Medford future changes, including public input on downtown enhancements

MEDFORD, Ore. – On Friday, the city of Medford is inviting community members to share what changes they want to see in downtown Medford, at the Medford Cowork Collective building on East Main Street. The city of Medford announced the launch of the downtown 2040 Plan which aims to enhance the downtown area.

The city is holding an open house until 8 p.m. which gives the residents an opportunity to talk to city officials, ask questions and share their ideas on what they want downtown to look like; such as strategies to improve housing options, business and economic growth, walkability and more.

Medford Mayor Randy Sparacino said a community’s downtown is its heartbeat. He has ideas on what a vibrant downtown looks like and said he wants different perspectives to be heard as well.

“Getting those ideas of how to make a more vibrant downtown, I have my opinions and ideas that I’d love to see. You know, additional hotels, additional restaurants, probably a conference center downtown. All those types of things will help to bring that vibrancy to downtown, so those are the stuff that I’d like to see and it’s great to have the citizen’s input.”

There’s also an online survey for the Medford downtown 2040 plan. You can head to the city of Medford’s website to pitch the changes you would like to see.

There’s also a few changes in general on the horizon for the city of Medford. For one, the city will select a new mayor in November as Mayor Sparacino announced his candidacy for Jackson County Commissioner in 2023. While he hasn’t endorsed a candidate yet, he thinks there a few qualities they should exhibit in their mayoral role,

“The ability to talk to a variety of different people, different stakeholders and to collaborate and bring those ideas together. And secondly: leadership. That’s the most important thing a mayor actually does is provide leadership to the meetings and leadership to the council.”

Mayor Sparacino said he’s been proud of the work he’s been able to do as mayor and Medford police chief over the last three decades.

The city of Medford also hired a new city manager, Robert Field this year. In his role, he’ll act similarly as a CEO of the city. His contract starts September 16th.