Waldport Gets A New Park

Waldport is getting a new public park along the Alsea River, after the city council voted to accept a donated former fuel station site and name it Earthlight Park. The 1.35‑acre property sits along Highway 34 on the Alsea River and comes with one crucial feature: existing dock rights. City Manager Dann Cutter told councilors that opens the door for the city to seek grants to build a public fishing dock at a spot where residents can walk down and fish during salmon season.

“There are very few opportunities for citizens to be able to walk up, sit on a dock, and fish during salmon fishing,” Cutter said, contrasting the new site with the Port of Alsea’s dock, which he described as “not the greatest spot to go salmon fishing.”

The land was donated by local business owner Mr. Snyder, whose company, Earthlight, specializes in solar installations. Cutter said Snyder had tried for years to develop the site but was blocked by its environmental history and ultimately decided to give it to the city for a park. Snyder requested, but did not legally require, that the new park be named Earthlight Park.

Environmental history and limits

The property once housed underground fuel tanks and a fueling station. In 1995, a significant leak in one of the pipes triggered a state-mandated shutdown. Records from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality show the tanks and surrounding soil were removed, and follow‑up testing in 2007 indicated remaining contamination is buried deeper than three feet.

Cutter told the council that because of that history, the site is “still not an eligible site for residential construction,” a key reason the donor could not make a conventional development pencil out. As a park, however, the city can work around the limitations by avoiding deep digging and focusing on surface amenities like paths and a dock.

Council debates naming and future

Resolution 1338, “adopting the name Earthlight Park for the donated property along Alsea River and Highway 34,” came with questions about how permanent that name would be.

Councilor Rick Booth asked whether a future council could be pressured to rename the park for another donor.

“A council cannot bind a future council,” Cutter said, explaining that while the intent is that the name be long‑term, a later council could legally change it. He added that he had explained this in writing to Snyder and that naming was a request, not a condition of the gift.

One councilor voted no on the naming resolution; the rest supported it, and the motion carried.

Next steps

With the resolution approved, the city’s immediate work includes:

– Finalizing legal transfer and park dedication; Cutter confirmed that once the council votes to name it as a park, “the MIP goes away” and the land is formally dedicated as parkland. – Developing conceptual plans for a dock and modest day‑use amenities that avoid disturbing deeper soils. – Pursuing grant funding specifically for the dock, which Cutter said he hopes to position as a new, easily accessible public fishing access point on the Alsea.

The council did not set a construction timeline, and no detailed design has been published yet. For now, the city has secured a rare stretch of riverfront for long‑term public use, with the promise of a future dock that could give residents and visitors a new place to sit over the Alsea and fish.