Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Vote comes with
contingencies
The Palouse skate park effort appears to have found a location.
After a slide show presentation by organizer Aaron Flansburg of four sites to the Palouse city council Nov. 19, the council voted to approve the spot next to the sewer plant.
The motion carried despite a “no” vote from councilman Rick Wekenman, who expressed several concerns with the project.
Also as part of the approval, council members Bo Ossinger and Senja Estes will represent the council on the skate park design committee.
Parameters to the vote included restrictions that the park only be used for skateboards, non-motorized scooters and skates. Also, the park’s design needs to allow for reasonable access to underground utilities and requires approval by the city council
In the discussion during the Nov. 19 meeting, Wekenman pointed out that Flansburg will need to be sure the Department of Ecology will allow construction at the site.
Council member Connie Newman said if permission is not granted, the council will revisit other options – which include two spots in Hayton Greene Park, a city-owned vacant lot on West Whitman Street, roughly behind where the former Family Café building is and a site at the former trailer park next to the car wash at the east entrance of town.
“My comments throughout the process show I’ve never thought it was a particularly good idea in regards to the responsibility the city will have to take on after the park is built,” Wekenman told the Gazette.
He pointed out cuts in the last several years in Palouse to city staff and police.
Flansburg has told the council that he spoke to the city’s insurance carrier, which estimated an increase of $100 per month in insurance.
“We’ve never gotten a firm number from the insurance company,” said Wekenman. “(But) that’s $1,200 right there,” he said.
Wekenman said other concerns including maintenance costs, potential need by the site for the sewer plant and a possible conflict with tree planting done there by the Palouse Conservation District.
While Flansburg has told the city he and other volunteers will empty the garbage at a future park and keep it clean, Wekenman isn’t sure that will be enough.
“Any kind of weed control, or mowing around it, etc., that’s man hours we don’t have right now,” he said.
As far as the site being adjacent to the sewer plant, the councilman suggested it could be a problem too.
“Theirs is a possibility that the area may be needed,” he said. “Who knows what improvements on the sewer plant could be needed in the next 15 to 30 years.”
One of the contingencies to the council’s approval of the site is that reasonable access is maintained for underground utilities.
For Flansburg’s part, he said that existing sewer pipes which run under the proposed site won’t be a problem.
“That’ll be managed by taking it into account in the design,” he said.
Flansburg said having a skate park over pipes is comparable to pipes running under a street or sidewalk.
Aside from utilities, Wekenman told the Gazette that what is above ground may be an issue.
“My other concern is the proximity to the wetland, wild areas that have been developed down there. The Department of Ecology can be a stickler on that sort of stuff,” Wekenman said.
Palouse mayor Michael Echanove confirmed that there are things that remain to be seen, regarding the site.
“There’s lots of good attributes to that site,” he said. “On the flip side, there’s the Conservation District plantings that have been done there, the infrastructure underneath it that needs to be taken into account. But there’s some room down there.”
Overall, Wekenman indicated that he supports the idea of the skate park.
“I have nothing against a skate park and I’m all for keeping kids occupied and out of trouble, but as a councilman, my responsibility is to look out for the welfare of the town and its citizens,” he said. “That’s the oath you take.”
Flansburg also reported to the council that his committee raised $14,297 from Haunted Palouse, increasing their total funds to $20,500.
Barring any surprises, Flansburg said he expects his group to be able to break ground on the skate park next spring at this site.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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