Invisible work: Block 34 and Community Center improvements make progress behind the scenes
Aug. 12—The first visible sign of progress in the development of Block 34 came Thursday when a crew set up drilling equipment and bored through the ground to determine the soil types and test the their strength.
That testing is an essential step that tells structural engineers working on the project what type of base they're dealing with so they can design the foundations and footings accordingly, project coordinator Jim Beckstrom said.
"What this means is: We're on track," he said.
Beckstrom is a member of the Stillwater Community Foundation who is coordinating work on both Block 34 and planned accessibility improvements to the south entrance of the Stillwater Community Center, which sits just west of Block 34 at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Duck Street.
He told the News Press the community center project should be ready to bid by September and design and engineering for Block 34 is progressing. A civil engineering review was held with the City of Stillwater two weeks ago.
"Every day is another step," Beckstrom said. "It's just the evolution of the design."
Steve Irby, the donor whose $3.8 million pledge made development of Block 34 a reality after more than a decade of discussion, told the News Press several months ago that costs for the concept he envisions will likely exceed his gift. He hoped that other people would add to it so the whole thing can be completed at once. If not, the design might have to be done in phases, Irby said.
Beckstrom agreed that it will probably be more than Irby has pledged, but said until the actual design work is done, the true cost of the project can't be known.
He's optimistic that other donors will contribute and the full vision for Block 34 will be realized.
At the rate things are moving, Beckstrom hopes to have a contract for the construction of Block 34 by the end of the calendar year, a bit later than Irby's original prediction of this summer for the start.
"It's happening," Beckstrom said. "This is just the process."
The Stillwater Community Center's accessibility project, which is designed to change the flow through the parking lot and rework the building's south entrance to add a ramp and stairs covered by a canopy, was originally ready to bid in February. But bids came in about twice what was expected when the foundation met its $235,000 fundraising goal to begin construction.
Beckstrom said even though donors have stepped up and the Stillwater Community Center Foundation increased its pledge to $296,7000, guaranteeing the ramp project will be done, he's still not sure if the canopy can be done now or will need to be added later.
The foundation has submitted a $300,000 grant application to the Payne County Board of Commissioners but hasn't received any word about its status.
The county is holding off on funding any of the $12 million in grant applications it received from nonprofit organizations around the county until it makes a decision on buying a countywide emergency radio system. Once the County Commissioners can see how that major purchase — currently estimated at almost $10 million — leaves of the $15.8 million in federal COVID relief funds the county will receive. That contract probably won't be put out for bid until the end of the year.
