City of Washington hard at work building new amenities

The City of Washington has been making great strides to improve itself by undertaking three large city projects in the form of a new fire station, city hall and police station and wellness park.

Construction on the fire station is set to be complete in August and construction on the new city hall and police station projects are to begin later in the fall. Progress on the wellness park is slowly being made as the city continues to chase grants to bring in new facilities and options for the space.

The current Washington Fire Station was built in 1974 and as the department has grown over the years, the space is proving to be too small. Washington City Administrator Brent Hinson said the idea to build a new one was first brought up in 2013 after minor repairs were done to the existing building but the big ticket items, such as more space, were easier done with a new building.

The current building is about 6,000 square feet and the department's new building will more than double in size as it will be about 15,000 square feet. The new building will allow for more space for the department for things like gear storage, bigger trucks and of course, more room on pancake day. The new building was originally scheduled to be completed July 31 but is not looking at a completion date of Aug. 31, however Hinson said he feels the realistic date will be closer to Sept. 30, due to weather related delays. Taking their time and building a structure that will last, is the most important part, he said.

'We're not trying to build just for today, we're trying to build for what we'll need for the next 20,30, 40 years at least,” Hinson said.

Once the fire station is completed, work will commence on the Washington City Hall and Police Department building. In 2005, the Washington Police Department (WPD) moved into the city hall building. This created a tight fit for both entities and has been a temporary solution they have been stuck in for 14 years.

In 2013, the Washington City Council began to explore options to separate the two. They looked at possibly putting city hall in the old library building, now Greiner Buildings, across from the YMCA, but council members decided they wanted everything in the same place.

They then decided to look into renovating the space to make it flow better for both entities. Construction on phase two of the plan will consist of the WPD and city hall employees working out of the north side of the building wile the contractor woks on the south side. Once that is completed, everyone will move to the south side so the north side of the building can be constructed. Once that is finished, each entity will return to their own department.

New additions to the space will include a 9,400 square foot city hall building with a 1,500 square foot council chamber. There will be a lobby shared by both the WPD and City Hall, making it easier for communication between them.

The current police department is less than 1,000 square feet and will more than triple in size to be about 3,500 square feet. Upgrades will include three interview rooms, a locker room and an evidence storage room.

Across town, the city is also working on developing outdoor space to be used for recreational use in the form of a wellness park. Hinson said so far, the city has spent about $1 million working on grading and utilities for the space. They have also been applying for grants to help fill out the amenities and have their eyes set on a spring 2020 construction date.

The wellness park will feature four ball fields, two soccer fields, a large parking lot, permanent restrooms, concession stand and a trail spur that will connect with the Kewash trail. Hinson said the city has about $2.5 million in work to do to complete phase one.

The entire site is 35 acres and will be developed overtime as the city finds the appropriate funds.