Parks Sponsorships, continued

The latest draft of the Portland Parks & Recreation (PPR) proposed Sponsorship policy contains a couple of sticky wickets (English colloquialism included for those who enjoy that sort of thing). One is the level of sponsorship that triggers the need for Council review and approval. It was set at $500,000; went down to $100,000 in response to citizen comments; is now back to $500,000 per orders from Commissioner-in-charge Dan Saltzman. Reportedly, he wants the number consistent with other sections of City Code. But in reviewing Chapter 5 of said code, I find lots of different numbers pertaining to contracts in various sections, setting thresholds ranging from $5,000 to $500,000. $150,000 seems a popular number, from skimming the chapter. How about $150,000 as the threshold for Council review of Sponsorships, Council members? Or do I hear any advance or retreat from $100,000 or $500,000 or any other number bandied about so far?

The other major unresolved issue in my view is whether/where to allow logos as part of permanent signs in parks. The latest draft says they can be on temporary signs and “interpretive signs”, and is silent on whether they can be on “permanent signs”. An “interpretive sign” is defined in the draft policy as, “Interpretive Sign – a sign within a park that interprets natural, historic, and/or cultural features.” There is no definition of “Permanent sign” in the policy. Am I missing something, or does the definition of “interpretive sign” sound like a permanent sign to you, too? Do we want corporate logos on permanent interpretive signs in parks? I don’t. Please call or e-mail your comments to the Council, and/or testify at the hearing tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.