Dust be gone: Gordon Field parking lot paving gets green light

Billows of dust and bothersome mud puddles in the parking lot of Gordon Field at the Fairgrounds will soon be a thing of the past.

Paving of the dirt and gravel lot is expected to commence soon as the notice has been given to the contractor that it can begin paving anytime. The bid was awarded to Northern Con-Agg Inc. of Mill Creek at a price of $474,428. The money will come out of the Kitsap Special Event Center Project Fund which is made up of county funds as well as money from the Kitsap Public Facilities District. The project consists of paving and expanding the existing lot, installing storm management, adding irrigation facilities and creating 254 parking stalls.

“It’s to cut down on the dust and facilitate a better platform for the carnival during the Fair,” said Karen Ross, project manager for Kitsap County Parks and Recreation. “It will enhance the Fairgrounds which is what we’ve been doing over the last few years.”

The project has been discussed in recent years, but with a budget of $450,000, it had to be redesigned because the previous plan came in way over the alloted amount.

“It was going to cost considerably more than the budget allowed so we redesigned it,” Ross said.

The project is expected to take about 60 days, give or take a few depending on weather, according to Ross.

She added that the number of parking spaces needed will vary depending on whether a game or tournament is being played.

“It depends, it varies from game-to-game, during tournaments (the spaces) will be needed a lot more than during casual use,” she said. “We’re looking forward to having it done so soccer players can have better access.”

Also looking forward to the upcoming paving is Jim Rye of the Fair Board who is the director of security and

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