County officials: No plans to close Weld Memorial Park

STILLMAN VALLEY — There are no plans to close Weld Memorial Park, county officials say.

“Everybody’s goal is to keep it open,” Ogle County Board member Zach Oltmanns said.

It’s the maintenance they need help with, and the cost dedicated to that — about $6,400 annually — is sparking discussion, said Oltmanns, who is a member of the County Facilities, County Security and IT Committee.

“I think, in a perfect world, the outcome is some intergovernmental agreements, but maybe a volunteer group that’s organized as well that can help us out out there,” he said. “The Boy Scouts are great; they do a lot of Eagle Scout projects out there.”

Some of the committee members are looking into the possibility of forming an intergovernmental agreement with Marion Township, Stillman Valley or possibly another municipality who could help with maintenance, said Ben Youman, who is a County Board and committee member.

The 10-acre park is located on Weld Park Road, about 5 miles south of Byron, 5 miles west of Stillman Valley, and 12 miles northeast of Oregon.

If an intergovernmental agreement is put in place, where the money to cover maintenance costs would come from would be one of the things negotiated, he said.

“I mean, that’s out there, right? There may be some people on the board saying, ‘Why are we doing that?’” Youman noted. “Most counties don’t normally have a park.”

If a county does have a park or parks, typically that county also has a park district, Oltmanns said. But park districts are taxing bodies, and “the appetite’s not really there” for that, he said.

There are a lot of volunteers who do wonderful things for Weld Memorial Park, Youman said.

“The question is, is the county normally in the business of maintaining parks?” Youman said. “I’m not shy to say this: people expect that they don’t want to pay taxes, then they say, ‘Well I need this, and I want this updated,’ and there’s not necessarily money for that.”

A petition on Change.org titled “Keep Weld Memorial Park Open” had gathered 569 signatures by Oct. 24. Brian Pearce is listed as the creator of the petition.

The park includes hiking trails, recreation areas, parking, and restrooms. It was donated to the county in 1928 after the death of Henry Weld.