Cooper Gulch Park

Between 1947 and 1950, the City bought 19 acres at the foot of Cooper Gulch. To this, an additional six acres has been added, proposed to be included in the development plan.

Looking back into the history of the Cooper Gulch recreation area it is interesting to note that at least two non-recreational uses have been proposed for this area; namely, a site for the National Guard Armory and a site for City Hall.

Going back 10 years to April 4, 1957, at the meeting for the Recreation Commission, it appears that this was the last serious attempt to develop Cooper Gulch. Excerpts from the last minutes of this meeting are as follows:

“Development of the Cooper Gulch area as a recreation site in general and of the Cooper Gulch baseball field in particular was discussed by those present. The Recreation Superintendent reported that there is, at present, $1,125 left in the Cooper Gulch Fund with which to work and Commissioner Gruhn stated that such a program of development would be ‘in line with past intention of several years back’ and that the area was ‘about the last available and logical site for a major recreation development.’ Baseball league representatives were present to emphasize the need for another ballfield due to the present overload in existing city and high school facilities and pledged their cooperation with the proposed program. Mr. Stanley Roscoe, City Engineer, stated that at one time the Council voted to allocate $10,000 per year to the Cooper Gulch Fund for development as a recreation area, but after the first year, no more allocations were made. At that time, $6,000 or $7,000 was spent on putting in a storm drain, but that was all. Mr. Roscoe further stated that: (1) the main problem was getting finances for drainage of the land, approximately $45,000 needed; (2) the work would all be done on the east side of the ditch running through the property and the ditch itself left open; (3) he would have to re-grade and build the ballfield higher than the rest of the ground; (4) if he could borrow a big ‘cat’ and a 25 yard carryall from Mr. Adams at the high school, the clearing and grading could be done in 7 or 8 days for less money than the $1,000 now available; (5) a road could be built through the area which would provide ample parking facilities; (6) while there are no sanitary facilities as yet, there is a sewer system which should be near completion within another two years; (7) there would be a need for some good topsoil (which might be obtained from a grading job planned for the near future at 11th and F Streets); (8) as far as the equipment is concerned, right now would be the best time to start working on the ground; (9) he would give all necessary help on the engineering problems and possibly could even put a couple of his men to work on the weekends.

The Recreation Superintendent was instructed to follow through by contacting the schools for permission to use their grading equipment and by writing to the City Council informing them of our intentions and asking them to ‘allocate $10,000 per year, as previously done, or other such additional amounts as could be obtained in order to permit us to get going on this project.”

The Director of Public Works recommended to the Recreation Commission at their April 16, 1959 meeting “that a sub-drainage system should be installed at Cooper Gulch before any development there is begun. He said that 400 feet of pipe is already at Cooper Gulch which could be used to take care of two temporary diamonds for this summer, and that 800 more feet are needed to complete the drainage system. The commission passed the motion requesting the City Council to appropriate sufficient funds to take care of the needed drainage in the Cooper Gulch area and that action be taken to develop the ball diamond area.”

From April 6, 1951 Commission minutes: “The improvement of Cooper Gulch as to drainage is proving to be a great deal more expensive than estimated and the Council has taken no action as yet.”

In June 8, 1951 Commission minutes: “Cooper Gulch - $10,000 set aside by Council – a meeting to be called next week by representatives of service clubs to work out plan for three years. Meeting to be held Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Recreation Department office.”

From October 18, 1951 Commission minutes: Regarding a possible site for a National Guard Armory “Turner showed a map of Cooper Gulch with the proposed armory section outlined by the engineer’s office. It was mentioned by the group that if the state accepted the Cooper Gulch site, the long-range plan for Cooper Gulch would be destroyed. The question of Parkside being accepted while next tot eh reservoir was brought up. Also, the question was raised as to whether the title on Cooper Gulch was clear. Adams, moved, seconded by Turner, that the specified six acres of Cooper Gulch be offered first for the armory site and second, the available 5.27 acres at Parkside with the legal description being used in the recommendation to the Council. It would also be recommended to the Council that if the state accepts either of these areas, that there be a written agreement with the state stating that the area could be use by recreation when available. Motion carried.”

On February 8, 1952 Commission minutes: “Discussion for use of $10,000 set aside for use at Cooper Gulch resulted in a decision to review plans for the development of the whole of Cooper Gulch with a view to spending the money in a way constructive to the plan, or if the $10,000 should prove insufficient to accomplish a worthwhile project at this time, to wait until more money can be made available so that wise use may be made of all of it.”

Brief Timeline of Previous Planning and Funding Efforts

2017 

The Community Vision for Cooper Gulch Park was released. Through this process Cooper Gulch Common Grounds (CGCG):

• created a Community Vision Plan with a vision, mission, guiding principles, and focused improvements in a conceptual design. 
• started a dialogue around the park and created a sense of opportunity 
• created a community dataset to benchmark use in the park and community beliefs and attitudes related to the park.
• spurred the development of a noxious weeds inventory (GIS dataset) and strategy for the park.
• created a website to promote the park, share community input, and highlight underrepresented values 

The City of Eureka released the City’s Integrated Vision of the Cooper Gulch Park (PDF) that included community vision elements and City priorities.

2019

In February 2019, the City of Eureka submitted a $1.6 million grant application to the California Natural Resources Agency’s Proposition 68 Cultural, Community and Natural Resources (CCNR) Grant Program (PDF). Funding was not approved. 

City of Eureka and CGCG co-wrote an application for $1.3 million in funding from the Green Infrastructure Program Grant (PDF) from the California Natural Resources Agency, submitted June 2019. This funding opportunity was very competitive, and unfortunately the project did not receive funding. 

2020

City of Eureka and CGCG were awarded a Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Grant to develop a Place Book, to guide the development of the Park based on input received from the community and the City. This is a strategic investment to align support for project implementation in the park. 

2021

The City of Eureka wrote a grant for $8.4 million from Proposition 68 Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program (PDF) but funding was not approved.  

2022

City of Eureka applied for funding for stream restoration through Cooper Gulch Park with the support of CGCG. This funding request was successful.

City of Eureka submitted a $2.9 million grant application to the Proposition 68 Rural Recreation and Tourism Program (PDF) for park improvements. Funding was not approved.  

2023

Release of the CGCG Place Book.