Update on Meetings with City Leaders
- Derrith Schmidt
- May 23
- 7 min read
This past week we have had several meetings with City leaders, including Interim City Manager and LO resident Lynn Peterson
Meeting with Lake Oswego Fire Department
On Wednesday, Jim Perris (VP of Old Town Neighborhood Association) and I met with three people from the LO Fire Department: Kris Artman, JT, and Fire Marshal Matt Amos.
Jim shared an excellent video and photo summary showing what our neighborhood looks like on hot summer days, specifically highlighting the “pinch point” on Furnace between Wilbur and Ladd.
They reassured us they could still “get through,” but acknowledged that the situation is extremely tight at that one section of Furnace. We asked for their support in encouraging Will Farley to move more quickly on the no parking signage, and they confirmed that a work order has already been submitted.
The entire fire department is so appreciative of all the efforts to get the bond passed for the new fire station. Thanks Lake Oswego voters and our Old Town Neighbors!
Meeting with Interim City Manager Lynn Peterson
Thursday afternoon, Jim joined me for my 30-minute meeting with interim City Manager Lynn Peterson. I shared the handout I prepared and briefly walked through it with her.
Our Goals for the Meeting
In 30 minutes, our goals were to:
Thank City staff who have been collaborative and effective
Share our expectations regarding collaboration with City teams
Explain the impacts of park overuse and overflow parking
Present our concerns and requests
Build rapport with Lynn
The Problems We’re Facing in Old Town
George Rogers Park Is Over Capacity During the Summer
During peak summer months, George Rogers Park exceeds its practical capacity, and the Old Town neighborhood has effectively become the overflow parking lot.
This creates significant impacts on:
Neighborhood livability
Resident quality of life
Emergency access
Safety for pedestrians and cyclists
Traffic safety
Parking access for residents
Noise, congestion, and illegal parking
The CSO officers know the chaos. The Fire Department knows this. The Rangers and Parks & Recreation maintenance teams know the park is overused. However, many other City teams are not present during nights and weekends in summer months when the impacts are at their worst.
At our meeting with Lynn, Jim Perris showed videos and photos, and we think they had an impact. Lynn lives in First Addition and walks over here, but she did not seem fully aware of how overcrowded and overwhelmed the neighborhood has become during the summer.
I used the phrase: “The neighborhood feels abused by how we are treated by the City compared to the support provided for other large events.”
Her response was, "Well, it’s a popular regional park where a lot of people come to get to the water…” I countered that Lake Corp received much more City support when the lake became public. And that traffic and parking is proactively and well managed for the Arts Festival, concerts at other parks and for City events.
Requests from Old Town Neighborhood We Discussed with Lynn Peterson, Interim City Manager
1. Installing the Furnace Street No Parking Signs Quickly
We asked her to help move the Furnace no parking signs forward more quickly before summer intensifies, ideally in May. She said she would check on it.
Jim Perris has written a blog post about the City agreeing to add no parking signs on both sides of Furnace between Ladd and Wilbur. There is a work order in the system.
2. Alder Creek Rentals at George Rogers Park
We asked why Parks & Recreation approved Alder Creek rentals again this year despite the park already being over capacity.
Lynn’s perspective was that George Rogers Park is the best location for public water access and that other parks like Roehr and Foothills are less suitable.
We would like Parks & Rec to:
Improve water access at other parks
Reduce or cancel the Alder Creek contract this summer when there will be so much construction work being done on the new river pathway and associated vehicles and equipment for that work
Address the parking imbalance created by additional users
We agree that the rentals improve the park experience overall. They also negatively impact parking and livability on the neighborhood. We expect Parks & Rec to be "good neighbors" to those of us living in Old Town. George Rogers Park was never intended to be a "destination park". It was designed to be a city park with a playground, ball fields, picnic areas and pathways.
3. Limiting Picnic Shelter Rentals on Busy Weekends
We asked about limiting rentals of the picnic shelter off Furnace on Fridays through Sundays during peak summer use. Parks & Rec has never clearly explained why these rentals needed to continue despite neighborhood impacts. Also, there is a lovely and large picnic shelter and plenty of parking at Foothills Park. Parks & Rec can also proactively promote other parks with more parking availability to divert people coming to "overused" George Rogers Park without enough parking.
4. Responsiveness and Accountability
We emphasized that we expect City teams to:
Be responsive
Explain what can and cannot be done
Share the reasoning behind decisions
Follow through on commitments
She seemed to agree that these were reasonable expectations.
5. Summer Traffic Management Plan
We asked whether the City could create a summer traffic management plan similar to what is done for the Arts Festival.
Her response: “That is very expensive and covered by the Arts Festival and not something we could do for this situation.”
We will continue to advocate for a summer traffic management plan to the Mayor and City Councilors.
6. Temporary No Parking Measures
We asked whether Police Community Service Officers or Parks & Recreation could use temporary no parking signs similar to those used during outdoor concerts and for City events. She didn't seem to be aware about these temporary signs that the City uses.
Here's what they look like:
Lynn told us “Sandwich boards are not allowed in Lake Oswego."
Yet LOPD and Parks & Rec use these signs often at and around George Rogers Park. The signs below were placed temporarily in front of parking for the picnic shelter.
More photos of temporary signs Parks & Rec uses for the Farmers market. Similar signs could be available for the Police/CSO Officers and neighbors to put out around George Rogers Park on busy days/evenings. This isn't expensive!
Lynn also told us that residents putting out cones are also not allowed.
Yet, we see them around town all over the place...
7. Education and Park Culture
Lynn was supportive of Parks & Recreation using social media and communication channels to educate visitors. She said: “There are lots of channels we can use to tell people how to park and behave. We need to create a culture at the park and how it’s treated.”
She also suggested adding more garbage cans on the beach to improve trash management.
Suggestion from a neighbor after hearing this: "It seems at least the City could say that through social media and other communication avenues they will have statements such as: it is very difficult to park at GRP on nice summer days. We would suggest that you launch your kayak or SUP from Roehr Park where there are ramps to the Willamette and the parking spaces are generally close by. We also suggest that you reserve the picnic shelters at alternative locations such as Foothills Park, the Iron Mountain Park… etc. where the parking is generally more abundant and convenient for your guests."
We also shared Thank Yous with Lynn
from our Neighborhood about City Staff
We recognized and thanked many City staff members who have been responsive, collaborative, and deeply committed to serving the community.
Lake Oswego Police & Community Service Officers
Thank you to Sgt. Hall, Corey, and Drew for the work they did during the summer of 2025 to help “control/ticket the chaos” associated with heavy summer park usage and neighborhood impacts. And for Sgt Hall reaching out proactively to meet with us about summer 2026.
Fire Department
We appreciate our responsive and customer-focused Fire Department team, especially Kris Artman and JT. We also recently met Fire Marshal Matt Amos.
In August 2025, on a very busy summer Sunday, the Fire Department — with JT driving — came through the neighborhood to demonstrate that emergency vehicles could still access residents and George Rogers Park despite severe parking congestion.
This drive through helped illustrate the seriousness of the “pinch point” on Furnace Street between Wilbur and Ladd. We met with Kris, JT and Matt this week about this. We continue to request that Traffic/Engineering address this issue with permanent no parking signage.
Parks & Recreation / Park Maintenance
Thank you to:
Josh and Rick for keeping George Rogers Park clean and maintained despite extremely heavy seasonal use and beach crowds
Park Ranger Ben for being the best person to work with
Kyra Haggart for being such a collaborative Parks & Recreation project manager on the new picnic structure and river pathway projects
Tony for resurfacing the tennis courts in May 2026
Lance and the Parks & Recreation team for creating so much community fun through summer concerts, the 4th of July parade, and celebrations
The LORAC team — a favorite community gathering place for many residents
Traffic / Engineering
Thank you to Will Farley for the changes implemented after the August 8, 2025 neighborhood walk-through that City Councilor Ali Afghan also joined us for.
As a result of neighborhood feedback:
Additional no parking signs were added to improve visibility and safety at intersections to protect the corners with no parking signs
No parking signage was added on Furnace Street between Wilbur and Church to improve alley access for residents
Will met with the neighborhood again on May 6, 2026 along with other city leaders
A work order has now been submitted for one of the neighborhood’s highest-priority requests that was originally raised over a year ago
Parks & Recreation Leadership
We appreciate Jeff Monroe, the new Parks & Recreation Director, for collaborating with the neighborhood and look forward to his leadership and collaboration.
Arts Festival / City Team Coordination
Thank you to the City staff coordinating with the Arts Festival team on traffic management and neighborhood impacts. This effort is a “best practice”.
And we shared with Lynn the Big Picture
We’re on the same team. We all want:
A safe neighborhood for residents
George Rogers Park to remain a Lake Oswego “gem”
Livability and quality of life for Old Town residents
Onward!
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