Council accepts Rob Park "Play for All" project as complete after multi‑year effort

The Poulsbo City Council voted Oct. 8 to accept the Rob Park Play For All playground project as complete, concluding a multi‑year effort that city staff and council members said faced substantial cost and scheduling challenges.

Councilmember Crow moved to accept the project; the motion passed on a voice/roll call vote. Staff said the playground is open, heavily used by families and designed to be accessible to users of all ages and abilities.

City staff noted several project milestones and constraints: construction began in August 2024 and reached physical completion on May 9, 2025. Project presenters said the original starting budget was “just under $1,600,000.” Staff said the original construction contract was “just under $1,200,000,” and that they achieved change‑order savings that appear in the record as a negative value of $141,000. Staff reported the total construction cost as “just over a million dollars.”

Staff credited a combination of municipal work and community fundraising for completing the playground. A staff speaker thanked Joy (the project manager, who was absent because of illness), April (contract manager) and Daniel Cochran (inspector) and called out the Rotary and other community partners for volunteer and fundraising support.

Councilmembers acknowledged broad public interest and discussed how the project nearly stalled as costs rose in the post‑COVID period. Councilmember Stern praised city engineering staff for repeated value engineering efforts that helped contain costs. Several councilmembers also urged future policies to account for ongoing maintenance needs of donor‑funded park projects.

Councilmember Ecker said the project’s timeline and staff follow‑through ultimately allowed the city to bring the project in under the revised budget and thanked staff for finding savings. Councilmembers also discussed the city’s informal reliance on nonprofit partners to champion long‑running projects and suggested reviewing how long‑term commitments are tracked and whether maintenance or endowment funding should be required for future gifts and partnerships.

The council motion accepted the project as complete and directed staff to record the project acceptance per normal project‑close procedures. There was no further action requested at the meeting. Staff said they will continue to pursue funding for future elements of the original playground design (a sensory garden, nature playscape and expanded sound/sensory areas) if successors can be funded in future budget cycles.