OTHELLO — Planning is underway for upgrades to Othello’s Kiwanis Park, which are tentatively scheduled for summer 2024. 

City Engineer Shawn O’Brien said that’s the plan, but there are details still to be worked out. 

“The schedule is still up in the air,” he said. “The final plan has not been ironed out yet.”

Kiwanis Park is located along S. Seventh Ave., across the street from Lutacaga Elementary School. The park has an existing walking trail, two tennis and three basketball courts, five picnic areas and playground equipment. 

Othello City Council members approved a contract for the project with Northwest Playground Equipment, Issaquah, for design and construction of a splash pad in the park at the Dec. 11 council meeting. City officials have received about $1.1 million in federal and state grants for construction and an additional  $195,000 grant from the state for design. The city will pay about $158,000.

The grant also includes about $474,900 for upgrades to the park’s walking trails, which will be widened and repaved, with the possibility of adding some additional trails. City officials also plan to put in a futsal court, O’Brien said.

A tentative splash pad design was completed in September, according to the contract approved by the council, which is subject to change. O’Brien said there’s one possible change under consideration, but that will have to be reviewed by the council.

The contract calls for a ground-level concrete pad with water jets and water sprays. Because it’s a water feature, the Adams County Health Department and the Washington Department of Health will have to review the design, O’Brien said. 

“We are hoping to have it up and running this summer,” he said.

Futsal is a variation of soccer, played with a slightly different ball on a hard surface rather than a field. It’s played with five players, including a goalkeeper. A futsal court, or at least someplace to play soccer in the winter, was one of the facilities requested by Othello residents in a recreation survey completed in 2021. 

The timeline for construction in Kiwanis Park depends, in part, on the federal and state agencies administering the grants, O’Brien said. City officials have the go-ahead to work on the design, but there are still a number of details to be determined before any of the equipment for the project can be fabricated, he said.

City officials hope to be ready to start construction on the splash pad by late spring, O’Brien said, but that’s still to be determined. 

“Right now there’s a lot of stuff in flux,” he said. 

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at [email protected]. A resident of Moses Lake, she enjoys sewing, reading and giving her editor a hard time.