Five years after the City of Napavine had to “red tag” Mayme Shaddock Park’s kitchen for demolition, the city broke ground Tuesday on new a community kitchen at the park.
The project, which consists of a covered kitchen and restroom facility, a picnic shelter, new lighting and new Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible pathways at the park, is slated to be completed by the end of the year, with a “drop dead” completion date of Feb. 15, 2024.
The City of Napavine began accepting donations for a new kitchen when it first learned the old one had to be torn down in 2018, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
The city soon applied for a Washington state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant for the project, which it received in 2021.
“But they did it right pre-COVID, so by the time they were able to start breaking ground, the price inflation associated with COVID made it impossible with the funding that they had,” Lewis County Commissioner Lindsey Pollock said.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners ultimately decided to help out with the Mayme Shaddock Park project by contributing some of its American Rescue Plan Act funds.
“We opted to select a project in each district, just kind of for social good,” Pollock said, adding, “There’s nothing better than people coming together over food.”
The total cost of the project is $815,500, with Lewis County contributing $470,000, the RCO grant covering $258,900 and the City of Napavine contributing the remaining $86,500.
“We’re really looking forward to having that kitchen area back there where friends, families and citizens can go to utilize that space … We have great parks and it’s about time we start investing in them,” Napavine Mayor Shawn O’Neill told The Chronicle back when RCO announced its grant recipients in July 2021.
