August 25, 2023 3:50 a.m. 

Covering coastal Douglas County:

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice and Parks Director Mark Wall recently hosted an on-site inspection and tour of the county’s grant-assisted projects in Winchester Bay.

A County release said in attendance were staff from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and several other county, state and federal agencies.

Boice said, “What the group saw on the tour was a culmination of the vision of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, a key partnership with the State who assists us in funding our projects, the vital feedback from the advisory committees, the execution of the vision by our Parks Director Mark Wall, and our hard-working team of Parks Department staff who are on the ground day in and day out making our facilities destination-worthy”.

The release said the tour was an opportunity for the county to showcase several coastal assets and allow OPRD and stakeholders to inspect a selection of projects that have been supported in-part by OPRD grant dollars. The tour featured the Dan Van Slyke OHV Staging Area, DCSO’s ATV Shed, the County Parks Coastal Maintenance Shop, Half Moon Bay Campground and the newly developed Umpqua Dunes RV Park and a commercial building that is leased by Fritz Bailey.

The county has received more than $8.6 million in OPRD grants to help fund ongoing improvement projects among the county’s coastal assets since 2006. The grants were matched with county funds and have been utilized for land acquisition and development, planning, equipment purchases, overall parks operations and maintenance, as well as law enforcement. In addition to the facilities on the tour, there are several other grant-assisted projects in the Winchester Bay area.

Information about the county Parks Department is available at: https://douglascountyor.gov/802/Parks

Commissioner Chris Boice will talk more about the tour and the projects on Inside Douglas County next Wednesday on News Radio 93-9 FM and 1240 KQEN.