Clackamas County Commissioners will take comments regarding the proposed
Hoodland Park District at the Thursday, Jan. 6 business meeting.

The meeting will be both in-person and virtual and will begin at 10 a.m.
The proposed district, which will be decided on by voters in the May election,
would encompass approximately 20,000 acres, including the communities of
Sleepy Hollow, Brightwood, Wemme, Welches, Zigzag, Rhododendron,
Government Camp and Wapinitia, and feature a board of directors that will be
elected on the same ballot.

Regina Lythgoe, one of the district’s organizers, hopes that the board can
feature members from throughout the district, if formed.

“It would be nice to have representation from all of our communities,” she
said.

If formed, the district would receive three parcels of land on Salmon River
Road from Clackamas County and would develop the Dorman Center site as a
community park.

Possible amenities could include a pavilion, playground, walking trails,
extended community garden, bike pump track, skate park, dog park, space
for farmers market, restrooms and onsite security.

The district would be funded by a local property tax, proposed to be at
approximately 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed value (resulting in
approximately $200 per year on a house with an assessed value of
$300,000).

Some community members in the Government Camp area expressed
reservations about the district, with a survey by the Government Camp
Community Planning Organization revealing 84 percent of respondents
opposing its formation.

A report suggested that the district exclude the communities of Government
Camp, Summit Meadows and Wapinitia.

Kimberly Dinwiddie, Clackamas County Public Information Officer and Policy
Liaison, told The Mountain Times that the commissioners could modify the
petition that succeeded in obtaining enough signatures to put the district on
the May ballot.

Lythgoe noted that the district’s current boundaries are based on the
boundaries for the Welches Schools and that the district’s improvements
would help everyone.

“It benefits both sides,” she said. “It’s considered the Mountain.”
Lythgoe added that the district’s organizers are expected to meet with a
campaign coordinator in January to map out a timeline to help in the run up to
the election.

If the district fails to form, the parcels of land on Salmon River Road will be
sold by Clackamas County.