POULSBO — A city-owned house near Centennial Park was removed this week, and demolition began Feb. 1 of a second house next to Dogfish Creek on 8th Avenue.

Removal of the second house will clear the way for the city to restore the creek bed there and replace a too-small culvert on 8th Avenue. That portion of Dogfish Creek frequently floods onto neighboring properties during heavy rains.

The first house removed this week was located between the Vibe Coworks site and Centennial Park, and overlooked a stretch of Dogfish Creek. The house was a rental until around two years ago, Poulsbo Parks and Recreation Director Mary McCluskey said. She said a walking path between 7th and 8th avenues will be installed.

“The upper part of the park wasn’t officially open because we hadn’t done any improvements up there and the house was not in good shape, so it needed to come down,” McCluskey said of the house demolished Jan. 29. “Once it became a park property, quite a few years ago, the whole plan was to take the house down so it could be an open area.”

At one point, the city considered the site as a location for the new city hall, but because the property is bisected by Dogfish Creek, locating a municipal campus and parking on the site would be impossible.

— Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. Contact him at ntwietmeyer@sound publishing.com.