Washington reviews Wellness Park Phase II plans

WASHINGTON — A 6-acre pond, fishing pier, pickleball court, lodge, a walking path, and city equipment shop are among the myriad items planned for Phase II of Washington’s Wellness Park, as city officials look to further develop the recreation area.

The price is not cheap, at a total of about $9,318,527, according to consultants from Veenstra & Kimm Inc. Project Engineer Chris Parizek said much of that came from the cost of the pond, where the soil contains too many sand veins to easily retain water in the 14-foot deep body.

“It’s twofold, you can’t keep what you’re going to be digging up, and you need to bring in additional fill, so you get hammered twice,” she said of the work, estimated to cost almost $1.59 million. “It’s a really nice spot, size-wise, for a pond, unfortunately the soils here, wherever they got dragged in from over the eons, is just not in your favor at the moment.”

The report contained numerous other details about the second phase of planned improvements: the lodge and event center would overlook the pond from a slight distance, the walking trail would likely total 1.5 miles, the concession stand would have bathrooms, lights in the area could be solar-powered to save on electricity and infrastructure costs.

Consultants described the array of improvements as a “wish list.” City officials said they would happen over the course of several years, as funding becomes available from various sources.

“It’s up to council to do the Point A to Point B to Point C,” Council Member Illa Earnest said. “We pick the projects to go first, second, third.”

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