Issaquah needs more grants to finish restoration to the Confluence Parks

Published 3:02 pm Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Issaquah needs a little over $800,000 to restore the 15-plus acre park along Raineer Boulevard and Issaquah Creek.

Funding is in place for work in 2013, but construction in 2014 is only partially funded. Grant applications in 2012 were not successful in obtaining all of the needed funding.

The stream and habitat restoration work started in 2011 using grant funds from King Conservation District and the State Salmon Recovery Funding Board.

On Jan. 7, the Issaquah City Council agreed to submit grant applications to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Puget Sound Restoration and Acquisition to make up the needed funds.

Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger said the city is required to provide a match of $250,000 which will come from the stormwater capital fund.

The council has previously approved similar grants applications for the project. The only change is that the construction budget has increased, due to a greater amount of proposed restoration and higher construction costs.

Frisinger said the creek banks were subjected to hardening resulting in damage and erosion. Tiers need to be created followed by re-planting.

“We want to put it back to a more natural state,” Frisinger said.