New district ready to start its first community park
By Bill Stewart, The Oregonian
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
VANCOUVER --The process of building Pacific Community Park --56 acres that have been in the planning stage since 2000 --gets under way next week.
It is the first project of the Greater Clark Parks District, the voter-approved agency that will build 35 parks, 41 sports fields and seven miles of trails in the urban neighborhoods outside Vancouver's city limits.
When officials hold a traditional groundbreaking March 15, a special audience will be in attendance --the canine contingent from Dogpaw, or Dog Owners Group for Parks Access in Washington. The group has been using the unimproved land --being developed as Pacific Community Park --for several years as it lobbied --successfully --for off-leash dog-play areas on future park sites.
The construction contract is tentatively scheduled to be awarded March 21. Two apparent low bids being evaluated are less than the engineer's estimate of $4.5 million to $4.9 million, according to Mike Westerman, purchasing manager for Clark County. He said the groundbreaking ceremony has been advertised for months, but a late challenge by one of the bidders delayed awarding the contract.
When completed in spring 2007, the park --along Northeast 18th Street west of 172nd Avenue --will include a fenced, eight-acre, off-leash dog area; a 10,000-square-foot skateboard-BMX facility; play areas; ball fields; trails; restrooms; picnic shelters; parking and landscaping.
Clark County purchased park sites during the past six years, using impact fees collected from new developments and excise taxes collected on sale of new and used homes. But commissioners balked at building parks until a dedicated source of maintenance money was ensured by voters in February 2005.
Dogpaw, after using the entire 56-acre site for years, was moved March 1 into a four-acre site in the park's southwestern corner --the only part of the park that will remain open to the public during construction. The completed park's off-leash area will be on the northern edge along 18th Street.
The park, intended to serve homes within a three-mile radius, also includes a caretaker's residence and a site for a future fire station.