An offer from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to help refurbish the Sequim Little League parking lot seemed to come out of left field for park organizers.
“When [tribal chair W. Ron Allen] asked, I told him, ‘I’m speechless,’” said Nick Simpson, Sequim Little League’s board president.
Allen, the chairman/CEO of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, approached Simpson earlier this year about improving Dr. Standard Little League Park, 124 W. Silberhorn Road, owned by the City of Sequim and Little League in unincorporated Clallam County.
“It’s a project that needed to happen for quite some time,” Allen said.
“Unfortunately, they operate on a shoestring and are never in a position really to upgrade the property.”
The tribe looks to work with community partners to improve the parking lot and access to the park in three phases by paving the gravel and grass lots, adding at least 200 designated parking spaces, sidewalks, fencing, lights and other improvements.
Simpson said the Little League’s board of directors has been able to provide input and they’ve approved of the designs so far.
“From seeing what Jamestown does, they get things done and it looks great,” he said.
“It’s going to be a game-changer. It’s certainly a blessing.”
Sequim city councilors approved the project at their Aug. 11 meeting in a 6-0 vote with William Armacost excused from the meeting.
Phases
Described by multiple people as a “free-for-all” parking area now, Steve Schmitz, an engineer with KPFF Consulting Engineers of Lacey for the tribe, said the project should improve parking, accessibility, safety, water quality and lighting.
He said engineers are at about 20-30 percent design level with the opportunity to add more parking as they re-work designs.
In a prerecorded video to the city council, Schmitz said the project also includes a new entrance, monument sign, paved path into the northern fields and designated areas for drop-offs.
Conceptual designs presented to the city council include:
• Phase 1 (currently the main parking area) — adds 159 stalls in a 70,000-square-foot parking lot along with 15,000 square feet of sidewalk
• Phase 2 (southern parking area) — adds about 40 parking spots on 20,000 square feet, and 1,400 square feet of sidewalk
• Phase 3 (western parking area) — adds nine parking stalls on 13,000 square feet with about 2,200 square feet of sidewalk.
Construction plans will need to be approved by Clallam County.
Schmitz said KPFF Consulting Engineers hopes to begin work on Phase 1 before the end of the year, and that they plan to coordinate construction around the Little League season and coordinate phases with city-planned work in the area.
Simpson said Sequim Little League’s busiest time is spring-summer with opening day typically the first weekend of March.
Effort
A cost estimate isn’t available just yet, Allen said, but the tribe has paid for the design and engineering so far.
Jamestown’s construction manager Jeanette Camp is coordinating with agencies and businesses for paving, landscaping and more to try to bring costs down either by offering services and products in-kind or at cost, he said.
“We’ll coordinate everyone who makes a contribution and then we’ll decide how much we can afford to bridge the gap,” Allen said.
Simpson said Sequim Little League’s budget is fairly low at about $35,000-$40,000 a year with registration and fundraising compared to areas in their district that have 700-800 participants and hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in operations.
One recent cost was a new scoreboard set to arrive before the end of the year, which board members plan to use to rename a field after late-board member Kayla Owens.
Simpson said league volunteers are able to water fields in the spring/summer on a limited basis — once or twice a week, because of cost — and that they’re looking to tap into a local irrigation system.
Allen said the inception for the project started years ago when his son Joe played at the fields.
“I knew back then this park needed some help,” Allen said. “It’s always been on my mind.”
So he brought his staff together to see what they could do and they’re looking to create a “Class A Little League park.”
“I’m motivated by my kids and the kids in the community, and we come from a family of sports addicts,” Allen said. “We love baseball.”
For more about Sequim Little League, visit sequimlittleleague.com.
Graphic courtesy City of Sequim Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is leading an effort to renovate the parking area for Sequim Little League in the Dr. Standard Little League Park, 124 W. Silberhorn Road. This conceptual design was made by KPFF Consulting Engineers of Lacey with efforts being looked at to add more parking, staff said.
