Oak Harbor Seeks Resident Input on Recreation Center Feasibility Study

Jim Woessner has been waiting 64 years for a recreation center in Oak Harbor. At Friday's City Council meeting, the councilmember made that clear, noting that "public engagement has always been a concern for me." Now the city is putting that principle into practice.

Oak Harbor launched the community outreach phase of its recreation center feasibility study, posting an online wish-list survey that asks residents what they want built. The city's project page frames it plainly: "We want to know what's important to you and your neighbors and what you would like to see in a recreation center." Survey answers will shape the consultant's needs assessment, meaning what residents say now determines whether the final design prioritizes an indoor pool, a full gymnasium, pickleball courts, childcare space, or meeting rooms.

The need is documented. A prior city survey, cited in the winning consultant's own proposal, found residents specifically want indoor programming during winter months, along with more meeting and event spaces and pickleball courts. Those gaps land differently depending on who is asking.

Youth sports families in Oak Harbor contend with limited indoor gym time once fall rains arrive and outdoor fields close for the season. Seniors seeking daily fitness programming, lap swimming, or social gathering space have no dedicated public facility in the city. For the military families stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, a consistent and substantial share of Oak Harbor's 23,809 residents, a recreation center would provide the kind of year-round indoor amenities common in base-adjacent communities where many have previously lived.

Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith said the city's expectation is to "roll the feasibility study right into a funding strategy and construction documents and planning and implementation," treating the consultant's work as a blueprint for action rather than a shelf report.

The City Council unanimously approved a contract with Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, LLC, known as BerryDunn, based in Portland, Maine. Selected from seven firms that responded to a Request for Proposals published May 10, 2025, BerryDunn earned the highest evaluation score and submitted the lowest bid at $133,118. The final negotiated contract fee is $174,938, with a total not-to-exceed project budget of $200,000 funded by a Washington State capital appropriation administered through the Department of Commerce, which retains a 3% administrative share.

Councilmember Eric Marshall credited state Reps. Clyde Shavers and Dave Paul for securing that funding, calling the project potentially "a huge economic benefit to our community."

BerryDunn's scope covers focus groups, public sessions, site analysis, concept development, program and operations modeling, capital cost estimates, and conceptual renderings specifically designed to support future fundraising. That last item signals the city is already mapping a path toward bond measures, grant applications, or donor campaigns. Staff will coordinate consultant outreach with local stakeholders and schools.

Once complete, the study goes first to the Oak Harbor Parks and Recreation Commission for review before returning to the full City Council. The online wish-list survey is available now on the city's website, with public focus groups and additional stakeholder sessions to follow as the study progresses.