Trail will link downtown to Freedom Park, with work starting this year

The City of Prescott Parks and Public Property Committee met Monday night in the first of many meetings this year to help bring the Riverfront project and trail from downtown to Freedom Park to fruition.

The projects will be paid for through several sources, as the city received grant funding and an insurance settlement when the current courtesy dock was damaged. Its Tax Incremental Financing District 4 will also be utilized.

“What we’re looking at tonight with the committee is some guidance as this moves into design that we’re down the right path,” City Administrator Jayne Brand said.

Committee chair Bailey Ruona said the committee was going to touch on parking needs in the area, the trail, an observation overlook, lighting, benches, tables and other design concepts.

The city has a grant in the neighborhood of $600,000. It already is moving forward on a new courtesy dock, with some of that money coming from insurance, as the current dock was damaged last year. Money can also be expended for the project from the city’s Tax Incremental Financing District 4.

“The dock and the platform, we’re hoping that will get underway in early spring,” said Brand. “The rest of the project, we’ll work through the summer in our downtown area. I don’t see the Freedom Park trail until probably 2022.” Ruona said she preferred lighting to be low to the ground for the riverwalk.

The idea of the night was to give Cedar Corp., the city’s engineering firm, ideas on what the city is interested in for the project.

“And then of course it’s going to all come down to cost,” said Brand. “We’re basically just starting to take a look at what we want to do, lighting, benches, what do we want for fencing? Whatever we do along the riverfront, we want to carry that up to that trail that’s going to go up to Freedom Park. We’re just really kind of starting to pick out things we want to take a look at.”