ARLINGTON — Work to remake Haller Park continues with the help of nearly $160,000 in grant money to build new restrooms, a concession area and seating in a safer, drier part of the park.
The Arlington City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to formally accept a $158,473 community development block grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Snohomish County Parks is providing $50,000 more for the project and the city is drawing another $76,150 in real estate excise tax revenues and in-kind contributions, such as staff time and permit fees. Altogether, they have a $258,473 budget for building the restrooms plus the estimated $26,150 worth of work from the city.
The new building would have handicapped accessible restrooms and an enclosed meeting area and concession kiosk to sell snacks and beverages. The concessions area would lead out to covered seating, with additional uncovered seating nearby.
“The layout is so that parents with small children can be in the covered area and see the playgrounds and doors to the restroom at all times,” city permit center manager Marc Hayes said.
They’d also be able to see the area where the city plans to put in a spray park or splash pad. The goal is to start work on that in 2017.
“We’re pursuing different funding sources for that,” Hayes said. The Arlington Rotary Club has been raising money through the annual Great Stilly Duck Dash and the city hopes to land grants, as well. Adding a splash pad could cost upward of $350,000.
The city plans to put out a bid for the restrooms’ construction by the end of March. The goal is to have the building finished by August. The existing restrooms likely won’t be torn down until next year, Hayes said.
Haller Park, at 127 Cox Ave., sits along the Stillaguamish River in downtown Arlington. City officials and volunteers have been working for more than two years on overhauling the park, which had become run-down and was seeing problems with homeless people sleeping there and drug users taking advantage of some private nooks.
New playgrounds were put in at the park in 2014. The Rotary Club raised money for the play equipment. A camera overlooking the park also was set up and streams current images of the park to the city’s website. A new parking lot was added last year as the playgrounds drew more families.
A few months ago, a boat ramp was installed. There hadn’t been a usable boat ramp at Haller Park for about 20 years. Volunteers helped put in a concrete ramp and interlocking paving tiles so boats can be eased down a hill and into the water where the north and south forks of the Stillaguamish River meet.
Efforts to clean up the park seem to be paying off, Hayes said.
“There’s been a lot more family activity there. People love the playgrounds and it’s been busy,” he said. “And of course, when you have more eyes on the park, there’s less opportunity for transients or anyone else to cause any problems.”
An updated, drawn-to-scale sketch of the planned layout of the park should be done in the next month or so, he said. It will have detailed locations for the restroom and concession building and the planned spray park.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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