Workers were on a scaffold at the new Monteith Riverpark stage on Thursday afternoon.
Here’s your chance to spend some money and get your name on pieces of Albany’s Monteith Riverfront Park.
Working through the Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation, the city is getting ready to launch a program of selling naming rights to the new stage and other elements of the park, being rebuilt as part of the city’s $21 million Waterfront Project.
Parks and Recreation Director Kim Lyddane told the city council about the coming “legacy giving and naming opportunities” on Wednesday night.
Council members seemed enthusiastically in favor of the plan. (Watch the meeting on YouTube if you want. Lyddane’s presentation starts at 1:16.)
“I’m happy you’re doing this,” Mayor Alex Johnson II told Lyddane. He offered to write a check, too.
The chances to spend range from modest to lavish.
In a piece of artwork to be installed on the outside of the newly remodeled restroom building, people can get recognition for contributions ranging from $150 to $3,000.
There will be several new “legacy benches” in the park, and for $5,000 you can sponsor one of them.
You may have heard of the new children’s play area including a summertime splash pad. You can have your or your company’s name attached to it for $15,000 a year. It’s a five-year commitment, so it will cost you $75,000.
The grand prize in the legacy league, though, will be the new concert stage. To get one’s name and/or logo on the stage will cost $250,000, or $50,000 a year for a minimum of five years.
I heard about this when I watched the YouTube recording of Wednesday’s council meeting. Then I stopped by Monteith Riverpark on Thursday’s bike ride to see how the reconstruction was coming along.
Work is continuing on the stage. The remodeling of the restroom has yet to begin as the city is still seeking bids for that part of the project.
Concrete walkways look like they’re done, but work on the river viewing piers has not resumed since it stopped last summer.
Now that 2024 has begun, the pressure will build to get the park ready well before the first summertime concert on July 4. Whether the stage will have a name by then, we’ll just have to wait to find out. (hh)
This concrete hump will become part of the playground in Monteith Park.
I could be wrong… but was there another park in Albany that had a Splash Pad (I believe it was off the side street where the Shakey’s Pizza / Bar / Book Store… ect. is on Pacific Blvd.).. many, many, many years ago ? just curious. Don’t know the name of the park.
The small splash pad was at the park behind the American Legion. I can’t think of the name. A small splash pad was also at Takena Park in South Albany. There was discussion as to whether to remove it or not….I don’t know if they did or if they upgraded it. The Council/City/CARA (all one and the same) are desperate to get more people to visit the Monteith Park area, in hopes those people will also visit another of their big boondoggles, The Carousel Building.
In the process of all this craziness, the City has ruined the Senior Center. They renamed it a Community Center in order to get a federal money during the pandemic, and now it is a ghost-town with a few exercise classes, for which they raised the fees exorbitantly. Some classes went up by almost 50% a term!! A group of ladies who had returned to the Sr. (Community) Center to play cards at least once a week left and found an all-purpose area at Brookdale Sr. Living where they meet. They could not walk the long distance from the back parking lot to the back entrance of Sr./Community Center (the only entrance until Monteith Park is finished)
Takena park is in West Albany across from Takena elementary school on 12th and Lawnridge. Little splash pool/pad was taken a long time ago.
Why was the Splash/Pool taken out at Takena Park? Probably there was no money to maintain it and no interest in it by the kiddies. So, it slipped into being neglected and dangerous! Just speculating that that is what happened.
Around 2008/09 the State declared that wading pools without a circulation,
filtration and disinfection system had to close. It was decided that the cost to repair and upgrade the Takena Park splash pad was too much.
I agree 100% jacking up costs like this is Beverly hills.
And. Their advertising is non existent. If you aren’t a go online person you may as well give up.
The Councilers need to pull their head out of their @@@’s. Where is this extra money going to as CARA has already paid for the improvements… Are the Councilors so on board with this that they did not ask where the money will go ? Just curious with their intellect on before saying yes.. they should have many questions before agreeing… I feel so SORRY for the Citizens of Albany and glad I am outside the City Limits..
Look up “Albany Parks and Rec Foundation” on web for more info…
It looks like the donation goes to the Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation. I didn’t see anything about it being tax deductible…
Right on front page:
“APRF is a private non-profit corporation registered in the State of Oregon and operates as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.”
Sad to hear that our city council quickly embraced this idea of giving special attention to certain folks and companies when our tax dollars went toward this. Is this even legal to do? To sell naming rights on public property?
This park has cost all of us. Shall we build a wall in the park with all the names of people in the city of Albany who really funded this whole thing with our tax dollars?
There was money to do all this and now we have to see advertisements everywhere we turn…. even at parks. What ever happened to giving to a project without having to tell the world how good you are.
Thank you for your thoughts. I agree about advertising except when a concert has been “sponsored” by companies. Their names in the past were removed at the next concert.
I suppose there is one thing worse than a corporation or private individual paying thousands of dollars to put their brand on a public property.
That would be a local politician investing only political capital to have an asset named for themself.
Ugh….I cringe thinking about the possibility of a Kopczynski splash pad.
Any different than a Novak pad?
Hi Anonymouse!
Zero “political capital” needed to support a wonderful asset to the community — just pungle up your $$ and you too can join in. It would look great on/as the Shadle Restroom.”
Every time I think of bull$/!t I think of the old, cantankerous, regular commenters on this blog anyway, so the Anonymouse Restroom Featuring Cap B Toilets is a natural fit.
Your mental capacity is in the toilet, Matthew, and so is Hasso’s for okaying your post and printing it, when Hasso every so often self-righteously asks people to be decent with their comments. Hope you soon step in something that missed its mark, which was the depths of a latrine.
I think we’d all love an expose a on why our roads look like they do yet wrong are building this. Also I know the whole town’s Angry because they’re selling the very few parking spots. They have downtown instead of building a parking structure to support this new concert venue.. The whole thing is being done so stupid. We’re putting out money for statues but we don’t have any place to park. Even if we do have places to park which we don’t, we have potholes all the way to the venue. Just look on Albany, happenings, every other post is something about the potholes. Something has to be done.
Your street “expose” has been on the city website for several years. Go to albanyonegon dot gov / streets… It’s all there.
Sorry, this is ridiculous. What is with this city council?
It is not uncommon for a Foundation to raise funds by purchasing bricks, plaques, or benches of their business or loved ones names. Regardless, see you at the concerts!
The system for contributing doesn’t seem to be up and running. All I find is donate. With $4,000 for a ten year commitment for a new bench which in my world make the bench $40,000. Better word these items better and have a clear method for supporting these items.
Ah geez, just reading these comments gives me goose bumps. Too many super stressed, agitated & defensive people jumbling letters into nearly incoherent statements is just DEPRESSING. We all have had an enormously rough 4 years and it is taking it toll. But I will keep reading, because I care about how we are all handling these community issues. A neighbor.