MILL CREEK — The guest of honor at Mill Creek’s 20th birthday party will be a no-show.
The city’s new sports park, which was scheduled to be dedicated and opened on Sept. 28 to coincide with the big bash, is at least a couple of weeks behind schedule and won’t be ready to host the festivities.
"It happens," said Lynn Devoir, the city’s recreation supervisor. "I’ve done enough projects over the years to know that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, and you have to go to Plan B."
Plan B, in this case, is a birthday party at City Hall, 15728 Mill Creek Blvd., from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 28.
About 150 invitations had been sent out announcing the festivities at the new park. Those will have to be updated, Devoir said, but "it won’t be a huge financial crunch" because of the relatively small number.
"Now, (the event) will be totally focused on celebrating the city’s anniversary," Devoir said.
The anniversary party will feature a performance by the Jackson High School band and presentations and displays looking at the city’s milestones.
After a contest to name the park, offering $75 to the person suggesting the winning name, city officials decided on Mill Creek Sports Park. Two people — Heather Bodach of Lake Stevens and Lindsey Ryan of Mill Creek — suggested the name and split the prize.
The park, at Trillium Boulevard and Bothell-Everett Highway, will be the first multi-use park in Mill Creek. It will include fields for baseball, softball and soccer, and a skate park.
The park was originally scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1, but that date was pushed back several weeks ago when it became clear the park wouldn’t be done by then. Then, the Sept. 28 target became less and less likely.
"It’s not really any one thing that happened," said Doug Jacobsen, Mill Creek’s city engineer. "It was a really tight schedule to begin with, and there were a series of one- or two-day delays over the past two or three weeks."
A day here and two days there equals a couple of weeks after Sept. 28. Jacobsen said no official new date has been set, but that mid-October looks realistic.
He said soccer games that were already scheduled to be played at the new park will be rescheduled for another location. People should contact their leagues with questions about scheduling, he added.
Once the park does open, however, the skate park still will be off limits for another couple of weeks to allow the concrete to harden properly, Jacobsen said.
There’s a chance Mill Creek could get some money back from the contractor. It could collect as much as $200 for each calendar day after the expected completion date, which could extend back to the Sept. 1 date, according to the contract.
But that issue will be addressed after the project is finished, Jacobsen said.
"We’re discussing with the contractor and our city attorney about whether that provision should be invoked," he said. "We don’t want to get into a contest where we’re paying attorneys rather than the contractor to finish this project."
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
Mill Creek’s 20th anniversary celebration will be 2-4 p.m. at City Hall, 15728 Mill Creek Blvd., with the official birthday cake cutting at 2:30 p.m. Festivities include a presentation of the city’s milestones, displays by local organizations, and music by the Jackson High School Jazz Band. Refreshments will be provided.
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