Ideas sought for future park What to do with this Post Falls land?
<p>Beach-goers gather at the shore of along the Spokane River near Maplewood Avenue in Post Falls. The 2.2 acre section of land, owned by the Bureau of Land Management, will be the topic of public discussion at Post Falls City Hall Wednesday at 6 p.m.</p>
POST FALLS - It's time for the public to weigh in on how it wants parkland along the Spokane River at Post Falls developed.
The Bureau of Land Management owns 2.2 acres south of Maplewood Avenue just east of the Riverside Harbor subdivision that stretches to the river. The property was a former pump house site.
Under an agreement with Post Falls that was approved two years ago, the city will maintain and develop the property.
A workshop on the site will be held on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall to accept public comment on ideas for the property.
"We felt it was a good site for the public to have, but before we start any design work, we want to check with the public to see what it would like to see there," said Dave Fair, director of the parks and recreation department.
The property is split between the city and county, but the county opted out of the agreement.
Bicyclists, swimmers and others recreating currently utilize the property, which has some trees but no structures.
"Safety and what to do about the erosion are our main concerns," Fair said. "We want to improve our ability to maintain it. We're not looking at major changes. We just want to make it a park area that fits in with what the public wants."
With the site currently not being maintained, the general wear and tear on the site, including waves from boat traffic along the shoreline and bike tracks, have taken a toll, Fair said. "There's grass and a lot of weeds and it's a natural site now."
The park will be Post Falls' sixth on the river.
Fair said some residents would prefer that nothing is done to the site while others would like to see it developed and cleaned up.
However, no concepts have surfaced. Another workshop was held earlier, but wasn't well-attended.
Public comments will also be accepted later on the conceptual design.
"The timeline (for development) is a few years out," Fair said.
No funding has been set aside to develop the site. Fair said preliminary work on the property did not start earlier due to other park projects under way.