Thursday, March 28, 2024

New Lions Club pavilion design 4x larger

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Leavenworth City officials are planning to replace the 40-year-old plus pavilion in Lions Club Park. City Administrator Joel Walinski said the structure is at the end of its useful life. 

“Earlier this year, the Lions Club said they would like to see that re-done. They worked with Peter DeVries on an initial design, but he passed away,” Walinski said, at the Oct. 10 study session. “We looked at that and did some assessment of it. Took it to the Parks Committee and said, we’re at the point if we do want to re-do that thing, we need an architect to take a look.”

Some of key points of the new design included building size and orientation on the site. Architect Alison Miller was hired to complete the design. She presented an initial design to the Parks Committee. The Parks Committee wanted to have a larger discussion with the city council. 

Miller presented her design at the Oct. 10 city council study session. She said she started by talking to Walinski and Public Works Director Herb Amick about the prior plan, and what had been discussed with DeVries in terms of the size of the structure and how it would be used. 

“Based on the current use of the park from when the first pavilion was done, a much larger pavilion would be required. The potential to use that as a skating rink that fit. We looked at that as well,” Miller said. “There are two major considerations in my design. The size that would be appropriate, how it would be used both for fitting the park and making it Bavarian.”

The new pavilion is about four times the size of the existing one. 

“It is the same distance from the pool which allows for the trees and the nice green space around it. Centered on the same point. A little closer to the restroom, but not crowding it. Leaving quite a bit of green space. It has a quite large roof overhang in Bavarian style,” Miller said. 

The roof covering would probably be composition shingle, she said. Shake would be traditional but more expensive. Councilman Elmer Larsen asked about any vertical bracing for the snow load. 

Miller said there would probably be steel embedded into some of the connections. There is also good potential for some cross bracing for structural reasons. 

“What we’ve done here is just the architectural drawing. One of the next steps would be to have an engineer look at it to make sure the structure is sound,” Walinski said. 

Larsen asked about the potential for a skating rink, and whether any cooling coil would be installed. 

“We hadn’t anticipated cooling coil, but we had anticipated a concrete slab where you could put an edging board up so, if and when the weather got cold enough, you would have a small skating rink,” Walinski said. 

Miller said she has started getting feedback from the Design Review Board. 

“Some of the things they have mentioned is, for this type of structure, it would probably appropriate to simplify this. They said the curved elements, for this region, might not be the most appropriate. Also, larger post bases, which could also help,” Miller said. 

Electrical would be added to the pavilion, but not water, Walinski said. There would be lights in the structure. 

“I believe we would have lights similar to what we have here. Not necessarily full use lights, but enough lights for security and give you the light to go home,” Walinski said. 

“If we are thinking of the skating rink, that is an evening activity, so we would have to have lights. We would need to upsize our electrical to accommodate for the future use of that,” said Mayor Cheri Kelley Farivar. 

If it is going to be a multi-use, with evening events, then having lights makes sense, Larsen said. He also said there was no place for storage. Walinski said temporary storage could be added. 

“The simplicity of the design is part of its appeal, I think. It’s clean,” Farivar said. 

Miller said lights could be arranged in many different ways. Total cost for the project is $310,000. 

“The next few steps is we’re going to go to the Design Review Board and have a more formal conversation with them. Probably sit down with some of the local non-profits and community groups, talk about if there are any modifications they want to talk about,” Walinski said. 

It is surprising how much locals use that for reunions, parties, Larsen said. 

“It occurred to me how beautiful a wedding venue that would be, if we would consider renting it like the Gazebo,” Farivar said. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.

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