On the eastside of Government Camp, right next to Summit Ski Area, is a rest
area, offering public bathrooms for visitors, but also in need of upgrades. That
possibility could become a reality sometime in the future, thanks to efforts by
Oregon Solutions (OS), a program created by Oregon’s Sustainability Act in
2001 that fosters collaborative governance through partnerships with various
organizations, and numerous area agencies and stakeholders.

Manuel Padilla, a project manager for Oregon Solutions, will take part in the
Government Camp Community Planning Organization’s (CPO) meeting on
Friday, Feb. 11 to provide an update on where things stand. The meeting will
be held via Zoom.

“The community really is appreciative of Oregon Solutions having one of its
main goals to engage with the local community,” said Nick Rinard, president
of the CPO. “That’s really what the community is asking for.”

The project started in 2020, when OS conducted a series of interviews and
found various stakeholders, including the U.S. Forest Service, Clackamas
County and more, expressed interest in improving transit to the Mountain and
the rest area.

“We’ve found strong agreement and alignment that status quo is not workable
going forward — that the needs and current uses of the rest area have
outgrown what that facility was designed for initially — but we’ve also agreed
that figuring out how to move forward, where the rest area function might
best be located, and how that work would be funded is going to take some
careful study and planning, and the goodwill of all the players and partners,”
noted Doug Decker, a project manager, in an email to The Mountain Times.
Decker explained that the first step was to identify Phase 1-type work that
would be necessary to explore the feasibility of a move, potential locations
and functions for the rest area, and they submitted a Federal Land Access
Program (FLAP) proposal in the fall of 2021 to fund feasibility and concept
study work. Word on the grant funding is expected sometime this spring.
“We’ve also been working to clarify and outline the roles and responsibilities of
the various agencies and partners and to identify the commitments each are
able to make to the project,” Decker continued, noting that the current rest
area was previously operated by the Oregon Department of Transportation
until 2012, while the facility is on USFS land and is operated by a permit.
In an assessment report released by OS in January 2021, they noted that
none of the various organizations linked to the current rest area see
themselves in a lead role for a possible project.

“The community of Government Camp and the local businesses rely on the
restrooms at the rest area, so any change needs to be carefully thought out
and timed with some type of pedestrian restroom that can serve the
Government Camp area,” Decker added.

The assessment report listed a few possible project elements, including
moving the rest area and redeveloping the site of the current area,
development of public restrooms in Government Camp, creating a pair of rest
areas further east from Government Camp and creating a transit hub or
exchange, perhaps including a mass parking facility in the Rhododendron
area.

Decker noted that after a determination on Phase 1 funding is made, early
feasibility and planning work could begin in 12 to 18 months.

“Everyone on the team is interested in moving forward as quickly as possible
with this work, and also recognizes the many unknowns that remain ahead,
including funding, potential relocation sites and important questions about
roles and responsibilities in managing the overall project,” he wrote. “The
team is hard at work on these.”

Decker added that the project is “clearly going to be several years,” and that
the Oregon Travel Information Council will continue to operate and maintain
the existing rest area.

“This seems like a project that has a good chance of succeeding, whatever
form it may take,” Rinard said. “This is a huge opportunity for Government
Camp.”

For more information about Oregon Solutions and the Government Camp rest
area redevelopment, visit https://orsolutions.org/.