September 26, 2022 |
Progress can finally begin on the Never Forget Memorial Park in Saratoga. Long awaited plans for the park have been received from the design company. Work can begin once the town finds a contractor.
Saratoga Public Works Director Jon Winter has been waiting for curb and gutter designs from WLC Engineering for “a while.” He received the design documents on Friday.
Winter has given the plans to the town council and a meeting will be held in the near future.
The park is going to be located on Pic Pike Road, near the bridge to Veteran’s Island. It was originally going to include a strip of land held by Dr. Michael Janssen, owner of the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, that runs along Arrowhead Drive. Mayor Creed James had a hand-shake deal with Dr. Janssen to exchange a lot owned by the town overlooking the resort’s golf course for Janssen’s land. The deal fell through when the public found out how valuable the land Mayor James had promised was. The new park does not include Dr. Janssen’s property.
The Never Forget Park will be the new home of Sierra Smith’s sculpture, “Wyoming Remembers.” The monument to Sergeant Tyler Pickett is located in front of the Platte Valley Community Center but will move to permanent installation when the ground work is completed. Winter described the proposed layout.
Final details haven’t been finalized yet. The park will have a bathroom and ADA approved sidewalks. Sod or grass seed will be laid down to cover the dirt. The driveway will, most likely, start as gravel, but will be paved in the future. The town may put up a fence as well. Winter said that things aren’t set in stone, but the park won’t vary much from the current plan.
With the curb and gutter plans in hand, the town can put out for contractors to bid on the job. Once a low bidder is found, work can begin. Winter said he hopes to have it started by the fall. The town already has bids for the irrigation system, but work won’t begin on that until next spring, when the contractors are available.
Pictured above: File photo of vacant lot adjacent to Veteran’s Island park near the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
