PORT ANGELES – A picnic shelter built by volunteers is in the works for the Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield, and could be completed by late summer.
Steve Charno of the Dream Playground Foundation pitched the idea to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission late last month.
The 20-foot-by-40-foot shelter would be south of the sidewalk, between the utility shed and the Dream Playground, a colorfully whimsical park for children which is on Race Street, across from Civic Field in Port Angeles.
No trees would be removed for the shelter, Charno said.
Despite some expensive necessities, such as concrete work and the metal roof being required by the city, the cost shouldn’t exceed $40,000, he said.
The proposal received a unanimous endorsement on Dec. 20, and the parks board also encouraged the City Council to waive any fees, such as those for a permit application.
Now the proposal will go before the City Council for its blessing.
“It’s from the Dream Playground Foundation, the same people who built you the Dream Playground,” Charno said on Wednesday.
“We still need permits, but that shouldn’t be a problem, since we’ve been working with the city throughout this process,” he said.
The shelter would be built with volunteer labor.
“It will be built by the community the same way the Dream Playground was,” in September 2002, Charno said.
A huge outpouring of volunteers built the 15,000-square-foot Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield in five days.
About 1,100 people helped out with everything from construction, day care, food and other services.
Supporters also collected $135,000 in donations, not including materials.
Once a year, volunteers gather at the park to do maintenance work.
“The Foundation funds most of the maintenance for the Dream Playground, and I suspect we’ll do the same for the picnic shelter,” Charno said.
