Maintenance issues on hold, county parks lack funding

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

Spring is here and the gates at Fish Lake County Park are open, but county officials are still trying to find money to support basic maintenance at Fish Lake and other parks.

The Spokane County Parks Department announced cuts to maintenance last month, the most severe going to parks, like Fish Lake, that are located long distances away from the parks maintenance shop in Spokane Valley.

Now the parks department is working with county commissioners to find a way to provide minimum services to these outlying, or “level 3” parks that are slated to lose restrooms and garbage pickup. The problem, of course, is where the money will come from.

Parks director Doug Chase met with commissioners April 20 to discuss a proposal to provide restroom service during the coming summer, but the discussion ended without a decision because no one had $30,000 to spare.

“I don't have the money in my budget,” Chase said after the meeting. “The board asked me to re-look at a couple of different options and come back with different numbers.”

Chase said he didn't know how he would reduce the cost of the proposal, which includes a combination of portapotties and opening restrooms, either during the “peak season” of June-Sept. or both peak and “pre-season,” April-Sept. Chase said options for Fish Lake include opening restrooms just on the weekends. He added that since Fish Lake has vault toilets, the tanks need to be pumped less often than the water-assisted flush toilets at Bear Lake and Pine River, also on the “Level 3” list. The proposal listed Fish Lake as needing $4,500 in maintenance for the season, while Pine River and Bear Lake would each cost $10,000.

Chase said he would meet with commissioners again in two weeks, where they would attempt to find a solution, and funding. Until then, Chase said volunteer groups like the Marshall Coalition would be asked to provide ideas and perhaps tackle some of the other issues raised with the lack of maintenance funds at the county level.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].