Committee recommends placing Deschutes Valley Trail design contract on council consent; $16.8M construction estimate

The Public Works Committee on Sept. 18 voted to place a service provider agreement with SCJ Alliance for design of the remaining segments of the Deschutes Valley Trail on the Oct. 7 Tumwater City Council consent calendar, with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to sign.

Jared Verhey, the city’s capital projects manager, summarized the service provider agreement that would cover design, permitting and construction bidding for six remaining trail segments between Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls and Pioneer Park. “The service provider agreement includes the full design for the six remaining trail segments and includes the efforts for the information gathering, design, permitting, and construction bidding,” Jared said.

Chuck Denny gave a historical overview and the trail’s community benefits, noting the idea dates to 1987 and listing park connections: Tumwater Falls Historical Park, Brewery Park, Palermo Pocket Park, Deschutes Valley Park and Pioneer Park. “It connects five parks,” Chuck said, and staff described the trail as roughly 2.5 miles when complete.

Staff presented a segment schedule and funding summary: design of Segment C (the longest and technically complex segment, including a required bridge and golf‑course adjacency protections) would begin immediately if the SPA is approved and is expected to be complete by June 2026 to enable use of certain construction grants. The remaining segments (A–B, D and the Palermo Spur) are expected to finish design in early 2027.

Preliminary financial figures presented to the committee: consultant design fees total just under $2.5 million; preliminary construction cost for the six remaining segments is $16.8 million. The city has secured $5.8 million from the state Connecting Washington program and roughly $2.6 million in federal funds administered via the Thurston Regional Planning Council; staff said the city will seek additional grants and use Metropolitan Parks District funds, park impact fees and general‑fund dollars to fill remaining needs.

Committee members asked about interpretive signage and cultural materials; Chuck said heritage and interpretive signage will be addressed through the parks/recreation side of the project and arts programs, and that interpretive work is separate from the current engineering design contract.

Ending: With a motion to place the agreement on the Oct. 7 consent agenda, the committee voted in favor; the full council will consider the agreement on the consent calendar, at which time any councilmember may request the item be pulled for discussion.