Colfax conducting parks survey

The City of Colfax has released an online parks survey in order to help plan for the future of Colfax's park system.

Included in the survey is a map of existing and potential parks and trails. Among those proposed is the Colfax to Pullman trail on the former Union Pacific railroad, which would run from Colfax to Pullman through Albion if the state banks the rail line and decides to convert it to a recreational trail.

Public meetings have been organized by Pullman Civic Trust to discuss options for the rail line which has been out of use for 10 years. Options include rail banking and converting to a recreational trail, rail banking and doing nothing or abandoning the line and returning the land to the adjacent landowners.

City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello told the Gazette the city does not have much of an opinion on the potential trail at this time.

“We're very neutral on it,” he said. “We're just trying to gauge where the people are at.”

Rizzitiello said the Colfax to Pullman trail differs from another item on the survey, which is the proposed Lake Street Greenway project. This project would establish a recreational trail between Last Street and Cooper Street, the former UP line which runs along the west side of the flood channel of the South Fork of the Palouse River.

Right now, the city is working on a two-block portion between Last and Island Street, for which about $30,000 was allocated from the lodging tax.

“The idea there is that walking paths and trails attract people,” Rizzitiello said.

The project there would establish a small recreational trail as well as some additional parking. Rizzitiello said the hope is to also add a small visitor's center in the future.

“This eventually is going to be a pretty neat tourist spot,” he said. “We want to put some sort of tiny visitor's center there.”

Rizzitiello said the city currently does not have much funding for the project, but a grant application is also in the works. The potential for a $400,000 grant from the state's Recreation Conservation Office could help to move the project forward. A $250,000 RCO grant is one of the chief funding agreements on the Schmuck Park project which is now underway.

“If we get that, it will really allow us to work on it,” he said. “Otherwise, it's just very piecemeal. If we're funding it with just city money, it could take anywhere up to seven years.”

Rizzitiello added the in-town project is the city's current priority over the potential Colfax to Pullman trail.

“We as a city are only concerned about the greenway project,” he said. “These are not the same project, and the only one we've been actively planning is the greenway.”

Questions on the survey include things such as parks most visited and how often, how information about park facilities is received, safety of parks, if parks are meeting recreational needs, quality of the operation and maintenance of parks, activities or facilities the city should look at adding to its park and recreational offerings, replacement options for the city pool, support of the creation of a metropolitan park district and opinions for the Colfax to Pullman trail and Lake Street Greenway trail.

“We've done these every year,” said Rizzitiello. “The purpose is to gauge people's opinions on the parks and also to solicit people's opinions on where future investments should go.”

The survey will be online for about one month. Rizzitiello said it should be completed by about Aug. 1. It can be found online at colfaxwa.org or through the city's Facebook page.