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Although taking longer than anticipated, the City of Holbrook is moving forward with a proposed fishing pond and community park to be located west of 13th Street on the west end of Buffalo Street.
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The idea began back in 2017 with then interim-city manager Randy Sullivan looking at ways to improve Holbrook’s offerings for outdoor activities for residents and visitors to the community. Following a land donation by Shannon Newman, he reached out to Stantec Engineering, a global design, engineering, consulting and construction firm that selects pro bono projects for their engineers to get creative with. According to Sullivan, the firm was excited to take on the project of a community fishing pond. The firm isn’t new to the area as it has also recently completed work for a comprehensive drainage project at the Taylor Rodeo Grounds.
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The site was mapped courtesy of Navajo County by drones last year and the engineers have developed preliminary plans for the site. Core samples of the soil at the site were planned to be collected in January to determine the type of construction but weather has delayed that process until next month.
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According to Sullivan, the city is already in possession of a $50,000 grant to build the parking lot and Stantec has offered to reach out to the Army Corps of Engineers for assistance on the construction of the pond. The area surrounding the pond will be landscaped by city employees with grant funds being sought for beautification. In addition, Arizona Game & Fish has offered to stock the pond at no cost and is hoping to partner with the city as part of their urban program for fishing.
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Concerns such as an increase in mosquitos have already been mitigated. Sullivan explained that currently the area fills with shallow standing water, a perfect environment for the growth of mosquito larvae. The plan in developing the pond is to create a step-down approach. In other words, the edge of the pond would not go from shallow to deep gradually, but rather drop from the edge in a stair step fashion to avoid any waters shallow enough for larvae to develop. In addition, the aerating process that will be part of the pond construction will produce movement to prevent standing water.
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Other concerns regarding the ability to maintain the necessary water capacity were addressed when Sullivan explained that if the run-off to that area becomes inadequate, it would be supplemented with city water.
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The proposed site includes a three-acre pond with an island and a floating boardwalk. The surrounding four acres will include a playground, open lawn, boat slips and an outdoor amphitheater. Earth removed for the pond will be deposited behind the amphitheater as a sound barrier. The hope is that with warmer weather the project will move quickly this year towards completion.
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