$1.6 million contract awarded for permanent First Avenue Plaza in Walla Walla

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, May 18, 2022

WALLA WALLA — A Walla Walla construction company has the job to build a permanent First Avenue Plaza gathering area in Walla Walla, to be called Walawala Plaza, which roughly translates to “many little waters.”

The Walla Walla City Council recently voted to approve a nearly $1.6 million bid from Walla Walla-based Nelson Construction, which has done extensive work for the city in the past, including on the Rose Street Bridge near City Hall.

Though original estimates called for construction to begin in early 2022 and wrap up as early as mid-summer, work on the project is now slated to begin in October and finish by April 2023, said Deputy City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain during the council meeting May 11.

Designs for the permanent pedestrian plaza were approved in December and include a curving pathway that winds between seating areas and mobile landscaping features. It is meant to provide an adaptable gathering space for residents and tourists in Walla Walla.

Two overhanging installations of metal bars are intended to provide shade, while landscaping and designs inlaid into the walkways will highlight the arrowleaf balsamroot, a plant of significance to the area’s native peoples. Water features will signify Mill Creek and the “‘many small waters’ in the valley,” according to a staff report.

The concept design also includes plans to change street paving where Main Street abuts the plaza in a way that calms traffic by encouraging vehicles to slow in that area.

The project will be paid for from four sources. Funding from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19-relief fund will pay for the majority of the project, with $1.25 million allocated toward the construction of Walawala Plaza.

City stormwater, wastewater and water funding sources will be tapped to cover the nearly $350,000 remaining costs, as the city will be upgrading some water utilities during construction.

The $1.596 million price tag was nearly $300,000 higher than previously estimated, which will be backfilled with unused funds from other projects originally slated to be paid for with federal COVID-relief funds. In total, the city would need to pull in another $400,000 for this project, said City Manager Nabiel Shawa during Wednesday’s meeting.

To cover that additional cost, Shawa said he and city staff recommend pulling those funds from the city’s low-income utility assistance program.

When the city of Walla Walla previously decided how to allocate nearly $10 million in ARPA funding, the City Council approved a long list of uses for the funds. But since those initial allocations, some projects are no longer moving forward, while some funds have already been reallocated to backfill costs for the police and fire departments, Shawa said.

One project that no longer needs funding is the city’s low-income utility assistance program, he continued, noting that the city had allocated other funds to the Blue Mountain Action Council to serve that purpose and would continue to seek additional funding in the future.

However, more importantly, the city’s low-income utility assistance program isn’t seeing much use, Shawa told council members Wednesday.

“We see no need for that at this point in time and don’t foresee it either,” Shawa said.

He added that additional funding was available in the future for such programs if a future emergency caused a surge in need.