The street sign says it’s 7th Avenue, but everyone says “7th Street,” which is probably why the place is called the “7th Street Complex.”

“Avenue” doesn’t sound right, anyway; too uptown, too fancy, maybe, for a hometown park. It’s a fancy place, though. It has Trafton Pond for fishing, a beautiful, if somber, memorial for veterans, four baseball diamonds, including the state gem that is Malone Field, two softball fields, a walking trail, green space for football and soccer games, with picnic areas and good spots to fly a kite or to throw down a blanket and take a nap under a tree.

The area is much better than the unused 25-acre field it was before 1990. That’s when the John Day/Canyon City Parks and Recreation District started.

The JDCC is a special taxing district, approved by voters to receive 74.84 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value within the taxing district. That figured out at $123,361 for the 2004 fiscal year. The JDCC earns additional revenue through RV park receipts, grants and donations. It also operates Gleason Pool, but expenses there keep that operation in the red.

The district receives no funding from the county. It gives the county 28 percent of the RV user-fees it collects at the RV park adjacent to the county fairgrounds to pay for the lease. The RV park is not part of the fairgrounds. The JDCC also gets money from the state through a percentage of RV license fees. It’s legally required to have an annual audit conducted by an outside firm. Oster Professional Group in John Day audits the district’s book and has found no problems.

Other oversight includes a five-person board elected by voters in the district. This current board is Marty Holmstrom, Adrian Harguess, Trent Wright, Les Percy and Russ Reimers.

The 7th Street Complex is owned by Grant School District #3, which in 1990 leased the land to the JDCC for $1, in a deal that comes up for renewal in 2016.

The school district has priority rights to the complex for its use and has exclusive control of Malone Field – the JDCC does some maintenance there in an equipment-sharing deal – and the school district can terminate the deal at its discretion.

The JDCC is responsible for any development of the land, with the attendant insurance and liability coverage and other related costs. It’s been a win-win deal for both sides.

Of the 25 original acres, 14 acres were suitable for development, which until recently was plenty of room. The addition of high school soccer and softball, combined with new recreational programs for youth football and soccer, plus an increase in use by the general public gave the JDCC growing pains. These days, as many as 500 people, particularly on a busy day, use the complex. That’s a tight squeeze, even on 14 acres.

Looking to expand and to finally own some acreage, the JDCC bought 11 acres on the west end of the complex from Carl and Millie Belshaw, who were patient enough to decline other offers while the JDCC found out if a special taxing district can legally buy property. Mr. Belshaw died in July.

Oregon Revised Statutes says it can, and that it can do it without a public hearing; so in April, the JDCC paid the Belshaws $119,900 for what will be Belshaw Fields. Loan fees pushed the total to roughly $130,000.

It’s a 20-year deal, based on a loan from the Special Districts Association of Oregon. It’s a flexible-interest loan that could total as much as $205,000 by 2025. It’s paid twice a year, but it figures at roughly $850 a month.

The purchase does take the land off the tax rolls, but since it was on farm deferral, there wasn’t a lot of taxes being paid on it, anyway. The trade off of more public park land and better facilities for JDCC is worth it.

The land was bought to not only ease crowding for athletic teams and kite flyers, but to use existing buildings on the site to house equipment and a workshop. It will be the district’s first workshop on its first piece of land.

Development of the new acreage will cost roughly $91,000. A grant through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will provide $54,000, with the district and donations paying the rest. Also helping in the new development is the Oregon Department of Transportation, which will provide some equipment, and the cities of John Day and Canyon City. Private businesses have also agreed to donate the use of equipment, and a lot of the work will be done by volunteers.

There has been some debate about whether the JDCC should maintain the proposed, new bathroom facility at the county fairgrounds, even though its not part of the district. We don’t see a problem with that, and we also don’t see a problem with a county commissioner being a former JDCC board member.

As we see it, the JDCC is doing a great job under Superintendent Bill Thomas, who started volunteering in 1990; Teri Arnall, the office and pool manager; and Simmie Hutchinson, who does general maintenance and office help.

If you have any questions about how the JDCC does it job, call Mr. Thomas, 575-0110. He’ll be happy to talk to you and share his pride about what’s happening on 7th Avenue.