CENTERVILLE ó The tiny park thatís taken three years to become reality is finally right on schedule. The Centerville City Council recently approved an agreement that will allow the first phase of the remodel of the Parrish Creek Parkway, a small natural area surrounding a pond by Chase Lane and Frontage Road, to begin sometime in August. The parkway, which city officials have been trying to clean up and turn into a mini-park since 2005, will first receive a sediment basin necessary for any later area cleanup.##M:MORE##

ìWe need to be able to get control of the creek water,î said Centerville City Manager Steve Thacker, explaining that the sedimentation basin will allow all of the water to either stay in the creek or flow into the pond located on the parkway. ìWhen we start working on the pond, we need to be able to keep the water out of it.î

The pond, which was originally designated as a wetlands mitigation side and now serves flood control duties, has raised concerns for several years because of noxious weeds and occasional rat problems. Delays in approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, however, pushed back the possibility of any resolution until recently.

The city is working in conjunction with the county on the basin, and the long-standing agreement between the two groups had been that the city would pay for the materials and that county employees would handle the construction.

An availability issue with the county employees, however, led to another delay in the project, leading to an expiration of the Army Corps permit. The cityís wetlands consultant is currently applying for a new permit, and the city expects it to be approved sometime this August.

After work on the silt basin is completed, the city plans to proceed in early 2009 with dredging, draining and reshaping the park area, as well as revegetating the site with natural vegetation. Also planned for the later construction phase is a 4-6 ft. wide path, and possibly a foot bridge.

ìItís a really good deal in terms of obtaining parkland,î said council member Paul Cutler during one of the earlier council meetings on the parkway. ìUseable recreational land is very valuable.î

jwardell@davisclipper.com