POULSBO — Even though the exact details for the city’s 7th and Iverson urban park have yet to flower, members of the Poulsbo Farmers Market hope the site will bear fruit for their organization.
PFM president John Pyles and PFM market manager Jackie Aitchison were among more than 20 people who attended an open house about the site Saturday at the Poulsbo Rec Center.
“We’ve been involved with this since the beginning,” Pyles said. “We’ve created an overlay and shown how the farmers market might fit in.”
Currently, the farmers market is located in the Poulsbo Village Medical Center parking lot, so moving the venue to the park would be a step closer to finding a permanent location, he said.
“The long-term goal is to have some sort of covered permanent site for the farmers market,” he said. “Right now, when it rains the farmers market is over.”
However, the 7th/Iverson property has potential and Pyles said farmers market organizers are looking forward to working with the city to ensure it is realized.
As Parks and Recreation director Mary McCluskey surveyed the crowd, she said she was pleased with the turnout, especially on a cold Saturday morning.
“It’s an excellent turnout. Twenty people is a good representation,” she said.
Many of those arriving were residents who hadn’t commented on the park before, so it was important to have that additional input before the plan goes to the city council, McCluskey said.
The new faces were also a welcomed sight to Parks and Recreation Commission member Herb Kai, who has been involved with the project since its inception.
“It’s exciting to see new faces, because they provide fresh input on this project,” Kai said.
Consulting company and project coordinator Larson Casteel did an excellent job with developing the two master plan concepts, he said.
“They have taken three concepts and combined them down into two,” Kai said. “They have also designed flexibility into the project.”
That flexibility will allow the park to be developed in phases instead of all at once, which he said will be key as the park’s development will be largely dependent on financial constraints.
After the master plan is approved by the city council, the next step will be the development of an actual cost analysis, said Brad Pugh of Larson Casteel.
The entire process up to this point has been exciting as numerous people have contributed to the overall design, he said.
However, after the master plan is approved, Pugh said Larson Casteel will remain involved with the project.
“We’re going to stay involved as long as they’ll let us,” Pugh said. “Actually bringing this to fruition is the fun part.”
