Fish to join Friends of Lents Park at Thursday rally; projects decoupled?

Friends of Lents Park
Contact: Nick Christensen MojaveNC@comcast.net June 18, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. — City Commissioner Nick Fish will join opponents of a plan to build a professional baseball stadium in Lents Park at a rally Thursday night.

The rally will be at 5 p.m. June 18 at the MOUNT SCOTT COMMUNITY CENTER, 5530 SE 72nd Avenue.

"Commissioner Fish recognizes that this project is a bad deal for Lents residents and Portlanders who care about their parks," said Friends of Lents Park organizer Kathleen Juergens de Ponce. "We hope our testimony tonight will convince the rest of the city council that this is a bad idea."
Friends of Lents Park has been invited to give 10 minutes of testimony at the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Advisory Committee meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Mt. Scott Community Center. Several FLP members are planning on signing up to speak during the hearing's one hour public comment period.
FLP has heard through various sources that city officials have decided to "decouple" the MLS and Beavers stadium decisions, meaning the city can proceed with bringing MLS to the city while having a more comprehensive discussion about where to put the Beavers if they have to leave PGE Park. Once we have confirmed this to be the case, FLP will release a statement.
A transcript of FLP's testimony tonight will be available electronically. E-mail Nick Christensen at MojaveNC@comcast.net for information.

Friends of Lents Park
This grassroots group of Lents area residents seeks to preserve, maintain and enhance Lents Park as Open Space in its entirety, for the enjoyment of future generations. It supports the neighborhood and surrounding community in all uses of the park that are consistent with this mission.

Lents Park
The park is a 38-acre green space in the heart of Lents. It features walking paths, playgrounds, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, basketball courts and a community garden — all of which are teeming with activity most days of the week. It also has hundreds of old trees, many of which would be cut down for construction of a stadium.