January 16, 2008
By SUE RYAN
News staff writer
The Waterfront Community Park
Association has received some good news on funding to pay for
their plans at the Hood River waterfront.
The James F. and
Marion L. Miller Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation has
awarded $40,000 to the association for the project. The grant
will help fund the first phase of the park’s construction.
Plans to award the
contract have slowed as Hood River hasn’t selected one of the
bidders yet. The city put the construction contract out to bid
on Dec. 12 and was set to award it at the Monday night council
meeting but delayed it until Thursday.
City Manager Bob
Francis said choosing a bidder was set back a week because of so
many addendums they had to make. The city is also pondering
whether or not to accept a $70,000 grant offered by the Columbia
Gorge Windsurfing Association for the park as the grant comes
with a set of conditions to allow windsurfing at the new park,
which was not part of the original plans.
Dredging an in-set
beach is the first part of the park’s design. Besides the
digging portion, the initial phase also includes putting in
irrigation, pathways and restrooms. That is expected to cost
$1.4 million.
The park will go
on the former Lot 6, next to the Luhr-Jensen building. The Port
of Hood River donated the land to the city to make the park
possible.
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