POST FALLS — The Post Falls City Council unanimously approved an agreement on Dec. 16 to move ahead with the development of a new park by the Crowne Reserve subdivision. 

The 3.6-acre park design includes two basketball courts, a dedicated playground area, concrete pathing, an external asphalt loop, an on-street parking lot, site utilities and open space for two multi-use fields. 

“Can I be honest about my heartburn about this?” City Councilor Samantha Steigleder said. “I think a developer said they were going to build a really lovely park in their development and then turned around and said, ‘Well, how about you help us make it better and then we’ll dedicate it to you and then you can maintain it.” 

Steigleder added that residents pay the same amount of taxes whether the land is city-owned or HOA-owned and maintained. 

Initial plans called for green space managed by an HOA through Medalist Development, Inc.

Parks planner Robbie Quinn cited the proximity of the intended park to Spokane Street and noted the design for a trail to the school property and another small city-owned park as significant benefits to the city's ownership of the park. 

“There’s kind of a lot of factors in that,” Quinn said. “We determined that it was absolutely worth it.” 

The parks and recreation department also favored the space becoming a city-owned park because amenities can be moved between the park by the Crowne Reserve subdivision and the one by Crowne Pointe, Quinn stated. 

“When Crowne Pointe was developed, the asphalt sports court area was supposed to be designed to have two basketball courts," Quinn said. "But the way they poured it, we weren’t able to fit two, and so we have one basketball, one pickleball and kind of just some other space that’s really underutilized." 

Crowne Reserve development is underway. Construction on the park will begin this winter or early spring. The park is expected to be complete around November.    

“We're over $1.2 million in value for basically contributing $350,000,” Quinn said.

Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair said the state Legislature changed the rules about impact fees, which have impacted how the city is required to reimburse. 

“I would love to get more and I would love to not use impact fees, but that’s where we’ve been pushed,” Fair said. 

Post Falls Parks and Recreation focuses on long-term wins for the city over whether developers also benefit from decisions, Fair said. 

“If it’s an HOA, we don't have any control of it in the future, so some fad comes in, some new trend; pickleball, skateboard, you name it, maybe lacrosse, if it’s not controlled by the city, we can’t address the needs of future generations,” Fair said. 

City Councilor and Mayor-elect Randy Westlund said if decisions only benefited city residents and not developers, then Post Falls would have no parks. 

“The real question is not whether it benefits the developer, it’s whether it benefits the city and the citizens and whether it’s a wise use of taxpayer dollars for what we’re getting,” Westlund said. 

City Councilor Joe Malloy echoed Steigleder’s feelings of heartburn about the developers getting a better product to “sell for a premium.”    

“I’m just being a fence rider tonight,” City Councilor Joe Malloy said. “The one thing that is tipping me toward it is that the property is never going to get any cheaper around here."  Samantha Steigleder
  

Jacobson

    Westlund