Town council votes 3-2 for park plan

In a special meeting Monday evening, the Cathlamet town council voted 3-2 to support the proposed plans for development of a town center and Queen Sally Park.

Mayor George Wehrfritz called the special meeting for a vote on the plan after council members expressed concerns at the council's July meeting.

Wehrfritz and town staff submitted a grant application to fund development of the park last Friday, the deadline for applications for funding in 2011.

The project calls for remodeling the lower floor of town hall into a community center and improving town office space; upgrading the library in the second floor; turning the vacant lot up the hill next to the Pioneer Church into an amphitheater and channel for drainage; improving the trail by the Pioneer Church that leads to Angle Street, and developing new parking spaces on land along the hillside behind the law office of Tom Doumit and the Cathlamet Market.

Council members had expressed concern about the potential loss of parking spaces and the potential for the hill to slide if there is development in its slope, and they also questioned the ability of the cash-strapped town to care for a new park.

Wehrfritz said he called the meeting because he didn't want to move forward if the council isn't committed to the plan. The funding agency, the state Recreation and Conservation Office, has indicated it won't want to consider or fund a plan that is going to be modified radically.

About 24 people attended the meeting, and many offered comments in support or opposition to the proposed plan.

Councilor Bob Rendler started discussion by moving to approve the concept of the plan as presented; Steve McNicholas seconded the motion.

Councilor Wally Wright then reviewed his reasons for opposing the proposal.

First he said the town and volunteers aren't able to maintain Erickson and Strong parks, so how will they be able to add another to that responsibility?

Second, Strong Park is better suited for an amphitheater, he said, because of its contours and spectacular view. It wouldn't cost a lot to develop an amphitheater there, he said.

Third, Effie Wright donated $10,000 to the town for development of a parking area on the Pioneer Church Parsonage lot next to her property. Now the new plan calls for the amphitheater there, so her heirs, Wally Wright and a brother, will ask for a return of that donation because the town isn't using it as it was intended.

Parking is a problem for people on that end of Main Street, he added, and he feels it would be better to have spaces on the vacant lot near the library instead of on the other side of the Pioneer Church, where, if spaces can be developed, they will be expensive to construct.

Citizens echoed Wright's concerns and added others.

Karen Costa, who owns property above the proposed park site, said she was concerned that the development could destabilize the hillside. Several other people expressed that concern.

Others felt that development of the park would encourage illicit activity or unwanted noise. There is already a problem in the current parking area, they said.

Councilor David Goodroe noted the project's estimated price tag is now $859,000, a figure the council just received. The town's budget is strapped, he said, and the town is embarking on an expensive wastewater treatment plant construction project.

"I am in favor of the project, but I don't know that developing parking on the Doumit property is the right thing to do," he said. "Is the cost too high?"

Former town attorney and town planning commission member Fred Johnson suggested the town would have to obtain a conditional use permit to construct the amphitheater, and a requirement, based on the town's zoning law, would be that it would have to provide one parking space for every four people using the amphitheater; that could be at least 100 people or 25 spaces, he said.

Also, Johnson suggested locating the amphitheater in another area and developing the parsonage lot for parking. It doesn't make sense to upgrade the library and move the parking away, he said.

Many persons expressed support for the project and suggested the concerns would be addressed.

Wehrfritz noted that the volunteer architects who designed the park proposal said a geological study would be needed to develop parking or start other construction on either side of the Pioneer Church building.

Wehrfritz added that the town has over a year to develop a pool of volunteers to help with construction and donate materials; this should help lower the town's overall share of the project to under $100,000.

The design, he said, should either add parking spaces or at least be neutral in its effect on the number of spaces in the area. The town will obtain permits needed, including a conditional use permit, if necessary, before starting construction.

Several speakers felt the project would help the local economy by increasing the number of persons using the library, park and commercial services.

Representatives of several organizations, including the Bradley Library, Wahkiakum Community Network, Pioneer Community Association, Kiwanis Club of Cathlamet expressed support for the project.

"Lots of good issues have been brought up," said Randy Williams of the Pioneer Community Association. "None of the issues will be addressed until you get funding. You can't address the issues unless we move forward with the project."

As the council headed to their vote, Wright repeated his objections. The council should postpone the application and go in the next application cycle, which would be in 2012, he said.

"I think we're biting off more than we can do," Wright said. "I don't think we're ready at this time.

"I don't see how we're going to pay for it now."

Wehrfritz noted that even if the town received the grant from the RCO, it could cancel the project if it didn't have funding in place.

Goodroe said he supported the project but he wasn't in favor of endorsing the plan until the council had investigated the issues raised that evening. He wanted the motion worded to say the council approved of the concepts for the purpose of the grant application.

Wehrfritz said he wanted a motion stating the council was committed to the plan and wouldn't be changing things down the road, which would lead to a waste of the time he and staff spent working on the project.

No one moved to amend the motion, however, and when Wehrfritz called for a vote, Rendler, McNicholas and Ruth Doumit voted in favor, and Wright and Goodroe voted against it.