Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park project updated

Matt Baide | Apr 28, 20220

Dana Kampa count

The waterwheel at Sweetwater Creek in 2018.

Mendy Harlow, executive director of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, provided an update to the Mason County commissioners on the Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park project at the April 18 commissioner briefing.

The park is planned for the Schindelheim property, which is south of Belfair Elementary School off state Route 3 and across from the Early Childhood Learning Center.

The plan for the park is to have a freshwater fishing pond, public restroom, picnic shelter and a natural play area with wood and rock structures that would "encourage play in a more natural environment."

The property was developed in the 1930s and it was a gas station until the 1950s, when an antique store and restaurant were added to the property. The waterwheel was developed as a novelty.

The property was acquired by the North Mason School District in 1997 through a Grant and the purpose was to add to the Hood Canal Watershed Project and Theler Wetlands, which comprised 150 acres uplands to tidelands in public ownership for environmental education and public access. The property has a remote-site incubator on Sweetwater Creek and has been used for the salmon in the classroom curriculum. The salmon center releases 120,000 juvenile salmon from the incubator.

In 2009, Bruce Dees and Associates were commissioned to draw up a conceptual design for Waterwheel Park, which included restoration of the waterwheel and re-routing a majority of the creek water around the pond to allow for fish passage. The project fell through in 2010. Brian Petersen acquired a parcel of land in 2015 and allowed the project to move forward and the Schindelheim Property was transferred to the Port of Allyn in 2018.

Harlow said the future challenges for the park include parcel zoning, as it is zoned with a mix of family residential and mixed use, which can be changed through the Mason County commissioners. She also asked the commissioners to sign a letter of support before the grant deadline in early May.

Harlow said the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group has been working with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife on the project and WDFW has committed to allowing the group to stock the pond with trout that would be available for people to fish for. She said the group will be working with the state Department of Ecology for the next phase of the project.

Harlow said Petersen is holding the property for the salmon center until they have the money to buy the property from him.