Front Street gets a touch of splash

POULSBO — The beauty of Poulsbo’s shorelines along Liberty Bay have long been an awe-inspiring sight for locals and visitors alike.

But now they’ve got some competition.

Workers have been on site since last week near the corner of Hostmark and Front Street creating Little Norway’s second waterfall in one year. The project is spearheaded by the Bight of Poulsbo, which designed and built a waterfall on property near the corner of Front Street and Bond Road last year.

After seeing the first water feature come together, Poulsbo Compounding Pharmacy owners Craig and Sally Kvam asked Bight founder Bill Austin to create a similar structure in front of their new location. Kvam said she was pleased with the work so far.

“It’s fabulous,” she commented. “This is better than we thought. We just had a stack of rocks here a little while ago and now it’s this.”

An estimated 75 tons of rock were hauled in to create the waterfall, which is accompanied by a landscaped rock formation in the same parking lot. Both designs, by Ben Cooper of Second Nature Landscaping, were approved by the Poulsbo City Council at its May 26 meeting. Crews began work last week and despite a short stop-work order due to a misunderstanding at City Hall, both sites were expected to be completed before the end of the week. The goal is to have water running in the waterfall by today.

“This is perfect,” Austin said. “Ben Cooper did a fine job. I just left everything up to him and he came up with this and it’s great.”

Austin estimated the cost for both additions at $30,000-$40,000. The Kvams paid for the waterfall and the rest was paid for by several donors. A new “Welcome to Downtown Poulsbo” sign was added and lists the donors including Los Cabos Grill, Sheila’s Bay Cafe, Portside Pub, Tolman, Kirk & Franz, Raven Blues, Blue Heron Jewelry, Valley Nursery and Nilsen’s Appliance. Austin added many downtown business people have been very supportive of the idea.

“They’re excited,” he said. “Everybody’s excited. I haven’t heard one negative comment about it yet. But don’t hold your breath.”