REDMOND, OR -- With the completion of Redmond’s new City Hall, officials have set their sights on developing the block between it and Centennial Park. 

Project Manager Troy Rayburn says the public is already getting involved with the design process. He tells KBND News the goal is to get as much feedback as possible, to make sure the Centennial Park extension includes amenities citizens want. "Some of those amenities include a historical walking path. For example, maybe you walk out the doors of the new city hall, go across the street to the park extension and the first historical marker reads: City of Redmond founded 1910. Maybe you walk an additional 25’ and a historical marker indicates something that took place in the 1920s. And that would go all the way through Centennial Park." He adds, "A lot of people seem to be favoring more of an open space, as opposed to repeating amenities that you might find in a park that’s six or eight blocks down the road. For example, we would not want to replicate Hope Park, or the playground associated with the Hope Playground here at this site. We probably would not want to replicate another large water feature." Overall, he says the goal is to offer pedestrian connectivity between City Hall and the downtown core. 

A task force is hosting a series of meetings and will soon mail out a survey to help gather more ideas. Rayburn says, "The task force will collect the information, filter through the information, make some recommendations to DURAC. DURAC is our Downtown Urban Renewal Advisory Committee. And then, DURAC will forward those recommendations to the Urban Renewal Board of Directors, which is City Council." Click HERE to read more about the project. 

Several groups will present their suggestions at a public meeting Wednesday afternoon. It begins at 4:30 at City Hall. Other public open house-style meetings are scheduled for May and August. City Council could make a final decision on the design as early as fall. And, Rayburn says work could begin as soon as 2018.