Planning ahead for Cathlamet park

Local officials met Tuesday with representatives of the National Park Service to plan the design process for a waterfront park in Cathlamet.

The group is working on a plan for converting the town's old sewer lagoons into a park adjacent to the Elochoman Slough Marina. The town has received a grant from the park service for the work.

The group spent much of Tuesday going over a draft survey to be presented to the public in July.

The group will tally results, and from there, a park service architect will develop a few possible layouts to present to the public in early fall.

Those layouts, said park service community planner Dan Miller, could range from very natural to highly developed.

The group discussed a large number of concepts and features for the park.

"This park will never be commercialized," said Mayor Dale Jacobson. "It will have waterfront access to the beach."

"It would be nice to have a payment plan in place for maintenance," said Duncan Cruickshank, the town's public works director.

The group agreed that facilities should meet access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Town Council Member Ryan Smith suggested the park could include a charging station for electric cars. NPS staff member Steph Stroud said county health department staff had suggested incorporating a community garden.

Concepts listed on the draft survey included bird and nature viewing; children's play features; outdoor classroom; beach and fishing areas; water access for non-motorized boats; a dog park; meditation or ornamental gardens; space for community events such as plays, concerts or markets; a picnic area; a skate park; restrooms, and walking trails or paths.

NPS personnel said they would take comments on the survey this week and prepare a final version which could be distributed at the Bald Eagle Festival on July 17. The survey will also be available online. Survey results will be tabulated and discussed at an August 9 meeting; concepts coming out of that meeting will be used to develop the draft layouts to be presented to the public, probably in October.