City Council approves transfer of Gig Harbor Little League fields

Gig Harbor is ready to play ball, as signaled by the City Council, which voted unanimously at Monday’s meeting to approve the transfer of the Gig Harbor Little League fields from Peninsula Light to the city.

Parks Project Administrator Katrina Knutson presented the agreement to the Council and explained the details of the transfer.

Per the agreement, the city will take over ownership and maintenance of the fields as a public city park and will be part of the future Gig Harbor Sports Complex.

Gig Harbor Little League will continue to use the baseball fields during their regular season, which will be renamed Peninsula Light Fields.

“This is an important step for the Gig Harbor Sports Complex to become a reality in Gig Harbor North,” Knutson said.

The property is located on 50th Avenue NW in Gig Harbor.

Council member Tim Payne noted that this agreement demonstrates the partnership between Peninsula Light, Gig Harbor Little League and the city to support active youth and adults in the Gig Harbor community.

Masonic Lodge property environmental site assessment

Knutson presented a staff report and amendment to a contract to the Council to continue the city’s due diligence in an environmental site assessment of the Masonic Lodge property, which the city is in the process of purchasing.

Knutson said that during the initial assessment by Aspect Consulting a non-working oil tank was discovered on site. This contract amendment would extend the assessment to sample the soil around the tank and perform sub-slab soil vapor sampling to ensure the building is safe for occupancy.

The Council approved the amendment in the amount not to exceed $9,193.

Knutson also noted that the price of the sale was renegotiated down by $15K because of this oil tank.

The sale of the property, at 3025 96th Street NW, will close Friday (July 28) in the amount of $660K. The city will take possession on Sept. 11.

Knutson added that a meeting with the Gig Harbor Preschool Co-op is scheduled for later this week to discuss a rental agreement for their continued use of the facility.

The next Gig Harbor City Council meeting is 5:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview Street. A full calendar and meeting agenda can be found online at cityofgigharbor.net.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "City Council approves transfer of Gig Harbor Little League fields."