March 19, 2024
The Liberty Lake Splash
PO Box 363
Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Phone: 509-242-7752
News Blog Business Community Opinion Sports

More News

March Marvel-Calvary a catalyst for historic Gonzaga run

Daughters of The American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a volunteer women’s organization that has been dedicated to historical preservation, education, and patriotism for over a century. Across the United States, there are over 3,000 chapters supporting an estimated current membership of 200,000, with over one million total members since their founding in 1890.

HOA’s have different rules what it means for Police and streets
The city of Liberty Lake is known for its winding paths, street trees and homeowner’s associations. Recently, however, residents of some neighborhoods have been questioning the services they receive from the city, particularly police patrols and traffic enforcement.

Vietnam Veteran Pat Payne Receives his Combat Infantry Badge
Spokane Valley resident and Vietnam Veteran Pat Payne personifies bravery, resilience, and a profound commitment to supporting his fellow service members. Having served in the Vietnam War, Pat received both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals for his exceptional contributions and sacrifices. Unfortunately, at the time of his service discharge, a key ‘box’ was left unchecked, and he did not receive his Combat Infantry Badge or CIB until fifty-six years after leaving Vietnam.

Return Ticket Home; Fisher helped establish LL city roots
In the acclaimed 1940 novel, “You Can’t Go Home Again,” author Thomas Wolfe paints the picture of ambitious writer George Webber who leaves his rural hometown roots to seek fame and fortune in New York City.

At Home on Air – Media fixture Owsley relishes local roots
Sean Owsley’s first big break in the media world came when he was living in a modest apartment on Skipworth Road in Spokane Valley.

Spokane Valley Library employee is recognized by the Library of Congress
Spokane Valley Library was recently honored to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the Library of Congress for its involvement in the Veterans History Project. The Library of Congress recognized the library's continuous dedication to preserving the stories and experiences of our nation's veterans. As part of this recognition, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Jeremy Mullin, a local resident actively involved in the project.

Council social media training degenerates into confrontation
Spokane Valley City Council training on policy regarding social media accounts and use of the city’s logo turned from benignly informative to heatedly combative after an exchange between two council members at the Jan. 9 meeting.

Central Valley School District Prop. 1

Eat, Shop, and Be Merry

Water Works

2023 Candidate Guide

Sporting in Liberty Lake

Closing the Chasm

Congratulations First Ridgeline High School Graduating Class of 2023

2023 Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sales are Coming!
Click here to register today! Only $15 to get into the printed and online guide!

Public Safety Raised to New Level

Parks and Art Commission

Looking Ahead to 2023

Eat, Shop and Be Merry

New city administrator

Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sale Interactive Map!

Liberty Lake Kiwanis Yard Sale Guide - Now Available!!

Conrats 2022 Senior Graduates

Pavillion Park

You Are Invited

Destination Liberty Lake

Liberty Lake's Lego Home

Making and Impact 2022

Search the News Archive Search the News Archive

Council tie nixes Pavillion Park upgrades, restroom at ballfields
3/18/2015 2:31:27 PM

By Craig Howard
Splash Contributor

Earlier this year, it appeared that a pair of Liberty Lake greenspaces would be benefiting from an investment of capital upgrades.

At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, concern over a different kind of green – and a rare gridlock around the dais – returned both projects to the shelf.  

A month ago, the Liberty Lake City Council delved into a conversation about improvements to Pavillion Park and the Liberty Lake Ballfields during a workshop that shed light on dwindling storage space for municipal maintenance equipment. By a 4-3 vote on Feb. 17, the governing board agreed to endorse a budget amendment for an expansion of the women's restroom, additional storage space, improved power connections and a permanent concession stand at the park as well as a restroom at the ballfields.

All that remained was approval of the contract for the restroom and the second read ordinance on the budget amendment for the park improvements. The restroom – consisting of just over $67,000 for the building, nearly $40,000 for installation and a $5,300 contingency – produced a 3-3 vote on Tuesday. (Mayor Pro Tem Cris Kaminskas was ill and missed the meeting with an excused absence.) The tie meant a veto on the project and the likelihood of portable restrooms for the site's inaugural season.

Council Members Keith Kopelson, Odin Langford and Shane Brickner voted against the contract while Council Members Dan Dunne, Bob Moore and Hugh Severs supported it. 

The vote on park enrichments came shortly after, with Kopelson, Langford and Moore opposing the budget amendment and Dunne, Severs and Bricker indicating approval. 

While the mayor can cast a vote to break a tie on certain issues, any tally involving municipal funding remains strictly within the council's jurisdiction. A vote can find its way onto a future agenda only if a council member who cast an opposing ballot opts to bring the initiative back around the dais. 

City Administrator Katy Allen expressed surprise over the failed votes and said "it was too early to tell" whether council may reconsider funding support for the projects down the road.  

"I wasn't expecting these to not be approved after council's endorsement of these projects," Allen said. "I still don't understand why. Hard to know if we'll bring them back." 

Allen said the city is fighting a narrow timetable for construction, particularly since the council meeting on April 7 has been cancelled and the building season is already underway.  

"There's a timing problem here," she said. "We won't have another meeting for a month. My take is that these won't happen this year."    

Prior to the vote on the restroom, Langford said he was hesitant to support another addition to the fields with uncertainty lingering over the future owners of the property. The city purchased the land from the Central Valley School District for a symbolic $10 with the understanding that the district could purchase the plot back and reimburse the city for any renovations made under its ownership.

Passage of a $121.9 million construction bond on Feb. 10 means CVSD will build a K-2 school near the ballfields and Liberty Lake Elementary. Allen said Tuesday that "if the city wants to retain ownership (of the ballfields) we need to have that conversation with the district." Allen added that CVSD Superintendent Ben Small has indicated that the district "is not in the business of maintaining a field."

"I just think we need to wait until we figure out what's happening," Langford said. 

Earlier this year, Council approved an additional $245,000 for the ballfields. Subsequently, city staff's reduction of the restroom project to $136,000 cleared funding space for the proposed work at Pavillion Park. The new total of $388,000 still required the budget amendment of $143,000. All funds would have been taken from the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) fund, reserved for capital facilities.

The breakdown of costs at Pavillion Park on Feb. 17 consisted of $160,000 for the restroom, $56,000 for the concession stand and $6,000 to cover the installation of electrical outlets for events. Another $30,000 would have been set aside for design procurement and contingencies.  

Mayor Steve Peterson earmarked $85,000 for a new concession stand at Pavillion Park in his 2015 budget introduced last fall. On Tuesday, Moore took issue with funding requests being added after the budget was approved by council last December. 

"There were plenty of opportunities to budget for these projects but they weren't there in the beginning," Moore said. "Amending the budget continually makes the budget irrelevant."

The city has scheduled a workshop on the future of the Liberty Lake Ballfields for the April 21 council meeting. 

Standing water at ballfields
The other major discussion regarding the Liberty Lake Ballfields on Tuesday had to do with the return of standing water on the grounds. Brickner reminded staff that he had raised the issue last September and called for "holding the contractor accountable." 

While the problem had gone away, the puddles resurfaced after recent soggy weather. Allen and City Engineer Andrew Staples said conversations have taken place with the contractor and it would be the city's responsibility "to show that they didn't follow the spec (construction specification) or that the spec was wrong."

"Our goal is to deliver the best project, not to litigate and ask for more money," Allen said.

Moore, who said he would not support litigation, said inadequate drainage results from a project "not being designed properly or not being constructed properly." As of now, city maintenance crews have been working to address the problem.

"The important thing is to get it fixed and move on," Moore said.

Allen told council she plans "to follow up with the contractor and take care of it." 

Parks and Recreation plan update
Amanda Tainio, Planning and Building Services manager, gave an overview of the update to the city's Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Plan on Tuesday. Last October, Tainio reported on the first community survey of parks and recreation since 2008. Residents stressed the need for multi-use facilities and multi-use trails as well as a community center and an aquatic facility, wishes that are reflected in the latest version of the plan update. Citizens also want amenities that are accessible by foot, Tainio noted.

The extensive report, available on the city's website, is divided into a current rundown of facilities and programs along with a recommendation for future venues and activities. 

"This is guiding and shaping the future of parks and recreation in Liberty Lake," Tainio said. "Public input is critical to successful park projects."

The city has made it a priority to keep up with a growing population and shifts to demographics as they relate to parks, Tainio added. Currently, Liberty Lake features 649 acres of parks and open space, a total that includes three golf courses. Despite the abundance, just under 50 percent of survey respondents said the city currently features an adequate number of parks and recreation facilities. 

The planning commission has already recommended approval of the plan update. On April 21, City Council will hold a public hearing and a second reading on the document. An open house will take place at City Hall in May with a date to be announced. The final plan update must be submitted by December, although Tainio told council on Tuesday that she hopes to have approval as early as September.    

In other city news:
• Wayne Frost, board president of the HUB Sports Center, provided council with an overview of an outdoor athletic complex being proposed for the area around the HUB. The venue would consist of eight softball/baseball diamonds as well as open fields for soccer, rugby and lacrosse. The complex is among a list of potential projects included in a community survey by the Spokane County Parks Department. Funding for purchase of the land near the HUB would come through a county levy lid lift that would need a simple majority (any margin over 50 percent) at the ballot. Frost encouraged residents to visit the county parks website and vote for the project. He said the levy lid lift could appear on the ballot as early as August or, more likely, sometime next spring.

• Council voted 5-1 against an ordinance that would have established interim zoning standards for mobile food vendors within city limits. Owners of two restaurants in town, Twisp and the San Francisco Sourdough Eatery, spoke out against the ordinance during a public hearing at Tuesday's meeting. 

• The finance committee reported that revenue from REET is up 30 percent through the first quarter of 2015 while the Trailhead at Liberty Lake Golf Course has generated $58,000 already this year, up from $52,000 and $41,000 at the same point in 2014 and 2013, respectively. 

• Allen reported on the picnic shelter being planned for Town Square Park. A total of five bids for the project came in between $56,000 and $60,000, all above the $45,000 allotted budget. Allen said the city could use funds saved from other capital projects to cover the difference.

• The renovation of Appleway Avenue is scheduled to begin March 23. Staples said the project would not require closure of the heavily traveled road but feature "traffic being kept in one lane and moving back and forth." The project is slated to wrap up by June 1. 

• The city will team with the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District for a Clean Green Day on March 28 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dumpsters will be provided at Town Square Park for yard debris. 

• The council meeting originally scheduled for April 7 has been cancelled due to spring break. Council will convene again on Tuesday, April 21, at 7 p.m.

Advertisement

Copyright © 2024 The Liberty Lake Splash | Print Page