BACK TO NATURE PRESERVE TO OPEN SOON.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Construction of the first phase of facilities for a West Lancaster nature preserve is nearing completion, and city officials hope to open to visitors this summer.

Construction of the Prime Desert Woodlands interpretative center, a parking lot and trails was to have been completed Friday. However, because of recent rains, the contractor was given a couple of weeks extra to complete the work, said Lyle Norton, director of Lancaster's Parks, Recreation and Arts Department.

The remaining work includes finishing the interior of the 5,060-square- foot interpretative center, compacting the trails and installing bathroom fixtures.

After the construction is completed, the city will still have some work to do on the preserve before it can open. The city plans to install interpretative signs along the trails, put in displays at the center, and recruit and train docents.

``We're targeting opening sometime between June and August,'' Norton said.

The first phase of the woodlands covers about 55 acres of what will eventually be a 100-acre preserve. The woodlands is bordered roughly by avenues K-4 and K-8 between 33rd Street West and 40th Street West.

The area was selected for preservation because of its combination of Joshua trees, California junipers and creosote bushes. The city bought the land to keep it from being turned into housing tracts, which now surround the area.

Construction of the preserve facilities began in February 1999 but stopped in September 1999 when the original contractor, M.A. Butters of Rancho Cucamonga, was declared in default. City officials said the contractor was behind schedule and showed no promise of getting the project on track.

In June, Butters filed a $3.2 million lawsuit against Lancaster, saying the city failed to provide adequate instruction on how to build the straw- bale interpretative center. In November, construction began again after the city and the bonding company that insured the project reached an agreement on how to finance the rest of the work.

The bonding company brought in Hanes and Assoc., a Lancaster company, to finish the project.

In the agreement with Ulico Casualty, the bonding company, the $560,000 that was left in the fund from the original $1.8 million contract, plus an additional $90,000 from the city, is being used to finish the work.

The additional $90,000 was needed to cover increases in the construction costs since the original contract was bid two years ago.

Lancaster is trying to acquire 15 more acres, divided in five parcels, to complete the land acquisition for phase 2. Improvements for the second phase will involve the expansion of the trail network.

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Photo:

(color) Lyle Norton, Lancaster's director of parks, recreation and arts, stands at the Prime Desert Woodlands site, to open this summer.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer