Lake Oswego hopes grant will help fund completion of Rassekh Park

Unable to complete the project in one fell swoop due to rising costs, the city of Lake Oswego continues to try to find ways to fund the second portion of the new Rassekh Park along Stafford Road.

At the Lake Oswego City Council meeting Tuesday, March 5, the council authorized city staff to apply for a grant seeking $750,000 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Local Government Grant Program.

The first phase of the park project included the ongoing buildout of the skate park as well as infrastructure improvements. Phase two will consist of a playground, picnic shelter, walking path connections and a maintenance building. If the city receives the grant, it would use unallocated parks system development charges and money from the parks general fund to pay for the remaining $1 million for phase 2.

A city staff report that the nearby Palisades neighborhood is one of areas with the most children per household in the city, but that there is a lack of nearby play areas.

“By moving forward with development of the play area at Rassekh Park, the City would be helping to fill this gap in access for Lake Oswego’s largest neighborhood,” the staff report reads.

Escalated costs for both the Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatic Center and Rassekh Park dried up money from the 2019 parks and recreation bond and the city opted to complete the park project in two phases due to the funding shortfall.