Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Whitman County Parks Board looks ahead to 2015 with several projects in the working stages.
Items to be completed include an update to the comprehensive plan and finishing and installing 16 Palouse Scenic Byway interpretive signs, which will be placed in communities along the route.
In addition, two beams and the roof on the shelter are set to be replaced at Wawawai Park, which is also slated for installation of solar power.
“Wawawai has lots of sun,” said Whitman County Parks Director Tim Myers. “It’s really a perfect environment for that type of system.”
In 2013, the board hired Roger Daisley of RGR Solar in Pullman to do a study to determine the practicality of powering the park – both the water pumping mechanism for irrigation and the ranger’s residence.
Funding for the system is yet to be determined. Myers indicated that there were rebates available through state programs.
If the project is put in place, he anticipates a less than 10-year time frame until it pays for itself.
“Basically you’re providing your own power,” Myers said.
Once the panels produce excess power, it would go into the grid for Avista, which would use it to power other homes.
The panels would have a 25-year life span.
The Parks board itself may be a source of volunteer labor to install the panels in 2015.
“We hope that if everything continues to look good, we would be able to do something this year,” Myers said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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