Poulsbo’s grass debate, much ado about nothing?

POULSBO — Sparks flew earlier this summer over an unusual hot topic: Poulsbo’s waterfront grass. But despite many discussions and the city’s worried attempts to keep people off the newly-planted lawns, the green in Poulsbo’s Waterfront Park did just fine, the city’s Public Works department reported.

“We feared the worst, but it came out a little better than we thought,” said Public Works foreman Joe Walker.

After the park received its first facelift since the 1970s, which included a new bulkhead and sidewalks, it was re-opened in March of this year. Discussions and outright debates ensued over how best to protect the growing lawn from summer traffic, namely during festivals utilizing the park. Poulsbo’s city council and Mayor Kathryn Quade worried it would be come a quagmire that would require a $6,000 reseeding and attempted to keep festival tents off the sensitive surface, but though it took a “pounding,” the lawn is doing fine, Walker said.

While the biggest challenge the summer’s events brought to the park were the tents, which don’t allow the department to turn on the irrigation system thus causing the entire park to suffer, the lawn seems to have survived.

“It doesn’t look like we’re going to have to redo anything,” said assistant public works director Dan Wilson. “We’re surprised with the traffic and all the events it’s held up pretty good.”

Councilman Mike Regis, who advocated the council to allow Viking Fest tents to remain on the grass to create easier accessibility for visitors, said he was glad the results were positive.

“It’s going just great,” he said. “It worked out OK.”

Regis said the summer’s intermittent rains and recovery time between events afforded the new seeds ample growing time, and he’s impressed by the strength of what was planted.

“Maybe we made much to do about not too much,” he said of the early summer debate.

Wilson said the department will continue its ongoing seeding program, which includes hand seeding and fertilizer in some areas. Grass in one area of the park will be removed so dirt can be added underneath it to create more height, but the sod will then be replaced, Weaver said.

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