MARYSVILLE Inflation is causing the Parks and Recreation Department to pull in its horns on a project to renovate a portion of this citys largest public park. But a couple of large donations from civic groups are helping to take the sting out of rising construction costs.
Works is going forward on remodeling to the parking area at Jennings Memorial Park, as well as a renovation of the plaza next to the big red barn. The $74,458 project is only half of the proposed new entry way for the park; plans are already in hand for an overhaul of the parks entire entryway from the Armar Road curb to the department headquarters building. Eventually a new walkway will thread through the mature oak trees in the center island of the parking loop, with picnic tables and other amenities there and on the lawn north of the loop.
For now the work will be scaled back. The Marysville City Council agreed on June 25 to approve an additional $10,000 for the work, which was budgeted at $64,000. Only one bid of $68,625 came in for the work, from Edge Concrete of Woodinville, the same firm who built the citys Skatepark. State sales tax will boost the cost to $74,458, and Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ballew asked the Council to let him use savings of $2,000 from an earlier irrigation project completed in the park this spring and an additional $8,458 from reserves.
This allows us to get the work done that has an impact now, Ballew said.
Thats a big deal because the park entry is an eyesore as this springs irrigation project laid the pipes for the new entry features at the same time. That meant tearing up the center spine of the two parking lots, where a new trellis will be built.
Administrators hoped to get the work done in one project, but Ballew said this will be the first phase and will allow the department to use donated picnic tables and fixtures given to the city by the Marysville Noon Rotary and Belmark Homes. The Rotary donated picnic tables and benches valued at more than $36,000 and Belmark Homes contributed the parking lots trellis and two pergolas measuring about 16 feet on a side. Those are estimated to be worth about $5,000 with labor donated by the Marysville home builder.
The trellis will divide the main asphalt parking lot and tie in with new plantings and the pergolas in the barn plaza. A wide apron of stamped concrete and pavers will fan out in an arc on the west side of the barn, providing more space, with walkways that look like stone. These will extend to where an old artillery gun now sits. It will be moved over by the Gehl House and the steam donkey. A wood pergola will be constructed in that area and another will be built in the center of the new courtyard next to the barn.
The work will start at end of July and should be completed by mid-August, according to Ballew.
The original estimate for the entire renovation was $70,000 but design changes and inflation quickly drove up the costs, prompting Ballew to split the project in two. The fancy colored and stamped concrete is a specialty craft and under prevailing wage laws the city will have to pay a premium for that work, according to Ballew. A plain gray concrete surface wasnt an option, he added.
I didnt want to sacrifice the integrity of the project, Ballew said. Its important to us that its going to last a long time. We want it to be a functional improvement as well as an aesthetic improvement.