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News, Outdoors, Washougal 
The city of Washougal is launching a project to transform its Schmid Family Park.
On March 24, the Washougal City Council approved a $124,963 contract with Vancouver-based MacKay Sposito to provide planning services for the city’s Schmid Park Conceptual Design Project.
“It’s a park we’re really excited about because there’s a lot of land to do stuff, and we’re also really excited about the stormwater educational piece, to bring something like that into the community,” said Scott Collins, a city engineer.
According to city documents, Schmid Family Park, 1407 32nd St., near the Washougal River, includes about 13 acres of river floodway land suitable for more “low-intensity” park uses and 5 acres of “upland” property near 32nd Street that could likely accommodate “higher impact and more dynamic recreation features.”
The city plans to convert the river floodway into a restored wetland with raised pathways and incorporated educational amenities, allowing the upland park property to support “active recreational features.”
“The city has discussed whether it (might be) an outdoor concert area, with a concert-in-the-park kind of feel, or recreational, like a soccer facility or something like that,” Collins said.
According to the city’s contract with MacKay Sposito, “the project seeks to transform an ecologically sensitive site into a vibrant recreational space for the city of Washougal,” with the goal of aligning with Washougal’s “broader vision of expanding public green spaces, protecting local habitats, connecting people to the waterfront, and enhancing recreational opportunities for residents of all ages and abilities.”
The contract states that the project will align the park’s access points and trail systems with nearby schools, neighborhoods and regional greenways to create a “cohesive network of recreational opportunities.”
“Anytime you can divert a creek and create a wetland piece, it’s great for the habitat and the wildlife, so there are definitely environmental benefits to converting into a wetland,” Collins said. “Obviously, that’s our hope and intent.”
As part of community engagement efforts, according to the contract, MacKay Sposito will revisit historical feedback, facilitate public meetings and summarize community input.
Collins said the project will likely start later this year.
“Now that the contract is signed, we’ll probably start doing some initial site analysis, getting some survey work done, things like that, and start putting together some concepts that we can start doing some public outreach on,” he said.
Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; [email protected]
