Oroville >> Riverbend Park is about to get some much-needed TLC.

The recreational hot spot along the Feather River has been closed since February after the park was badly battered during the Lake Oroville spillway crisis. After months of applications for federal funding and assessments of the damage, the first phase of the project will begin officially Friday.

A presentation of the scope of work will also be before the Feather River Recreation and Parks District board of directors in a special meeting Tuesday at the district office, 1875 Feather River Blvd. in Oroville. The meeting starts at 10 a.m.

Several agencies committed to the first cleanup right away, according to the agenda, including: the state Department of Water Resources; Kiewit, the contractor doing repairs on the dam; Butte County; the California Conservation Corps; Cal Fire; the Northwest Lineman College; local contractors; the state Department of Fish and Wildlife; and Caltrans.

The park is still closed and the parks district is not looking for public volunteers at this time. However, the public may be invited to help in the future, said Victoria Teague, executive assistant with the district. Those interested in getting involved can email victoria@frrpd.com or call (530) 533-2011.

The scope of work will be presented to the board by the Melton Design Group and the Special District Risk Management Authority, according to Tuesday’s agenda. While the parks district has flood insurance, some costs from the incident may not be covered, Teague said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may be able to account for gaps in funding, so the district has been keeping track of what qualifies for assistance. In March, repairs were estimated to cost at least $8 million.

Financing for the construction of Riverbend Park was included in the settlement agreement signed by the parks district, the city of Oroville and over 50 entities with DWR about 10 years ago. With that came the promise of over $61 million for recreational projects for the greater Oroville area through the Supplemental Benefits Fund. A committee decides how to spend the money.

The agreement is contingent upon FERC reissuing the license to DWR to operate the dam, which has not happened yet. Held up for many years because of a biological opinion, currently the wait is on President Donald Trump, who needs to appoint new voting members to FERC in order to make a quorum.

Riverbend Park, built in 2006, needs extensive cleaning and repairs to its soccer fields and landscape, though it is not the only facility in town needing repairs after flooding. Bedrock and Palermo parks are also on the list.

Bedrock Park’s tennis courts need to be resurfaced, estimated to cost $40,000-$70,000 in a preliminary assessment in May, and the skate park ramp needs to be resurfaced or replaced. Playground equipment at Palermo Park also needs to be replaced. No cost estimate was available from the parks district at this time.

A partial timeline of the damage and repairs to Riverbend Park this year is below:

• January: Flooding begins with Oroville Dam spillway releases.

• Feb. 7: Spillway starts to crumble.

• Feb. 12: Evacuation order issued for nearly 200,000 residents downstream of the dam.

• Feb. 15: Disaster declaration.

• March 1-2: Discussions with FEMA and the Special District Risk Management Authority to determine level of flood insurance.

• March 15: Contracting with Melton Design Group for assessment, design consulting.

• April: FEMA application submittal, assessments continue.

In May’s preliminary assessment, the parks district aimed to have the park open to the public in the fall, undergoing phase one of construction in spring 2018, phase two in fall 2018 and finished improvements in spring 2019. Teague had no updates on estimated dates as of Monday afternoon.