La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Have you noticed the activity at Conner Waterfront Park these past several weeks?

We started planting trees along the southern border of the park to define where the park stops. By using cedars and so forth, we will be able to reduce the vision of our adjoining industrial neighbor and make it look more park like.

La Conner’s Public Works Department started by digging a trench from the water to the road to plant the trees and also put in a temporary water line so the new trees would have water for a short time.

We were able to plant two of the more than one dozen trees in the design and then uncovered a steel retort from old cannery days buried right where we wanted to plant the trees.

Department of Ecology was contacted, and they gave us the green light to dig up and remove the tank, as there was no damage to the surrounding soil. It is now gone, and we will be able to restart tree planting in the area soon.

Later this fall Public Works will lay out and pour the picnic shelter pads along with the eventual placements of the barbecues.

In the spring, we will be putting new infrastructure under the street, Conner Way, and while this is being finished, we will define the street side of the park by planting barriers and parking slots, along with making the new crosswalk to provide access to Pioneer Park.

Donations are still coming in. The most recent was on Tuesday, when the Shell Refinery contributed $5,000.

Along with a $50,000 matching grant from the Osberg Foundation and $100,000 in funding from the State of Washington, we now have more than $200,000 toward construction. That amount represents half of what it will take to fully fund the park.

Thanks to all of you for your contributions.

Also, make sure you put on your calendar 4 p.m., Nov. 29, for the La Conner Christmas Concert at Maple Hall. This year’s beneficiary is Conner Waterfront Park. See you all there.

The writer is a member of the La Conner Parks Commission.