The Coos Bay-North Bend Rotary Club will host a second community meeting in September by hosting a “picnic in the park” to show park revitalization concepts for the first time since signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Coos County Airport District. The meeting seeking additional input for the final design is open to all members of the public and will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday, September 5, 2024.
The Rotary Club is developing a master plan for what is currently known as Airport Heights Park. While the plan was being developed, Rotary painted playground equipment and the district fixed the swings. The North Bend Independent Youth Baseball Program maintained and upgraded baseball fields. CCAD maintenance crews added playground equipment, cleaned trails, and removed trees. They also added paint details and installed pet waste stations.
Rotary hired Groundworkshop as the consultant to develop the master plan for the park. They held a meeting in May and invited community members to provide input on what they’d like to see in the park and share stories and other connections to the park. Following several meetings, the consultant will unveil options to the public on September 5, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Airport Heights Park. In addition, Northwest Natural and Rotary will provide free hotdog or hamburger meals to those in attendance.
The park has been a part of the Airport Heights Neighborhood since being developed by the City of North Bend. Before then the property was part of a military base established during World War II. It was part of the government’s development of airports all over the country. Following the war, the 619 acres were deeded to the city that operated a municipal airport before voters established a special airport district in 2002. The 13-acre park sits on the boundary line of the property currently owned by the Coos County Airport District. CCAD established a memorandum of understanding with the Rotary Club to revitalize the park in May of 2023. It currently includes a playground, two baseball fields, a basketball court, tennis court and sand volleyball court.
For more information on the park project visit the Coos Bay-North Bend Rotary Facebook Page or www.coosbaynorthbendrotary.com.
About the author