Luzerne County is seeking bids to add a rain garden in front of the county Operations Building on Wyoming Avenue in Wyoming, according to an online posting.
The project will be covered by state grant funds and won’t require county general fund operating budget subsidy, the administration said.
County Recycling Coordinator Beth DeNardi had discussed the plans for a rain garden in June 2024, when the county unveiled the operations building that is largely remodeled with recycled materials.
Rain barrels would be installed to collect water from the roof to water a rain garden out front, she had said.
“The plan is to bring it outside as an educational tool for the public,” DeNardi had said. “There’s no other building around like this.”
Rain gardens are filled with native plants that thrive in the region and are designed to absorb water runoff and filter out pollutants.
In addition to a rain garden, the project will include two pollinator gardens, a gravel path, four art pads and foundations for four wayside markers.
The landscaping plan posted with the bid indicates the rain garden will include a total of 43 plants of seven varieties: bee balm, buttonbush, Blue Flag Iris, swamp milkweed, Liatris, switchgrass and Joe Pye weed.
The two pollinator gardens will contain more than 120 plantings designed to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Reilly Associates, the county’s contracted engineer, designed the project.
Bids are due by Aug. 27.
The project must be substantially completed by Nov. 21, the bid documents say.
DeNardi had saved leftover landfill fees and grants for many years to renovate the operations building with no impact on the general fund. The approximately $4 million she accrued to complete the remodeling must be used for recycling and cannot be reprogrammed to cover other demands, such as road and bridge repairs, DeNardi had emphasized.
The county had taken possession of the vacant former Air Reserve Center at 1199 Wyoming Ave. near the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport around 2019.