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Plan for park overlooking wildlife refuge gets boost

Transportation grant of $783,000 pushes project toward reality

By Marissa Harshman, Columbian Health Reporter
Published: July 22, 2010, 12:00am

After nearly a decade of garage sales, tea parties and fundraiser dinners, the community Overlook Park Committee and the city of Ridgefield were still hundreds of thousands dollars shy of their goal.

The dream of constructing a welcome center and park overlooking the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was inching toward becoming a reality.

Last week, the city and the group of longtime Ridgefield residents were given a shot in the arm.

The city of Ridgefield received a $783,000 grant from the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council — the second largest grant among seven projects awarded money. The award will fully fund the project as currently designed, said Justin Clary, Ridgefield city manager.

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“We’re extremely excited to finally get this park constructed,” Clary said. “It’s been a decade in the making.”

The project idea resulted from an analysis completed by a Seattle landscape architecture firm in 2000. The firm provided a free analysis of the refuge’s impact on the community and suggested developing a welcome center to strengthen the tie between downtown and the refuge, Clary said.

In the summer of 2002, the Friends of the Ridgefield Refuge obtained an option to purchase a 0.75-acre piece of land at the corner of Main Avenue and Pioneer Street (state Highway 501). The group had fundraisers to make $500 monthly payments until 2005, when the city was able to purchase the land for $210,000, Clary said.

Members of the refuge group branched off to form their own committee dedicated to constructing a welcome center. The volunteers continued to raise money and held work parties to clean up the land, which included demolishing a run-down rental home, pruning old black walnut trees and disposing of derelict vehicles and abandoned washers and dryers, Clary said.

Working with the group, the city applied for the grant, which is part of the transportation enhancement program. One qualifying criteria for the program funds is construction of a welcome center. Since the park site is located on a state highway, it is an eligible location for a welcome center, Clary said.

Through donations and fundraising, the committee and city were able to begin the design of the park and welcome center. The grant will cover the cost to complete the design and construct the park.

The park, which has been tentatively named Overlook Park, will include a plaza at the corner of Pioneer Street and Main Avenue. The park will also include a stage, a community gathering area, kiosks with information about the city and the refuge, open grass, public restrooms and areas offering views of the refuge.

“As we develop in downtown, the view corridors are disappearing,” Clary said. “This is really the last opportunity to preserve a corridor.”

The city is also considering converting South Main Avenue from a two-way street to a one-way. By offering only southbound lanes, the city could construct angle parking in front of the park. The federal funding cannot be used to pay for parking construction; the city would be responsible for the cost, Clary said.

In addition to connecting downtown and the refuge, Mayor Ron Onslow said the park will serve as a gateway to the community and the waterfront.

“This park will become a focal point,” he said. “Your entry into downtown. Your entry into the port and the water. And your entry into the refuge.”

Onslow and Clary also expect the new park, of which construction could begin as early as spring, will spark downtown revitalization and attract new businesses.

“As we look at revitalizing our downtown, this is a statement about Ridgefield and what it’s becoming,” Clary said.

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

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Columbian Health Reporter