ARLINGTON — Haller Park should have a 38-space parking lot, with spaces included for handicapped and electric car parking, by the Fourth of July.
Public Works Director Jim Kelly said the proposal will be heard by the City Council March 9 and 16. If approved, he expects it to go to bid in April, with construction to start in June.
“This is very much becoming a community hub,” Kelly said. “We never used to have as many kids out here before the new playground equipment was installed last year. Especially after we install the new pavilion, bathrooms and boat ramp, this will be a destination point.”
Kelly summed up the construction work as installing drainage conduits, and laying down crushed rocks and asphalt, as well as expanding the sidewalk along West Avenue onto Cox Street.
“It should be very simple,” Kelly said. “We’re keeping the costs low by doing all the design work in-house and clearing the site of the old Bystrom house so that we can give the contractors a completely clean site to work with.”
Kelly was referring to the Bystrom family’s former residence at 104 W. Cox St., which was constructed in 1895, extensively renovated in 1938, assessed from a cultural resources standpoint in 2006, appraised in 2011 and torn down last year.
“We’d purchased the property from Mrs. Bystrom’s daughter several years ago,” Kelly said. “Much of that old house was actually able to be recycled.”
City engineer Eric Scott added: “It was determined the house and site had no archeological or architectural significance, since they changed the structure too much for it to qualify for preservation.”
Kelly noted that $155,000 in capital improvement funds have been allocated for the project.
“We know that we’ll need to expand the wastewater treatment plant sometime in the future,” Kelly said. “But in the meantime, this parking lot can serve not only the park, but also visitors to Centennial Trail and administration building, as well as those who use the Stillaguamish Conference Room.”
The conference room will open out directly into the parking lot, with picnic tables where meeting attendees can take breaks outside.
