WUFC Hires COGEO as Park Consultant

Willamette United FC has hired the consulting firm of COGEO to help with the SouthLake Park project. COGEO is a national firm that has helped execute the creation of numerous parks and facilities across the country. COGEO will help with the project construction strategy as well as the capital campaign.

The COGEO experts have simplified fundraising tactics used by the most successful tax-exempt organizations in the country so that small and medium-sized organizations can apply them to their ecosystems.

https://www.cogeo.us/methods

Willamette United FC secures all needed permits to begin construction.

After almost six years of navigating the county and state permit process, Willamette United has secured a conditional use permit for SouthLake Park. This means that the club may now begin working on a capital campaign to help raise the money needed to pay for the park’s construction.

Due to a mistake made by the county planning office, WUFC was required to go through the permit application and appeal process twice. This resulted in a process that took twice as long as it should have to secure the needed permit. The county’s oversight also resulted in greater costs to the organization. The club was victorious in all applications and appeals filed including several appeals to The Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).

The club looks forward to moving on from the permit process and working on steps that will positively impact the community.

2018 Update

WUFC Sports Park Update

The board and staff of Willamette United would like to update our membership concerning the proposed fields at SouthLake Park. It has been a long and expensive process as we work to create our proposed sports park. While the process is moving slowly, it is absolutely moving forward. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to open this desperately needed facility. 

Progress Report

In the last 18 months:

• We applied for a similar use decision for “sports fields” from Clackamas County. Before 2017 it was unclear if sports fields were considered an acceptable use for a conditional use permit. We asked for clarification about sports fields being an acceptable recreational use under parks within a conditional use permit application. This decision is NOT about any specific piece of land but for a county code clarification. Thanks to a positive decision, we can now apply for a conditional use permit to put sports fields in Clackamas County.

• We have done all of the studies, drawings and surveys needed to apply for a conditional use permit. This includes but is not limited to environmental, hydrological, traffic and soil testing. We also have a full set of 90 percent schematic design drawings for the entire park. This process took over 12 months and cost over $300,000. This work was paid for with the funds we raised from our four club auctions and profits from the Mt. Hood Challenge.

• We have identified the large pieces needed to pay for the $14.1 million park. The club will use a SNAP loan (a special loan for non-profit organizations), a large private investment, grants, existing revenue and new streams of revenue created by building the park. We will need to raise $1 million from donations and sponsorships in the coming months to complete the financing package.

• We have 17 verbal commitments from local youth sports organizations to rent field time at the park. These verbal commitments represent 65% of the available field time at the perk.

We are now waiting on one last task before we can apply for a conditional use permit. SouthLake Church and the National Foursquare denomination are working together to finalize an LLC which will own the land and lease it to Willamette United. Once we have the final land owner corporation in place we will apply for the CUP.

It takes approximately 90 days for a conditional use permit decision. If we get a positive decision we can break ground in 2019 and open the park in 2020.

As we move forward there are a number of steps we have to take before construction can begin. Many of these steps will be happening at the same time and this list is not in chronological order.

Next Steps:

• Once we get the land ownership structure from SouthLake Church and Foursquare we will apply for a conditional use permit from Clackamas County.

• Receive conditional use permit decision.

• Apply for the SNAP loan from our partner bank.

• Have our design firm complete all necessary drawings and plans in an effort to secure construction permits.

• Begin our capital campaign in an effort to raise the needed funds to complete the financing package.

• Close sponsorships

Traffic Plan

Last week several members of the SouthLake Park Project met with the Stafford Hamlet and the Lower Tualatin Valley Community Planning Organization. It is important to everyone involved with the park project that we get input from the community. We have met with local cities, the county, local youth sports groups and other organizations looking for input and to hear potential concerns.

The one item that keeps popping up is the concern about traffic. Our group is working with the county to make sure that we meet all requirements concerning traffic on Borland Road in front of the proposed park. WUFC has hired the services of Kittleson & Associates, which is one of the best if not the best traffic consultant in the state. We are studying the area and creating a plan that will meet county requirements and hopefully IMPROVE the traffic situation in and around the park. We will spend almost $50,000 on traffic planning alone. It is important to the park's success and the well being of our children that we make sure the traffic situation is set up for success.

We do not have all of the answers yet and we will not have them until our preliminary work with the county and all of the studies are complete. All we can do at this time is communicate that this concern is a priority for our group and we are spending the proper amount of time and money needed to make sure that our ultimate solution is one that serves the park and community.

Once we have the final plan in place we will make sure that everyone in the community knows what we will be doing concerning traffic near the park.

Building SouthLake Park - Working Through The Process

Make no mistake. Building SouthLake Park is a tremendous undertaking. If we are going to succeed in getting this facility built it will take the effort, hard work and expertise of everyone in our community. While the Board at Willamette United is optimistic about the project, we want to stress that this is far from a "done deal". We are working through a detailed process that will give us the best chance of success.

We are currently working with Clackamas County on the conditional use permit process. We have an experienced team of consultants helping us work with the team at Clackamas County in order to make sure we are approaching the park's creation in a way that is safe and respectful of the neighborhood, community and environment.

We are meeting with local groups like the Stafford Hamlet and the Stafford-Tualatin Valley CPO to get valuable input as we proceed. We are also asking local youth sports groups to give us their feedback and input as we finalize designs for the park. The park will be home to soccer, American football, lacrosse, basketball, baseball and softball. We want to stress that this park is NOT a soccer-only facility. All local youth sports organizations are welcome to be a part of this project and use the park when it is complete.

As we work through the conditional use permit process we are also working on financing, fund raising and sponsors. The park will cost between $10 and $12 million to complete so we have our work cut out for us. 

Make sure to check this blog regularly to get updates and to learn about ways you can help get SouthLake Park built!