The Federal Way City Council recently approved the first design of Town Square Park presented by Parks Department officials at a recent council meeting.

The “30 percent” park design includes a larger lawn, a children’s play area, spray park, restrooms, basketball courts and a walking path — all encompassed in four acres for an estimated $1.5 million budget.

Parks Director John Hutton and Parks Deputy Director Steve Ikerd were directed to take on the project in February after Mayor Jim Ferrell terminated contractor Nakano Associates because their designs for the park exceeded the  city’s budget by about $1.7 million for a total of $3.4 million.

“I think the budget is important to us and it wasn’t obviously as important to them,” Hutton said about the switch, noting city staff plans on staying as close to the $1.5 million budget as possible. “We understand that there’s a finite amount of dollars and we had to get as much as we could within the budget as possible.”

There’s currently $1.585 million in the downtown redevelopment fund, the only source of funds for the park at this time.

Hutton believes Nakano Associates is a “very good firm” and has done some “beautiful work” but they didn’t make the city’s budget their No. 1 priority.

He said the Parks Department was able to cut costs on the new design by axing the terracing and strong “amphitheater feel” Nakano Associates proposed in their designs presented at the Jan. 31 City Council retreat.

Instead, Hutton said the city’s design incorporates the natural slope of the park to create a similar space.

Ikerd said a lot of Nakano’s features were very “high end,” which included concrete retaining walls, plazas and dramatic features.

“We kind of made it more functional and a little less flamboyant,” he said.

The city also plans to reuse elements from the current park.

Up to 10 tables, umbrellas, barbecues, benches and planters will all be repurposed as well as the current lawn grass and basketball court material, known as slurry seal.

Hutton said the new basketball courts —  two half-courts, one regular-sized and a smaller one for children — will be created by cutting the current slurry seal to form the arched shapes for the courts.

“Basketball’s really popular there,” Hutton said. “It’s not meant to be an athletic park driver but we do want to leave them because they’re there and it has been popular.”

The grass on the current half-acre lawn will be cut up and reused along areas on South 320th Street, while new hydroseed is planted to create a “great lawn” three times the size of the current one. The new lawn will be over one-and-a-half acres, but Hutton said grass will also surround the play area, basketball courts and south end of the park.

The city will also save money by tying in the catch basins currently at the park.

Town Square Park will retain two driveways but open a main walking entrance to the east for people who come from the Transit Center. And although the parking lot will be reduced by 50-40 spaces, Hutton said the Transit Center will be available for parking when the city hosts events such as movie nights in the summer or the holiday tree lighting in the winter.

Because the city hopes to break ground around June 22 and doesn’t anticipate reopening until the summer of 2016, Hutton said there’s a 50/50 chance this year’s holiday tree lighting will be at the park.

“We already have a live tree reserved, it’s 28-feet tall, and we’re hoping for growth,” he said. “It would be planted on-site, and there’s a possibility we could actually do [the tree lighting] there but I’m hesitant to say.”

Hutton said it’s all a matter of whether the site will be ready for people, given that it will still be under construction.

One of the most costly, yet exciting, proposed design features is the spray park.

Between the play area and lawn will be a spray park somewhat similar to the water area at Town Square Plaza near Kent Station, but with a Federal Way twist.

“Steve has been working really hard on cool concepts that would involve a cool experience, visually, as well as with a huge fun factor,” Hutton said. “An interactive fountain, if you will.”

Hutton said there may be a cascading water feature where “say mom or dad brings their little kid to the park on an 85-degree day and the parents want to feel mist or regulate their experience on how wet they want to get. Adults can control their dampness at their own degree.”

Hutton said they haven’t released the details yet but said there’s an opportunity to incorporate some art into the design.

And because there’s a spray park, restrooms come with the package as they are required by King County Public Health.

Near the restrooms and spray park, there’s space for a potential cafe in the future, however, it’s not represented in this phase.

Ikerd and Hutton also identified two areas for a potential veteran’s memorial, which various veterans advocacy groups and local service groups will fund.

Councilman Bob Celski envisions the memorial to be a place where veterans will be able to rest and reflect.

The park design incorporates more shade than the current park by adding more than 100 trees that “will provide shade and color two times a year” with spring cherry trees and a mixture of maple, dogwood and serviceberry trees, according to the plans.

On the northeast corner of the park will be an area for a covered shelter when it rains or when the sun beats down and there’s also space for a future stage for concerts or other events on the southwest corner.

“On the drawing there’s a future band shell,” Hutton said. “That may be something that would come in later.”

Hutton said in the meantime, the Parks Department has a mobile stage that Ikerd built himself that will suffice.

The city chose the park features based on feedback from 450 respondents from a survey the city recently conducted.

The Parks Department will present the next phase of the park’s design, the 85 percent design, at a council meeting on April 21. If that’s approved, then city staff will begin the master plan process and take it back to the council. Because they’re on a tight deadline, the city hopes to have a bid acceptance for all of the various park elements by mid-May. If all goes according to plan, Hutton said the goal is to break ground on Monday, June 22, just after the city’s 25th anniversary celebration on June 20.

Hutton said the strict deadline is based on the small window of time they have to lay down the lawn’s hydroseed so that there’s enough grass grown by the summer of 2016.

“We want that great lawn to be just that, a great lawn,” he said. “That’s the rush, hydroseed is a much more affordable option than sod.”

For more information about Town Square Park, visit www.cityoffederalway.com/index.aspx?nid=678.