Lebanon plans Westside Park at former street department site on Lafayette Avenue

Lebanon City will convert the former street department site at 1301 Lafayette Avenue into a new Westside Park, city engineer Kevin Krulek said on the Love and Lebanon podcast. The plan grew from environmental reviews, public surveys and a city procurement process that produced six proposals.

The park concept—developed with input gathered through public surveys and a master‑planning process supported by Brownfield grant funding—calls for amenities aimed at older youths as well as families, including a skate park, rock‑climbing features, a perimeter walking path, picnic shelter, public restrooms and a spray pad. "It's about 4 acres, but we can do some exciting things there," Krulek said.

Why it matters: the parcel sits on the west side of town where residents have had limited nearby city‑run park access. City officials said the site is not suited for residential redevelopment without extensive soil removal because earlier industrial uses left oil, gasoline and asphalt contaminants in the soil; however, Krulek said the site can be capped and used safely for park or paved features. "The soil could be capped, say, with a parking lot or a skate park even, and contained in that fashion," he said.

How the project is proceeding: the city is using a build‑operate‑transfer (BOT) delivery model to assemble design, construction and financing expertise. Krulek said the city issued a request for proposals and qualifications, received six responses and plans to interview every respondent. "We got 6 different proposals from 6 different teams," he said. After interviews the selected team will enter a scoping period to finalize design details and produce a guaranteed maximum price contract the city can accept or revisit.

Timeline and next steps: Krulek said the scoping period is expected to begin around March 2026, with construction starting toward the end of summer, continuing through winter, and work wrapping up the following spring. "We can start that process and deliver a park probably around the time of like Memorial Day weekend 2027," he said. The selection committee will complete interviews and the city will move into the scoping phase before any construction contract is finalized.

Funding and planning context: city staff credited the planning department and Brownfield grants—supported with consultant work from V3 Consulting—for covering assessment costs and for helping secure master‑planning funding. City officials emphasized the design reflects public input: Krulek said planners conducted outreach at community events and school games to solicit preferences for park features.

What remains unresolved: while city staff describe a clear procurement pathway, several administrative steps remain—interviews, finalizing a guaranteed maximum price and executing a contract—before work begins. Environmental mitigation choices (capping vs. soil removal) and final design details will be decided during the scoping phase.

The podcast episode closed with mutual optimism about the schedule and a reminder that the city will proceed through interviews and scoping before construction begins.