I have helped with at least 12 picnics at Avery Park in the Lions shelter. The last five or six years when we arrived we've had to clean the shelter. I believe this summer was the worst.

The floor in the shelter and under the long table was not swept or washed down. All counters were filthy and the long table had food, bird droppings and wet, muddy footprints on the table and benches. The light in the bathroom will not stay on and there are only two of the four burners on the stove that work. For this we paid $90 for the afternoon and evening. Luckily we have learned to bring bleach, buckets, brooms and other cleaning supplies to sanitize the place before the picnic.

This facility is very heavily used. I realize some of the homeless in our city come to use the kitchen to cook and hang out at the shelter and table area, but it should still be cleaned each morning.

While we were there, visitors to our town came to see the giant table and shelter. I was glad this happened after we cleaned up the space. What an impression we would have made with all the filth around! The one plus I will mention is that the grills were clean and ready for use. Some years they have not been ready but this summer they were clean!

Do you wonder why we return every year? The answer is for a large group of 150, Avery Park is centrally located and we need the stove for cooking.

How can this problem be solved? Some parks have doors or barriers that close the shelter completely. This would not work for the covered table, and I feel this would be a poor solution. The city's parks and recreation department needs to come up with some ideas, and in the interim, please clean up the space.

Polly Davenport of Corvallis is a board member of the Alliance for the Mentally and Mid-Valley Housing plus.