McEUEN: Elephants here, there
"Holy Parks and Rec Batman, the circus is coming to town"... seems a reasonable conclusion after seeing the number of "elephants in the room" over at Team McEuen's think tank headquarters. But before we go nose to trunk with McEuen Park's "elephant" issues, let's talk about the "process" that brought us here.
Team McEuen is a group of 20 "community stakeholders" who took on the architectural, engineering and landscape redesign of McEuen Park with the mission that the park would, among other things, "serve the greatest number of uses for the greatest number of people." Overall I thought their effort was comprehensive, creative and well crafted by architects Miller-Stauffer. But the outcome is a real forehead slapper when you think about it... a little like asking a bunch of Park Avenue "silver spoon" kids what they want for Christmas. Team McEuen went to Noah's clinic... every breed of outdoor amenity was welcomed aboard their Ark. But, honestly, "process" gives me a headache... let's tame some "elephants."
Elephant No. 1... The American Legion baseball fields. This beast is the easiest to tame. A part of the Team McEuen's "community values," they pledged to "ensure the replacement of any displaced facilities with equal or better facilities." I suspect there are a number of potential sites that should serve the American Legion baseball nicely. If City Council doesn't come through, I say take it to the streets... it worked in Egypt.
Elephant No. 2... The Third Street boat launch. This one is tougher to tame but, like the Legion ball fields, it comes with Team McEuen's money back guarantee that it will be left as is if they can't build an "equal or better" boat launch near downtown. Two alternative sites have been suggested... Silver Beach or the Spokane River (adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant). The river site is problematic due to the currents but does offer the exciting possibility of a drive-thru pump-out station! Silver Beach is even more problematic. There doesn't seem near enough room to back-in boats safely off Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive without installing a traffic signal which, in turn, will endanger motorists, as well as walkers, runners and cyclists on the Centennial Trail. I'm guessing this elephant will find a home on the Spokane River.
Elephant No. 3... Underground and Expanded Parking Facilities. This is a wild elephant that will prove expensive to tame, as well maintain... I checked with the experts. Cambridge Systematics is a transportation policy and strategic planning consultant based in Boston, Mass. They are global experts in the cost and issues related to public parking structures. In a 1997 study, Cambridge estimated that the average "per parking space" cost (including architectural and contingency costs) of an underground garage was $34,600. Ongoing maintenance and security was estimated at $500 per parking space per year. Team McEuen's plan calls for 877 underground parking spaces which means the McEuen Park garage will cost about $30,300,000 to build and $438,000 per year to the tab. Round numbers.... $31,500,000 to construct parking at McEuen Park (and that's forgiving 14 years of inflation). And to think that just a few months ago City Council was grousing that their 2011 budget had to include a new copier machine.
Bottom line... I believe the Legion ball field and the boat launch will get handled, (read moved) within the next two years. As for the proposed parking facilities, the construction and maintenance costs appear even beyond the Lake City Development Corporation's (LCDC) ability to fund... and remember, LCDC still has an "education corridor" to build at North Idaho College. As for the rest of McEuen Park, I would look for some "dolling-up" of the general landscape but no big changes anytime soon... and likely not without a public vote of some sort.
Looks like this circus will be in town for a while.
ROBERT B. CLIFF
Coeur d'Alene