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Construction to Begin on Long Awaited Tambark Creek Park
On Wednesday the County Council approved the bid award for construction of Tambark Creek Park. The 40-acre property is located southeast of the City of Mill Creek (35th Ave. SE and north of 180th St. SE).
"We got an excellent bid," said Councilmember Dave Gossett, a long-time supporter of the park. "At $5.3 million it came in roughly a million dollars below the engineer's estimate. As a result we will be able to include features that had been in the bid as potential additions."
The park is in an area of the county that in the past two decades has seen a large increase in new home construction. The county saw the need to provide a facility in this part of the county that would provide active sports fields as well as other park features.
Mill Creek was eager to partner on this property. The Tambark Creek Park site was acquired in the mid 90s through a joint agreement between the City of Mill Creek and Snohomish County. The county owns 75 percent of the park and Mill Creek 25 percent.
In 1998, with the help of a committed Citizen Advisory Group, the county completed work on the Master Plan for the site. Construction could not begin due to lack of funds.
"I made finding a way to get Tambark Park open a priority when I took office in 2002," said Councilmember Gossett. "We started with basics-take down the keep out signs, clean up the site, and work with the neighborhood to create some very simple trails and open space."
For approximately $15,000 the county demolished an old dilapidated structure on the site and removed garbage. Neighbors and work crews from the jail assisted in the clean up and creation of trails.
"This was always just a first step," said Gossett, "a stop-gap until we could find the funding to fully develop."
In 2005, the County Council approved funding for development of the Tambark Creek Community Park through a mitigation agreement with King County for construction of the Brightwater treatment plant. Gossett was part of the team negotiating the agreement.
"King County was looking to fund park projects that could be completed prior to the opening of the Brightwater plant to mitigate impacts," noted Gossett. "I said, here's a site in the service area where we already own the land and have a master plan. They liked the idea."
While the park development was ready to go to bid several years ago, lawsuits delayed the availability of funds. The county is now in a position to proceed with construction.
"I'm pleased that this joint venture between the county and Mill Creek has finally come to fruition" said Gossett. "Our partnership on this project was essential to fulfill our commitment to the residents in this area."
When completed, the park will include one large multi-use synthetic turf soccer/baseball field, two restrooms, parking areas, trails, an off-leash area, and a picnic shelter.
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