By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
WALDPORT — The city of Waldport has received a $100,000 grant from Travel Oregon to help pave the Heritage Pavilion in the new Louis Southworth Park it is developing downtown.
The state’s tourism promotion agency announced $3.6 million in grants Thursday to 56 recipients across Oregon to fund accessible and inclusive tourism projects. Fifteen grants totaling more than $1 million went to organizations on the coast.
“The generous grant funding provided by Travel Oregon is the key to the realization of the Southworth Pavilion at the entryway to the park,” Waldport city manager Dann Cutter said in a statement. “Creating an accessible and informational gathering location to draw visitors into the park is essential for providing an inclusive and inviting gateway to the Southworth Park experiences and pathways. We are grateful for the opportunity Travel Oregon has provided.”
The grant was the critical piece to getting some of the path and the pavilion with the Southworth statue and the information signs done, Cutter added.
The entry pavilion is an approximate 4,000 square foot concrete pad with the statue in the center with strategically placed boulders on the perimeter which will have information about other under-represented local groups.
Along with $50,000 from Oregon Coast Visitors Association and the help of local contractors, Cutter said the city should be able to plan an early spring installation of the core infrastructure to align with the other concrete work planned at the park. Completion is expected in the summer of 2024.
The Waldport city council voted earlier this month to spend $413,000 on a 100-by-100-foot playground structure that will be the centerpiece of the park bordered by Highway 34 and Crestline Drive. The city received a $750,000 grant from Oregon State Parks & Recreation in September 2022 and is spending $198,000 of its own money to develop the park on the former site of Waldport Middle/High School.
The park is named in honor of early black pioneer Louis Southworth, a former slave who purchased his own freedom, homesteaded near Waldport and who donated land for the area’s first school.
Other 2023 Travel Oregon grants on the Oregon Coast announced were:
- Yachats Chamber of Commerce received $100,000 for a wheelchair-friendly public trolley service in Yachats;
- Yaquina Pacific Railroad Historical Society in Toledo received $35,500 to replace and rebuild the main access ramp to its museum and improve wheelchair access to outdoor exhibits;
- Lincoln City received $100,000 for the design and construction of the first inclusive ADA playground in a new 6.71-acre park;
- Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport received $100,000 to replace the existing touch pool with a larger pool to make it easier for visitors to reach into the water safely and comfortably;
- Coos Bay-North Bend-Charleston VCB/Oregon’s Adventure Coast received $20,000 for a free wheelchair accessible shuttle service from the Charleston Marina to Shore Acres State Park during the annual holiday lights event;
- Coquille Indian Tribe received $42,500 to develop and install five interpretive panels at the Mill Casino and RV Park in Coos Bay;
- Oregon Scenic Railroad in Rockaway received $100,000 for parking with improved accessibility;
- Oregon Coast School of Art in Gardiner received $67,600 to make the gallery accessible, increase tourism and arts exposure in this area;
- Oregon Coast Visitors Association received $100,000 to produce videos highlighting sustainable tourism and accessibility;
- Port of Bandon received $100,000 to add accessible, paved parking and enhance the historic Old Town Bandon waterfront district;
- Rockaway Beach Chamber of Commerce received $93,854 to level uneven ground and create a well-lit accessible path to the visitor center caboose and depot and oceanfront;
- Tillamook Coast Visitors Association received $65,000 to contract with Wheel the World to survey the county’s recreational, lodging and attraction options;
- Travel Curry Coast received $20,000 for a study with Wheel the World aimed at accommodating people accessibility issues.
