For McMorran, the appeal goes beyond the equipment itself.
“My favorite thing, as far as a kind of community perspective, is just the idea that we have the kids and the adults and the teenagers all in one little neighborhood here, and everyone can kind of hang out together and build that community,” he said. “I think it’s bigger than just the equipment — it’s what it fosters.”
An in-house build
City Manager Chris Workman said the project was installed by the city’s own public works crew rather than an outside contractor, with employees Mike Vencill and Kevin Williams serving as the primary installers.
“Our public works crew loves taking on these projects,” Workman said. “They can be frustrating because it’s not something they do every day, and so they sometimes learn the hard way with each of them. … It gets them out of their day-to-day routine, and especially with this project, they like working in the parks and doing stuff where they know people are going to enjoy it and take care of it.”
The arrangement also saved the city money, Workman said.
“For the city, it’s a cost-saving measure as well, to have to pay a professional crew to come in and do everything,” he said. “Our guys were able to do it and save the city a little bit of money on top of everything else.”
Workman said the location required substantial preparation before any equipment could go in, including installation of a full stormwater drainage system to prevent the area from flooding.
“There were several weeks of site prep before any equipment could even go in — just getting everything excavated out, getting the storm pipes in the ground, then getting the layers of rock on top of that, and then finally the equipment,” he said.
Some exercise components arrived later, but Workman characterized the delays as minor.
“Normal hiccups — nothing extraordinary,” he said.
At one point during the event, a child popped an end cap off a piece of equipment and asked Workman, “Is this supposed to come off?” Workman laughed it off.
“Note to self, there’s a screw missing in the cap, so I’ll probably take that with me tonight so it doesn’t disappear after I leave,” he said. “So it’s getting a good quality check right now with all the kids.”
Public works will maintain the new equipment as part of its regular rotation, Workman said, with inspections at least twice a year and more often depending on use.
Looking ahead
City officials say the new fitness area is part of a broader, ongoing investment in Philomath’s parks. Workman pointed to recent upgrades at Flossie Overman Discovery Park, where an aging log play structure was replaced with more resilient equipment, as another example.
Workman also outlined plans to improve access to the park’s underused areas.
“As early as next summer, we’ll be replacing the culverts here with new bridges, and that’s going to make accessibility over there easier and more year-round,” he said. “Right now, most of the winter months — that’s half of the park — is just completely underutilized, and even in the summer months it’s mostly underutilized.”
A long-discussed proposal to replace the park’s aging skate park, located across the park road from the new exercise area, remains under consideration but has stalled. McMorran said he’d like to see it revisited as part of a larger vision for the park.
“I would love to see sort of a more comprehensive improvement to City Park that includes a skate park and some other features, and try to maybe look at some state grants for that,” McMorran said. “In the near term, though, in our capital improvement plan, we do already have scheduled to do some equipment replacement at the existing playgrounds in City Park, so that should be coming in the next year or two.”
Workman said those bigger-picture questions are likely to be part of a future park master plan discussion.
“I think the mayor’s point is talking with the park board, doing more of a master plan view of this park — what do we want the park to look like 20 years from now, and then what are the things we do between now and then to build it up to that point?” he said. “There’s definitely more uses … I think a lot of people come and want more parking, but we also don’t want a parking lot. There’s a balance between having enough parking for larger events that are happening here, but also having enough amenities that people can walk over and have fun stuff to do.”
City Park remains the most heavily used of Philomath’s parks though future improvements will depend on the finances.
“It’s all subject to getting some funding to help pay for that,” Workman said.
