ARLINGTON — The governor has recommended fully funding a project that would double the size of the Boys &Girls Club here, refurbish nearby ball fields, build a new multipurpose center and track at Darrington High School and upgrade two Darrington parks, adding restrooms to one and a skate park to the other.
The Stilly Valley Youth Project is a $5.25 million proposal to add recreation options for children and teens in communities impacted by the March 22 Oso mudslide.
The plan directs state money toward projects put on hold after the slide, which killed 43 people, swept away a neighborhood and buried a state highway. People donated money, services and supplies for rescue and recovery efforts. Other fundraising campaigns halted indefinitely while the community turned its attention to helping each other through the disaster.
“This is a way for the state to kind of backfill for the money that has been raised in this area,” said Snohomish County Councilman Ken Klein, who spearheaded the project. “It’s an economic driver and will really bring folks to the area.”
In a proposed 2015-17 state budget released Dec. 18, Gov. Jay Inslee included $5.25 million for the Stilly Valley Youth Project. It’s part of a $32.6 million local and community projects section under the state Department of Commerce.
About $3 million is for work in Darrington. The biggest item on the wish list — $1.85 million — is a track and a new multipurpose center at Darrington High School. It could spark a track and field program for teen athletes, and the multipurpose center would open more room for drama club, wrestling or other activities, Klein said.
Another $515,000 would be used to fix up Old School Park at the corner of Givens Avenue and Riddle Street. Darrington has a design for a 5,000-square-foot skate park that has been in the works for four years, project coordinator Kurt Helling said. With funding, it could be done by the end of the summer.
“September 2015 has always been my goal, and it’s looking very realistic at this point,” Helling said.
The closest skate park is in Arlington, and most middle and high school students can’t often make the 28-mile trip.
“We wanted something that would be accessible to everyone,” Helling said.
The project also would redo tennis courts, parking and landscaping at Old School Park.
At Whitehorse Park, off Highway 530 on the north side of Darrington, a restroom and shower facility is planned. The budget includes $643,000 for that. Adding restrooms and showers would make the 82-acre county property a better place to camp or hold competitions at the park’s ball fields, Klein said.
The remaining $2.25 million requested in the Stilly Valley Youth Project targets Arlington.
The Boys &Girls Club at 18513 59th Ave. NE would be renovated, with a new computer lab, gym and community room. The building could include space for an Arlington Family Resource Center, something the city has been working on.
The 13,000-square-foot club was built in 1992 and doesn’t have enough space for the 2,000-plus people who use it, executive director Bill Tsoukalas said.
“We get overwhelmed with kids and parents coming in for sports and activities,” he said.
The Stilly Valley Youth Project would expand the club to 26,000 square feet.
Along with $1.5 million to renovate the building, the proposal includes $742,000 to upgrade two little league fields and build two new fields near the club.
Work could start this summer.
“Some of these projects are shovel-ready,” Klein said. “We could start right away.”
The skate park, ball fields and Whitehorse Park could be finished within a year. Work at Darrington High School and the Arlington Boys &Girls Club would take longer.
First, though, the money needs to be finalized. The funding package, put together by Klein’s staff, has to make it through the House and Senate during the next legislative session.
The governor’s budget is a solid start, Klein said. Inslee and his wife visited the Arlington Boys &Girls Club after the slide.
“We made the point to the governor that the kids thought the world was coming to an end,” Tsoukalas said.
Their hometowns were on TV. Cameras were everywhere. The president came. It was easy for children to get overwhelmed.
“This is a way to demonstrate to them that people care about them, they haven’t been forgotten,” Tsoukalas said. “And just to reinforce the message that someone’s here for them.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com
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