The Philomath Park Advisory Board will help shape the look of two new bridges in Philomath City Park when it meets Tuesday evening.
The board convenes at 5:30 p.m. at Philomath City Hall. The meeting will also be live-streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
The board is being asked to pick themes for an interpretive sign and bridge railings tied to the Marys River Watershed Council’s culvert replacement and bridge project on Newton Creek. Rachael Rosenstein, the watershed council’s restoration project manager, introduced the project to the board in September.
Sign theme options include fish passage, streamside habitat, the creek’s food web, stream health and Newton Creek’s place in the larger watershed. Railing design ideas include fish swimming upstream, leaves and branches, wildlife silhouettes and curved lines representing water currents. The watershed council has also been in contact with Philomath High School, and students may share their own ideas at a later meeting.
The board will also get an update on its effort to update the city’s Parks and Trails Master Plan, completed in 2021. According to meeting materials, the City Council added a feasibility study of Philomath City Park, Marys River Park and Natural Area and Skirvin Park to its strategic plan, though it was not named a priority for the 2026-27 fiscal year. City staff sees a state parks planning grant as a potential funding source and plans to return to the council in early spring.
A history and timeline of the skate park replacement project also remains on the agenda.