Oppenlander Fields, a 10-acre parcel on Rosemont Road in West Linn, are currently the subject of a legal battle between the city of West Linn and West Linn-Wilsonville School District.
Oppenlander Fields, a 10-acre parcel on Rosemont Road in West Linn, are currently the subject of a legal battle between the city of West Linn and West Linn-Wilsonville School District.
Ballots that had been counted as of Sunday, May 22 showed a West Linn bond measure to purchase and upgrade Oppenlander Fields passing by a margin of 60% to 40%. At that point, 3,824 votes had been counted.
Passage of the measure would give the city of West Linn $3.5 million in bond funds to purchase the 10-acre property — which is currently owned by the West Linn-Wilsonville School District — and implement a number of improvements to bring it up to city park standards.
Community members have used the land primarily for youth sports over the past 40 years, and protested after learning of the district's intent to sell it last spring.
The property is also the subject of an ongoing legal battle between the city and school district. The school district and city entered an agreement earlier this year for the sale of the property, but the district balked at an appraisal figure — $120,000 — that was far below the $6.5 million the district was hoping for. In February the district filed a challenge of the sale in court, but the city's bond vote proceeded. Clackamas County still has many ballots to count, in part due to a which means that county election officials will have to copy some ballots by hand.
