Ice Age Park project melts

The long, controversial story of the imagined Ice Age Park in Electric City has come to an end, but the potential for a park is still there. 

The city council voted at their Dec. 8 meeting to stop the Ice Age Park project and so to return $28,234.31 of spent grant money to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. 

That grant included $257,650 from the state, and an exact match from the city.

The city returned their $257,650 match back into their hotel/motel fund which now has $519,275 in it. 

The $32,190.69 the city spent on the park project so far came from the city’s operating expense fund and had never been transferred out of the hotel/motel money set aside for the park.

A park levy failed 330-192 in the Nov. 3 election, leading to the decision to stop the project. 

Councilmember Brian Buche cited the levy as reason to stop the project, as well as the idea that the park would not increase tourism, which had been used as justification for using hotel/motel money to fund it. The funds are supposed to be used to further tourism.

Councilmember Cheryl Hoffman said a separate municipal park fund with $117,868 in it, is good seed money for a new park project

“That is in the parks coffer that doesn’t involve tourism money,” she said. “I think that’s a good start for a park that would be an asset to the community. I don’t think we need to use, in my mind misuse, hotel funds to build a more elaborate, more expensive park.” 

Other council members agreed with the idea of having a park, just not the Ice Age Park, and not paid for with hotel/motel money.

The council voted 4-1 to stop the park project, with Councilmember Cate Slater voting against the motion.

“It would be a shame to lose that grant,” she said before the vote.