May 1, 2018 4 min read

Washington Park improvement projects are kicking off just in time for spring’s late arrival.

The Main Pavilion at the park, which got a new roof last year, will soon be getting several updates, including renovated restrooms. According to Lynn Galluze, the city’s computer systems coordinator, the three-phase project has been a joint effort between the city and Washington Rotary Club.

The roof, which cost about $117,000, was the first phase. With leftover money from the roof, the city plans to renovate the restrooms downstairs and one family restroom upstairs.

“They have been gutted, and the construction contract, if approved by council on Thursday, will go to the MacBracey Corporation,” Galluze said.

That contract would cost about $104,000.

“Once it’s become official Thursday, they’ll probably be starting work May 7,” she said. “We’d like to get that done before the city starts to rent out the pavilion June 15.”

By July, the city wants to begin seeking bids for projects that fall under the second phase of the project, which includes sandblasting, painting all the wood surfaces, updating the indoor lighting, restoring the front staircase, replacing the deck walkway and resurfacing the main floor.

“Once we’re done renting out the pavilion for the year, and we still have some good weather, that’s when we’d like to get the sandblasting and some of these renovations done,” Galluze said.

The city applied for a $604,900 state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant to help pay for phase two. The grant includes $294,900 from the DCNR, plus a 50 percent local match. To make up that match, the city will use $200,000 in Local Share Account funding, $100,000 the Rotary committed to phase two and $10,000 from Washington County Tourism.

“By the end of this year we’ll find out if we have the DCNR grant,” Galluze said.

The city also hopes to secure a Greenways Trails and Recreation Program grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development in the amount of $221,833, with a 15 percent local match of $39,137. That money would be used for phase three of the Main Pavilion project, which includes parking, exterior lighting, kitchen renovations, exterior siding and a new sound system. Phase three would probably not be bid out until fall 2019.

Another project to begin within the next few weeks at the park is the Washington Park Recreation Improvement Project, which focuses on an accessible path that loops around the pond. The path will lead from new parking spaces, around the pond, and down to the pool gate. Benches will be installed there, as well.

City council is expected to vote on awarding the project to Plavchak Construction Co. for $174,927. The city already received a $176,000 DCNR grant and a $125,000 Greenways grant to pay for it, Galluze said.

“You never know what the bids are going to come in,” Galluze said. “But this actually worked in our favor.”

Finally, the city does expect to open the pool on time, which will be Memorial Day weekend. It flooded twice in the last year, but didn’t sustain any damage, according to park foreman Chriss Marshman.

“The downpours and a big amount of rain within an hour-that’s what kills us,” he said. “Unfortunately, it happened twice this year. We’re just hoping that it doesn’t happen again.”

Galluze said heavy rainstorms cause water to run off a nearby hillside, and debris plugged up a stormwater pipe that runs underneath the pool. She said the retention pond filled up, backed up that pipe, and caused the water to flow into the pool.

“We had it cleaned out at the end of the year, as far as the sediment that came over the hill with the flooding,” Marshman said. “We’re going to start cleaning it this week, power washing next week, replacing some lights, and then we’ll start filling it within two weeks.”