The future of the City-owned 35-acre Durkee property is unclear after the City Council, last week, expressed disinterest in developing a nature trail park there.
Neighbors and family of the land’s donors were surprised to hear the council’s decision after two advisory boards voted to recommend trails be developed on the property earlier this month after pushback on a sports complex proposal.
For the City’s parks master plan, the council will decide how multiple park properties, including Durkee, will be developed. The Durkee property was deeded to Clark County to be developed into a trail park by Dorothy and Virginia Durkee in 1997 and later gifted to Battle Ground.
At an open house on May 8, a dozen attendants spoke against a proposed plan to turn the land into a sports field complex. Many of the residents stated the proposal goes against the wishes of the donors who have since passed. The Parks and Community Engagement board and Planning Commission changed their recommendations to develop trails, in line with the donor’s wishes.
Both advisory boards proposed replacing Fairgrounds Park’s five ballfields, used by the Little League, for trail and arboretum space. Development would not commence until a new ballfield location is found under this proposal. None of the undeveloped park properties currently being considered have the required space to develop sports fields, apart from Durkee. The two advisory boards voted to recommend city consultants find alternate spaces for future ballfields than the Durkee property.
At the May 20 City Council meeting Mayor Troy McCoy added a discussion regarding the Durkee property to the agenda. In line with the advisory board’s recommendations, the City Council directed staff to search for alternate lands to purchase for future sports fields. However, McCoy expressed disinterest in developing a trail park outside city limits.
“I’m not really interested in spending city dollars on a county park out there. I don’t find that a use of city funds,” McCoy said. “I get the concept, and I agree that it would be beautiful out there, but I would be more in favor of seeing if another agency or County would be willing to do this. It’s outside of city limits, and that would be my personal preference.”
City Council members agreed. Councilor Adrian Cortes said he would not support spending city tax money on a park outside city limits without sports fields.
“If this site location is not gonna work for a sports field for whatever reason, it’d be my opinion that we see how we can liquidate this property or have another agency take possession of it,” Cortes said. “It’s going to do little value to the city at that point.”
Councilor Cherish DesRochers said, while she wanted to find new land to develop a sports complex, she did not want to give up on developing a nature path on Durkee.
Susan Tripp, a distant relative of the original owners, was surprised to hear the City Council’s disinterest. Tripp said the city’s 2022 comprehensive parks, recreation and open space plan indicated a large number of residents supported trail parks, as surveys showed that over 90% of people polled expressed interest in trails for walking and jogging.
“[To] have the council not be interested in pursuing that to the next step was just discouraging and surprising to me,” Tripp said. “... One mile outside of town is really nothing. I mean, it’s actually so very, very accessible, and I think it would only be used by Battle Ground residents, which has a lot of advantages.”
Although McCoy allowed time for public comment, residents who live near the Durkee property were not alerted of the City Council’s discussion. Tripp believes the council should hold a study session to discuss the Durkee property further.
“That doesn’t give the residents an opportunity to comment directly to the council, and I think that’s an important step,” Tripp said. “The residents are eager to make their comments directly to the council to make sure that those comments don’t get lost.”
Since Battle Ground acquired the property in 2012, Tripp and neighbors have discussed potential partnerships with entities, including the Washington Trails Association, to assist in trail development and maintenance. Kathleen Doherty-Falk, a neighbor of the Durkee Property, told The Reflector volunteers are willing to upkeep the area and said the City Council should consider planning a trail park there.
“We’re all in to do what we can if decides to establish a park, including maintenance, event scheduling and community engagement,” Doherty-Falk said.
Tripp said she looks forward to discussing the property further with the council at a future meeting. After the meeting, McCoy said, if a sports field in Durkee cannot be developed, the city should find another entity to develop a trail park.
“If we can do some sort of with the state, maybe it’d be a win-win for everybody. The neighbors can get a nature park if the state or county could manage that … so there may be some potential for partnerships. But no, it’s too early to say if anybody would take that,” McCoy said.
McCoy noted that the City Council cannot and will not sell the land to a developer. If the City cannot find a use for the land, it will go into default and be given back to the family of its original owners. A final decision by the council regarding the property has yet to be made.
