TD Council to consider $600k contract for Federal Street Plaza planning
This view of Federal Street shows where the plaza will be located as the street, between First and Second streets will be vacated for the construction of an event space.
The Dalles, Ore., July 7, 2025 — The Dalles City Council will meet Monday, July 14, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall and via livestream to consider hiring a contractor to develop plans for the Federal Street Plaza.
At the corner of Second and Federal streets in downtown, the street will be vacated so that a community meeting place for events and gatherings will be created with the intent of making The Dalles more pedestrian friendly while bolstering economic activity in the local shopping district.
Council will act as the Contract Review Board to consider a professional services contract with Walker Macy, LLC, for design and planning services for the Federal Street Plaza project. The amount of this contract is $619,212, drawn from the project’s overall budget allocation of $4,915,899, which includes anticipated grant funds (p.135, 142–143).
Walker Macy is a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with offices in Portland and Seattle.
Example of a metal Clearspan Structure. The company is headquartered in South Windsor, Conn.
Additionally, the council is expected to authorize the purchase of three engineered metal buildings to house Public Works vehicles, with a quoted price of $170,366, funded through allocations in the Street Fund, Water Distribution Fund, and Wastewater Collection Fund (p.8–9, 18). The buildings will be purchased from ClearSpan Structures under a Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreement.
Funding: $89,000 each from Street Fund, Water Distribution Fund, and Wastewater Collection Fund (total allocation $267,000; purchase price comes in below this at $170,366.42).
The agenda also includes a public hearing on adopting new floodplain development regulations to comply with FEMA’s updated standards (p.21–30). Resolutions are slated to confirm appointments to the Historic Landmarks Commission, Federal Street Plaza Ad Hoc Committee, and the Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation Board.
Residents can watch online at thedalles.org/live_streaming and may sign up with the City Clerk by noon Monday to speak.
