Trees removed for grandstands project

SANDPOINT — Larger grandstands at Barlow Stadium at War Memorial Field comes at the cost of 30 trees, removed Thursday and Friday from Lakeview Park.

“We’re going from 900 to 1,500 people,” said Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff. “For the stadium size that was approved, those trees had to come out.”

Woodruff said two of the trees were diseased birch trees that were not in the construction area but needed removed. The final design includes the planting of about 25 trees, he added. 

Woodruff said it was his fault for not communicating more information about the tree removal. While it was not discussed during the presentations, the plan was always to expand the grandstands to seat more people, he added. 

“I personally, if someone feels slighted or left out of the project, I apologize,” Woodruff said. “I can’t have trees in the middle of the stadium. We can’t move the structure onto the field anymore. We’re already on the field pretty much.”

In order to keep the trees, Woodruff said the stadium would have had to be redesigned, costing more money. Because it is taxpayer money, he said he felt obligated to get the best value, and removing the trees was the only option.

“In my opinion, there wasn’t any other alternative,” Woodruff said. “It’s a drag, but what else can we do?"

Two bids were received by the city about three weeks ago for the tree removal, costing $17,700. The trees were sent to a mill, cut into sections and will be sold, with the money returning the grandstands project. Woodruff said they should receive about $6,000-$8,000 from the lumber sales. The tree stumps remaining will be ground out within a few weeks, he added.

The plan is to begin demolition on the existing grandstands Sept. 18, which will take about two weeks. Woodruff said they are trying to use local contractors to demo the grandstands for just the fuel costs. There will be about 50 dump truck loads of wood and debris, and the city has asked the county commissioners about waiving the solid waste fees. A decision will be made next Tuesday, Woodruff said.

"We’re trying to get this demolished for next to nothing,” Woodruff said.

The demolition will set up the construction crews for an early October start and the new grandstands should be completed by May 15. Woodruff said having the demolition completed will ensure the best value out of the construction bids.

"We’re planning on graduation 2017 at that venue,” Woodruff said. “We are being aggressive."

Woodruff said sitting in the current grandstands feels like a munched up sardine without very large aisles to navigate to a seat. He said larger aisles will give easier access to seats in the new stadium. The design of the new grandstands will meet Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and all building codes.

"This is designed for the future and to meet all the codes,” Woodruff said.

The stadium has several other changes coming with the new design, including putting the dressing rooms under the grandstands and demolishing the current secondary dressing room building. That area will become the gateway area, Woodruff said.

The voters approved the Barlow Stadium at War Memorial Field grandstands five-year 1-percent local option sales tax in November. The tax is in addition to the 6-percent state sales tax. All of the funds collected from the 1-percent sales tax will be used to rebuild the grandstands at War Memorial Field. If funds remain, the parks infrastructure could also see some updates.

Woodruff said he is excited that the project has been started, and he hopes the residents of Sandpoint will wait until 2017 when the grandstands are built before passing too much judgment. He joked that if people are still bummed after it is complete, then they can come at him with darts.

"At least give me a chance to build it,” Woodruff said.