Othello Public Works set for a busy 2025

OTHELLO — Some long-term projects in Othello reached completion in 2024, and there’s a whole list of new projects planned for 2025.

Public Works Director Robin Adolphsen summed it up.

“There’s a lot going on,” she said.

Summer 2024 saw the completion of a project that was first considered in 2019, the opening of the new Iron Horse playground in Lions Park. Most of the project was paid for with grants the city received from the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office and a capital appropriation from the Washington Legislature.

Lions Park also got new and expanded basketball courts, with the two old courts demolished and four new ones built. New volleyball courts were added too, Adolphsen said.

The new playground is ringed by a trail that’s designed for walking, among other things.

“(The trail has) workout stations for adults,” she said.

With new park equipment city officials upgraded the security systems in the park in 2024. A little more work is planned in 2025, with two of the tennis courts in Lions Park will be resurfaced for pickleball, she said.

City officials also did some work at Taggeres Park, which the city bought in 2022. It was administered by a parks district and was a longtime volunteer project, but over time the volunteers got older, and the parks district lacked adequate funding. Adolphsen said the city is doing some work to revitalize it, starting with landscaping.

“We added 110 new trees,” she said.

Picnic shelters are being added both in Lions Park and Taggeres Park. They will provide shade in spots where it’s lacking.

For 2025, the focus shifts to Kiwanis Park, with the construction of a splash pad scheduled for this spring.

“That should be up by Memorial Day weekend,” Adolphsen said.

The splash pad and a walking trail in the park will cost $1.26 million, money the city received through a grant. The bathrooms in the park are being upgraded as well.

“(Construction crews) totally gutted it and will make ADA-compliant,” Adolphsen said. “It’ll feel brand new.”

The splash pad will be a place to cool off on a hot summer day, something that Othello lacked in 2024 with the closing of the community pool. Substantial damage was discovered at the pool in spring 2024, and city officials are working on options to repair or replace it.

To that end city officials are looking for a consultant. Proposals were evaluated by the city earlier this month.

“We should have a consultant in February,” Adolphsen said.

City officials don’t know that much about repairing or building a new pool, she said, and want someone with experience with swimming pools to evaluate it and recommend the best way to proceed. That could be repair or it could be rebuilding or expansion, she said – city officials don’t know yet.

“We’re hoping to have an answer by the end of the summer,” she said.

Othello will be building a new animal shelter in 2025; in 2024 the city ended its contract with Adams County Pet Rescue, signed a contract with the Hands ‘n Paws organization and built a temporary shelter. City officials intend to replace the temporary facility with something permanent.

“We have $340,000 budgeted (for the animal shelter). We’ll see how far that gets us,” Adolphsen said.

Street work – crack sealing and chip sealing – is planned around town, and the decorative lighting project along Main Street will be extended from S. 10th Avenue to S. Second Avenue The new lights will match the existing poles built to resemble streetlights from the early 20th century. More lights will be installed as well.

Growth in Othello has triggered the need to study the expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment system, with initial planning in 2025. Along with expansion, the Washington Department of Ecology is requiring the city to change how it discharges the treated water.

“We want our facility that we’re going to build to be able to manage wastewater for the next 50 years,” Adolphsen said.

City officials also will be updating the city’s sewer system and water system plans. Both are required to keep the city in compliance with Ecology’s requirements.

    Othello officials will begin planning for expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment facility in 2025.
  

    Upgrades are already underway in Othello’s Kiwanis Park, with upgrades to the bathrooms as the first project.