“Tom Fallon, right, facilities supervisor for the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District, cements a section of irrigation pipe with the help of Seth Mackie.Matt Johnson / staff photoThe dirt has been moved, the ground has been leveled. Even the irrigation system is in.As the wet, cold winter weather approaches, construction workers who have been moving dirt at the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District’s new Langley Road soccer field site are getting ready to call it quits for the year. According to district director Jerry Cole, Oak Harbor’s Kreig Construction — which has a $369,688 contract with the district to do the dirt work and some asphalt paving — will be back next spring to put the finishing touches on the fields and a parking lot. Cole said about two weeks of work remain. Next March or April, Kreig will pave the parking lot for the new, four-field facility, and will spread a layer of sandy soil on the fields. After that, the district can plant grass and wait for the 2002 soccer season to begin. That is the soonest Cole and the district’s commissioners expect the fields to be ready for play.Last week, parks facilities supervisor Tom Fallon got the jump on the process of growing the grass local soccer players so desire. With two other park employees, he installed irrigation lines throughout the district’s new 30-acre land acquisition. Doing this before the fields are finished, Cole said, will save the district the thousands of dollars it would take to repair the fields if irrigation was installed after they were finished. He should know, because that is exactly what happened when the district built its first fields at its Maxweltoad Road park land.Kreig will also install a drainage system next spring, as well as a bio swale — a low, wet, grassy area designed to filter oil and other toxins out of the runoff from the new parking lot and soccer fields. The parks district will also have a restroom facility built for the new fields; however, no contractor has yet been chosen for that job. “
“Park work to end next week, resume in the spring”
"As the wet, cold winter weather approaches, construction workers who have been moving dirt at the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District's new Langley Road soccer field site are getting ready to call it quits for the year. According to district director Jerry Cole, Oak Harbor's Kreig Construction -- which has a $369,688 contract with the district to do the dirt work and some asphalt paving -- will be back next spring to put the finishing touches on the fields and a parking lot. "