Pond Work Starts At Randall Park Next Week

In the summer of 2018 you'll be able to enjoy a re-designed Yakima park. But more work continues at Randall Park next week. Beginning Monday the one-acre pond will be drained so years of sediment can be removed. After that, the bottom of the pond will be deepened, and its slopes improved to enhance stormwater run-off, says Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkinson.
The City’s Stormwater Division is taking on the project and its work will help provide a match for a grant from the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) that is assisting with funding the pond improvements.
The 12-foot deep pond dates back to 1974 and Wilkinson believes this is the first time it has been drained and sediment removed. Wilkenson says “The pond was getting shallow. We needed to do something or in a few years we wouldn’t have a pond."
The project means that visitors to Randall Park will find the pond drained and emptied throughout the fall and winter months.
The pond project is just part of a 3-year plan to address several significant issues at Randall Park.
It’s all funded through a $500,000 RCO grant and over $600,000 in local donations and matching funds. Other projects include construction of a new restroom, rebuilding worn-out pathways, installation of a bridge, new playground equipment, basketball courts, two new picnic shelters, fixing parking lots and a variety of other improvements at the park such as new signage and fencing.