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Input sought for Bayfield library park proposal

Area already popular youth hangout
The Pine River Public Library wants to partner with the town of Bayfield to build an outdoor park on library property.

The town of Bayfield and Pine River Library will host a community meeting from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the library for people to look at and refine four options for a youth activity park proposed just west of the library on land owned by the library district.

In the past few years, the library has become a popular after-school youth hangout. The park was proposed early this year by library representatives as a place for kids to be louder and more active than is appropriate inside. They asked the town to apply for a state GoCo grant to help pay for the park. The library district isn’t eligible to apply directly.

Trustees considered the library proposal again at their Sept. 20 meeting and were generally in favor of pursuing the grant for the library.

“The stronger the partnership (between public entities), the better chance we have at a grant,” Town Manager Chris La May said. “I think we should look at initial participation in the grant and consider taking over maintenance of the park” once it’s built.

Early this year, the town and library agreed to split the $4,840 cost to hire a CU Denver student design team to come here, meet with people and then create conceptual plans to use in the grant application.

The conceptual plans are done, along with some cost estimates. But the estimated cost to maintain a park is considerably higher than La May thinks it will be. The goal is to minimize labor-intensive maintenance needs. In the town’s other parks, a lot of the maintenance is for the bathrooms. The library park won’t have that.

Library Director Shelley Walchak said, “This is truly an altruistic undertaking. The library doesn’t have anything major to gain from this. It’s for the kids of our town.”

She added: “This project would fall on the library to finance. ... We’re probably looking at a $400,00 project” with a 25 percent local match to the grant. “I’ll ask our board for $90,000 plus $10,000 from the town, with the town to take over maintenance,” she said.

That fits with what La May recommended in his staff report. The library would keep ownership of the land, and the town would provide maintenance.

The student team estimated almost $200,000 for sod, Walchak said. She said she’d seed it herself instead if needed.

“I’m intent on getting this done for $400,000,” she said. “I think there are a lot of things in the estimate that are too high.” She said she will write the grant application “and do what’s necessary to move it forward.”



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