With the approval of a 0.5 percent increase in the utility tax on Nov. 22, the Covington City Council gave the go-ahead staff to continue with a major project, its Community Park.
This approval, 6-1 with Mark Lanza dissenting, came after 2011’s up and down journey trying to budget for the first phase of construction of the park.
Parks and Recreation Director Scott Thomas explained in an email interview where things go now that the city is collecting additional tax revenue.
“The next steps are to complete the bid package and bid the project this winter, probably by March, but that depends on what challenges come up as we finalize the design,” Thomas wrote. “We will build the project during the summer and fall, with the soccer field grass planted approximately mid-September. The grass roots will get established over the winter and next spring. The soccer field will open for play in summer 2013. The trails will open as soon as they are completed this fall. The areas of the park that are not affected by construction … will remain open.”
This year the city will direct about $135,000 to the park capital fund and about $180,000 each year after 2012 for maintenance of the park.
One of the reasons the majority of the council supported the ordinance was the city had received about $1.5 million in grants from the state and King County. Thomas spent the better part of two years working to obtain that grant funding.
Thomas stated in October, “The single largest piece of that money survived two legislative sessions. It will not survive a third session.”
That $1.5 million covers a significant chunk of the project’s $2.2 million price tag.
If the city was unable to come up with balance to build the park the grant money would have gone back.
Staff told the council it would have been more difficult to receive grant money in the future if they were unable to use these funds on the park.
The city has spent about $600,000 in designing and planning the park up to now.
The site is about 30 acres and is a collection of four parcels purchased by the city in 2003 and then brought into King County’s urban growth boundary in 2004. It was annexed into the city in 2008.
Phase one includes a soccer field and a trail system. In addition, the long term plan for Covington Community Park includes a plaza, volleyball and basketball courts, a large playground, a plaza, tennis courts and an outdoor performance area along with trails winding around the edge.
